EP 166: Leaving Corporate American To Reach My Stock Market Goals

You can also listen to "EP 166: Leaving Corporate American To Reach My Stock Market Goals" on Spotify, ApplePodcasts, Iheartradio, and Stitcher.

Imagine the feeling of leaving corporate America, quitting your full-time job, and fulfilling your dreams. In this episode, I do things a bit different. I record the podcast while walking around Birmingham, Michigan. I share some personal insights and experiences about my journey in becoming a full-time business owner and trader. I also discuss the challenges that I wasn't prepared for when leaving my corporate job, such as loneliness, missing my coworkers, finding the right work-life balance, and the shifting significance of weekends. 

One of the first things that hit me after quitting my corporate job was the overwhelming sense of loneliness. Initially, the idea of not having to report to a desk job or answer to a boss felt liberating. However, I quickly found myself in the middle of the day with no one to interact with. My friends were busy working their 9-to-5 jobs, and there I was, cutting my grass alongside a retired neighbor.

The loneliness was an unexpected challenge. Unlike traditional workplaces where you have colleagues and coworkers to chat with, vent to, or grab lunch with, being a full-time entrepreneur can be isolating. To combat this, I joined entrepreneurial groups like the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) in Detroit, which provided the community and interaction I needed.

Another misconception I had was thinking I’d work all day, every day. Initially, I set out to create a business model that allowed me to be financially independent without the need to work full-time. However, with so much time on my hands, I pondered whether putting in more hours would accelerate growth. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

When I started working all day, I didn’t see the returns I had hoped for. The stock market and business growth have their own rhythms and timelines, independent of how many hours you put in. In fact, staring at stock charts all day often led me to second-guess my investments, proving the law of diminishing returns in a very personal way.

Once I left my job in corporate America, weekends lost their significance. When you're free to set your schedule, every day can feel like a Saturday, which was both liberating and disorienting. The excitement of TGIF faded because there was no grind to escape from anymore. On the other hand, Mondays, which used to be dreaded, became an exciting fresh start, especially since they marked the reopening of the stock market.

Transitioning from corporate America to a life of full-time entrepreneurship and trading has been a journey of unexpected challenges and personal growth. I hope sharing these experiences provides insight into the realities of this lifestyle. Join me on my walk around Birmingham, Michigan, where I reconnect with the world around me and even stumble upon a fellow listener. Tune in to the full episode below:

[00:00:00] Left corporate job to be a trader, discusses misconceptions about entrepreneurship and success.

[00:03:07] A man reflects on his mundane day.

[00:08:50] Entrepreneur wanted to build a business and investments to work part-time, but ended up working full-time without much growth.

[00:13:45] Gaining visibility and investment timing cannot be expedited.

[00:17:02] Continuous monitoring changes views, neglecting long-term investment perspective.

[00:19:39] Struggling with working 9 to 5 after escaping it.

[00:21:29] Being a business owner requires discipline and a structured schedule, despite the lack of immediate consequences.

[00:27:13] Discussing adapting to freelance life, seeking new environments for work, and networking for support and perspective.