Career Shift Blog
by Rachel B. Garrett
From Strategy Consultant to Studio Owner: How One Client Started Her Dream Business
Scared to Start Your Own Business? How One Client Turned a "Never Going to Happen" Dream Into a Ceramics Studio
Very often, especially in this tricky job market, clients come to me in the early days of our work and say, “My crazy, never going to happen dream is to do my own thing, but I’m not going to pursue it because I won’t make enough money.”
And my response is always, “Let’s open that door just a smidge so we can explore ways it might be possible.”
I don’t say - “Quit your day job today to start your dream business.”
Or - “You’re right, you live in New York City. Good luck making a salary in year one that can pay the bills.”
Instead, we experiment. We play.
This is exactly what happened with my client, Mary who generously shared her story here…
I started having some conversations with Rachel in October of last year. I was desperately depressed and stressed in my strategy consulting role, where I felt overstimulated, undervalued, and completely out of place (even though I had been in the industry 8+ years at that point).
But I was in the middle of some pretty big life changes and I knew I couldn’t just keep going on like this. After Rachel and I set out three possible paths to explore, I decided on one that felt radical - find a part time role that works for me and open my own business.
Somehow in the last year, I managed to find a business partner, raise seed funding for my business, find a kick ass commercial space in the heart of Bed Stuy, renovate the space in 3 months with no construction experience, and open the doors to our brand new ceramics studio, Pyra, in June.
So much of Pyra has been waiting inside me, dormant, for decades. I’ve been practicing ceramics on and off for more than 20 years now, so opening a studio had always been something in the back of my mind, but I never felt it could be a reality for me.
But all the cliches are true…
Do it now, or you never will.
Do it scared.
Today will be yesterday tomorrow.
The response has been overwhelming and extremely gratifying - from being profitable within our first month, to our last round of classes selling out within a single day - the biggest take away I have from this experience is, “I am so much more capable than I thought.”
In October 2025, I was terrified of change, but knew it was necessary.
In September 2026, I would say change - is worth it.
You can check out Pyra here.
And on IG here.
Here for you and the business you want to bring to life.
Ready to take action?
Explore 1:1 Career Coaching
With a proven framework and 1:1 sessions, we'll clarify your vision and non-negotiables, identify three career paths that check your boxes, build a pitch and materials that capture your magic, practice interviews and negotiations, and take weekly action until you're hired on your terms.
Learn more →The Part of Career Change Nobody Talks About
Every week, a group of women in the middle of a career change shows up to the same virtual room.
Different goals. Different industries. Different versions of the question what do I actually want?
Same uncertainty.
That's Office Hours — and if you've been wondering what makes Career Change On Your Terms different from other career courses, this is it.
Career transitions are lonely. Let's just say that out loud.
Wanting something different can feel isolating — especially when the people in your daily life don't quite understand it. Maybe they're supportive in theory, but they can't really sit with you in the discomfort of not knowing yet. Maybe they keep asking "so what's the plan?" when the whole point is that you're still figuring that out.
Sitting with that uncertainty — and the fear that comes with it — is a lot to carry alone.
Most people in career transition are doing exactly that: carrying it alone, quietly Googling at midnight, toggling between LinkedIn and the same job listings they've already seen.
Office Hours is something different.
What actually happens in Office Hours
Once a week, you show up to a live virtual session with other women who are in exactly the same place you are.
Not the same goals. Not the same background. But the same in-between — figuring out what they want, facing the gap between where they are and where they want to be, building a career on their own terms.
There's something that happens in that room that's hard to manufacture anywhere else. You hear someone else say the thing you've been thinking but haven't said out loud. You realize the fear you've been treating as a personal flaw is actually just... part of this. You stop feeling like you're behind.
That community isn't a bonus feature. It's the thing that makes the framework actually stick.
The framework itself
Office Hours is built into the Career Change On Your Terms course, which gives you full access to the Career Command process: 13 modules, on-demand videos, worksheets, and bonuses you can work through on your own schedule.
It's a step-by-step path from I don't even know where to start to confident, clear next moves — with enough structure to keep you moving, and enough flexibility to fit your actual life.
But here's the thing about frameworks: they don't work if you do them in isolation, hit a hard moment, and quietly shelve it. The weekly Office Hours is what keeps you in the process. It's where you bring the stuck places. It's where you keep going.
You don't have to carry this alone
If you've been in career transition for a while — or if you're just starting to let yourself admit that something needs to change — you might already know that what you need isn't just information. You need a place to process it with people who get it.
That's what this is.
3 Podcasts to Change How You Think About Career Change in the Age of AI
A tech ethicist, two Stanford professors, and a panel of real people navigating career pivots walk into the same conversation - just from very different angles.
I've been in a podcast spiral lately. The kind where you keep pulling threads from completely different conversations and then realize, damn, they're all connected.
Three episodes have been living in my head this past month - each one part of my attempt to piece together where this job market is actually heading. One is about designing a meaningful life. One is about the AI arms race and what it means for humans. And one gathered real people navigating real career pivots in this economy, at this moment.
On the surface, they couldn't be more different. But together? They're painting a picture I can't stop thinking about.
Why the AI Race Is Leaving Humans Behind
On with Kara Swisher · Tristan Harris
Tristan Harris is a tech ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, and he is not here to make you feel comfortable. He argues that the real existential threat isn't AI itself - it's a handful of largely unregulated tech billionaires racing to build it under the worst possible incentives. The only business model that justifies the trillions flowing into these companies, he says, is replacing all human labor, not augmenting it. But Harris is still optimistic. He makes a case that right now is the moment to make this a priority issue with lawmakers. His message is urgent but not hopeless: the human movement, he says, is already underway.
How to Design a Meaningful Life
Rich Roll · Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Bill Burnett and Dave Evans are the Stanford professors behind the Life Design Lab and the book Designing Your Life. Their new book applies design thinking to the problem of meaning - not meaning as a destination you arrive at after checking career boxes, but as something woven into the life you're already living. They push back hard on the idea that the right title or salary will eventually deliver fulfillment. Instead, they offer a framework for prototyping your way forward: testing small bets, staying curious, and tolerating uncertainty as a feature rather than a bug.
A Career Change? In This Economy?
Death, Sex & Money · Anna Sale
This is the most grounded episode of the three - and the one I kept pausing because someone said something I needed to sit with. Host Anna Sale gathered a panel - tech writer Ed Zitron, life coach Sophia Chang, and regenerative farmer Luke Peterson - to answer real listener questions about career pivots. A 50-year-old whose field is losing funding. A graphic designer watching AI dismantle his industry in real time. A 20-something opera singer questioning whether to keep chasing her dream or go home and build a life. The advice was real: check your safety net first, don't do this alone, and find people who are propellers, not anchors.
These three episodes are all describing the same moment - just from different angles.
The macro view
The economy is being restructured in ways that could fundamentally change what having a career even means.
The inner work
Most of us are still running on learned scripts about what success is supposed to look like — scripts we never really chose.
The ground level
Real people, right now, trying to figure out their next move with real constraints, real fear, and a real ache for something more aligned.
"Career pivots aren't primarily a strategy problem. They're a clarity problem, a courage problem, and a community problem."
What Burnett and Evans are talking about? That's the work I see play out every day. You can't think your way out of career confusion from inside your own head. You have to get out of your assumptions, take small bets, and keep moving. That restless feeling that something is missing isn't a problem, it's a clue.
And yes, Tristan Harris is talking about big systemic stuff, but it's not disconnected from your career transition. If you've been watching your industry shift under your feet - if you're a designer, a writer, a marketer, a researcher - the ground really is moving. That's not in your head. The answer isn't to panic, but it's also not to sit tight and wait for things to settle. They might not.
The people on the Death, Sex & Money panel who'd made bold moves all had the same thing going for them: they got honest about what they actually wanted, they told people, and they kept showing up before they had it all figured out.
If any of this lands for you, I'd love to hear what's coming up. And if you've got an episode that's been living in your head lately - send it my way or add it in the comments below. I'm clearly still collecting.
Ready to take action?
Career Change on Your Terms
If you're done waiting for clarity to arrive on its own, this self-guided course gives you the framework, tools, and structure to move forward - at your own pace, on your own terms. No more spinning. Start building the career you actually want.
Explore the course →How to Make a Career Pivot When You’re Already Busy (and Overwhelmed)
Table of Contents
Practical tips to start your career change - designed to fit your schedule.
The Reality of Wanting More While Already Juggling Too Much
You have a lot going on.
A full-time job where you feel you can't be yourself. Your endless family events, plans, and projects. Processing and resisting what's happening in our country. And now you feel like you need to throw a career shift into this cluster.
Maybe you've already convinced yourself it's impossible. "I don't have time for this." "I'm too old." "I'm too young." "I don't have the energy to start over." These limiting beliefs whisper loudly when you're already stretched thin, balancing your everyday schedule with the emotional weight of knowing something needs to change.
But here's the truth: you don't need to quit your job tomorrow, go back to school full-time, or add a second full-time job to your life to make a meaningful career pivot. What if you could make this transition without burning out—on your own terms, at your own pace?
That's exactly what we're exploring today, including a self-study track designed for busy women who need flexibility without sacrificing support.
Why Career Pivots Feel Impossible When You're Busy
Let's be honest about the career transition challenges you're facing. It's not just about finding a new job—it's about finding the mental space to even think about what you want while managing everything else on your plate.
The biggest career change struggles aren't always practical. Sure, updating your resume and networking take time. But the real barriers? Mental exhaustion after a draining workday. Competing responsibilities that leave you with maybe thirty minutes of free time before bed. The guilt of prioritizing yourself when others need you. The fear that you'll invest all this energy and still end up stuck.
These aren't excuses. They're legitimate obstacles that make career transitions feel like climbing a mountain when you're already carrying a heavy backpack. The good news? You don't have to climb it all at once.
Mindset Shifts That Make Room for Change
Before we talk tactics, let's address the career change mindset that makes everything else possible.
Progress matters more than perfection. You don't need a perfectly polished LinkedIn profile before you start exploring. You don't need to have it all figured out before you take the first step. Small, consistent steps—even imperfect ones—can lead to big change.
Don't believe all your thoughts. Some of them are responsible for keeping you stuck, lost, and daydreaming about escaping to Italy. "I don't have time for this" and "I'm too old, young, or [insert any damn adjective]" are two common limiting beliefs that hold people back from making a shift. When you hear these thoughts in your head, try calming them with something neutral: "I'm just exploring" or "I'm curious about what I actually want."
Let me share a quick example. One of my clients, a marketing manager in her late thirties, kept telling herself she was "too established" to switch industries. She had a mortgage, a reputation, a comfortable salary. But she was miserable. Instead of making a drastic leap, she gave herself permission to just explore for three months—fifteen minutes a day of journaling about what energized her and what drained her. That simple shift in mindset (from "I need to figure this out NOW" to "I'm just getting curious") opened the door to a career path she'd never considered before. Six months later, she made a lateral move into a nonprofit role that aligned with her values—without starting from scratch.
Practical tip for busy women: Carve out just 15 minutes a day for reflection. Ask yourself: What parts of my work do I actually enjoy? What tasks make time fly? What do I dread? This isn't about finding the "perfect" answer—it's about building self-awareness, which is the foundation of any successful career change.
Tactical Ways to Pivot During Your Busy Schedule
Now let's talk about the career pivot tips that actually work when your schedule is already full.
Prioritize micro-actions over massive overhauls. You don't need hours of free time to make progress on a flexible career transition. Instead, focus on small, manageable actions that move the needle:
Journal for 10 minutes about what you want in your next role (not what you think you should want, what you actually want)
Schedule one virtual coffee chat per month with someone in a field you're curious about
Update your LinkedIn headline to reflect the direction you're exploring, not just where you've been
Research one company or role that intrigues you during your lunch break
These micro-actions might feel insignificant in the moment, but they compound over time. You're building momentum without adding a second full-time job to your life.
Leverage your existing routines. You don't need to create new time—you need to maximize the time you already have:
Listen to career development podcasts during your commute or while doing household chores
Block 30 minutes during lunch twice a week for career-focused activities (updating your resume, reaching out to contacts, or taking an online course)
Use Sunday evenings to plan your career action steps for the week ahead—just like you'd plan your meals or workouts
The key is integration, not addition. Weave your career exploration into the life you're already living.
Build accountability through structure and community. One of the most powerful career pivot tips? Don't do this alone. When you have structure and community, you're far more likely to follow through—even when you're tired, overwhelmed, or doubting yourself.
This could look like partnering with a friend who's also exploring a career change and checking in weekly. Or joining a group of people working through the same process so you have built-in accountability and encouragement. When you're surrounded by others who understand the journey, those limiting beliefs lose their power.
Introducing Career Change on Your Terms: Online Course
If you're ready for more guidance without sacrificing your busy schedule, I have something that might be perfect for you.
For some women, 1:1 coaching is the right move - but others want something they can start today, at their own pace, without adding another weekly appointment to their calendar. That's exactly why I created Career Change on Your Terms: Online Course, so you can access the same proven framework, on your own schedule, while still having community and accountability built in.
Here's what you get with this self-paced career course:
✅ My proven career pathing process broken into digestible learning modules you can work through on your own time
✅ Practical tools and exercises to help you clarify what you want, identify your transferable skills, and create a strategic action plan
✅ Weekly virtual support calls with a group of inspiring and compassionate humans who are also working through the career shift process (hello, new hype crew!)
✅ Lifetime access to all course materials so you can revisit them whenever you need
✅ A framework designed for busy women - no burnout required
This isn't about adding more to your plate. It's about giving you the right tools so your career exploration feels manageable, not overwhelming. It's a self-study online course that meets you where you are.
Success is Possible, Even When You're Busy
Making a career shift while managing everything else in your life is not easy. There will be days when you doubt yourself, when you're too tired to think about your future, when it feels like nothing is happening fast enough.
But here's what I know to be true: small, consistent steps over 3-6 months can get you to a thoughtful career change that checks all of your boxes. You don't need to make a 180-degree turn in a month. Quick and drastic changes often lead to career regrets. What you need is a sustainable approach that honors your real life - your responsibilities, your energy levels, your need for support.
A career shift does not need to be a second full-time job. It's something you can fit into your already full life when you have the right tools and you're not the one getting in your own way.
You've got this. And you don't have to do it alone.
Here for you and your slow and steady shift.