Successfully pivoting to a new career can be one of the hardest but best plays you ever make.
I went to the University of Arizona and got a degree in Accounting. My whole life I was told to get the best education possible because making it to the next level in football was almost impossible.
I thought I was going to go into corporate America and pursue a CPA career but I got a chance as an undrafted free agent to play for the Cowboys. I took advantage of my short leash and ended up starting in the NFL for 3 years. This was great but another huge pivot was coming. While playing in the NFL I realized that players have never filed taxes before and now need to file in every state that they play in. I saw a big opportunity there to help players file taxes and make a good living but this changed fast!
My wife started a small home business selling personalized wedding gifts. Once my career ended I saw the opportunity in the market and took the company from a small at home shop to one of the biggest and best online gift shops, Everything Decorated. With over 25,000 five star reviews through out our website and Etsy shops. This was great but it wasn’t my passion and wasn’t my company.
Last year another huge pivot occurred in my career. I was at the gym in Texas in the summer and by the time I got there my shaker bottle was warm. I looked everywhere for one that was insulated but could not find one. I decided to follow my passion in the nutrition and fitness industry and created the best shaker bottle that I could. I launched Ice Shaker, a kitchen grade stainless steel insulated shaker bottle that does not absorb odor and holds ice for over 30 hours. I couldn’t just jump right in, I had to continue working with Everything Decorated until Ice Shaker was successful enough to support a full time job.
After about 4 months it was getting to the point where Ice Shaker was doing well enough that I had to switch over and start working on Ice Shaker full time. Ice Shaker is now one of the top rated and best selling shaker bottles on amazon and can be found in GNC and Nutrishop in the Dallas area. Ice Shaker has really taken off and is the ultimate example of pivoting your career to better your situation. Don’t be afraid of adversity, it helps you learn and grow and can take you to a whole new level.