I quit my job six months ago to try something new, here's what I've learned

Six months ago I left my role at a media and events business after six years. I did that to launch an electric-vehicle related business here in Australia for an existing and successful UK enterprise, Kerbo Charge , that would take up half my time.

For the other half, I wanted to explore new opportunities in and around media to see where they might lead. Yes it was a leap, and yes it's been a rollercoaster, but here's what I've learned:

1. CEOs are easier to reach, and more generous with their?knowledge, than you'd think.?

I wanted to talk to the top, know more about companies I admired, and hear leaders' thoughts on where things were going, and try to give back and make?it worth their time. The idea was it would give me a steer on new opportunities. I used LinkedIn to get names, RocketReach to get e-mail contacts, then pitched a short message asking for a 15-minute chat, and made it clear I wasn't job-hunting nor trying to make a sale. 70% of people came back to me, calls were set up, and new projects are now resulting. But above all, those conversations were interesting. Many CEOs were time-poor but extremely generous with the little time they did have. Thank you, you know who you are. Talk to people or businesses you admire, the worst that can happen is silence. The best is much better than that.

2. People are more supportive of new entrants to their industry than you'd expect.

The Electric Vehicle (EV) space is dynamic, growing rapidly and the people in that industry are open, welcoming and embrace new advocates. People like Jeremy Brook , Tom Gan , Sarah Aubrey , Daniel Alexander and Bridie Schmidt , plus countless more. There's definitely an appetite for solutions but working with local government?(and a physical product) - things take time. Right now, there's room for everyone to grow. I found exactly the same 20 years ago in the coffee industry - there are always those willing to include you if you're interested in the same things.

3. Industry associations and networking are hugely valuable (and cost effective).?

I joined the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) ($880 for year?1, $660?for each year thereafter) mostly for the included deskspace with The Executive Centre , free training and the networking. The deskspace is outstanding (and membership pays for itself?- if I use the deskspace two days a month, the?whole membership?costs less per month than two day-passes at WeWork). I put a post out to the AICD LinkedIn members group (30,000 people) about being open to a coffee or chat. 5,000 people saw it, 10 individuals replied, I met or spoke with all of them and things grew from there.?People like Jennifer Arnold MAICD invited me to other networking groups, and more networking opportunities grew from there. The association literally opened new doors, gave me an office, introduced new people and trained me. It's money well spent.

4. Looking back is surprisingly helpful when you're trying to look forward.?

I reached?out to many former colleagues, friends and friends of friends and simply asked 'what's going on in your world, where do you think things are going?' Thank you Ben Clarke-Groom , Adam K. , Beth Tobin , Paul Chappell , Jonathan Mullins , Chris Haskett (MAICD) and everyone else I spoke to for sharing your insights. Sometimes these were just good conversations, other times it kicked off new projects - I'm now working with ex The Story Lab colleague Josh Butt working on some projects with his Ampel sound and podcasts business - definitely a case of the past becoming the future. Talk to me if you want to know more about that work.

5. Recruiters sometimes get a bad?rap, but that's not been?my experience.?

The?best ones know their sectors inside?out. They know the state of the jobs market, who's hiring (and who's firing) and many went above and beyond to just talk shop and share tips, knowing full well they weren't getting a commission for a job I wasn't applying for. Legends like Justin Randles , Keeley Pope and others. Seek out recruiters for a helicopter view of your industry, they know alot and give alot?too.

6. Try not to panic; stick to the plan.?

I had a six-month plan, but it didn't include what's happened to Australian media and agency-land, with titles closing, mass redundancies and so many questions around where things go next. This is affecting alot of people, and it's not pretty. If it's affecting you, feel free to reach out anytime for a chat, I'll help where I can. But given that context, I got swept up in the negativity, panicked and started applying for advertised roles that weren't right for me and went nowhere, which became disheartening, so I stopped. I went back to the original strategy - seek out interesting people and places, see where the opportunities come.

7. Businesses don't advertise their problems. And they don't advertise roles to address them.?

Instead, I?focused on keeping an open mind about where opportunities might come from. I had lots of conversations and over time it became clear that there?were businesses out there with problems, and other businesses with potential solutions. And that they didn't know each other. So I connected them. I wasn't expecting it, but the upshot is I'm now helping broker business sales/acquisitions, and also launching new projects by bringing different businesses together in partnerships. It means I sit outside both partners, work with and for both of them, control more of my time and don't weigh down their P&L as a full-time employee.

8. Getting and giving mentoring was among the best decisions I made this year.?

In January I accepted an offer to be mentored by an old work buddy who knows vastly more about everything than I do, Matt Potter , and it was one of the?best decisions I made this year. I found honest conversations are great for learning, great for my mental health and, above all, fortnightly check-ins kept me honest with myself, kept me accountable for what I said I'd do, and helped me appreciate the small wins. I paid it back by mentoring a student from my old uni, the 英国利兹大学 , as part of their alumni programme, and set up the Sydney branch of the alumni office. That seemed a virtuous circle and a great use of time - thanks for the opportunity Sarah Wilson !

9. I created routines and set things up properly (read: formally)

I set up a new business, got an address, got space, got a tax number, set up new bank accounts, learned to use MYOB , got some new headshots done (thanks Aaron Martin !). I kept a 9-5 day, ish, five days a week, ish, and went to the office once or twice a week when I wasn't working from home. It meant I pinned my colours to the mast, made my plans real and had to follow through on what I said I was going to do.?Regardless of where I worked, I wore smarter clothes to get my head into the right space and I went for relaxed work lunches with friends to get myself out of that headspace.?

10. Lastly, I stayed open and tried to say?yes.

I talked to old friends and old colleagues. I talked to new friends. I reached out to people I didn't know because they liked wine and I like wine (hi Yeesum Lo !) or because I like coffee and they run a great coffee business ( Paul Cassebohm ). Or they were trying new things in media ( Angela Stengel , Jenni Ryall , many others). I went to?events, met great people ( Jadanne Dare , Dan Krigstein ) and got invited to their other events. All of this amounted to creating potential - potential to meet great people, for new opportunities, to learn something, to discover what still interested me, disprove some theories and remind me of the areas and disciplines I was and wasn't?interested?in and why.

I tried to say yes as much as possible. I said yes to doing a radio show with Shaun Keaveney in the UK. I rang into Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio Sydney to talk about the future of charging electric vehicles, said yes to courses and learned about Generative AI for free on LinkedIn. I said yes to Samuel S. and some pro bono charity work. Yes I was told I'd spread myself too thinly, but I went broad so I could go narrow again, but with better focus. It was fun and it was interesting. It still is.

In summary, the last six months have been a rollercoaster, it's been tough at times, and will continue to be, but if you put yourself out there, there are good, kind people, businesses with solid values and big ambitions. Things just take time. Stay positive.

Want to chat through any of this? Get in touch. Want to share your own learnings? Feel free to add these in the comments. If you made it this far, thanks for your time, I hope you've found at least one thing useful to take away!

Image note: I'm not depicted in the lead image - if only I looked that sharp! The image was generated by ChatGPT from the following instruction: "create an image in landscape format showing a 40-year-old professional man in Australia at his desk in a media office, thinking deeply."