"I QUIT MY JOB TO START A BUSINESS" | What Nobody Tells You & How to Build It YOUR Way, with Alex McCarthy

What really happens after you quit your job to start a business? Alex McCarthy shares the messy, unexpected middle between leaving the “safe” path and building a business — and life — that actually fits YOU.Everyone loves the entrepreneur story of "I quit my job to start a business" but not everyone shares the emotional journey that comes with becoming an entrepreneur. Here’s the part we don’t talk about enough: sometimes you leave the wrong path before you know exactly what the right one looks like.That’s what happened to Alex McCarthy.After a career in export sales — including her claim to fame of selling over a million pounds of green bananas (love that!) — Alex knew the path she was on wasn’t the one she wanted long-term. So she left, bought a one-way ticket to Asia and started figuring out what she actually wanted work and life to look like.What came next wasn’t a perfectly packaged entrepreneur story.It was travel. Meeting digital nomads. Using her existing network. Pitching herself before she felt completely ready. A former employer unexpectedly becoming her first client. And eventually turning down the opportunity to return to her old job WITH A PROMOTION, because she wanted to gives this whole entrepreneurship thing a try!We get into the reality of your first year of business, finding those first clients, making decisions without knowing exactly where they’ll lead, and building a business around your lifestyle instead of creating another job you eventually want to escape from.In this female entrepreneur podcast episode:What actually happens after you quit your job to start a business — especially when you don’t have the perfect planHow Alex found her first client by using the network she already hadThe less glamorous reality of navigating your first year of businessWhy Alex batched an entire year of podcast episodes while pregnant to stay visible without needing to constantly show up onlineHow to start building a business around your lifestyle, values and version of successListen for...a reminder that you don’t have to know exactly where your business is going to go before you start, pivot or scale. And more importantly: if you're leaving a career because it doesn't fit the life you want, don't automatically build yourself a business that doesn't fit either.About the Guest:Alex McCarthy is a business coach and podcast host of My Kind of Business, where she helps solo business owners and small teams build businesses that fit their lives — not the other way around.Her approach is rooted in freedom, creativity and a personal definition of success — especially useful when you’re in those first few years of business and everyone else’s version of “making it” starts to cloud out what YOU want. Connect with Alex McCarthyWebsite: https://www.alexmccarthycoaching.com/Podcast: My Kind of BusinessNext Steps:Share this episode with a friendListen to next: The Biggest Mind F*ck of My Life | Leaving My Job to Start a Business (ep 25)Rate and Review to share your supportRESOURCESPRIVATE PODCAST: Secrets of Standing Out Online www.herfirst3years.com Instagram: @chardetryelPROGRAMS & FREE TRAININGS Start Your PodcastGrow Your PodcastLearn How to Be a Guest on Podcasts