What's a bridge job? And why is it important to starting your business.

This post is for the person who wants to start their own business but cannot find the time or energy outside of their corporate job because they work 12+ hours a day, on top of a commute, on top of life.

I get you. I was there too.  

My first job out of college was working in Target stores as an Executive Team Leader in West Des Moines, IA. The days were extremely long, very intense and it was difficult to find energy and time to want to do anything but escape through movies, socializing or catch up on sleep when I wasn’t at the bullseye working.

Within 6 months of working at Target I knew that it (as in the corporate world) wasn’t for me long-term but I wasn’t sure what next steps looked like.  

10 months into my role I had hit a breaking point. Around that time I had been battling with myself mentally. It felt a little like this.....

I didn't know what I wanted but I knew that I didn't want to be where I was.  

Also within the first 10 months of my new role I was performance managing 2 of my direct reports that consisted of weekly coaching sessions, securing additional training for them all while finishing any work that was unfinished from said direct reports day in and day out.

It wasn’t until I had worked 13 out of 14 days that I found myself sitting at my kitchen table on a Monday evening after being Leader On Duty at 7pm, eating dinner in the dark listening to a sermon... that I had finally broken down.  

"It was then that I drew a line in the sand and made the decision that I was going to leave. I had no clue what was next but it was in that moment I found much needed relief."

 It was a struggle to make that decision. I spent days with one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat going back and forth. I knew that if I stayed for one more 18-month rotation after my first role there was a good chance that I would have gotten my own store, made six-figures at the age of 25 but on the other hand, my soul felt empty and I couldn’t ignore the voice inside.

It was then when I made the decision to leave that opportunities started popping up. I was ready to leave.  

I had found my bridge job. I took a position at Wells Fargo as an HR Recruiter through a 3rd party agency. I took a pay cut, forfeited my benefits including retirement and PTO and picked up a part-time job at a local gym so not only could I get a free membership, make some extra cash but I took advantage of the slow times to read...a ton.

The job that is going to bridge you from where you’re at now and where you want to be. Ultimately that bridge job lead me to where I am today.

If you want to quit your job and start a business don’t get discouraged about how. Take baby steps. Often times when people quit their job it is because there’s been months of tiny decisions setting themselves up to be in the position to start their business.

Is there another role or job you could do that can give you hours back to your life, skills that you'll eventually need for when you start your own business?