Corporate Refugees: I have Some Good News & Bad News

The Mirror

At some point, most high performers in the corporate world have the same thought: Is this it?

Not because things are bad. In fact, that's what's often confusing. You're good at your job. You make solid money. You're respected. But beneath the promotions and performance reviews, something feels off, like you've been climbing for years only to realize you're not sure you want what's waiting at the top.

That's where I was when my last employer rolled out a new benefit: twenty free mental health sessions. I had never tried counseling but I was stressed and a little confused, so I figured, why not?

A few clicks later, I was in a counselor's office for the first time. She listened for a few minutes as I tried to explain why I even decided to make the appointment. I felt ridiculous as I tried to lay out anything negative from my great life. I stumbled through my thoughts on what I was struggling with, then she said something that caught me completely off guard:

"I see a lot of people like you: mid-career, high-paying, kind of lost, trapped."

My immediate reaction was to argue. Instead, I just sat there. She was right. I wasn't burned out. I was misaligned.

I worked in an environment where my highest value was not (and could not) be fully realized. What made it worse was realizing that she didn't just describe my present, she described my future. I could already see it. I worked with people fifteen or twenty years older than me doing what I did, just one or two levels higher. That's where I was headed.

I told myself it was fine. I had a family to provide for, and this was a good way to do it. I could deal with the rest.

But the illusion of the security that I was trading my potential for was fading fast. No pensions. No gold watch. Arbitrary reorgs and layoffs every quarter. The reward for staying wasn't really stability at all.

That session didn't just make me uncomfortable. It showed me the truth: the ladder I was climbing might be leaning against the wrong wall. I was chasing comfort. And comfort is the most expensive thing you can buy with your career.

Sound Familiar?

Maybe you've been thinking about leaving corporate. Maybe you already have. Or maybe the decision got made for you.

Regardless, I have some good news and bad news.

The good news: you have more opportunity than ever before. The tools, platforms, and networks exist for you to build something real. Something that actually reflects your values and potential. More importantly, there is a real market for your value, you just need to find it.

The bad news is that you probably weren't trained for what comes next. Not really. It's true that a corporate career will give you lots of valuable skills. However it also often rewards aversion to change, low risk tolerance, accepting less than you're worth, a healthy dose of corporate politics, and presentation over substance.

Building your own business demands almost the opposite. You'll have to unlearn the instinct to seek permission, to make everything perfect, to lean into "the norm" over authenticity, to avoid being seen before you are ready.

You will need to learn to sell, to experiment, and to create in public. At first, you will not be good at any of it.

If any of that hits close to home, this article is for you.

When I was a kid, I used to ask my parents, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?" They always said, "Bad news." So today, I'll start there.

The Bad News

The bad news is not that building your own thing takes time or effort. You already know that. The bad news is that the real challenge is internal.

You will have to break habits that made you successful in corporate. Time to stop thinking like an employee who performs for approval (Meets+ annual rating and 4% raise anyone?) and start thinking like an owner who moves for impact.

That means making decisions with imperfect information, speaking before you feel ready, and showing work that does not yet feel impressive.

Time to release the idea that being good means being perfectly polished. You will need to share content that feels awkward. Your friends will see it. Your former coworkers will see it. Some will scroll by. Some will judge. A few will quietly root for you. That is the tradeoff.

In corporate, visibility could be dangerous. Out here, visibility is survival.

At first, it will feel like you are getting worse, not better. But that discomfort is a sign that you are learning the skills you were never paid to practice: selling, creating, adapting, and trusting your own judgment.

This is the part no one tells you about. The systems, the tools, the tech: those are ready for you. The real work is letting go of the identity that kept you safe but smaller than your potential.

Once you start doing that internal work, the story doesn't suddenly get easier, but it does get more clear. You stop waiting for someone to fix the system and start realizing you can build your own.

In a sentence: The life you want comes from within you. As soon as you believe that then the struggle starts to feel useful.

The Good News

Once that shift happens, everything you learned in corporate starts to work for you instead of against you.

The best part is that the good news I'm about to share is not theoretical. It's practical. You already have more of what you need than you realize.

You already have the skills.

Corporate life gave you more than a title and a paycheck. It taught you how to think critically, deliver high value, build and execute a plan, and navigate difficult conversations. Those are not "corporate" skills. They are business skills. The difference now is that you decide how and where to apply them.

You don't start from zero. You start with a serious advantage.

The tools are available.

What once required departments, massive budgets, and endless approvals now fits inside your laptop. Platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Substack, Shopify, and Whop give you distribution. Affordable tools like CRM systems, AI, and automation give you leverage.

The same capabilities Fortune 500 companies use to run marketing, sales, fulfillment, and customer service are sitting in front of you, affordable, accessible, and ready to help. What matters most is your willingness to learn, experiment, and combine them into a system that actually delivers your real value.

The market is bigger than ever.

The demand for independent professionals and small business owners has never been higher. In 2024, there were an estimated 76.4 million freelancers in the U.S., and that number continues to grow. The global gig economy is projected to reach over two trillion dollars by 2034. Specifically within the U.S., non-employer businesses