Discovering Your Personal Career Freedom With Profi (a Brief History & My Story)

Ah, yes…the quest, the searching, the longing for a magic pill that will bring you personal and career freedom. Sometimes, it feels less like a quest and more like a nagging itch that won’t go away no matter how hard you try to ignore it (or reason with it). A few years ago, I finally gave in. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic shook everything up, I jumped out of a job I’d had for 10 years and started my own business — and while it wasn’t a perfectly smooth transition, it was WORTH IT. 

Why does anyone take the scary, life-altering leap toward job freedom? Well, what I wrote about it at the time still rings true today, and the themes might sound familiar to you if you’re feeling that deep desire for career freedom:

“I had a comfortable, well-paying job with security and benefits. I was doing what I loved, and working with good people. What I was missing was the chance to grow on my own terms and the ability to fit what mattered to me into my life. I didn’t want to be the stressed-out mother, wife, and friend I was becoming. Whether you’re an employee or you’re self-employed, there are trade-offs. In my case, the need for creative and personal freedom began to outweigh the security afforded by a career working for someone else. I needed to take care of myself — to fulfill my need for freedom and purpose — to be there for the people I love with an open heart and a present mind.”

If you’re anything like I was (and still tend to be), you’ve had a voice in your head that’s been pushing you toward discovering career freedom for years — maybe even decades. It keeps saying, “I’m overwhelmed by this job” or “I want to help people in a more meaningful way.” And you keep telling it to be quiet because you have bills to pay and obligations to meet. I’m here to tell you, it’s time to shut up and listen to your inner voice. 

There has NEVER — in all of history — been a better time to start your own business to fulfill your desire for personal career freedom. 

Right Now is the Best Time for Discovering Career Freedom

The world we live in has changed dramatically over the centuries. The way people worked and lived together before the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions is unlike anything we experience today.

The Industrial Revolution brought people out of their homes to work in factories. People were expected to work when, where, and how the employer needed them to — and that mentality has persistently hung on. We still see this today, even throughout the Digital Revolution, when the tools for balancing power between employers and employees, like the Internet, were first created. 

The technological advancements of the Digital Revolution brought about significant shifts in the way humans are capable of interacting and conducting business. Still, within the culture at large, they weren’t enough to shift people from thinking they had to work in an office for a boss to climb the corporate ladder.

But we’ve now entered a new era. We’re currently living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution  — with its artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), genetic engineering, and quantum computing. Simultaneously, we’ve collectively been shaken into a state of awareness about work-life balance by the pandemic — and it’s completely upending how we live and work. 

But we’ve now entered a new era. We’re currently living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution  — with its artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), genetic engineering, and quantum computing. Simultaneously, we’ve collectively been shaken into a state of awareness about work-life balance by the pandemic — and it’s completely upending how we live and work. 

The term ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ was coined in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF). But, even before then, great thinkers like renowned life coach Martha Beck saw the trends. In the introduction of Martha Beck’s 2012 book, “Finding Your Way in a Wild New World,” she writes, “As we begin the second decade of the twenty-first century, the pace of technological and social change has reached what statisticians call ‘the knee of the curve’ in an exponential growth pattern. That means that, after many centuries of slow progress from basic fire-making to the Industrial Revolution, we are now inventing more powerful technologies at such a pace that soon the human brain won’t be able to keep up with the machines it has built.”

Online software’s quality, usefulness, and accessibility have advanced so much that you can now build a business when, where, and how you see fit. This is especially true if you want to build a coaching, consulting, or training business either as a solopreneur or collaboratively with a team, multiple teams, or a network of independent service providers. 

Service delivery-focused software solutions like Profi.io give you access to everything you need to deliver services and help others all in one place. The barriers to working and living the way you want have fallen away. It’s time to seize the moment, build your ideal life, and attain the job freedom you desire. 

Right Now is the Best Time for Discovering Personal Freedom as a Coach, Consultant, or Trainer

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic happening during the Fourth Industrial Revolution are still playing out in consulting, training, and coaching market trends. However, while there was an initial jolt and disruption to most industries, there seems to be not just recovery, but growth opportunities in these people-helping markets.

For example, according to Magdalena Nowicka Mook, Executive Director and CEO of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), coaching, globally, grew to a near-$3 billion industry in 2021. Citing the 2022 ICF Global Consumer Awareness Study (GCAS), she notes, “It is evident from the 2022 GCAS that awareness of — and demand for — coaching continues to grow.”

People and businesses are looking to improve, make positive changes, and grow. They’re out there right now searching for the unique skills and perspective you can bring to the world as a coach, trainer, or consultant.

A similar story of constriction and chaos followed by resurgence appears to be playing out in the global management consulting services market. In a press release focused on how the metaverse is changing the management consulting industry, The Business Research Company had this to say: 

“The global management consulting services market is expected to grow from $891.88 billion in 2021 to $973.67 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2%. The growth in the management consulting services market is mainly due to companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The management consulting services market share is expected to reach $1320.94 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 7.9%.”

What about the demand for soft skills training? Yep. That’s going up, too. ResearchandMarkets.com’s recent forecast states, “the global soft skills training market size reached US$ 23.64 Billion in 2021.” The publisher predicts the market will “reach US$ 47.16 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.3%.”

The markets and the “wild new world,” as Martha Beck calls it, are converging — making this the perfect moment for discovering personal freedom, job freedom, and fulfillment as someone who helps others.

The report also points out that organizations emphasize providing employees with high-quality training modules to encourage holistic development. And more people are investing in upgrading their skills to attract better, more lucrative professional opportunities.

‍People and businesses are looking to improve, make positive changes, and grow. They’re out there right now searching for the unique skills and perspective you can bring to the world as a coach, trainer, or consultant.

The markets and the “wild new world,” as Martha Beck calls it, are converging — making this the perfect moment for discovering personal freedom, job freedom, and fulfillment as someone who helps others.

How to Make the Dream of Job Freedom a Reality

Yes, starting your own business to help others in a meaningful way can give you personal and career freedom and more satisfaction. And yes, the statistics you’ve read about how many small businesses go under in the first few years are scary. So, what’s the secret sauce? How do you make it happen?

The first — and biggest — factor in creating a successful business is having clarity of purpose for you and your team. Once you have that, everything else, like learning how to choose a revenue model to grow your coaching team or deciding what content to produce for an e-learning module, tends to fall into place with greater ease. With clarity of purpose, designing your business and life well becomes much simpler because you have a guiding star or touchpoint to return to if you start to lose your way.

With clarity of purpose, designing your business and life well becomes much simpler because you have a guiding star or touchpoint to return to if you start to lose your way.

The second thing to do? You probably saw this coming given my argument about the pace of technology growth: use the technology that’s now making it possible for people like you and me to potentially reach billions of people with our unique skills, knowledge, authenticity, and empathy.

Discover Your Personal Career Freedom with Profi.io

It’s time to pivot what you love to do into a coaching, consulting, or training business that affords you more personal and career freedom. Let Profi.io help you do you. This intuitive platform has everything you need to deliver professional coaching, consulting, or training services, including:

• secure video conferencing and messaging
• high-performing scheduling and booking software
• integrated billing and payment processing
• an online program and course builder
• client relationship management (CRM) software
• forms and journaling; and
• membership and community building

The Profi.io platform is designed with different users and their use cases in mind, too. It has the right tools for solopreneurs, small businesses with a single team, businesses with multiple teams and the need for a branded platform, and networks providing a subscription-based model to independent service providers.

The best part about the Profi.io platform? It continues to grow and evolve to meet the demands of professionals helping people realize their full potential. 

Stop treating your deep desire for personal and career freedom like an itch that will go away if you ignore it. Believe me, if you’ve got the bug for job freedom, your inner voice will continue to get louder and louder until it’s screaming at you. Take control of your career path before it takes control of you. Book a Demo with one of Profi’s Product Coaches today.