Topics Discussed in Episode 34
- How Ashlie Kennedy prepared for this career change by focusing on the numbers
- What pushed her to act on her store plans sooner than she planned
- What helped her the most during times of self-doubt and bouts of second-guessing herself
- The things that she’s learning now as a solo-store proprietor
- Prioritization, learning how to say ‘no’, and taking things one step at a time
Making a career transition often comes with attendant fears and concerns, no matter how much planning and thinking about it you do ahead of time. The bigger the change, the louder the fear voices get in our heads. The good thing is that there are various things we can do to manage and address those fears.
Ashlie Kennedy has first-hand experience overcoming bouts of self-doubt and second-guessing.
Today, she owns Hudson & Perry, a home and gift boutique store in Amelia Island, Florida. But before opening its doors in July 2017, Ashlie’s career was in banking and finance.
She left her position at Merrill Lynch in New York City to return home to Amelia Island, with a plan to continue working in the finance world–which was what she did! But she soon realized it’s not what she wanted to do going forward anymore. And the hard task of answering the question “So what do I want to do now?” began.
Although there was a seed of an idea when she left New York, being a proprietor wasn’t in her short-term plan. It was something that she thought maybe she can do down the line, maybe in 5 years time or so.
And yet, it was exactly what she ended up doing sooner than she had expected.
When you’re scared, it’s very easy to talk yourself out of stuff. It’s very easy to come up with excuses why you shouldn’t do things. —Ashlie Kennedy
In this episode, Ashlie talks about the circumstances that led to the decision to open Hudson & Perry… how she prepared, where she focused on first, and how she managed the fears and self-doubts that inevitably come with such a big decision.
I just try to remind myself, ‘You’ve done other scary things, you can do this.’ And at the end of the day, I said if this doesn’t work out, if this crashes and fails, yes it’s going to hurt but life will move on. I’d be able to live with losing some money and I’d be able to go back into finance if I had to. —Ashlie Kennedy
Mentioned in this episode
Hudson & Perry on Instagram
Hudson & Perry on Facebook
Hudson & Perry
A Man Named Ove (Ashlie’s book recommendation)
Further Reading
7 Common Concerns When Making a Career Change (further reading)
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