When the Work No Longer Works

How Elizabeth Dunbar Manifested Her Layoff and Launched a Coaching Business

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Where were you working before the layoff, and what was your role?
I was a Human Capital consultant at Deloitte, focused on Workforce Transformation, Change Management, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. I was strategizing for and consulting on everything that impacted the workforce.

How did the layoff happen, and what was your immediate reaction?
I felt like I was at the end of the road with my consulting journey. I was most excited about DEI projects, but they weren’t making money. Corporate commitment to DEI had waned. I reached out to leadership to see if they would support me in getting certified in leadership coaching, so that I could switch focus within the organization. They said no, so once my last DEI project was over, I was ready to call it quits, but I refused to leave for free. I started hearing whispers about upcoming layoffs, so I kept my ear to the ground (Read as: the Fishbowl app) to find out what I needed to do to get one. Rumor was they were cutting the people who had been on the bench (not actively on a project) for 8+ weeks. I knew there wasn’t a lot of work available and no one had reached out to put me on a project. I figured I could sit on the bench for the 4 more weeks I would need to meet this threshold, all while enjoying my summer and planning my future. Four weeks later, a leader I’d never met, along with someone from HR, put a meeting on my calendar. 24 hours later, I was funemployed!

Had you already started your side hustle or passion project before the layoff?
I was already coaching colleagues within the company and friends in career transition, which I enjoyed. Coaching quickly became one of my favorite parts of the job. I identified a leadership coaching certification program and asked my employer to sponsor my education, but was rejected. As that was not an option, I explored creating my own business, but entrepreneurship was intimidating. I never wanted to work for myself and did not know the first thing about running a business, so it was so much easier just to show up at my job and throw myself into that work because my job was already largely defined. Beyond getting certified, there was no roadmap for what I was creating, and that was intimidating, but my desire only kept building, as did my frustration with my job. 

In my free time, I was taking a meditation teacher training course, which is a big part of the work I do now, which helped me to imagine the business and career that I desired. I had a wonderful vision and a lot of great ideas for my business, as well as some incredible teachers and coaches as role models, but didn’t make most of my moves until after I left my job.

What gave you the push or confidence to pursue it full-time after the layoff?
I used to think I was the kind of person who would never enjoy working, that it was just a necessary evil, and I just had to find the least unappealing type of work. Now I know I’m the kind of person who only gets excited about very specific types of work. My top core value is heart-centered personal development. I’m absolutely obsessed with it. I love challenging myself to grow and have been informally coaching my friends and students to help them reach their goals for many years, but I never considered that it could be a career. When I realized this, it was really a no-brainer. I tried to build the business while I was consulting, but I needed to leave my job to focus on the dream full-time. There was a paradigm shift I needed to embrace to make my dream a reality. 

What was your first move after deciding to go all in?
I did three things. First, I hired a breathwork coach. I knew that this solopreneur journey was going to challenge me and bring up every fear and insecurity I’ve ever had. I needed someone to help me navigate that, and I needed breathwork to work through big emotions in my subconscious so I wouldn’t get overwhelmed and shut down while working on them consciously. That was a game changer. I was rebirthing myself and birthing my business. I needed someone to help me through the labor, but instead of Lamaze, she helped me with holotropic breathing. Second, I applied for a Leadership Coaching certification program to get the training I needed to refine my coaching skills and acquire the credentials I needed to get hired by organizations. I’m so glad that I took that step. Finally, I signed up for the advanced meditation teacher training in my meditation community so I could support my clients with envisioning the life and career they want for themselves.

What were the biggest challenges in turning your idea into a business or income stream?
I didn’t appreciate how much of my time would be spent on business versus coaching and how much money I would need to invest in my business to get it off the ground. The coaching is the easy part, but it’s only 15% of what I do. Another 20% is upskilling as a coach, and the remaining 65% is business. Operations, sales, marketing, content creation, etc. I went to business school years ago, but it’s different to build a business from scratch. To get everything off the ground, I have worked with a marketing and branding coach, a sales coach, and a pitching coach.  

What support systems (or people) helped you during the early stages?
I created a dream team to support me through this transition. Having friends and family is great, but I quickly learned that I could not get the support I needed from people who pedestalize the status quo. They mean well, but just don't understand or value the life and career I'm creating. I also realized that while I needed to have entrepreneurs in my circle, it could not be ones that glorify hustle and grind over building an abundant life and business. That’s why I hire coaches, befriend aligned entrepreneurs and creatives, and join communities that support the life and business I am building. I will continue to refine my dream team to meet my needs and desires throughout my life and entrepreneurship journey.

Were there any moments you seriously questioned your decision? How did you get through them?
I never questioned leaving consulting. I never questioned becoming a coach or if I could coach. I never questioned starting a business. I only questioned if I could run a business and if I could sell my services. I hired coaches and strategists to help me with that and to support my nervous system through the process.

What does your business or creative work look like now? Where can people find it?
As a Leadership Coach, I work with high-performing professionals to help them realize their highest potential and become more effective, authentic, and empathetic leaders. I specialize in helping leaders navigate complexity and chaos to find clarity through coaching, visioning, inner listening, hidden inquiry, and embodiment practices.

As a Life Alignment Coach, I help high achieving women who are successfully surviving to thrive and live more meaningful, fulfilling, balanced, and abundant lives in my signature Thriving Feminine group coaching program and other offerings. Successfully surviving meaning that they have mastered the ways to get more safety (e.g., earning degrees, landing good jobs, getting promotions, securing raises, etc.). I start by asking these ladies to dream big at a free visioning event so they can connect to what they truly desire for their lives. 

What have you learned about yourself since making this leap?
Just because I’m made for something doesn’t mean the road to it is without obstacles. The obstacles are there to help me see new perspectives, refine existing skills, and build new ones. Every challenge on the path to pursuing my passion can be figured out, but sometimes I need to bring in a professional to help me if I want to clear it faster

What advice would you give someone considering turning their layoff into their launchpad?
Take the time to dream. Don’t set any goals or make any plans until you have tapped into your authentic vision of the life you desire. If you start to plan before you are clear on your vision, you're making plans to live someone else’s dream, and you’ll find yourself being frustrated again in a few weeks, months, years, or decades down the road because you won’t be on your path. I take my clients through a guided meditation to help them envision their desires when we start working together, because everything else we work on has to be grounded in that desire.

Want to follow Elizabeth’s next chapter? Find her on LinkedIn