Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m back and am back with lots of good stories to share! Today’s story is of Regina Stone, an internal auditor (read: employee) turned boutique owner. let’s dig deeper to find out why she chose to escape out of the Corporate America and how she did it! Here we go…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

RS: My name is Regina Stone and I am the owner of Brooklyn Stone Boutique, a women’s lifestyle boutique. Prior to starting this business I was an Internal Auditor for a very well known bank-holding company.

DD: What made you leave the job? When did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur & why?

RS: I’ve always dreamed of owning my own boutique. I finally decided to do it. I got tired of waiting for “the right time” as I realized there’s really no such thing. The longer I stayed in “corporate America” the longer I would become a slave to the bonuses, promotions and salary. More money brings more responsibility and accountability, which hindered me from pursuing my dreams. I tried taking baby steps to transition but my work experience pigeon-holed me to only finance/bank positions. Stress, frustration and unhappiness led me to really think about what makes me happy and if I was willing to make the sacrifice. I bit the bullet and went into overdrive planning my new venture!

DD: What did you do to break the corporate jail? How did you prepare for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

RS: It’s funny but the term corporate jail is very true. It’s hard to give up the lifestyle and status that comes with a good corporate job. I cut back on a lot of things in efforts to save for my business. I spent a lot of late nights researching my business and the industry to understand the pro and cons and also try to prepare myself for the next step.

DD: What are your suggestions for aspiring entrepreneurs?

RS: Research, research, research, Research is KEY!! Learn and plan as much as you can. There will always be surprises but try to reduce the amount. Plan and organize. Outline in detail what you want to do, how you are going to do it, when you will do it and the expected results. Revisit and update this plan.

DD: How are you doing and how do you feel now?

RS: I am great! Busy but so excited. There’s nothing like watching your dreams come true.

DD: Awesome! Well, good luck with your venture and much success to you!

People, this was Regina Stone, an employee turned entrepreneur, who really grew tired of waiting for the right time and realized the truth, well there’s no such thing. You see, many of us put off this big life change with one or the other excuse, and I’ve only one thing to say to all of them – Your life is too important to waste in a job you hate. What’s the point of living an angry and unhappy  life? There are risks in everything in life. But, if you follow your heart, you’ll probably sleep better, live longer, be more happy and hopefully make a lot of money along the process.

Success to all!