You are never starting from scratch. There is always a thread through your story that you can follow.
Most times I meet someone new, I end up taking them through my story. Getting a degree in accounting, working in corporate finance, getting into operations, leaving the corporate world, and starting my own writing business. The shift from accounting to writing is often shocking to people.
But what I’ve learned from all these experiences is that I can take what I learn with me. Each pivot in our lives serves a purpose. And while we may head a new direction, our experiences in the prior season of our lives can be carried with us.
I think so often people get worried about making a change in their lives because they figure they’ve invested so much time, energy, and money into their current path that they should carry on with it. That they can’t possibly start over.
But we’ve all been building our stories, building our knowledge, and building our thought leadership our whole lives. We’re never starting over.
Here’s how all those pieces can come together.
Uniquely Position Yourself
My background in corporate finance, accounting, and operations may not seem to relate to the book world on the surface. But that journey allows me to uniquely position myself. These experiences help me to appeal to executives, entrepreneurs, and other business leaders looking to write a book. They see that I have a unique understanding of their perspectives and challenges that may allow me to better support them in their book journey.
It may seem like a nice synchronicity that this worked out for me and that business books are such a prevalent genre, but I think we can all do this. Consider someone who was a teacher who is looking to pivot and pursue another career path. Maybe they want to be a web designer instead. Who would be their ideal client, at least to start? Teachers, schools, after-school programs, etc. That teacher has a unique understanding of the needs of this audience better than anyone else.
Sometimes we need to be a little creative and be intentional about what we gained from our past experiences. But I believe there’s always a way we can use those to uniquely position ourselves for our ideal audience or clients if we feel called to make a pivot.
Utilize Your Skills
This goes deeper than the audience we might appeal to. We’re also able to bring certain skills with us. During my time in the corporate world, I became a certified Project Management Professional. Those skills are ones that I carry with me today. Books are a long project. And while writing is a significant service delivered to clients, it’s really about the entire professional experience that ghostwriters can provide.
Because of my experience in project management, I’m better able to plan, think ahead, and guide my clients through what is a fluid and changing process. No, I’m not doing a lot of the formalities of project management, but that doesn’t mean these skills are any less effective. I’m still tracking progress, logging outstanding items, working backwards from deadlines, etc.
This is not a fluke. I didn’t just happen into a career where I could use my past skills and experiences. We all have the ability to do that. Not everyone will be able directly pull tangible experiences with them. For example, a chef who makes a career pivot may not be cooking for their future clients. But they probably developed skills with which they’re able to work under intense pressure, be resourceful, and interact closely with a team. There are plenty of other fields that value those abilities.
Sometimes it’s difficult to see our own superpowers and how those may translate to other fields. If you’re struggling, it helps to have others who can highlight this for you. Friends and family are great options, and if you want to take it a step further, hire a coach. My coaches have been amazing in helping me see this.
Leverage Lessons Learned
What we bring with us on a new path doesn’t need to be limited to the skills that translate or the people we appeal to. It’s important to look at the bigger picture. There are plenty of lessons we’ve learned throughout our careers and lives that stick with us. They don’t need to be technical in nature.
When I was an analyst hoping to move up the corporate ranks, I got excited to be invited into meetings. It made me feel important and valued. It was exciting to see my calendar fill up as I gained more experience and knowledge. Until it wasn’t. Soon, I felt like my calendar was packed. Gone were the big blocks of uninterrupted work time. Then, I craved more free time in my schedule rather than more meetings. I knew I was valuable and didn’t need meetings to affirm that.
When I started my business, I carried this lesson with me. While there are definitely times and places for productive meetings, I’ve actually tried to structure my business in a way where these are minimized. This allows for more focused work time, but it also allows me more freedom to control my schedule and when and where I work.
So, I block my calendar on certain days and times and format my services in certain ways. I had learned a lesson about how meetings impacted my schedule and ways of working, and I carried that into my new path.
We all have experiences that we’ve learned from that stick. And so many of our experiences come from everyday life. We are constantly growing and expanding in a variety of ways. We can take all facets of that with us into our next chapters.
If you’re looking for a ghostwriter who can help tie business experience with writing expertise together for your next book project, let’s chat. Book a free session using the button below!
Disclaimer: This blog should not be construed as providing, or intending to provide professional financial, legal, psychological, or other professional advice. It is simply meant to share my experiences with those who may find them relatable and helpful.