What nobody tells you about leaving corporate: five things I did not expect in my first year

Twelve months into building my own practice. I left corporate in 2025, earning the most I ever had, and I left it with no clients.

Five things I did not see coming.

1. My title was doing more work than I realised

So much of who I was came from my title and my salary. In a senior role inside a bank, the title answers the question before anybody asks it. Take it away and the question is still there: who are you, and why should anyone listen?

It has taken me most of this year to work out who I am without them.

2. The stress did not leave with the job

I thought the stress would stop the day I left. It did not.

I swapped corporate deadlines for my own, all aimed at replacing my income as fast as possible. The pressure stayed. Only the name on it changed.

My body took longer to slow down than my diary did. Slowing down turned out to be a skill, and I had to practise it.

3. Not everybody comes with you

Some colleagues I thought were friends drifted away. Some thought I was mad to leave.

You cannot win approval from people who are unhappy with their own choices. I stopped trying.

4. I am the most demanding boss I have ever had

Productivity became the thing I could not switch off.

It is still the hardest habit to break.

5. Freedom does not feel free, yet

I expected freedom to feel free. Long lunches, slow mornings.

There are slower mornings now, and longer holidays. But every hour off still comes with a voice asking whether I should be working.

If you are thinking about leaving, you will meet at least one of these, and it helps to know it is normal.

Which one are you bracing for? Hit reply or send me a message on LinkedIn and tell me.