Season 2, Episode 8: Leaving Corporate America For A Different Dream
Guest Christy Soper is the founder and owner of Suncierge, a boutique travel business with a mission to “empower travelers and their companions, expand diversity awareness, and create educated global citizens.” She has an immensely diverse and successful corporate background, but made the leap into entrepreneurship to follow her passion.
Host Jordan Lacenski is the founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Brandboss Creative, and co-founder of SheWolf Collaborative.
Host: Jordan Lacenski
Guest: Christy Soper
Show Notes
3:43 - “Marrying passion with a purpose, so that became my mission.” - Christy tells Jordan about her life-changing decision to leave an almost 20 year corporate career to launch her own business and pursue her passions.
7:52 - “I’ve never once looked back over my shoulder and said ‘Oh my gosh, I wish I was still doing that.’ Because when you know you are not fully centered and your core is not exactly where it needs to be focused, it’s really not a matter of money. ” - Christy explains her process of leaving the security of a salaried position, but how it was the best thing for her. Change is scary, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad!
12:33 - “My definition today of success isn’t so much about what societal terms dictate, it’s more about am I contributing to the greater good, am I adding value for my clients, for my community, for my connections. ” - Jordan and Christy talk about what success means to them, and how our perceptions and definitions of success change and grow with us.
14:06 - “What we try to do is raise awareness around some opportunities that can also contribute from a cultural awareness standpoint, for getting people outside their comfort zones into nature that perhaps in a soft manner, isn’t something they would have thought of doing or experience on their own.” - Christy talks about how her travel company serves more than just the purpose of getting away (although that’s important). She helps people to reconnect, take a break, get to know themselves again, and experience new and different things.
19:58 - “You have to be at a right place in your own world and head that you can appreciate this experience and what’s coming next.” - Jordan and Christy discuss how in business and entrepreneurship, the focus can often be on the me, but it really should be about the intrinsic mission statement of what the business set out to do. It can takes time to learn to change that narrative.
23:16 - “Be selfish in that you are the person who is going to get up and drive this engine every day, but do selfishness in a way that is going to add value and contribute so that it’s not really selfishness when you stack it all up at the end of the day.” - Recharging and self care is important, especially when you are the one responsible for the care, operation, and success of your business. Christy’s message is to take care of yourself so you can do the work for others that you want to do.
26:03 - “Balance is a myth. Integration is key.” - Christy talks about creating a women’s group at her former corporate workplace, and how that blossomed into a supportive network both in and out of the workplace. Life and work don’t balance each other out; they’re interwoven pieces of our lives.
29:00 - “Man, HR is just not my cup of tea!” - After experiencing success in many different roles, Christy talks about where she feels like she “fails.” Acknowledging her weakness allows Christy to hire and rely on great people who are driven in the areas where she isn’t.
33:51 - “What I own is a travel business, but what we really do every day is about innovation.” - With Suncierge, Christy and her team are pushing the travel industry to do things differently, to progress and evolve with technology, and provide the best service and experience to their clients.
Links:
Suncierge: https://suncierge.com/
She Wolf Collaborative: https://shewolf.co/
Brandboss Creative: https://www.brandbosscreative.com/
Also mentioned:
Yellow Co: https://yellowco.co/
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
Quotes:
“If I had tried to start this business when I was right out of college, I would have failed so blatantly hard, because there’s a lot of life experience that just teaches you things as you go along, and you don’t even know you’ve learned it until you’re looking in hindsight. There are some very good friends of mine who are a generation ahead of me and they share their wisdom with me, they hand it down like a really comfy sweatshirt, and it fits me perfectly and I can totally appreciate it. But if they had told me that when I was 22, I would have been completely dismissive.” - Christy Soper
“In this world, in entrepreneurship, you’re in charge of everything. You are your own boss, you are your own collaborator, you are your own mentor and critic, and in charge of ongoing operational and continuous improvement.” - Christy Soper