One Month Into My Journey: What I've Learned
It’s been a month since I left the 9-to-5—and I can already tell: time in this new life moves differently. Some days feel like I’ve been gone for ages; others vanish in a flash.
Naturally, people ask, "How’s the business search going?" Fair question, especially given how much I talked about it going into this journey. But the truth is more nuanced. The journey I designed was a blend of short-term, therapeutic projects, converting side hustles into streamlined revenue streams, and a long-term, strategic play to acquire a small business. Business acquisition was always the horizon line, but not the immediate task. It's a long process to find and actually acquire a business, so for me, it was more of a balance of incremental progress, but not diving in too deep, too fast.
My real plan was an active mini-retirement—a concept I picked up from Jillian Johnsrud's work. It wasn’t about unplugging completely or binging Netflix. Instead, I envisioned a season of intentional experimentation. A time to build, reflect, and recalibrate.
I even had a plan drawn out for how to balance my time (yes, literally drawn on "paper" - or a ReMarkable to be exact).
But being a very analytical person and working with my two career coaches, I needed to verify how I was doing. All the questioning from others started making me question myself, was I taking it too slow? Or was I not transparent on my actual plan to everyone? So I started tracking how I spent each hour to compare it to my plan. And after 30 days, here's what I expected vs what happened:
Time Allocation (expected | actual):
- Personal Projects: 70% | 37%
- Radio Chatter: 15% | 8%
- Mountain State Overland: 5% | 17%
- Project Exploration: 29% | 5%
- Acquiring a Business: 9% | 5%
Personal Projects
This wasn’t planned idle time (ain't nobody got time for that!). It was about finally getting to those long-postponed projects: trim in the basement, a loft bed for my son, new closet shelving, and a winch for my truck. These tasks aren't just chores—they’re therapeutic. They clear my head and create space for deeper reflection. Plus, they remove mental clutter that would otherwise linger and distract me had I jumped right into the next big thing too fast.
Radio Chatter
Our first year (mid-2023 to mid-2024) was strong: podcast appearances, a book feature, two wholesalers, and a major deal with Midland Radios. But at MOORE Expo in April 2024, my wife Bethany and I realized something critical. Our mission was community, not product sales at every event we were invited to. Ten-hour days on concrete floors drained us and it wasn't where we saw ourselves using our limited vacation time, especially because it took us away from our son.
So now, I’m focused on reshaping Radio Chatter - building automation, deepening partnerships, and making sure the effort scales without becoming a second full-time job pitching the same story to ever person walking by a booth.
Mountain State Overland
My first trip with MSO was in 2021, but 2024 marked a new chapter: I officially became an overlanding trail guide - providing high quality trips throughout West Virginia. You can watch the competition to become a guide here (Episode 1) and here (Episode 2) - they are fun to watch even if you aren't into the hobby. After filling in on a previous trip for a guide who got sick last minute, the team saw the value in expanding the guide team, so naturally I wanted to be a part of it. I try to do two trips a year with one longer team trip. I also stepped in to help plan for our annual Adventure X Fest, and I took time to produce high-quality edited photos post-trip. Editing over 100 photos alone took a full day of sitting outside in the sun on the deck, something I'd normally spread across a week of evenings sitting on the couch.
Project Exploration (a.k.a. My "Yes Phase")
This is kind of the "other duties as assigned" part of the journey. My wife calls it the "yes phase" for a reason. I said yes to reconnecting with old friends and colleauges, touring a former colleague's new CNC shop (which he started after also leaving his corporate job), going to networking events, and picking up a fractional consulting gig to help a small business rethink its long-term strategy. None of this was planned. But all of it was energizing.
Acquiring a Business
This was, and still is, the long game. It started slow but ramped up as the month progressed. Much of this is done with my two partners at Consortium Business Group. I had originally envisioned a solo path here, but like most worthwhile ventures, collaboration has only made it stronger. More on this soon!
Looking Ahead
The data tells me my energy and opportunity flow differently than expected. With the help of my coaches, instead of reacting, I’m observing. I’m giving myself another month with the same baseline, curious to see if this shift was circumstantial or indicative of something deeper.
What I’m learning is this: quitting the 9-to-5 wasn’t the final decision. It was just the first in a series of conscious, value-aligned choices. And right now, that feels exactly right.