After months of frustrating job search dead ends, Marquelle Turner-Gilchrist took matters into her own hands and became an accidental entrepreneur.
In the spring of 2022, the 35-year-old was looking for a job as a luxury fashion strategist and had several promising interviews with a social commerce company. But a few days after receiving an email with a job offer in his inbox, he received a call from the CEO, who rescinded job offer — explaining that the company was largely funded by crypto investors whose digital assets were losing value for the day
“I heard offers were rescinded,” Turner-Gilchrist told CNBC Make It in June, noting that background checks or professional references sometimes fail the test. “But it’s never happened to me. [before].”
CNBC Make It spoke with Turner-Gilchrist about what she learned through a challenging job search and unexpectedly becoming her own boss.
Beware of job search burnout
Going public with his rescinded offer on social media generated a great deal of encouragement and even a few job leads. Turner-Gilchrist hired someone to revamp his resume and LinkedIn page and set a goal of applying for 10 jobs a day. But after countless interviews and every recruiting hiccup imaginable (recruiters misled you, leads went cold, reached the final stages only to be told the position you were interviewing for wasn’t being prioritized), nothing materialized. altogether.
“I’ve never had an experience like this, so it’s been a year of overcoming challenges and finding creative ways to stay positive,” says Turner-Gilchrist.
After a grueling few months, Turner-Gilchrist decided to stop applying for jobs altogether.
The break came just in time. In August, with a clearer head, she reconnected with an old friend who owns a public relations firm in Los Angeles. The friend had a fashion client who needed help with his marketing and strategy. Turner-Gilchrist had exactly the right experience they were looking for.
embrace the unknown
It wasn’t the full-time job Turner-Gilchrist was looking for, but he thought to himself, “Why not take this opportunity to continue generating income, keep my skills fresh, and try something new?”
He had never done consulting work before, but he learned that he really enjoyed it, especially the aspect of being his own boss and having control over his time. The one-month contract was enough to give him the confidence to fully bet on himself and launch his own consulting firm.
Starting September 1, Turner-Gilchrist launched lenora studiowhere he leverages his global experiences in luxury spaces, lifestyle and fashion to help clients with product and merchandising strategy support, trend forecasting, creative direction and more.
Launching your own company was never on your career vision board. “I never wanted to be an entrepreneur,” Turner-Gilchrist says. “There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in entrepreneurship, but I have been in an uncertain phase of life in the last few months.”
By building her own network of clients, Turner-Gilchrist has more control over her career than ever before. “I always bet that other companies determine my career trajectory,” he says. Now, he is in full control.
Think about what is really important to you
A year ago, Turner-Gilchrist says her idea of luxury was closely tied to her line of work, like wearing designer goods and traveling internationally. She has cut those things out of her budget now that her consulting income is more fluctuating. But, as his own boss, Turner-Gilchrist, says, “freedom is the new luxury.”
The luxury of choice and autonomy means being able to work a 4-day work week or take health and wellness breaks in the afternoon. It also means finding a way to support yourself, whether you have a full-time job (which you’re totally open to, by the way), or not, and having the freedom to scale your business by taking on more clients and hiring employees (a definite possibility).
“The true meaning of luxury is choice, freedom, time,” he says. “Last year, my definition of living a life of luxury was different than it is today. Now it’s agency.”
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