I’ve often said there are two types of entrepreneurs: those who are born entrepreneurs—restless, idea-driven, and constantly chasing new opportunities—and those who stumble into it by accident. I fall squarely into the latter category. While I didn’t grow up dreaming of running my own business, fate, passion, and a little frustration set me on a path that’s become more meaningful than I ever imagined.
I didn’t always see myself as an entrepreneur. In fact, if you had asked me early in my career, I would have told you I was more comfortable in the corporate world, working my way up the ladder, navigating the challenges of being one of the few women in executive leadership. It was familiar, albeit frustrating. Yet, as I sat at those boardroom tables, I noticed a disconnect that gnawed at me. The systems, the processes, the people—they were often misaligned, and the values companies spoke of so freely rarely matched the reality I witnessed. It was as if the soul of the company got lost in translation somewhere between the vision statement and daily operations.
Still, the pull to step out on my own wasn’t immediate. It started as dinner table conversations with my husband. He’s always been the “idea guy”—a visionary who dreams up business ventures as effortlessly as others might pick out their next Netflix show. We’d spend hours deep in discussion, imagining what we “could” build together. But there came a point where I had to call him out. As much as I loved these discussions, I couldn’t handle another round of brainstorming without action.
That’s when my husband read Get Sht Done*. That one book changed the course of our lives. Within six months, we had launched four businesses, and one of those ventures was my own consulting agency.
But let’s rewind a bit, because it wasn’t just the dinner conversations or the book that sparked my journey. My leap into entrepreneurship was the result of years of experience navigating corporate culture, where I constantly felt the urge to fix things, to align what companies said they valued with what they actually practiced. But I realized the changes I wanted to create wouldn’t happen in the corporate environment. If I wanted to help businesses succeed while staying true to their values, I needed to work with founders who shared my belief in business as a vehicle for freedom and impact—founders who wanted to build something that mattered.
So I started my consulting business. It was my way of aligning strategy with purpose, of helping entrepreneurs navigate challenges without losing sight of their people, their values, or their long-term vision. And as luck would have it, when COVID hit and I found myself laid off for the first time in my career, my former employer became my first client.
This wasn’t the first time it happened either—back in 2016, when I first started my consulting business, my former employer was also my first client. Maybe it was the universe’s way of reminding me that there’s always a path forward, even when it feels like doors are closing.
Over the next year and a half, my business grew almost entirely through word of mouth. And as things started to stabilize post-COVID, I had the chance to consider a lucrative offer to step back into corporate life. It was tempting. The title was impressive: Chief People Operations Officer. The salary and benefits were hard to ignore. But something in me had changed. I realized that after all this time, I no longer wanted to go back to a corporate role. I didn’t want to be an “accidental” entrepreneur anymore.
I wanted to make a conscious choice.
That’s when I knew. This wasn’t just something I’d stumbled into. This was my path. I was choosing entrepreneurship not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I wanted the freedom to write my own story, to work alongside founders who shared my vision for building businesses that create impact while staying true to who they are. I wanted to help others succeed on their own terms, just like I was doing.
It felt like one of those “choose your own adventure” books I loved as a kid. I could have stayed on the traditional path, reading the story someone else wrote for me. But I decided to write my own.
And here I am, living my own adventure, every single day.
If you’re reading this and wondering whether you should stay on the path you’re on or forge your own, let me tell you this: You don’t have to wait for the perfect moment. You don’t have to stumble into it like I did. You can choose to write your own story, right now. There’s freedom in that. And once you make that choice, there’s no turning back.
Ready to Write Your Own Story?
If you’re a founder or entrepreneur feeling stuck or misaligned, reach out. I’m here to help you navigate the path with clarity, intention, and purpose—so you can build something that matters to you and the world around you. Let’s write that next chapter together.