In May of 2021, I was working as a middle school gifted education teacher in the school district that grew me up. It was a wonderful experience – I truly loved working with seventh and eighth graders who, throughout the course of our musical history unit, grew to love Hamilton almost as much as I did, and who, during our Mars exploration unit, constructed plans for a collaborative, communal life on the red planet.

But as my copywriting business continued to grow, I knew that it was time to say YES to a new career.

I left my teaching career behind and said YES to pursuing What Sara Said full-time.

It can be hard to leave what’s familiar for a new adventure, and that definitely is true when we’re talking about career moves. But if I can say YES to a new career, so can you!

Here’s what’s interesting: Before I launched my business, I’d never consider myself as a person who has courage, takes risks, or feels scared and decides to do it anyway.

Yet that’s what God called me to do and to be in this season of life as a business owner.

And saying YES to my copywriting career has been worthwhile in so many ways.

Fast-forward to the beginning of 2022. In my first year of full-time business ownership, I told myself that if a scary, but exciting, opportunity came across my path, I’d say YES to it.

Thanks to the urging of a coach, I worked through my own B.S. when it comes to managing money in my business (I follow the Profit First method). Thanks to the encouragement of my business bestie, I attended a photography conference and talked to creative women who I knew could benefit from my copywriting services, even when I would have rather stayed home, hidden under blankets on my living room couch. And thanks to niching down and only saying YES to clients who light me up, I doubled my teaching salary by working less.

I hope that my story shows you that it’s possible to feel uncomfortable – or even scared – and to change careers, to say YES, to do the thing anyway. Let me tell you this: change happens on the other side of discomfort and fear.

Are you ready to say YES to a new and exciting venture? I’m cheering you on!