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Life After Quitting My Job: What I’m Learning While Building My Business From Home

Shelleka Powell-Tomlinson of Efitmi Lifestyle

When I wrote my last post about quitting my job after 11 years, I talked a lot about the decision. The courage it took. The uncertainty. The faith required to step into something new. Now that I’m a few days into this new chapter, I want to talk about something simpler.


What I’m already enjoying.


Because while I’m still figuring out how I will fully replace my income, there are already some things that remind me why I made this decision in the first place.



I’m spending more time with my kids

This is probably the biggest change.


My kids are… a lot sometimes. Let me just be honest. Anyone raising children knows they can be sweet one minute and completely chaotic the next.


But something I’m realizing now that I’m home more is this: You don’t fully know your children when you're always rushing. You know their routines. You know their needs.


But you don’t always know them.


Being home is allowing me to learn their personalities more. Their little habits. Their conversations. The things they find funny. The things that frustrate them.


It’s a different kind of connection.



I love being there when my daughter gets home

One of my favorite moments now is when my daughter gets home from school, and I’m actually there to meet her.


No rushing in late. No, trying to multitask while exhausted. No feeling mentally checked out.


Just being present.


I also love that I can now help her get ready for school in a calmer way instead of everything feeling like a race against the clock.


These may seem like small things, but to me they feel like part of the life I was hoping to build when I decided to leave my corporate job.


For me, this journey isn’t just about starting a business after quitting my job. It’s also about building a life that feels more aligned with my priorities.



I’m building my own coaching business

Of course, this isn’t just a stay-home season. It’s also a building season. For the past 11 years, I have worked in the call center industry, primarily coaching and developing sales agents. I spent years helping people improve performance, build confidence, and increase their results.


Now I’m taking everything I learned and turning it into my own freelance coaching business.

That means:

  • Creating my own coaching frameworks

  • Reaching out to potential clients

  • Building programs based on real experience

  • Turning my professional background into something I own


This is honestly one of the most exciting parts of my entrepreneurship journey. It feels different when you’re building something that belongs to you.



I’m building multiple income streams

Right now, I’m not relying on just one thing. I’m building several paths at once, which many people recommend when you're trying to replace your 9-5 income.


Some of the things I’m currently working on include:

  • Growing my coaching services

  • Affiliate marketing

  • Selling more copies of my books

  • Selling products through my website

  • Building my content platforms


Some people call this diversification. Some call it multiple income streams. Right now, I just call it learning. I don’t expect everything to work immediately. But I do believe consistency will eventually pay off.



I’m documenting the process

One of the things I decided before I even resigned was that I would share this journey in real time.

Not after everything is successful. Not after everything is polished. But while I’m building.


I recently shared a YouTube video explaining what I’m building to replace my income and how I’m approaching this transition. If you want to see more about what this season looks like behind the scenes, you can watch it here:



This is part of my commitment to transparency. If this works, you’ll see how. If I struggle, you’ll see that too.



This is just the beginning

I don’t have all the answers yet.


What I do have is:

  • Time with my family

  • A plan I'm developing daily

  • Skills I know I can build on

  • Faith that this step was necessary


Right now I’m learning how to be patient with the process.


If you’ve ever considered leaving your job, starting a business, or creating more flexibility in your life, I hope you’ll follow along. I’ll be sharing what works, what doesn’t, and what I’m learning along the way.



Follow the journey

If you want to follow this journey of building a business after leaving my job, you can:


More soon.

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