Today we’d like to introduce you to Roshida Dowe.
Roshida, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The company I was working for went out of business in 2018. The “what’s next?” question haunted me for weeks after I found out, and like most people, getting the next job was the only thing on my mind. So I started the job hunt, but I was burned out, and job-hunting was depressing. I wanted a new job, but I NEEDED a break. After checking my account balances, and facing my fears, I decided to take a year off to travel the world.
That sounds huge, but it felt really small. I took it day by day, with little planning, just enough to figure out the next stop on my world tour, just enough to know where I was sleeping the next night.
Eventually, I kept meeting other women online who wanted to take a career break but had the same fears and concerns that I did. They wanted someone to tell them it was possible, to help them through the hard parts, and that’s how my business started.
I now coach people who want to take career breaks about how to carefully craft the experience that is perfect for their individual situation. We work through the logistics of planning, budgeting, returning to the workforce, and a variety of other topics to help them get comfortable taking their own career break. This process takes the form of individual coaching sessions, courses, group coaching, and now something new, Exodus Summit.
Exodus Summit is a free, virtual summit designed to help Black women plan their own career breaks, featuring 50+ Black women speakers with a wide variety of globetrotting and expat experiences. (www.exodussummit.com)
Has it been a smooth road?
Is starting an online business ever a smooth road? If so, it wasn’t for me. I struggled with the “Am I doing this right?” question all the time when I was just starting out. A lot of the aspects of online marketing were new to me, so I was never sure if I was doing things the “best” way.
But after enough time online you learn that there are a thousand experts on every topic, and they will tell you how to do a task a thousand different ways. I had to give myself the grace that done is better than perfect, and any way I get a task done is the way for me.
Yes, I still look to experts when I’m stuck, but I try to limit myself to one to two voices on any particular subject, and I don’t get so busy learning that I never “do.”
We’d love to hear more about the business.
Shida’s On The Loose started as a blog I used to keep my friends and family updated about where I was when I left to travel the world in May 2018. Women started to reach out to me on the blog, on IG, and on Facebook to tell me they wanted to take a career break too, but it wasn’t possible for them. After talking to different women online, I realized taking a break was possible for everyone I spoke with. The planning/saving time differed from woman to woman, but there was no woman who left a session with me thinking that they could not take a career break.
I turned that into a one to one coaching business to help women create their career break plans. Want to take a year off of work in six months? Let’s create your plan. Want to take a year off next year? Let’s create your plan.
I then created my signature group course, From Burnout To Bliss, with group coaching sessions for clients who wanted longer-term support. Then came VIP days for clients who wanted more hands-on help planning their career break.
One of the reasons I love this work is that I actually see lives change. Watching overworked and underappreciated Black women ditch burnout and find their bliss on a career break fills me with joy.
Some people feel like they will always be unhappy at work, and while I don’t expect work to bring everyone joy, I also don’t think anyone should be showing up daily to situations that tax them emotionally, and are lightweight abusive. I love helping women plan their exits from these situations as they open their eyes to brighter days ahead.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The conversations about career breaks, sabbaticals, and adult gap years are just getting started. In 5-10 years these conversations will be much more mainstream, and employers will have to come up with plans about how to keep their employees who want to take breaks.
Contact Info:
- Website: shidasontheloose.com
- Instagram: instgram.com/ShidaD
- Facebook: .facebook.com/shidasontheloose
- Twitter: twitter.com/ShidasOTL
- Other: exodussummit.com
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