I'm not dying; I'm transforming!

Creating my new dream job with a bit of entrepreneurship mixed with stroopwaffles

Photo by Bankim Desai on Unsplash

One of my favorite aspects of Publish Not Perish is the fantastic community that has gathered here. When I announced last week that I resigned from my tenure-track position, I received an outpouring of support and well wishes.

Y’all are the real ones. Thank you!

Even though they’ve also offered well wishes and understanding, some of my students, colleagues, and friends in academia are feeling a sense of loss by my departure. I understand this sentiment, and it is entirely valid.

That being said, my dears, I am not dying; I am transforming. And in many ways, my flight path won’t actually take me very far away from you.

Brainstorming ideas for a new career based on the aspects of my current job that I enjoy the most has been an important part of my transformation. As I mentioned in my last post, my scholarly identity will remain intact during my work and life transition, and I will keep writing. However, making a living by writing is not an easy task for us mere mortals.

There are other rewarding aspects of my professorial work in academia that I’d love to continue. One of my favorite aspects of being a professor is helping students and colleagues navigate research, writing, and academic life. I am currently devising plans to make this a key component of my day-to-day work!

My new dream job is becoming an entrepreneur so I can build an academia-adjacent business while doing some of my favorite parts of my faculty role. The job I am creating for myself also gives me geographical flexibility, which is important to both me and my partner Kate.

The business plan, because now I’m a “business woman.”

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)

I am starting an online business to help scholars design the meaningful work lives they want. In essence, I will take some of PNP’s content and approach and transform it into in-depth courses, intensive one-on-one and small group coaching, and more.

(I’m still working on a name for said business, so if you have any grand ideas as you read, I want to hear them!)

One of the primary reasons I am launching this venture is that I continue to see so many people enter the academy with a deep passion for learning and a desire to make a positive difference in the world, only to see that light dim. In academia’s high-pressure environment, there are endless demands vying for our time and structural barriers limiting the potential for our best work.

• Some of us regularly feel the “publish or perish” mantra humming in our ears, but we find that we are too stretched thin to write and publish because of other demands on our time.

• Some of us entered graduate school because we loved teaching and public scholarship, but we are now frustrated that the academy's priorities limit our ability to make as much of an impact.

• Some of us want nothing more than to be full-time faculty members, but we are faced with the reality that those positions are scarce, and we are concerned that we will be unable to find a fulfilling job outside of the ivory tower.

Regardless of your specific career aspirations or needs, I want to build a support system where diverse scholars not only survive but shine, unlocking their full potential and doing impactful work in the university and beyond. 

My vision is to create programs and workshops, offer one-on-one and small-group coaching, and foster a supportive community. Very soon, I’ll start opening spots for individual coaching, and I plan to offer a course/small group coaching program this coming fall!

We’ll work on goals that might include

• Devising strategies to write and publish more in the academy or outside of it

• Developing more work-life or work-work balance

• Crafting a game plan for navigating academic milestones and culture

• Exploring alternative career paths outside of academia

• Creating a community of like-minded scholars who want to do their best work while thriving

• and more!

Like PNP, I will do all of this while assisting scholars in determining which goals and strategies are most effective for them, rather than being dogmatic or prescriptive.

My ultimate mission is to build a community of scholars who are inspired, resilient, and equipped to do the work that matters to them, to society, and to the planet.

Let’s do it all!

My biggest challenge right now is the desire to jump in and offer everything at once! On top of that, I have a number of dreams that I hope to realize at some point, including a podcast, community membership, on-campus workshops, and writing retreats. That would be a lot for one person to handle, so I hope to be able to hire additional staff one day!

But I will have to pace myself because I have a lot of new knowledge and skills to learn for my new role as captain of my own ship.

PNP will continue to arrive in your inbox each week, and I will continue to provide both free and paid content and opportunities. I know many of my readers are graduate students or otherwise precariously employed, so I intend to provide a variety of access points to my work. That does not mean that everyone will be able to afford every option, but I will continue to provide good content that is available to all because transparency and accessibility remain important to me.

Rethinking Entrepreneurship

Creating a job for myself never seemed like a real possibility to me because that required entrepreneurial skills and business acumen, which seemed like a whole sector of work further entrenched in capitalism than academia. I’ve been delighted to uncover that, just like in academia, you can decide how you are going to move about the world of entrepreneurship and stay true to your own values and ethics without compromising your soul.

I stumbled across Sara Santacroce's podcast, the Humane Marketing Show, and was introduced to her gentle approach to business, which prioritizes people and the planet over profit. She has shattered my limiting belief that business always means exploitation and can instead be used to better the world around us. I am currently taking a humane marketing course with her, and the people she brings together share the same goals in their work.

Photo by Priscilla Gyamfi on Unsplash

Entrepreneurship is not for the fainthearted, and I expect bumps and challenges along the way. That said, I really like the idea of steering my own ship towards the horizon.

The biggest appeal of creating my own job for myself right now is that I can infuse my work with equity and humanity without also having to constantly struggle against my employer’s white supremacist, cis-het, ablest, capitalist, and patriarchal practices. I get to express my values and priorities through my work, potentially reaching more people than I could at my previous job. That is a thrilling proposition, indeed.

Also, I would be remiss not to mention that I am in a position to take on the financial risk of starting a business because a) I have a supportive partner, b) my student loans were recently forgiven, so I no longer need to work in US-based public service to qualify, and c) we are selling our house in Texas for a profit. I want to be transparent about my particular circumstances because these privileges are not equally available to everyone.

These factors, of course, also have a positive impact on Kate's and my ability to make decisions about where we live.

We’re moving to the Netherlands!

Three years ago, I went to a conference in Amsterdam, and after being there for all of two hours, I called Kate and said, “I think we could live here!”

Dutch Stroopwaffles

No, it wasn’t just the dutch buttery caramel goodness. It was something about the feel of the place that released a tension that I’ve carried on my shoulders since living in Texas.

The feel of where I live matters a great deal to me. It’s a place where I can take in a deep breath, and my lungs and chest are filled with a sense of lightness that is simultaneously rooted in the earth. People, geographical features like water or mountains, and other aspects of a place all have an impact on this feeling. Farmers Exchange, Tennessee (my birthplace), Seattle, Washington, and Tafroute, Morocco, are all places that feel good in my bones, despite the fact that other life logistics prevent me from living in those places for the long term.

I have moved around a lot, and I can usually tell right away which places fit and which do not. So, after some logistical research and a couple of trips back to the Netherlands, Kate and I have decided to move there for a few years or more! The Netherlands has a special visa for American entrepreneurs that I’ll be taking advantage of now that I’m a “business woman.”

You heard that right, folks. Not only am I becoming an entrepreneur for the first time in my life, but we are also moving to a new country.

That seems smart, right?!

Life is short, and after several years of feeling stuck because of my job, this feels like a liberating, albeit scary, choice. My new job is portable, allowing me to work wherever I go.

Ask-me-anything!

So there you have it, dear readers. That’s Jenn’s new life and business plan for the foreseeable future. I’m glad that I’ll be working academically adjacent and that I’ll be embarking on a new life adventure in the process.

I’ll hope you’ll continue to allow me to dip into your inbox each week because I’ve got so much more to give!

Many people have reached out, expressing similar thoughts about leaving academia or struggling with the political situation at their institution. I firmly believe that there are both good reasons to remain in academia and good reasons to leave—everyone must do what is best for themselves and their loved ones. As always, we adopt the “you-do-you” philosophy here at PNP.

I am happy to answer questions about my information-gathering and decision-making processes or upcoming plans. Feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email at jenn@publishnotperish.net.