MSG Presents: Characters From Corporate: I Want To Leave Corporate But My Family Is Counting On Me

In this Characters From Corporate segment, we hear from a 50-year-old Black woman in Ashburn, Virginia who has spent 25 years building a successful career as a senior-level paralegal at a global law firm. On paper, everything looks solid. She’s respected, experienced, and financially stable. But behind the title and the benefits, she’s exhausted and wrestling with a question a lot of people in corporate quietly carry.

She’s started a small business on the side that gives her more energy and purpose than her day job, but it is not making enough money yet to feel safe. And with a family depending on her, walking away from stability feels less like freedom and more like a gamble.

This conversation gets into the tension between security and calling, the fear of betting on yourself later in life, and what it means when the life you built no longer feels like the life you want.

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Transcript

MSG Presents Characters From Corporate: I Want To Leave Corporate But My Family Is Counting On Me.

[00:00:00] Eric: All right, let's get to this man. Let's get to the last segment of today, which is, characters from corporate.

[00:00:06] Eric: This is my favorite. I just love doing this. Uh, if you're new to this show, characters from Corporate is us giving our take on a corporate situation that you've been dealing with that you want some insight on. Today's is, I'm a 50-year-old black woman, black woman living in Ash Burn, Virginia, Ashburn, Virginia, and shout out to Ashburn.

[00:00:28] Eric: I'm sorry. I should have mentioned you all when we're talking about the growth, you had a lot of streams and downloads too, from Ashburn, Virginia. It's about 45 minutes outside of dc So in the, in the suburbs, you know, the, that area. Thank you for tuning in. She says, I've been in corporate for 25 years as a senior level paralegal at a global law firm.

[00:00:50] Eric: I've mastered my job doing corporate real estate transactions, and on paper I'm doing well, good salary, strong benefits, and a reputation for being the one who [00:01:00] always steps in and gets things done. But the truth is, she says, Stu, I'm tired. What used to feel like being dependable now feels like I'm being used.

[00:01:11] Eric: I'm helping more important work move forward, but when it's time for recognition or more money, I'm expected to just keep delivering. I'm starting to feel like my value is being used to keep me exactly where I am. I've started a small consulting business on the side, and honestly, that world gives me more life than my actual job.

[00:01:30] Eric: The problem is I'm not bringing in much revenue yet. I have a family that depends on me. So even though I keep thinking about leaving corporate, I'm scared of what happens if I take that leap and the business doesn't go well. How do you know when there's really time to leave and the risk is, or the risk is just too high for the people counting on you?

[00:01:50] Eric: Wow, that is heavy for sure. All.

[00:01:56] @ProfessorStew: a lifelong, yeah, as a lifelong [00:02:00] entrepreneur, entrepreneurship is not for the weak. It's not for the faint at heart. Particularly when you're starting out. Many people never make it to the point of trust as an entrepreneur where you can trust the revenue, that you'll make enough money to pay people.

[00:02:20] @ProfessorStew: And yourself. Most people don't make it that far in entrepreneurship. The small majority, the small minority of people do make it to that point. And so on that, it's like it's, you would, you could say it's never a good time unless you had deep pockets to sustain yourself for, you know, 10 years before you know that you can survive off of your entrepreneurial endeavors. Or you get that, know, eight figure, in injection, right. Sometimes you're thrust into entrepreneurship. You're, you're, you're, you're forced into it of [00:03:00] the circumstances that are beyond your control. So. You know, I think you hold on to your job as long as you can and try to do both as long as you can until you realize that it is one, is not sustainable, whether it's your job or whether it's the endeavor. And that's when you know. than that, you gotta have some real thick skin and some real strong bones in order to jump out here. But I will also tell you this, if you jump out there and if you have faith in God, and if you jump out there, you'll make it, you will make it. It won't always be easy, but you'll make it.

[00:03:39] @ProfessorStew: What do you say, E you are, you're a lifelong entrepreneur. What do you say?

[00:03:43] Eric: Yeah, I like what you said, brother. I mean, for me it comes down to, your financial position, you know, and even if you got a 401k that can be tapped, I would say don't be afraid to do that if it's coming down [00:04:00] to a stew, because we all been in a situation where your health is starting to be affected. So what's the point in having this really great 401k, but then by the time you're able to use it, you're in such bad health that it doesn't even, it's not even a good quality of life.

[00:04:16] Eric: So I'll say view your 401k as potentially a source of a loan, right? You could pay it back. I'd also say for the people who are depending on you, again, if corporate is becoming so much that it's gonna affect you and your quality of life and your health. Think about that too before you jump, you know, before you say, nah, I'm not going to do it.

[00:04:35] Eric: 'cause you might stay in corporate and still not be there for your family. Something to think about.

[00:04:42] @ProfessorStew: I heard you say that your happiness is, IM as important as, um, the work that you're doing. That's what I heard.

[00:04:52] Eric: Happiness and that health man, which is tied, right? The health, if it is hard to be happy when you're not healthy [00:05:00] because it's hard.

[00:05:01] @ProfessorStew: when you ain't healthy.

[00:05:03] Eric: It's hard. And that's a good t-shirt, but we need to put that on.

[00:05:06] @ProfessorStew: to be happy if you ain't healthy.

[00:05:07] Eric: It's hard to be happy when you ain't healthy man. So, and then I like, so, uh, Ashburn, Virginia sister. I really like the fact that you already started the business, so now you can kind of figure out does this thing have any traction?

[00:05:20] Eric: I'll just give you this one tip though. If you're doing any white collar work, it has to have AI integrated into it. I, I don't care who you are. I'm telling you, you've gotta integrate in AI and you've gotta be well versed in AI these days to launch a business.

[00:05:36] @ProfessorStew: Hey man. Come on brother. Come

[00:05:38] Eric: Yeah.

[00:05:38] @ProfessorStew: And I,

[00:05:39] Eric: Yes, sir.

[00:05:40] @ProfessorStew: right there. Real spill, brother.

[00:05:42] Eric: Yeah, so sister, figure it out.

[00:05:44] Eric: You know, you can always hit us up to talk more, but thank you for that submission. Um, Stu, this has been a really good conversation, man.