Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Financial Planning & Building Your Safety Net When It Comes To A Career Change (Podcast Workshop Series Day 2) | Ep #131
Episode - #131
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Shannon Russell: On this episode of the podcast series, we're going to tackle financial planning and how you can build a safety net right now to prepare you for when you do make that pivot.

Hey, you, are you feeling stuck, desperate for a career change or thinking of starting a business, but you're just not sure how to make your first move? I'm television producer turned career coach, Shannon Russell, and this is the Second Act Success Career Podcast. This is where you will not only get the career advice you've been craving, but you'll get tips from career and business experts.

along with inspiration from others who have made a career transition to find second act success. Let's get started.

[00:00:44] Shannon Russell: Welcome back to day two of my five part podcast workshop series.

I am Shannon Russell career transition coach, and your host for this incredible workshop.

All week long, we are diving into the five ways [00:01:00] that you can make a fearless career change over 40. But whether you're in your forties, fifties, twenties, thirties, sixties, whatever it is, we are talking about strategies that can help benefit you. In your career in your business, in your life, it's all about just helping you become more confident and therefore fearless to take that leap into something new. .

If you are just joining me. I urge you to jump back to episode one 30, to start listening to this podcast workshop series from the beginning. On day one, that episode, we talked in depth about understanding your fears and assessing your risks when it comes to change. Today though, here on episode 1 31, we will be talking all about financial planning and how you can build your safety net so that you can be better prepared to move from where you are now to where you want to be, we all want to jump and leap and make that [00:02:00] change. But then reality sets in and we realize that money is something that we need and we need that security.

We need that stability. And really that is what we're diving into today on the episode.

Before we dive in, though, I want to remind you that I created a workbook that goes along with this podcast workshop series. You can grab it now at secondactsuccess.co/fearless. The workbook is packed with resources and note pages. So that you can jot down your ideas and strategies as you listen along. .

And I want to make sure that you are on my list so that you can get the invite to our live Q and a session happening this week on Thursday, April 25th. at 1:00 PM. Eastern time.

Like I said today is all about finances, a topic that none of us really like to talk about. Because it stresses us out.

But it's important to prepare for your change. I am [00:03:00] a big pop culture fan. I love movies, TV, anything pop culture. And every time I talked to someone in an interview or a client or a student of mine. We'll talk about just that dream. That dream of walking into your boss's office. Throwing down your papers and saying, I quit.

I want out I'm out of here. I'm done. I can't stand this place. I'm going out on my own. And it always reminds me of that scene in Jerry Maguire, where Tom cruise goes in and he says, I'm out, who's coming with me. And he causes this big hole to do and this huge scene. he's just overworking for the man.

He's going out on his own to create his own company. And. Everyone's just looking at him in shock because they are scared to do that too.

But It's a really incredible scene because that's what we all dream about. We dream about that. [00:04:00] forget all of this I'm outta here and this big dramatic exit. reality creeps in and we know that that is not what the majority of us can do because we have to support ourselves. We have a mortgage, we have a family, we have. Expenses, right. We need to work to earn money to live. That is how our world works. In this series, we are talking all about being fearless and empowering change and making it happen. Later in life where we've already been on this trajectory for our career, and we're at a different place where we don't necessarily want to keep running on that same. Career path and we want to change and have that freedom to do what feels best for us at this stage in life? ?

So let's talk about practical ways that we can plan ahead for a transition. For leaving that job, if that is what you choose in a [00:05:00] way that fits us better, that is a little bit more secure.

Okay.

What I would first advise you to do. Is take a realistic look at your finances. Go into your banking account. Check out your checking, your savings. What do you have to help you with this transition? Unless you have been actively searching for a new career or researching and already saving for your business, that you might open. You might not have a lot of savings ready to go.

And as we know there is no job that is guaranteed.

If you leave your current job and you go to try to look for something else, there's no guarantee that you're going to find something tomorrow. So the idea of really this financial planning and building the safety net that we're discussing. Is that you can feel more confident in case you get to a situation where you have some time off. Let's talk about that first scenario of really moving from one career to the next and [00:06:00] having some laps in paycheck time in between there. Really this advice that I'm about to give is pertinent advice for anyone who is working because no one's job in this day and age is guaranteed. There can be layoffs. there have been quite a bit of layoffs. Happening, I'm sure you've seen it on the news and in the press. Big corporations in New York city and Chicago and San Francisco are laying off.

So there's no guarantee that the job that you have today will be the job that you have tomorrow. And the same thing goes with business. There's no guarantee that your business is going to bring in the amount of money that your past salary provided.

And if you choose to leave your job to quit and look for something else, there is no guarantee that something else is going to come about in the next day, week, month, or even year.

We're building that safety net while we are working while we have a paycheck. So while you are working while you're earning that [00:07:00] paycheck, you should be thinking ahead Thinking about your backup plan. if you went to college, And you had maybe an art major or for me it was theater and communications. Everyone's told me, oh, you better have a backup plan.

And I hated that. I hated that idea. But I am going to be that person now who says you need a backup plan. If you have a job and you have a paycheck, now is the time to start planning ahead and have that backup plan in mind. What I mean by that is. Start planning your exit strategy, whether it's you or your boss that is going to create this exit strategy.

You are here. You are listening right now because you want to make a change.

That change is inevitable. So start planning now start thinking about what it is that you want to do. Start thinking about if you're going to have to. Get some more certifications, go back to school. If you're going to have to take a significant pay. Cut. Start saving and start figuring [00:08:00] out what you will need to live comfortably. While you go through this work job, career transition. .

If you know that you will most likely be moving from a six figure salary to something significantly lower. Then how will your finances work? , this is when you'll have to really look at your budget.

Examine your monthly expenses. See if there is anything you can cut out, do you have someone cleaning your home? Maybe you stop that. Do you go out to eat? Four to five nights a week. Maybe you start cooking at home. Whatever little changes you can make to save a little bit of extra money.

We'll give you that extra cushion. To feel a little bit more confident about your career change down the road. .

While you are researching and really studying your bank account. You also want to think about. What kind of pay cut. Can you handle. When you start thinking about these other roles that you are interested in, you want to really look at what the [00:09:00] entry level salary would be for those. If you are switching from a career in advertising. To a career as an engineer at a company. The salaries might be vastly different, especially if you have to go into a more entry-level role. Therefore, you want to make sure that you examine that.

I would suggest you really start thinking about long-term.

You want to be prepared for that pay cut.

You also want to research the roles that you're going into

how long would it take you? To start a career at a different level and what the salary would be and how long potentially would it take you to get those raises and those promotions to get you back to a place where you feel more financially fit.

Sometimes it's a matter of saying yes, I can hack it. Yes. I know I'm going to take a pay. Cut. But I can eliminate X, Y, and Z from my expenses and I can still live [00:10:00] comfortably. This change is still very much worth it to me. Or you can look at, well, I might have to invest in this course. I might have to get this extra certification. I might get X amount taken off of my pay.

If I do move. Therefore, I might have to get a second job or some kind of supplemental income side hustle, consulting work, contracting work, whatever you can do to balance out that income that you are bringing in.

There really is no crystal ball because you don't know what you'll end up getting through this transition. You are really just ballparking what may happen. However it gets you thinking about the changes that may come when it comes to finances and that weekly paycheck or biweekly paycheck. So you can start looking and kind of get your wheels turning. That will also bring you back to the questions of,

is this move what I really want. You're really learning more about the [00:11:00] process, learning more about the roles that you're interested in and thinking about how you can prepare yourself now while you are earning a paycheck. So that in six months, 12 months, whenever it is, you can move in a comfortable and confident way.

Mhm.

As you, weren't looking at your finances and you're looking at what your salary might be at these potential roles that you are pondering. You're also going to want to kind of figure out how much you need to save to be comfortable with this career transition. If you feel like you want to have. A certain amount in the bank to make you feel comfortable about this change. Then maybe you want to plan for your pivots. In six months, nine months, 12 months or longer. Look at how much money you need to take from this current role that you had this current paycheck. And then start doing the math and planning your schedule, planning your pivot. Planning your [00:12:00] career shift. Ahead.

Okay.

Like I said, a little earlier, there are no guarantees. , so I urge. People friends, family. I urge everyone. Two. Start making a backup plan like this, and start looking at your finances and be honest with yourself you could go into the office tomorrow

and be told that your position has been eliminated. This is just the way of the world right now. And so there really is. No guarantee. So that's why I urge you to just start thinking about what would you do if you were put in that situation, you, what would you do if you were told that this Friday is your last day at work? Wouldn't it be safer to start thinking ahead of what your next step would be while you are working?

Just to have it there. It's just that extra peace of mind. .

Now I come from the entertainment industry, which is very gig based. You go from project to project. Because of my background, because of where I come from, nothing was ever stable. [00:13:00]

You would work on a project for six weeks. You would work on a project for six months, but you were always looking for your next job. If you didn't look for it, you were out of work. Every time I would go on vacation with friends. And I have a lot of friends who have very stable jobs, my friends outside of entertainment. They would have 2, 3, 4, 5 weeks of vacation throughout the year.

And get their PTO as they are traveling. And we're going on this nice vacation. For me, it would actually cost me so much more than them

because if I wasn't working, I wasn't getting paid. I was a freelancer. I was getting paid per diem.

if I didn't work, I didn't get paid. So we would go on these vacations and I would spend all the money on the vacation and I still wasn't getting my pay.

So I think because of my background, I am very conscious of money and savings and planning ahead. Always knowing that, okay, I'm looking at the schedule. I have this [00:14:00] job until May 31st. I better look for my next job to start on? June 3rd. So I urge you to start thinking about your work situation with more of a better safe than sorry, type of attitude.

This way you are more prepared for whatever life brings you. And then in the flip side, you are building a second act. You are building the savings. You are building the safety net to get you to whatever that next chapter that next act will be. .

Mhm.

I'd love to chat a little bit about the idea of the freelance gig economy that I used to be working in. Even, I guess with my career coaching, I guess you would say that's a little bit of, a project to project basis as well. , so yeah, I guess I'm still kind of in that same world in a sense, right.

I go from clients, a client, they have their contracts, so it is kind of similar,

but the idea of me bringing this up is that. There's [00:15:00] so much work we can do on a freelance or contract type of, of way. If you are working in marketing or you are working in the health field, or you're a teacher, and you're planning that transition, think about the skills that you have, the experience and how you can turn that into a project to project based. Income and side hustle. If you're a teacher, you can take on tutoring outside of school.

If you work in marketing, maybe you take some local clients and you start working on their social media. If you work in healthcare, maybe you create some pop-up workshops that you can do online. Teaching what you work on in your field. There really is a plethora of options when it comes to what we can do on the side to bring in a little bit more cashflow. You just have to open up your eyes and your ears. And really look and see what's possible for you.

A great way to do this is to reach out to friends online or [00:16:00] past coworkers, dig around on LinkedIn and see what other people are doing. You can go to Etsy, you can go on Amazon, look at people who are selling things online. People who are creating. Digital downloads and selling those on websites Like teachers pay teachers.

You can even think about dog-walking babysitting, working, Uber eats, , driving neighbors to the airport and having them pay you cash.

Just think outside of the box. And again, it's just ways to bring a little bit more money into your pocket to fill out your wallet and make you feel a little bit more at ease.

Mhm.

All right. While we are talking about planning ahead and career pivots and transitions. Let's talk about the idea of leaving a nine to five job. And opening a business. . The world of entrepreneurship. Is very much a world of unknowns. When you're starting a business for the first time you are taking [00:17:00] that leap and yes, you are doing everything you can to grow that business, but I'm telling you that first year or two of your business is going to be the hardest time because you are doing all of the things you are wearing.

All of the hats. You are spending more money than you're bringing in, you are setting up. So it totally makes sense that you'd be putting all of this money into your business, to your website, to your marketing, to hiring whatever it might be. You are shelling out this money before you even make a penny. many times business owners, entrepreneurs are getting loans.

So you're actually starting this venture, opening this business in the red by far. This is just another reason. Y, if you have a nine to five job, if you have a corporate job, if you have a paycheck coming in now is when you should be saving, saving, saving, especially if you are considering leaving your steady stable job. [00:18:00] To venture into your own business. I have started two businesses and they both have taken quite some time

to get off the ground.

And definitely for me to start reaping the rewards of my efforts. So just a word to the wise. To build out that financial safety net build out that savings. You just want to have enough to be able to pay your mortgage or your rent or your bills or the grocery shopping.

You want to be able to live your life. While you're making your dreams come true. And what I'm doing is just trying to be practical and give you that tough love of really putting pen to paper, making a plan and getting yourself in the best financial situation now so that you can move ahead, carefree and happy and achieve what it is that you're ready to do achieve. .

Mhm.

, building a safety net, really having that savings ready to go is going to also help buffer against any [00:19:00] setbacks that might occur.

I remember that when I first opened my brick and mortar storefront. The HVAC unit, which I was told was brand new. Broke within six months, I would say. And the way it was in my lease, the way it worked is that all of those expenses were mine. I was livid because

it was new, everything should've been working great, but there are setbacks things happen. This was on the roof of the building. So anyone could go up on the roof of the building and break this unit. So it was $10,000 of my money, my business's money to replace this HVAC unit. And I wasn't expecting that I was still growing the business

I was getting the word out there that we were even open. And here I had an extra $10,000 that I had to shell out. So there are these, everyday life kind of setbacks that can happen. So you want to be prepared for those as well. The last thing you want to do [00:20:00] is go into even more debt with a credit card bill that's ramping up while you still have this SBA loan that you're trying to pay off.

You're just trying to really. Really promote your business. You want to be able to have whatever savings that you can have and just have your eyes open to what the potential, you know, setbacks can be so that you can really enjoy. This transition and not feel so sick to your stomach. Every time you look at your bank account. .

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While you are planning your next steps. Reach out to your network of contacts of old coworkers, friends, family, peers, mentors, and let them know what you're thinking about. Moving into. Let them know that you are trying to really get yourself in a great position. Ask them for any guidance and assistance that they can offer you as you're planning to move ahead. .

These contacts may have a warm introduction that will get you into a position, [00:21:00] or that will get you an interview for a position that might pay just a little bit more than if you went in cold. Or if you can lean on a contact when you are starting a business

and that friend or colleague can introduce you to someone who can end up being a really fabulous business partner. Looking outside of the box, leaning on your strengths, your skills, your experience, leaning on your network of people that you know, who can support you. Putting yourself in the best possible place to move forward in a way where you feel comfortable and safe.

Okay.

All right.

My friend, that is it for part two of this five part podcast workshop series. Before we go, I want to leave you with this. You can put those pieces in place. You can do the hard things. You can take a look at the numbers in front of you. And start planning accordingly. It might be uncomfortable.

It might not be fun, but by doing it now, you are giving yourself the freedom and flexibility to move [00:22:00] ahead, feeling better about your financial situation, your mental health, and you can move forward with a clear head and a fearless attitude.

All right Now, go to secondactsuccess.co/fearless, if you have not yet done so, and download your free workbook, that will help you as you listen to this workshop series. This will also put you on the list for access to our live zoom Q and a, happening this Thursday, April 25th at 1:00 PM Eastern time. And if you can't make it live, do not worry. Just DME, any questions over on Instagram @secondactsuccess.

And I will answer them during our live call and you can watch a replay when I send it out later.

I hope I have your financial wheels spinning in a good way so that you can take your next step towards second act success. On tomorrow's episode episode 1 [00:23:00] 32, we will be tackling skills and education so that you can be confident.

With your decision. By the end of these five episodes,

[00:23:09] Shannon Russell: you will have all of the tools you'll need to crush your fears and reduce risk as you navigate your way to a carefree career change.

I will catch you, then take care of my friend.

Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this is Second Act Success..

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