Mid Career Women Are Choosing To Follow Their Passion Into The Gig Economy

As a constant flow of reporting across all media platforms indicates, a swiftly rising movement in America has employees across industries leaving their jobs to pursue a beautiful thing…their own personal American Dream.

W are not talking about a little trend here and there because month after month, since early 2020 through the end of last year, more than 25% (43 million) of American workers have handed a resignation to their employer.

Millions of these are women who have chosen to seek out their “inner entrepreneur.”

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Ian Cook, reported the most significant increase in corporate resignations is among those in mid-career. The number of mid-career resignations rose by 20 percent from 2020 to 2021.

Mid-career covers the age group between 30-45, however the group between 45-60 are also leaving the corporate grind at elevated levels as well.

Any number of reasons explain why people quit their jobs. Life circumstances, milestones, etc.

However, this is different

People, and women in particular, are not simply quitting and fading away.

They are going solo and forming new companies of their own. The reasons why are transformational.

Not surprisingly, one reason is they are looking to get out from under a boss’ thumb and do their own thing. Control and autonomy is key because it means you take control of one’s work and time.

Next, is the ability to pursue a job with meaning and purpose.

This reason is in many ways more motivating than any other aspect of work, including money and perks because In all honesty, let’s face it…after ten or fifteen years on the corporate battlefield, your soul is in need of full rejuvenation.

Finally, the reason people are taking the risk to go on their own is to create wealth, which is hard to do working 9-5 for someone else. I mean, if you are enjoying yourself and making your own decisions, why would you not want to create wealth?

After the experts have spoken here’s my take

If you’re a mid-career woman thinking about starting a business and becoming your own boss, absolutely follow those instincts.

I’d always heard that when you reach that time in life, you are just hitting your productive stride. I found out it’s true.

It’s like, ok, I’ve been through the preliminaries now I’m ready to go for it, come what may.

You have plenty more to accomplish

And, there are plenty of people who will back me up on it. Let’s start with yours truly. I launched my business at 41, armed with 10 years of corporate work experience and 3 kids in tow under the age of 10.

Leverage your skills

I had no idea how powerful the management skills were that I’d developed from raising kids and managing a high velocity household. Then, when you fold in years of work experience, a willingness to keep learning, the networking skills you’ve developed, not to mention your competitive savvy, you’re far more prepared to launch than a 20 or 30 something.

There are lots of reasons why women exit corporate life or re-enter the working world as a business woman at say 50+.

For some, you’ve kind of had it with the politics or reached as far up the ladder that you are going to climb. Perhaps there’s cost cutting or a phase out of your position. Who knows? Been there done that.

If you’ve been a stay at home mom with the kids now out of the house, isn’t it about darn time you went out and did something fun for yourself that doesn’t involve running a taxi service, an urgent care, or being a short order cook? Come on… coordinating and managing a household is far more difficult than running a small business.

The right question is: What’s next?

Get out there and have some fun! Whether you went the corporate route or stayed home, both came with rewards but also with a lot of stress. Now is the perfect time to find something that features flexibility and fun. Otherwise, what are you doing but jumping right back into the fire?

Well equipped for this passage

What strikes me about my older entrepreneur customers is the confidence, openness to something new, and hope they exude. Life is a series of unfolding passages, and this next passage is in many ways better because inner fulfillment is as much a key component as is personal financial gain.

It may be hard for some to think about making big life changes at this time in life, for others, you cannot get started fast enough. Remember one thing however,-you are better equipped to navigate this passage than at any other time your life!