Women Corporate Dropouts

Much has been said about the “mommy wars” and new trends indicating women are dropping out of the Corporate World to dedicate their lives to their families.  Anyone reading the headlines without deeper analysis, would tend to think that women are just going back to their so-called roots and all of a sudden feeling the need to give up all their hard work to stay at home taking care of their families.  Now, is that the real reason they are leaving the Corporate World?  and is that what they are doing with life after Corp?

I tend to think there is much more going on.  Women are definitely leaving the Corporate World!!  but they are not leaving their jobs to only spend their time in play dates.  They are leaving their jobs because they have found a way to fulfill their intellectual and financial needs while continuing to be the heart and soul of their families.  Yes!  They can go to play dates AND have a business life, AND make money in the process.  They are becoming entrepreneurs.  They are starting businesses at twice the rate than any othe group in this country.

I am one of them.  I recently became a “Women Corporate Dropout” and I have never been happier.  Yes, it takes sacrifice (especially of the financial type).  But the benefits far outweigh the adjustment pains.  I have been out of the corporate world for 4 months.  My children are absolutely static with my newfound flexibility. My husband and I no longer have to spend our evenings doing homework and running errands, and I am well positioned to have my own business up and running within the next 2 months.

Why did I leave the Corporate World?

I left the Corporate world because after 19 years of hard work, I still felt the playing field was different for men and women.  Even while working for organizations that try to set up all the right policies to ensure a level playing field for all, at the end the “good old boy club” is still prevalent. As a female professional, I found that my ideas were only welcome when they did not challenge the status quo.  I could only implement my plans, if it meant continuing to do the same thing that was being done before – and that was not working by the way.   

So did I all of a sudden wake up one day and decided I no longer wanted a career?  No.  It was a process and it took me a while to make a decision to change.  And by a while I mean it took me about 6 years of thinking about it.  Three of them in which I did some soul searching trying to figure out what business I wanted, and in which I just dreamt about the possibility of a new business.  Another three in which I decided what I would do, I set up a corporation, and I kept thinking I could start the business by working a few minutes every night after the kids went to sleep.  No! that did not work!!  I finally had to cut the umbilical cord and just focus on starting my business.

Why did it take me so long?

I was born 40 years ago and pretty much trained to be an employee.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I could do anything different than finding a great job with the best company I could find, and keeping that job while waiting for the next promotion.  When I was growing up, if you wanted progress and a better future, you would get as much schooling as you could (which I did getting a computer enginering degree as well as an MBA) and then you would go conquer the world by landing a great job.  That worked for me only for a few years.  I worked for several companies, and the circumstances never changed.  Bobbleheads, those always nodding with their heads whenever their managers spoke, were the ones being rewarded.  And since I had no intention of becoming a bobblehead myself, things were never the way I wanted them to be.  Meanwhile I had 3 kids and juggled the best I could, life with a very demanding career and life with 3 small kids at home.

I juggled until it was no longer worth doing it.  Until I felt like my soul had been taken away (if you are a Harry Potter fan, you will understand I felt like a “dementor had swallowed my soul”).

What are women corporate dropouts doing?

Women are starting businesses at twice the rate than any other group in  the United States.  After all, this is a country where so many resources are available, and where virtually anyone with a dream and with the commitment to the hard work necessary, can make a dream happen.

So, if you are dreaming about starting your own business, you will find here a wealth of resources that will help you advance your dreams.  If you have doubts, you will find a community where you can share your ideas, doubts, and fears.  After all, we are all striving to find that balance we want in life.  The ability to work and do what we love, but in this case being in control of our own destiny; plus the ability to create our own hours so we can be a more integral part of our families.