Today’s guest blog is from Rachel Bland, Woman of a Certain Age(ncy) and Fractional Executive for Products and Technology through her company, AgentsE Solutions. She told me she’s excited to share the journey that led her to her #StepAwayCareer.

Once upon a time, I was a young girl growing up in a rural part of Canada, desperately trying to understand how I fit into the world. Back then, I felt like the only person who understood me was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She “wanted so much more than this provincial life,” and people thought she was strange with her bookishness. 

It felt to me like I would need some magical, Disney-style intervention to change the trajectory of my life. I couldn’t imagine what would need to happen to build a life that I had only seen on TV, where I had a career, wonderful adventures and eventually, a family. I mean, where do you even start when you come from a world that is mainly farming and fishing, with other essential roles like teacher, nurse, doctor and firefighter? 

John Lennon got a lot right, and I’ve always loved his quote: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” And it's no less true today than it was when he wrote that lyric, or throughout history. I started out as a little girl who enjoyed disassembling things and preferred organizing Barbie’s closet and furniture–or building with Legos–to other types of games.  

And I ended up a grown woman with a lot of the same interests, having worked for some of the largest (and smallest) software companies on Earth. I’ve had the chance to work all over the world, meet great people, and do things that I never would have imagined. I’ve even managed to fit in a family! 

This life has been made possible by having a solid financial and educational foundation. Over the years, I’ve been exceptionally fortunate to have: 

• A father who told me to always keep my options open, do the extra work, and take the extra class because, “You never know when you might need a plan B.” 

• A grandfather who taught me how to manage money for the long term, the true cost of debt, and the value of saving early and often. 

• A grandmother who taught me how to keep myself on a budget. 

So, what does that have to do with anything? 

Well, life is highly dependent on opportunities and choices. For most of us, the world runs on money and the job market runs on skills. When you have financial security, you have more choices. Likewise, when you have more skills, you have more choices. When you have both, you have a degree of freedom to take chances when life hands you opportunities. 

I’ve been fortunate to have both, and that has enabled me to reinvent myself intentionally and unintentionally multiple times. I’ve navigated multiple market downturns, moved to other countries, transitioned from public to private sector, and from programmer to product manager and then to leadership. 

Now that you have a little context, let's fast-forward.  

The jobs market has been a total shitshow for the last 18 months. I’m a tech worker, and on average, we have been incredibly fortunate over the last 30 years. Yet, even the techies have suffered in this economy; those of us of middle-age and middle management tiers even more so. This year was my year to choose personal well-being over my financial compensation, and it was the first time in my life that I have chosen to slow down rather than speed up. I quit my high paying job to take a sabbatical. NUTS right? Yeah, it probably was crazy, irresponsible and a bunch of other things; but I had finally come to that point where I knew I needed a reset. I could not imagine continuing to work another 20 years, given the way I was feeling and the sheer weight of it all. I knew something needed to change, even if it meant working for another 30 years at something different! 

I was ready. 

Courtesy of Madrina Molly (my former financial planner and current mentor), I had squirreled away a “Forget You Fund,” (also called a F**k You Fund) that she convinced me needed to be totally separate from my retirement, emergency, vacation and other buckets. The freedom of knowing you have a year of money in the bank is priceless. 

I’m a data girl, and I had been tracking the experiences of people in my field; I was consistently observing a 6- to 9-month timeframe to find work. I figured I could roll the dice and take a 3-month sabbatical and then re-enter the market with reasonable confidence. I might take a haircut on salary; but I calculated that I could pay my bills making an entry level salary, so I could afford to be paid less if needed. I also have a safety net in the form of a spouse who pays 50% of the bills and provides health insurance, and I have a cost of living that doesn’t consume my full income. So, I asked myself, “If not now, then when?” 

Was I scared? Terrified! I mean, what would fill my days if not work? 

My friends were mainly either working with me or working elsewhere. And most of them don’t live in the same city, state or country. That’s not a big deal when you spend all your time between work and family. But the prospect of that much downtime and getting lost in the “what do I do with myself doom spiral” was truly daunting for me. 

My son is a teenager. And the look on his face said it all when I told him I was taking a sabbatical: “Do NOT be up in my business all day!” I tried to weasel out of taking the leap by asking my employer for a chance to work part-time for a few months, to take an extra-long vacation, etc. But, at the end of the day, my requests didn’t make sense for the business. I had to make a choice.  

So, I quit my job in a bad economy, and here’s what happened: 

• My resting heart rate dropped 10 bpm. 

• I started sleeping again. 

• I found my curiosity again. 

• I began liking people again. 

• I took stock of what mattered to me. 

• I realized that there are specific criteria I need to be looking for in my work environment because it's not the hours or the pressure that grind me down. 

I felt revived, and I started to come out of my hermit crab shell, making an effort to network and talk to people in and out of my field: employed, unemployed, starting businesses, etc. I was curious about starting my own consulting business but afraid I just didn’t have what it takes to be responsible for everything. 

One call led to another until I spoke to a woman who had made this leap a few years earlier. She confirmed she was happier, and she gave me the broad strokes of how she got started. She also gave me inspiration and insight into a market opportunity for execution-oriented fractional executives. 

That idea lit up my brain.  

I had been working with my coach on what I loved doing and believed I had marketable value in versus what I would do for money but would rather not do. Focusing on helping teams get clarity on issues impacting their execution, solving critical problems in their product strategy, and putting them on the right path to get things done (Mary Poppins-style) has been the part of each of my roles that brought me the most satisfaction. I’ve actually daydreamed about being a Mary Poppins for software startups. If not now, then when? 

Why not? 

That was five months ago. First, I took a long vacation. After my first month of “sabbatical,” I started working my first contract here at Madrina Molly™, building out a community to help women over 50 become confident in managing their money to get what they want. I created my own LLC and continued networking. I’m enjoying the flexibility of contract work. It allows me to pay my bills and limit the erosion of my savings while giving me time to spend with my high school son (when he allows it) for whom I work as an unpaid taxi driver. 

I have seen a bunch of sunrises and learned to make the most of my time at work and outside work. I now have the time and energy to put into building a roadmap for myself and my future beyond the cycle of sleep, eat, work, repeat. I have time and energy to take a class in Applied AI and to write. But, most importantly, I have the time and energy for people. 

The support of my network has been tremendous, from regular calls with others who are on a similar path, to those who are already working on their second acts, or simply changing roles. I have been overwhelmed with the helpfulness of others in referring me to new conversations that might bear fruit.

Today, I am proud to say that I have a thriving fractional executive practice with multiple clients that is MORE than paying my bills. Who knows what the future will hold? For now, I am content, working with great clients on exciting projects, and helping them bring their dreams to life. 

I feel like I could do this for another 30 years. 

All I needed to do was STOP. Having a strong financial and educational foundation plus solid work experience made it possible. 

What’s your plan? 

You can reach out to Rachel Bland at LinkedIn.  

If you’re a Woman of a Certain Age(ncy) who would like to share the story of your #StepAwayCareer, let us know at wisdom@madrinamolly.com. #WeRescueOurselves #NotYoungNotDone 

Copyright © Madrina Molly, LLC 2024. All rights reserved.

The information contained herein and shared by Madrina Molly™ constitutes financial education and not investment or financial advice.

Sherry Finkel Murphy, CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, is the Founder and CEO of Madrina Molly, LLC. 

Related Posts