Owning your career means taking control of your learning, growth, and decisions—no matter the circumstances. The best professionals I’ve worked with share a common trait: they lean into challenges, create plans when faced with adversity, and follow through relentlessly. But for me, learning this came the hard way. My story begins with a dream—and a failure that changed the course of my life.
- Betting on Myself: The Restaurant Dream
I once had a successful food truck that provided a steady stream of secondary income before side hustles were trendy. Encouraged by that success, I took a leap of faith: opening a restaurant. It was a bold move, especially for someone naturally risk-averse like me. I opted for a low-cost location halfway between my home and my business partner’s house—a compromise that seemed logical but ultimately exposed a critical mistake: we were entering a brand-new market with no customer loyalty.
For six grueling months, I poured everything I had into this business—12- to 16-hour days, back-to-back problem-solving, and constant firefighting. But the market never came. And then came the day my partner walked in and said, “I can’t do this anymore.”
It was over.
- The Pivot: Turning Failure Into a New Path
The failure was crushing, but it also forced me to act. With a family to support and a future to rebuild, I knew I couldn’t return to call centers—I needed a path that offered growth, challenge, and financial potential. That’s when I found sales.
Sales became my lifeline. I embraced long hours, relentless learning, and the discomfort of being new to something. I consumed books, took extra classes, and sharpened my skills constantly. Through hard work and grit, I built a successful career in B2B sales, which eventually paved the way to executive recruiting—a role that aligns with my strengths and passions.
- Key Lessons Learned: Resilience, Action, and Incremental Growth
Looking back, my failed restaurant venture taught me critical lessons that I carry to this day:
- Hard work isn’t enough. It’s the small details, the incremental improvements, and the willingness to adapt that truly create progress.
- Adversity is an opportunity. It forces you to reassess, make a plan, and act. The clarity of purpose that comes with failure can be transformative—if you let it.
- Action beats analysis. Feeling lost or stuck? Don’t overthink it. Start somewhere. Make a plan and move forward. You can always adjust, but nothing happens without taking that first step.
- Owning Your Career: A Call to Action
Whether you’re navigating a career change, building new skills, or overcoming a failure, owning your career means taking responsibility for what happens next. Here’s how you can start:
- Take inventory of your situation. What’s working? What’s not? Be honest with yourself.
- Create a plan. Define your goals and outline small, actionable steps to get there.
- Commit to learning. Read books, take classes, find mentors—whatever it takes to sharpen your skills.
- Stay adaptable. Your plan will evolve, and that’s okay. What matters is moving forward.
For me, that failed restaurant wasn’t the end of my story—it was the beginning. It forced me to step outside my comfort zone and take ownership of my career in a way I never had before.
If you’re in a season of struggle, know this: action leads to clarity, and clarity leads to progress. Owning your career starts with owning your moment—whatever it looks like.
About Doug Karo, Recruiting Manager
With over a decade of experience in executive search, Doug is a seasoned professional renowned for delivering top-tier talent acquisition solutions. Specializing in Human Resources, he excels at identifying and securing high-caliber talent across diverse industries and functions. Doug has successfully partnered with prestigious organizations, including Vail Resorts, Trader Joe’s, Freedom Financial, Eisner Health, and Boart Longyear, among others. To learn more about Doug, visit his bio page.