Breaking Free from the Corporate Grind

The familiar tale of leaving a typical corporate job only to keep the workday ongoing as an entrepreneur resonates with many. But for me, the emotional investment is different because it's my own venture, it's intimately connected to who I am.

I now immerse myself in activities close to my heart: engaging with the surfing community and crafting exciting brand narratives, all opportunities I never dreamed of as a corporate data analyst. The stakes are high, and so are the rewards, but the liberty and creativity involved make the journey worthwhile.

The Reality Behind Consulting

Fresh from UCLA in 2014, I embarked on my professional journey as a business technology analyst at Deloitte, thinking it would be a dynamic experience filled with travel.

Yet, my final assignment at Deloitte consisted of daily two-hour commutes through San Francisco traffic to Walnut Creek. This commute tested my endurance more than the role itself, and I recognized the limited authority I had over project choices wasn't fulfilling.

In San Francisco, the buzzing tech scene nudged me to explore new career directions. While still with Deloitte, I pursued opportunities in the tech sector, ultimately securing a marketing analyst position at Salesforce in early 2016. My adeptness with Excel, honed at Deloitte, proved critical and smoothed my transition into this tech landscape.

The Pressures of Data Analytics

While Salesforce introduced me to data analytics, I soon realized marketing wasn’t my passion. Eager to delve deeper, I shifted into business operations, reveling in strategy and analytics roles across various departments, including Yelp.

The prospect of combining my data expertise with human-driven analytics led me to Cruise in mid-2019. Here, my role aligned closely with my interest in people-focused decision-making.

Despite gaining diverse expertise, the unrelenting nature of data analytics took its toll. The demand for instant, error-free insights meant late nights and early mornings dedicated to perfecting reports for executive presentations. The ongoing tension and constant perfectionism eventually caught up with me.

At its peak, my stress manifested in anxious dreams about formula corrections—pondering misplaced decimals or repeated calculations, fears that seemingly minor mistakes could overturn entire datasets. This level of scrutiny gradually became unsustainable.

Transitioning to Entrepreneurship

While still at Cruise, I embarked on a coaching certification at the Coactive Training Institute. By August 2020, amid the pandemic’s throes, the isolation and burnout motivated me to exit my corporate role for a full-time coaching career.

Shortly thereafter, I launched Daily Work Journal, a brand of notebooks, marking my initial step into e-commerce. I managed this endeavor until its sale in early 2024.

Post-sale, I rekindled an old passion—surfing—which serendipitously became my next business venture as Surfers Jewelry. Its e-commerce foundation was a familiar landscape, and the idea effortlessly blended my leisure and professional interests.

My current focus is on the jewelry business, where I engage in creative marketing and interaction with the surfing community. Coaching, now a sideline, surfaces occasionally when past clients reach out.

Words of Wisdom for Future Entrepreneurs

My counsel to aspiring entrepreneurs is to first cultivate a career within corporate structures. This background forms a specialization edge crucial for later entrepreneurial success.

The acumen obtained in data analytics serves me daily, underpinning my confidence in the financial judgment of my business ventures. Mastery over comprehensive business perspectives allows me to negotiate assertively without outsourcing these tasks.

Reflecting on my journey, this entrepreneurial path was previously unimaginative compared to my peers persisting in corporate roles. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I embraced entrepreneurship, and now, it's where I truly belong.