The Art of the Smart Quit: Drea Lynn's Blueprint for Intentional Career Moves

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with Curveball. If you believe, you can achieve.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast. A show where I interview a guest that teach, motivate, and inspire. Today's guest is someone who knows what it's like to walk away from a life that look successful on paper and rebuild on the ground. Andrea Land is a attorney, a former CO, entrepreneur, American strategist, and author. After walking away from the Corporate America and anything unexpected challenges including the fake fan of the dead. Andrea framework to help people. So we're going to be talking to Drea about that framework and everything that she's up to and gonna be up to. So Drea, thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

No, thank you for having me. You never get used to hearing a bio. I was like, who is he talking about? All the all the things. I don't feel old enough for some of that.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Yeah, you definitely have a uh amazing bio in your own words. Why don't you tell start off by telling people a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's so funny because most of my life has felt like these disjointed, you know, pieces you hear kind of like, oh, you were attorney. Oh, somehow I was in operations. I actually was in church ministry for some years, and uh none of the pieces necessarily felt like they um fit together until kind of I got into a consultant role working with um entrepreneurs and uh small business and medium business owners, where every single part, I mean, uh the analytical skills of being an attorney, the people skills when I was in ministry, the operational skills, like every single piece of what I've done, all of it made sense. And so it's just so funny how like you have these puzzle pieces, I call it, or you know, almost even like broken pieces that fit together to kind of bring me to where I am today. Um, so yeah, that's that's kind of what what brings me here, or all those different experiences I've had in my life.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Well, I know you you had a successful career that looked successful outside uh everybody else, but on the inside, something different was happening for you. So talk about what was going on inside while everything looked great on the outside.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Yeah, and and I will say I think it was successful, even because I, you know, I wouldn't be where I am today if it were not for where I was. So I would never um dilute or minimize you know where my journey was, but I did find it to a place where you know you look around and you should feel fulfilled, you should feel like I've arrived and I I'm I something's missing. And and that's where I found myself. And you know, I never, and when I say never, I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. I enjoyed working for someone else, you know, getting a paycheck. And you know, I've always I always say, you know, having that what I thought was stability, you know, I made enough money, you know, I had enough freedom where I thought that was okay. And then, you know, five or six years ago, there was just something in me that started stirring that I just wanted to build. I wanted to, you know, really uh have ownership. And um yeah, I just I had to make a move. And so I really what I thought I started putting a plan together that was going to be a successful exit, and and I really took a you know, that first step of faith into um kind of ownership. I ended up purchasing a consulting franchise, and so that was that was my first step out of um kind of the corporate world into entrepreneurship.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Well, I know a lot of people stay in careers due to income, status, or security. So what are the first uh warning signs that a person should uh perform a smart quit?

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Yeah, and and this one of the things I talk about because you know, there is this fallacy that this job brings you stability. You know, you're like, okay, you're at a job and um, you know, you have this paycheck come in, so you have all this stability, you feel that way. But if you really think about it, you would think about all the things that you don't control. Think about when you come in and you might have a new boss or you might be letting being let go, your company might be being sold. Like there is a lot that's out of your control when you are working for someone else. And I will say this too. I I'm never bashing, and that's why I was talking through kind of where I appreciate my experiences because I'm also not saying, oh, everybody, you know, quit, you know, don't work for someone else because as an entrepreneur, you kind of need people to work for you too. So I'm I'm never bashing the workplace, but I am saying you should take an internal look. And if you're having a moment where the job that you were so excited to go to, you're having a little trouble kind of bouncing through the door per usual, or if you feel like you've outgrown your role, if you feel like potentially, you know, you're no longer appreciated, um, if the company culture has changed, sometimes that occurs. Um, all of those are signs, and and it's it's interesting because you will you will feel yourself because it it will feel you will feel the fear of not wanting to leave what is familiar, but you will know that it's time and you will get stuck. It's this thing I call this stuck cycle that you will keep cycling through it, where you'll kind of you'll start to resent yourself for staying, but then you're like, oh, I'm not ready to go. And but then you'll start to feel it again. And and until you take that leap and say something has to change, um, you'll just keep cycling through it, you know, over and over again. And so uh that that that's really what it looks like.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Well, I know when you left the corporate world, things didn't go as expected or as planned, including six figures of debt. So talk about uh what was going through your mind emotionally and professionally, and how did you manage to rebuild finally?

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Well, yes, and and let me tell some details of my exit. So I am a planner, so this was not me making some emotional jump of, you know, I'm just gonna quit my job. So I and to be quite honest, I had worked for some not the greatest entrepreneurial companies, and so it was it was time for me to go. God made it really clear. And I had, you know, saved up about six to eight months of runway of um kind of money where you know I could sustain. And I had, I thought, enough relational capital with the company that I was working for, where I would be able to transition out of that role as I was building up my comp as I was building my business. And so, you know, my idea would be, you know, as my role would transition over, you know, three to six months, I would be slowly getting clients in my in my business, which was this consulting business, that I had zero clients, so I had nothing coming in in this business. So I went to my company just to let them know that this is what you know I was considering. At this time, I said considering. I I actually I had made the decision, but I didn't even tell them, you know, this is what I had decided. And this was a Tuesday. I told them I was making this, you know, kind of considering this, starting my own um consulting business, which was in a similar industry as them. And they came back and said, you know, they thought it would be great and that Friday would be my last day. And I was like, uh, now that was not a part of my plan. So, so this perfect plan that I had, um, you know, that was that was kind of like the first pivot where I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a minute. I no, no, no. This is supposed to be three to six months, you know, transition out of my job. So that was part one. Part two is I have been exceptional with anything that I've done. So of course, you know, starting this business, I'm thinking, um, you know, maybe, you know, I don't know, a month to get a client, you know, at best, you know, maybe two months to get a client. And truly, my first client came at about four months. And even then, it was a, I want to say it was a discounted fee just because I really needed to get some momentum. But it really took about 18 months to get my business to a place where um I really saw it building to where it was sustainable, and that was not the plan. And so literally what I had anticipated, what was going to be this smooth, you know, kind of building of a business, it was nothing like I had imagined. And now, in hindsight, and this is where writing smart quick came from, there were just so many things that I could have done different, and I could have seen the role that I was in differently when I was making that transition. And so that literally is where my heart and passion came from when I took my own experience in my story. Because I was like, listen, learn from me and what I did. So you don't have to, you know, go from this um, you know, full, full kind of I don't know, literally, I don't know. I it it was a it it it was a roller coaster down before I it went back up. So yeah, and that's what it looked like.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Well, I know your message is quitting strategically instead of impulsively. So uh talk about what is the difference between running away from something versus moving intentionally towards something better.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Yeah, absolutely. And and just to explain the smart quit title, the tagline is smart quit, cash in, clock out. And there is intentionality in the tagline because there's a piece of it where the smart quit is about quitting, but it's also talking about quitting a mentality that your job is just about bringing in a paycheck and then getting out and clocking out as soon as possible. Because to answer your question, the first part about quitting strategically is working strategically. And whatever job that you're in, there is a lot more that you should be getting out of it than a paycheck. There are relationships that you should be building. There are relationships with bosses, there are relationships with clients, there are relationships with coworkers. These could be your future clients in your business, these could be future customers, these could be future partners. You don't know who these could be, but a lot of times we are so just going to work, doing our job, that we are not intentional about hmm, what could I get out of this? I have this um story about a girlfriend of mine, and she was just in a very entry-level position at Bank of America, and she had an interaction with a client that changed the trajectory of her career. Like she literally two days later quit her job from that conversation because of the impact that that um customer had on her life. And so you just never know. So that's the first one, relationships. But then also there are certain systems that you should be learning. And so I have this thing where I say, even if you are the fry cook at McDonald's, you are working in a billion-dollar company. You should be looking around you. Like, what could you be learning from this place? Like, there are so many things that you should be like, oh, look, here, uh, this is how they do this. Oh, listen, this is this is what marketing looks like. Oh, listen, this is what um uh HR looks like. Because if you don't learn it on your company's dime, you're gonna have to learn it if you become an entrepreneur and build your business. It will have to be learned. You know, one of the things we say uh working now with entrepreneurs is if you find a successful entrepreneur who did not build correctly and built quickly, they really succeeded in spite of themselves. And there will be a time as they scale that they will hit a ceiling that they will have to slow down and really operationalize what they did. And so if you start off the right way, because you learned these things from whatever um from whatever business that you were already working in, because they already had it figured out, that that's even better than you trying to figure it out yourself. And so after you have your um, after you have your relationships, after you say, hey, these are the systems and the operations. And the last thing are if you have skills while you're working. And so there are certifications, employees have um dollars for education that people can go to. There's just so much that you can get when you're working in terms of asking, hey, what can I be doing to elevate myself in this position where it could set me up for success? And so, really, the smart quit is about what are you doing now when you're working? Because your smart quit might be six months from now, but it may be three years from now, if that is what is strategically smart for where you want to go. Because the idea is how do you leave on purpose and not in panic? And that really is the heart behind what that looks like.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Well, talk to the listeners about your book, you know, tell us what what we can expect when we read it and where to get it from.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Yeah, absolutely. So smart quit is really talking about um you're making sure that you are living your dream, that your dream is big, and that your job can be your investor. We never think of where we're working right now as actually your first investor in whatever you're doing. If you think about my story, I was premature in going to my company. They invested nothing in my business because literally three days after I shared the news that I was about to start something, it was over. But if I go back and think of had I done things differently, there was an investment that I could have had my company make into what I had next. And so that is what Smart Quit lays out for you. It lays out the steps for one, what to do as you are working. And, you know, maybe you want to start your business as a side hustle as you are still working. Maybe that is the smart way. Because also it does depend on what do you have as responsibilities. You know, if you have a family and kids, it is it probably is not responsible for you to just up and say, Oh, I'm just gonna quit and go start a business. You know, it all of that matters. And so I I walk you through these four phases: prepare, position, pivot, and profit of hey, this is what smart quit looks like. And so you can pick it up anywhere that you can um pick up a book, Amazon, Barnes and Noble. There's an Audible, Kindle, Nook, uh, paperback hardcover. Um, so you can pick it up anywhere. Um, and also you can go to my website, how to smartquit.com, and um, you can visit the Smart Quit Academy, and there's even more resources where you can actually walk through um kind of um exercises and online resources for if this is a journey that you want to be on in your own Smart Quit.

SPEAKER_02 18:09

Well, what are some of the biggest mistakes you see professionals make when they want to start a new career or start something new?

SPEAKER_00 18:17

Uh making emotional decisions instead of data-driven decisions would be the first one. You know, there is a lot of decisions that you can make looking at things objectively. What of the, what are the what are the numbers telling you? You know, just because uh you love how something feels when you're doing it, that may not be a business. That may be a hobby on the side. That does not mean that there is not a business that you can make out of it, but you need to slow down, take a moment, and and let's really let's let's get some data behind what you are trying to build. The next one, and I actually just coached somebody on this yesterday. Um, it's a young lady, she's building a business, and she was just telling me how discouraged she was. And it was because she has built in three months a YouTube channel to about 35,000 subscribers, which you would say, well, why is she discouraged? Well, she's discouraged because she's just like, I should just be monetizing by now. And I had to remind her what they say about what is behind every overnight sensation. There is 10 years of the work that you don't see. And I think a lot of times people just think it's gonna happen overnight, and you really have to have your mind set up that it is going to take resilience, it is going to take dedication, it is going, it is going to take sleepless nights. It is, if if you are really going to start your own business, you have to be willing to sacrifice and give a lot. And you need to be willing to give more than what you're going to ask somebody else to give. And then the last thing I would say that I sometimes see that that um leads to people not being successful is people fearing failure. Failure is your friend. There are lessons learned out of failure because what happens is if you fear failure, you actually don't even take the risks that leads to your success. And so there is a strategic way to fail. So you don't have to just go out and just, you know, willy-nilly make bad decisions, but you have to be okay with making some hard decisions and know, you know what, this may not work, but I'm going to learn something from it that is probably going to lead to success. I say this, um, there's an exercise that um when I start working with somebody, I ask them to do. I asked them to go for a week. And every day, I need you to go and ask somebody for something that they can tell you no. Because as an entrepreneur, you need to become immune to the word no. Because you're probably going to get 100 to 200 no's before you get the yes that may change your life. But if you become so dejected or feeling rejected because you get a no, you will stop moving beyond where you need to move in terms of making your business successful because you're afraid of the next no. You know, when you hear about the Teslas and you hear about the Amazons, all of those people, they their beginning of their story was not successful. They were, nobody believed in them. They were stopping getting money, they were on the, they believed in themselves and they just refused to hear no. And so it is those people who, you know, they they become fearful of no's. And so those would be what I would say in terms of the biggest things that I see as barriers to people's success when they're first um starting out.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Well, tell us about any other upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

Yeah, so like I said, the book, Smart Quit Academy. I'm also working um about to start. Now, this is new. I don't know when this podcast is coming out. I don't know how, because this is still in the works.

SPEAKER_02 22:35

Um be at the beginning of September.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

Oh, okay, cool. That's probably good. Oh, actually, that's really good timing. Because I'm also um working on a program to work with universities because I definitely feel with where the economy is right now and just where even um the next generation is, some kids are having to graduate and take jobs that may not be their dream jobs, or even um, you know, there's a percentage of kids who are now choosing to be entrepreneurs versus going into the workplace. And the same smart quick principles apply. So, what are those relationships? What are those skills? What are those systems and operational things that you should be pulling on? As you are setting up these businesses, so you can set yourself up for success. And so I'm really trying to reach out to universities so we can put those programs into the school. You know, I think about both law school and, you know, undergrad and grad school for me, there's so much in terms of education that you get, but most training that you get for the jobs are on the jobs. I just think that it would be so great if when we're in our universities and colleges, we had these resources that would really help us when we were like in our businesses where we learned, oh, this is this is actually how I lead people. This is how I put together a business plan. This is how, this is how I set, you know, a 10-year vision, a three-year vision. This is how I um kind of put core values into my business. And and a lot of times you don't see things that are that narrowly focused in terms of um uh tactical or everyday things. And so that that's kind of my next project um that I'm passionate about. Um I'm pretty convinced I this is this is on subject, but kind of off-subject. I'm pretty convinced that um every entrepreneur has like over, I'll I'll say between 20 and 50 um like your URLs in their, you know, kind of account. And I say that only because you knew to ask me what else was in the works. Because it's something's always, I feel like somebody's uh if you're an entrepreneur, something's always brewing. You you're never, you know, you wake up three o'clock in the morning kind of excited because an idea just kind of hit you and you're like, I can't, you know, I can't sleep because I, you know, I want to get this off my uh my heart. So yeah, it's funny you asked that.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

And what was that website again?

SPEAKER_00 25:13

How to smartquit.com. How to smartquit.com.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

All right. So close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have for the listeners?

SPEAKER_00 25:26

Well, I just it's probably a word of encouragement. And that would be, I think there are people right now who are not where they would, you know, would be their dream place, or they would have thought, you know, I would be somewhere else right now, or you know, um, they may be wondering if their dreams would come true. And I would just like to encourage them that, you know, our lives are these puzzle pieces. And you may not see the full picture right now, but just know that what wherever you are, that it is going to be a part of whatever that full picture is, if you just really dig in and find whatever that purpose is or or whatever that is driving you, or what you were built for. And so never feel discouraged about where you are right now, just always keep on pursuing what you were built for, and wherever you are right now will play the part that it's supposed to play in where you're going. So that's just I would, that's what I would want to live, leave it with. And go pick up smart quit from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever you buy your books.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Yeah, and visit how to smartquit.com. And yes, for anybody out there looking for you know to to smart quit and strategically quit, follow rate review, share this episode to as many people as possible.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Yes, thank you so much for having me. This has been so great. Um, it's great speaking with you.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

Yeah, I appreciate it. And uh for anybody who hasn't done so, also visit w dot curveball337.com to keep up with all things living the dream. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Drea, thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_00 27:21

Thank you, Curtis.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit w dot curveball337.com. Until next time, keep living the dream.