I speak with so many women these days who are fed up with the conventional life.
And by conventional, I mean working like a “man”... grinding in a 9–5, measuring worth by productivity, and living in a world that only seems to reward the masculine way of achieving.
I didn’t have the words for that, back when I first felt out of alignment… when I was nearing the edge of burnout, but didn’t yet know that’s what it was.
All I knew was this:
something needed to change, and I wanted to be the one to choose that change
before life forced it on me.
And let me tell you… something almost did force me to change.
… and thankkkkkkkk youuuu, past self, for stepping into change when I did!
So, backing up to about five years ago, back when I was waking up before the sun every winter morning, dragging myself to a new client three times a week at my 9–5 consulting job (hello, having to be “on” pretty much all the time 🥵).
On paper, it was a fantastic job. I met some great people, the owner was amazing and I learned from her every day until my last. There was a lot of variety, it was challenging, and there were aspects of stability. And to be honest, I did enjoy a lot of it.
I always knew it wouldn’t be my “forever” job, and after a few years, something inside me whispered that I needed to move on. I didn’t know to where… but I could feel it.
Eventually, after having that feeling for a couple of years, I came to a place in life where I started to question…
Who decided we all needed to work 8:00 to 4:30, Monday through Friday?
And not just about my career. Everything:
Why did I need a certain set of letters after my name to be “qualified”?
Why did our healthcare system treat symptoms instead of root causes?
Why was I staying in a relationship that didn’t fulfill me?
Every time I asked a question, another layer of conditioning peeled away.
It took a trip to the nature of Newfoundland and meeting people who were living completely different lives from me to start to admit that I was finally waking up… and IYKYK, once you see it, you can’t unsee it 😉
And I knew I had to step away… not because I was lost, but because I had no other choice.
So I started with the relationship. I thought maybe if I was able to have space to find myself, I’d be happier with everything else.
Ending that six-year relationship right before 2020 really kick-started my healing, complete with a super intense dark night of the soul.
As I was coming out the other side of that, I realized something was still off. And I knew it was my career this time.
So I did something else that felt wild for me at the time. I asked my boss for a month off to do my yoga teacher training. Something deep inside (and let’s be real, my friends who had already done one) told me it would change everything.
It did.
It gave me a whirlwind of courage, clarity, and trust in something bigger guiding me.
And at the end of that month, on my 30th birthday, I announced to my yoga class that I’d be going home, quitting my job, selling my house, and going back to school for art.
And voilà! Six months later, I’d moved cities and started my new degree (and snuck in a lil six-week adventure to the UK too, to please my traveling soul ✈️).
For a while, it felt like pure freedom, and finally being more in my feminine.
Time freedom (uni feels like that compared to a 9–5, am I right?),
location freedom (I’d gotten into the school in the city I wanted), and
temporary financial freedom (I’d invested the proceeds from my house sale wisely, put a bunch away for “retirement,” and budgeted for a comfortable five years at school).
Unfortunately, about three months into my new, seemingly “perfect-for-me” life, I realized I had simply replaced one conventional system with another. University still had deadlines, rules, and external validation.
On the side, I was also dealing with health issues that, in hindsight, were my body screaming that I was still on the path to burnout. Had I continued, those symptoms likely would have forced an out-of-control change.
So, I started listening again. The same way I had when I first sensed something wasn’t right before. And when one of my art teachers said, “You’ll get your degree, get a 9–5, and do your art on the side,”
I remember thinking:
Oh heck no. That’s not what I uprooted my entire successful life for. That’s not going to be my story.
That was the moment I decided: I wasn’t meant to fit into a system. I was meant to build one.
Backing up a few months before I’d started university, I had come across an interesting woman’s Instagram profile. We chatted a bit in the DMs about what was basically entry-level entrepreneurship. A way to work from my laptop so I could travel, and how to get into that world without needing my own product or service.
It was super intriguing, but at the time I was focused on my art journey, thinking I had it all figured out and that would give me the freedoms I desired.
But after that “line in the sand” moment, realizing I was just back on the same path by getting another degree, I circled back.
And this time, her story cracked something open in me.
The universe was speaking through her, to me.
The way she had actually taken control of her time, location, and income in a feminine way, was what I truly wanted.
TBH, it sounded almost too good to be true… but I’d already experienced what happens when you follow divine nudges. So I decided to follow this one too.
Once again, I started over. Not knowing exactly where it would lead, but knowing I was done playing small.
I decided that instead of spending five years and thousands of dollars finishing another degree, I would invest that same time and energy into learning business, marketing, and sales. The skills that would give me actual freedom for life.
No matter if it took me five, ten, or twenty years, I knew that learning how to be an entrepreneur would be worth it.
Fast forward to now, looking back I can see so clearly:
every questioning moment, not just about my career but all aspects of life, every leap of faith (even if the outcome didn’t last long), and every pivot (even if it seemed backwards at the time) was leading me here.
I’m not the same woman.
I’ve evolved, and I can’t go back.
And TBH, I’m still an entry-level entrepreneur, even after a few years in this space (if you know the concept of “beginners mindset”, this is absolutely fine 😉), and I know I’ll always spend time focusing on becoming the next version of the woman I need to be, to be the next level of entrepreneur me.
So here we are. Another evolution in my entrepreneurial journey.
I’ve created The Entry-Level Entrepreneur for other women who feel that same whisper.
For the woman who’s proven she’s accomplished and capable but is craving something more.
For the woman craving something more aligned, more intentional, more risky, more supported, more feminine, more connected.
For the woman who has the courage to explore what’s possible beyond the path she was taught to follow.
This space is your soft landing into entrepreneurship, created from a place I wish existed in those months leading up to my own leap.
A place to learn, reflect, and grow as you transition from employee to entrepreneur, in a way that helps you feel seen, heard, and understood.
Here’s what you can expect:
Redefining success and building income that aligns with your lifestyle
Navigating the emotional side of starting something new
Blending health, wellness, spirituality, and entrepreneurship
Learning practical business skills through aligned, authentic strategy
And, of course, anything else I feel called to share. Because I’m building a soul-led business, guided by my intuition 😘
So just know: every entrepreneur starts somewhere.
And I know for some of you, this, right here, could be where your next chapter begins.
If you’ve been feeling that quiet pull toward something more...
you’re not crazy, and you’re definitely not alone.
You’re just in the entry-level era of your next evolution.
And my desire is that this space helps you find clarity, courage, and the tools to build what’s next.
✨ Welcome to The Entry-Level Entrepreneur.
You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
As I wrap up this first post, I want to leave you with a few resources that truly supported me through my own seasons of change, the voices I turned to when I was questioning everything and rebuilding from the inside out.
If you’re looking for more content, may I suggest a couple of the podcasts that I started listening to that really helped me through these times (and still do, tbh):
🎧 Almost 30 — Two women, Lindsey and Krista, who have been my guides and hype-women as I’ve navigated all these transitions (they almost feel like friends I’ve listened to so many episodes, hehe).
🎧 The Highest Self — Sahara Rose is an incredible thought leader and mentor for women looking to step into the next level of themselves, and she always has something on her podcast that makes me pause for one of those incredibly on-point and relatable ah-ha moments.
If this post resonated with you, shoot me an email personally at josephine@josephineblake.co. I'd love to hear what your next steps are in your entrepreneurial journey are and perhaps help you figure out what's next <3