G is selling his townhouse and the closing has been set for Sept 15.

Not to get into too many nitty gritty details (mostly because I don’t know them – not because I have boundaries!) but closing on this townhouse means he (we) will have a nest egg. The mythical “cushion” you’re supposed to have. Also means we’ll only have one mortgage and one set of utilities to pay every month.

That also means that it is now time to look hard at exiting from corporate work.

I’ve crunched the numbers and in order to meet all our bills and trim down a few of them (who needs to eat out that much! Holy crap was that enlightening!) I have figured out that I could contract 46 weeks (six weeks of unpaid vacation) and 30 hours a week (leaving time for choir and stuff) and only have to bill out at 85% of what the going rate is. In other words, I can underprice my work and still work fewer hours and fewer weeks and still make the money we need to meet obligations and keep up with our current level of saving and donations.

Of course the tricky part is filling that pipeline. That’s where my friend LN comes in. Turns out he is done at Intergalactic Evil Insurance Company  in early November and is ready to start his leadership coaching business with the book he’s been researching and writing for the last six or so years. And he wants me to help provide the service for women executives and the non-profit religious sector.

I also talked with one of our contractors today who went out on her own in 2009. You remember 2009? Not the smartest year to start your own business… if you were a planner. But she was illegally discharged from her job for blowing the whistle on gender-based pay inequities (Men with her same job title, on her team, with less formal education than she has were being paid $15,000-$20,000 MORE than she was for the same work. And when she called them on it, they fired her.) ANYWAY, she said that her business has increased 25% from the first year (9 months compared to 12 months but still…) and from year 2 to this year. She’s already billed and been paid the amount she budgeted to make this year – and it’s not September yet. (I would be sorely tempted to take a month off. Just the burn-out talking, but still.)

I’m talking details with LN tomorrow at lunch. Then I have to talk with an accountant.

I’ve talked with G and we are targeting the new year for my transition. I want to have time to get all the benefits I’ve paid for where I am – use up my health flex spending and the other benefits like pre-paid legal consultations and such. And that just takes time when you’re juggling actually working for the corporation and choir starts in a couple of weeks and oh yea, G is still healing from knee surgery.

So I have to hold on until Christmas.

But I’m already looking for contracts. And, if some need/want to start before the end of the year, I’ll figure it out then.

Things may change a bit around here. I may archive a bunch of posts and start focusing on more “professional” topics. Or I may start a business blog and leave this one alone. Who knows. I sure don’t yet. Advice on that is welcome. I also need an incorporation name since my real name is a little, shall we say “beige” for this area. A little too nondescript Scandinavian. So maybe a snappy incorporation name or something.

At any rate, it’s nice to see the end in sight and I feel energized working toward that goal.

Oh, by the way. Today is my one year anniversary at the Corporation. Yay me!