When choosing our education paths and subsequent profession, we know that having multiple jobs in our careers is likely—12 by the time we’re 55, on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, according to the World Economic Forum, we should also expect to have multiple careers—not just multiple jobs. The urge to pivot may arise from financial considerations, seeking greater earning potential, personal motivation, pursuing a passion or a greater sense of work–life balance. Whatever the purpose, a career pivot can be an intimidating prospect.
We spoke to five people who have undergone significant pivots in their careers, asking them how SUCCESS® readers can prepare for pivots of their own.
Justin Jones-Fosu: From store manager to business speaker and author
Justin Jones-Fosu was on the corporate ladder and managed a team of 50 at Target, but he felt something was missing. This led him to a series of career pivots that got him closer to where he is today. Along the way, he launched his own company, Work Meaningful, now in its 17th year. He delivers keynotes and workshops around mindset, purpose and performance, as well as diversity and inclusion, authoring several books along the way. Jones-Fosu believes every position he has held has offered a lesson. “There’s always something we can learn from our last place,” he says.
Jones-Fosu advises people considering a pivot to connect deeply to their why. “There’s a reason why you pivoted. My ‘why’ kept me going in moments when I was challenged,” he says. Jones-Fosu’s first pivot led to a drop in salary, but importantly, it offered exposure to the area he wanted to pivot to, and the new position provided a greater quality of life. “It gave me my peace,” he says. He also advises potential pivoters to embrace the unknown and develop a great support system.
Jones-Fosu saw his return to university as something he chose to do, rather than something he had to do, achieving an MBA in leadership and organizational learning. “I took it upon myself to continue to grow and learn. There’s a wealth of knowledge I felt I needed. I’m a formal learner,” he says, talking eagerly about his plans to pursue a doctorate and conduct another pivot, this time within his business. “Upskilling is just who I am.”
Genevieve Beyleveld: From journalist to Pilates studio owner
Genevieve Beyleveld started a career as a journalist, working in various media houses and launching a successful travel blog that unfortunately suffered when the pandemic hit. After moving to Miami, she and her husband decided to purchase retail space in Bay Harbor and renovate it.
They found a run-down Pilates studio for sale, but the condition was to keep it as a Pilates studio. Beyleveld decided to run with it, renovating and rebranding the studio as Reforming Pilates, and within months, the studio had both a waitlist and celebrity clientele. “We thought, ‘We’re onto something, so let’s expand,’” she says, and the studio opened branches in South Beach and Fort Lauderdale, with Boca Raton opening soon—and still others in the pipeline, including a studio in New York. She aims to have 50 locations by 2029.
“It was less about Pilates than about business. If you can sell anything, you can sell everything,” she says, recalling examples from her younger years when she launched dating agencies and sold hair extensions to her university peers. Beyleveld’s marketing strategy was to exceed expectations at every touchpoint, from aesthetics to customer service to the quality of instructors. “I looked at the small things rather than the big picture,” she says.
Her advice to anyone considering pivoting is never to say no. “Don’t close yourself off to anything; networking is the most important thing you can do. Every person you sit next to is a potential client or investor. Say yes to everything in the beginning and be more picky as you go along.”
Tucker Cottingham: From lawyer to tech founder
Tucker Cottingham studied classics in university and developed a passion for working with disabled people in various capacities, even working for Neil Young’s Bridge School for children with cerebral palsy. Cottingham’s frustration with systemic battles faced by disabled people led him to study law, and he worked in a litigation firm for several years.
“Looking back, there are some threads you can see that make it seem more cohesive than it felt at the time,” he says. While working as a lawyer, he enjoyed working on the plaintiff’s side. “I liked that we were meeting whistleblowers in the back of pizza restaurants. There was an entrepreneurial aspect to it that I enjoyed,” Cottingham says.
During his time at a law firm, he met hundreds of startup founders and became one himself when seeking a system to simplify documents. Nothing existed, so he co-founded Lawyaw with a Google engineer, and the duo were accepted by Y Combinator. “I didn’t appreciate the complexity and how hard it was going to be, but I felt like I knew it would work,” he says.
Clio Draft acquired Lawyaw in 2021, and Cottingham is now managing director. His advice when considering a pivot is to bet on yourself but also identify your own strengths and weaknesses. “You know the feeling deep down,” he says. “Have a clear line of communication with yourself… because then you can say ‘I trust myself in this decision.’ That internal feedback loop [made me] feel like I wasn’t jumping off a ledge.”
Noreen Nguru: From doctor to wellness travel consultant
Noreen Nguru worked with the National Health Service in the United Kingdom until she was hospitalized from severe exhaustion and burnout during COVID-19—though she was already struggling before the pandemic, describing herself as being in survival mode and working 80-to-90-hour weeks consistently. “I realized this isn’t sustainable, and I have to make myself a priority,” she says.
Her passion for travel led to her creating a business where travel could be prescribed deliberately for its therapeutic benefits. Nguru is currently seeking investment for her startup to help companies and medical boards encourage their staff to make the most of holidays from a wellness perspective.
“It’s taken a lot of self-education and skill development, immersing myself in the field of coaching, travel consultancy and entrepreneurship, as well as networking, mentorship and practical experience,” she says, discussing her work in CBT stress management and mindfulness practice.
“Listen to your intuition and follow your passion fearlessly,” she says, advising those on the verge of a pivot. “To gain that confidence, take practical steps—surround yourself with mentors who have taken that leap. Every experience, whether success or failure, is a valuable lesson that will shape your journey.”
Nguru also cautions against being too tied to degrees, thinking they’re the only way to be taken seriously. “There are many ways to hone and transfer your skills. You don’t need a batch of new degrees to feel validated to do something new.”
Justin Hardy: From personal trainer to AI marketing funnel consultant
Hardy was all set to pursue a fitness career, studying kinesiology at university and working as a personal trainer. However, he soon grew frustrated with the limitations of the profession. “I was tired of trading my time for money and having to be there in person, but I liked coaching people. It was just a ton of work for the amount I was making,” he says.
Around the same time, he started seeing digital nomadism pop up online, and he started looking into remote work and what people were doing in that space. “It lit something up in me—I’d stay up through the night studying how people were doing it.” He decided to start out with content creation around fitness and applied to every position he could find for remote work.
He got his break with Alex Hormozi and Gym Launch, after which Hardy worked in various roles before founding his own company as a marketing funnel consultant. With the surge in AI, Hardy incorporated it into his offering, helping businesses apply AI to their funnels.
His advice is to harness everything freely available online. “With AI online courses and videos, there’s so much free, good information out there. It may sound cliché, but you can do almost anything you want to do nowadays, and there are so many opportunities out there,” he says. He also encourages resilience and tenacity during the tough times. “You’re probably a lot closer to a breakthrough than you think.”
Careers are far from fixed. For some, returning to university is essential, while others opt to harness self-directed learning through online resources. The common thread is identifying opportunities and leaning into intuition, hopefully with support along the way. The path to success might be a straight line for many people. For others, it’s a series of pivots, getting you closer to where you want to be.
Photo by SeventyFour/Shutterstock
