A lot of the executives I speak with tell me they want something more stable. They want to know their income is stable. They want to feel secure about their professional future. That desire makes complete sense. But there is an important question underneath it that is worth asking: stable compared to what?
I had a podcast interview with Patrick Kilner, founder of the Kilner Companies and author of Find Your Six, a framework built around one core principle: your network of trusted relationships is your greatest professional asset. Patrick is a third-generation entrepreneur who has spent twenty years studying how real stability gets built in a career, and what he has found runs counter to how most people think about it.
The stability most people are counting on in a corporate role is far more fragile than it appears. Companies restructure. Industries shift. Titles go away fast. The people who move through those transitions with the most confidence are the ones who have been building something of their own alongside their career.
How Fragile Is Corporate Stability Really?
The average job in today’s market lasts about two and a half years. The average CEO tenure runs under five years. These are measurable and documented patterns. They apply across industries, salary ranges, and experience levels.
The roles that disappear fastest belong to people who have made themselves predictable and easy to replace. The roles that stay belong to people who treat their position like a business owner treats their company. They bring initiative. They drive results. They create visible and measurable value.
That same entrepreneurial mindset is the most transferable skill a person can carry. It works inside a company, and it works when building something of your own.
What Does Building Your Own Stability Actually Look Like?
For most people, building something of their own means making a thoughtful transition over time. It looks like a well-planned process:
- Getting clear on what kind of business fits your skills, your personality, and the life you want to build
- Understanding the investment levels, the time required, and the measurable risk involved
- Building a network of people who can advise you and advocate for you along the way
- Choosing a proven and documented model, like a franchise system, that gives you a repeatable path to follow
The people who make the smoothest transitions are the ones who took time to understand themselves first and then found the right fit for where they are in life right now.
What Is Your Professional Network Actually Worth?
The most consistent thing I hear from successful founders is this: the relationships they built before they needed them made every other part of the process easier.
Think about the people in your professional life right now who know your capabilities well, who believe in what you can do, and who would advocate for you if the right opportunity came up. Those relationships are the measurable foundation of your next professional chapter, whatever that turns out to be.
You can build that network deliberately. It starts with being genuinely useful to people before you need anything from them. Patrick built an entire framework around this idea because it is that important.
Are You Thinking Like an Entrepreneur Yet?
The best time to start thinking like an entrepreneur is before a disruption forces you to. The skills, the habits, and the confidence that come from building something of your own transfer directly into every other area of your professional life.
Whether you are ready to make a move right now or you are still a few years away from it, the thinking and the preparation start today. The people who are ready when the moment comes are the ones who were building toward it long before it arrived.
I work with people at every stage of this process. If you want to think through where you are and what the next move could look like, I am glad to help with that. You can book a complimentary call with me right here, and we will have an honest conversation about what is possible for you.