Stepping Back to Move Forward

My heart skipped a beat when the email appeared in my inbox. Cursor hovering, I quickly surveyed the office to make sure no one was watching. I held my breath. Click. My eyes frantically scanned the email line by line until I found it—an official job offer from a local start-up. But not just any start-up, a fashion start-up. 

For three years, I’d been climbing upward on the corporate ladder. It didn't take much imagination to see how it all would end: the big title, the big office with a real door, the big salary, and ultimately, the big retirement. It was a clearly defined path and all I had to do was stay on it. 

But I didn’t want to. After our very first start-up failed I had taken a corporate job to get us back on our feet. Burnt out and bank accounts depleted, it was the right call for our family. I tried to convince myself I was made for the corporate world — maybe I could be like Sheryl Sandberg, maybe — but knew in my soul it wasn’t for me. 

After two years on “the path” I was restless. Tired of office politics. Drained by the tedious protocols. I wasn’t made for structure and I certainly struggled to follow any status quo. But when I considered leaving, I felt the “what ifs” rising up within me. As scary as it was to try something new again, it scared me far more to stay put and further solidify where I was heading. So I put myself out there.

And there it was. The startup offer I’d been waiting on to leave my corporate job. Until… I saw it. The salary that made my heart sink – was a 40% pay cut. 

I can’t take less than I’m currently making.

I can’t afford to move laterally, let alone backward right now. 

This is could kill my career. 

My hesitation was real, but it wasn’t the first time I took such a blow. 

When I graduated college in 2009, the US was in a full-on, financial crisis. Not only were managers not hiring for entry-level marketing positions, but they were also shutting down entire marketing departments. So I took an unpaid internship to gain what experience I could. With $0 to my name, it was here where I learned a valuable lesson:

You must step back to move forward. 

After a quick flashback and a long breath or two, my panic waned. It wasn’t long until I stepped off the corporate path and made my way back into the start-up world joining Cladwell—the company I would eventually come to own.

When we have a story in our head about what progress looks like, a straight line up and to the right, it can be confusing when our reality doesn’t match it. For me, stepping back to move forward isn’t a metaphor. It’s a philosophy I live by over and over again. One that has undoubtedly led to some of the biggest leaps in my career. 

The internship was unpaid but gave me skills I’d later use daily. My first start-up failed but enabled me to skip past other “entry-level” jobs. After acquiring Cladwell, I took 18 months without pay only to later have a majority stake and a full-time salary larger than I previously had.

While I can’t promise it will all work out, I can promise that when you invest in yourself, you ultimately win. The way to success—whatever that is for you—is unlikely to look like a straight path, but instead, a step back and a winding way forward. 

My advice? Don’t be afraid to take the detour.