43: How I Transitioned from Corporate to Entrepreneurship with a Project Management Skillset - a podcast by Natalie Gingrich
from 2020-05-06T08:00
Do you have skills you've already perfected? Are you looking to make a good living by using those gifts in new ways?
If you're an operations expert and want to break through to new levels, you're invited to my upcoming 5 day sprint. We are going to solve one of the biggest problems that holds people back: scope creep! Sign up now, because the sprint begins May 11th.
Today, I’m sharing my story of how I arrived at the Director of Operations life.
My Story
Five years ago, I transitioned from corporate life into entrepreneurship, although not intentional. I first started my path and found myself leveraging project management and human resource skills that corporate helped me acquire. My journey through corporate allowed me to hone the skills that would help me find my forever career. It was exhausting and challenging at times, but it allowed me to refine the skill sets that I would later utilize as an entrepreneur.
I stumbled into the world of online business unintentionally. I started a passion project to help moms find joy in their professional space, as well as at home. While I was in Facebook groups, and trying to build a Facebook Group, I was learning to look at marketing in a whole new way. This is where I discovered this underground world of online business.
I was under the impression that the only way you could make money from home was through e-commerce, or selling on eBay. I had just left corporate America where working from home work was not looked upon favorably; I had tried to convince my superiors that it was a possibility, but to no avail.
I began to believe it too… I didn’t think I could work from home as an entrepreneur, and didn’t think my skill set would actually be successful as a freelancer.
But this all started to change as I started to deeply connect with women all over the world through organic and natural conversations in Facebook groups. They had questions and struggles in their business, and I had the experience and the framework and was able to create transformations for them.
“It was all organic. I didn’t have any business plan; just genuine conversations.”
Doing this on my terms was exciting. I was repeatedly told that I was creating a change that people hadn’t experienced before, despite working with coaches and consultants. I was helping these folks to move past obstacles to do more in their business with less effort.
The Ops Authority is Born
I leveraged my corporate training, created repeatable frameworks, built a team and worked really hard to create offers that would allow me to replace my corporate executive income... something I never thought I'd be able to do.
“I served my peers, then I continued to up-level the client that I was supporting.”
Soon I was supporting fewer businesses because I was going into greater depth; this was the balance that I dreamt of. But, after 2½ years of serving clients one-on-one, I was also dreaming of scaling my business.
I started speaking about my proprietary system, getting the attention of bigger and bigger business owners who wanted me to speak at their events. This led me to higher level businesses, but the problem was that I couldn’t serve all of those businesses. When these leaders reached out to me I would connect them to my friends and peers who had certain skill sets… but the relationships wouldn’t often work out, and I felt responsible.
I tried an agency to try to duplicate myself, but it just didn’t fit my lifestyle. The leaders wanted my attention at all times, and more people needed more of me. I left corporate to have more balance in my family, so the agency model was not sustainable.
I had to figure out how to scale my business without an agency model, and landed on the DOO certification program. Today, The Ops Authority is an education company that certifies and mentors ops experts. I took my 15 years of experience and created proprietary systems and frameworks specifically for online businesses that allows them to satisfactorily scale.
“I not only have created a pathway for professional women to leverage their gifts, experience, and knowledge to get paid… I’ve also created a path for them to up-level their clients, their income, and their impact.”
Objections Women Have Overcome
In the past 2 years of certifying DOOs, I’ve been a part of dozens of breakthroughs. These women have all tried to tell me one or more of the following:
1. I’m not qualified.
It's most likely the type of clients you are attracting that make you feel this way.
2. I don’t have the experience to do what you’ve done.
False. Every DOO has a specialty. You already have what you need to be a DOO, but you just need a path forward in the form of support and mentorship.
3. I haven’t had any online clients or experience working in the online space.
That's exactly who I was! The skills you have in your previous career are transferable.
4. I’m scared I won't replace my corporate income.
You can do this without bureaucracy or crumby bosses. Bonus, you can do this from your home and lead your life on your terms!
5. I’m longing for a higher level client but don’t know how to make the leap.
You need a networked mentor, and it only takes one genuine connection that will recognize your value and genius.
6. I don’t have time for another course. You spend way too much time searching for perfection, but the DOO certification program is a transformative educational experience that will allow you to up-level your client, business, and your life.
All of these objections have been disproved. I am proof because I have overcome all of these, and I have also been a part of seeing 57 qualified, experienced women up-level their lives by completing this DOO training. They couldn’t see it for themselves at the time, but they are now professionals leading the way.
“The skills that you’re using in your career right now are transferable.”
If you've been interested in this type of transformation, join me for my upcoming 5 day sprint, The Scope Creep Solution. This sprint begins May 11th, and you will get a week of free training, and a peek into the skills and techniques that I teach every DOO. If you're a project manager, an ops expert, or a business manager, you don’t want to miss out.
Weekly Ops Activity
Sign up for the Scope Creep Solution, beginning May 11th!
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This episode was first published at theopsauthority.com/podcast/43.
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