I QUIT MY JOB!

I QUIT MY JOB! Wow. Just writing that it still feels a little surreal. I quit my job! For those of you that may not know, I’ve had a full-time job in Corporate America as a Sales Executive for the last nine years on top of running the blog (and being a mom and a wife and all of that other good stuff). This decision has been a long time coming and I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to of finally gone through with it.

A little back story

I graduated college in May 2010 and by August 2010 I started working for a company as a Sales Executive. I felt pretty lucky to get this job considering you were supposed to have 3-5 years business to business sales experience (I barely had any being fresh out of college). I took it very seriously and worked extremely hard to prove myself. I started this job a day after my 22nd birthday and was by far the youngest person in the office so it was important to me that I went above and beyond to be professional, mature and knowledgable about our business. Over the last 9 years I experienced different managers, a merger, being bought out by another company, new systems, new teammates, service issues, thousands of customer phone calls and meetings, success, failure, incredible friendships, countless awards, recognition, five Presidents Clubs, promotion opportunities and so much more. I got engaged, married and had a baby all while working for this company. So much has gone on while being in this job and one of those things is this blog.

Why I started the blog…

A few years into my job of day in and day out corporate sales life I started to yearn for a creative outlet. Blogging wasn’t really a thing in 2013. There were a few people here and there but it definitely was nowhere near what it is now. I thought I couldn’t possibly put myself out there on the internet sharing my thoughts or pictures?! I mean who cares what I have to say and I’m definitely not a model… how embarrassing would it be if someone from my job or someone I knew saw it?!

Despite my insecurities and fear of embarrassment (along with some positive nudging from my husband and brother), I started this blog to share my affordable style (AKA everything I got at T.J. Maxx or on clearance at Loft, H&M, Zara, etc.) and write about local happy hours (yes, like “go here for $2 mimosas” and “this place has $5 pizza on Wednesdays!”). I didn’t start my blog to make money or gain any sort of recognition. I started it because I truly needed something creative and wanted to explore that different side of myself. And let me tell you, it doesn’t get more different from talking about compliance laws, negotiating contracts, running meetings, etc. and then going home and writing about a dress you scored for $12.99 or a new happy hour spot you’re loving for it’s $3 glasses of wine.

Too much…

Ita’s been almost six years since I started The Fashion Hour (does the name make sense now? Fashion… and happy hours… The Fashion Hour. Don’t judge. Naming a blog is harder than it seems). But anyway my point is I have been doing both for a LONG time but the last 2-3 years have been pretty hard on me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life and am so grateful to be in the position I’ve been in to where I have a successful job and a growing blog that brings in new opportunities everyday. But the reality is there’s only so much time in a day. To work, blog, be a wife, have somewhat of a social life, and now most importantly be a mom. There’s just not enough time to do it all. You can plan and organize and try everything you can to maximize your time each day but eventually it’s just too much. I can’t tell you how many times I almost had nervous breakdowns from taking on too much. While my corporate job was flexible (I only had to be in the office two days a week and worked from home or was out in my territory running meetings the rest of the time), at the end of the day it’s sales and your number starts at zero every single week. I was known for being one of the top reps so not only did I need to perform but I needed to consistently perform at the highest level. It’s a lot of pressure and it’s not a job that really shuts off. Much like blogging. It’s 24/7. You’re always connected. You always need to be available and ON. I juggled everything the best I could but this last year I started to hit my limit…

When Mila was born…

Everything changed when Mila was born. My priorities, my thoughts, how I approached my day, everything. I so badly didn’t want to go back to work after having her but knew it wasn’t the right time to quit. I felt so fulfilled being with her everyday at home and working on the blog here and there during naps and at night, I just wanted to do that. As hard as it was nursing a newborn, barely sleeping, working and running the blog, I didn’t really gain full clarity until a few months ago. I had talked A LOT about quitting. A conversation Ita and I have had a hundred times and for the record he always told me to go for it. I would say at least a solid two years now he has told me to quit. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I have always been a pretty responsible person and in my head I thought I was being selfish if I were to give up this job. This income. This security. Ita works for himself so it’s not like me and Mila could just hop on his insurance. And wouldn’t that be risky having both of us self-employed? And what if I don’t make enough blogging? Am I really going to walk away from a six-figure job where I’ve made a name for myself and have job security for years to come?

YES! The answer was yes. Because as cheesy as it may sound we only get one life and I didn’t want to spend it doing something I wasn’t passionate about any longer. I’ve learned a lot about myself over the last few years and one thing I can tell you is that I care more about working towards something I believe in than having a consistent paycheck. It’s amazing how making money from doing something you love feels SO much better than making money from something you’re not that passionate about. 

Could I have stayed at my job? Probably. Would it have negatively effected my health, mood, time with my family and business? Most definitely. I loved my coworkers but I did not love the job and I did not love what juggling it all did to my physical and mental health. So I chose to take this leap into kind of an unknown. My last day was a little over a week ago and while it still hasn’t fully hit me that I actually quit… I have felt a little lighter this past week. I didn’t have anxiety going to bed Sunday night thinking about a Monday morning meeting or people I need to call back or a number to hit. Waking up and being able to plan my day how I want and spend more time with Mila and actually cook a decent dinner for once felt pretty amazing. 

What’s Next?

Everything is still so new but I’m hoping to implement little changes here and there that lead to a more balanced life for me and my family. Now that I’ll be working on the blog full-time I need to come up with a better structure to my week (unlike before when I basically worked all day and night – side note it’s 1:30 in the morning and I’m writing this so clearly haven’t gotten a good schedule down yet ha). If you didn’t know, we don’t have Mila in daycare and don’t have a nanny. For the last few months she’s gone to my parents house a couple of afternoons a week but other than that it’s been me and Ita. We’re looking into getting her in some sort of school a few days a week but haven’t found anything yet. I’m excited to get some sort of routine down and really dive in with everything I have. There are so many ideas and so many things I’ve talked about doing here on the blog for so long and I’m just excited to finally have the time to put them into action. I’m excited to connect with you all more and provide truly helpful and inspiring content. I wouldn’t be in this position without you and whether you’re relatively new here or have been here from the beginning, I’m just grateful you’re here. And grateful for the journey all of this has taken me on. I couldn’t have imagined in a million years what started as a creative outlet and hobby could turn into something I do as my full-time job. I’m not sure where this journey will take me next but I know in my heart I made the right choice and will live a happier life because of it. 

I hope you know no matter where you are in life, it’s never too late to change your path. So many inspiring quotes come to mind that have driven me the last few years so I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites but I have even more in this post from January (it’s probably obvious by reading some of these quotes where my head was at back then!). 

And to those of you who thought I was announcing I was pregnant with baby number 2… I’m sorry to disappoint you ? maybe next year. ☺️

THANK YOU FOR READING!!

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Photos by: Angie Garcia