Corporate Refugee to Empowered Entrepreneur
- Oct 3, 2025
- 3 min read
By Robyn Deering
For decades, I was a casualty of America's changing economic landscape. My graphic arts career disappeared as computer-generated design made my skills obsolete. When manufacturing fled overseas, my applications engineering roles evaporated. Through union-busting, mergers, and endless restructuring, I found myself holding titles that meant less with each passing year as entire departments were outsourced.
I had become a "corporate refugee": someone perpetually displaced by forces beyond their control, chasing stability in an increasingly unstable working environment. Each "restructuring" meant starting over, rebuilding what others could dismantle at will. The fear of economic uncertainty kept me trapped in this cycle. A steady paycheck felt safer than the unknown, but safety was an illusion when your livelihood depended on decisions made in boardrooms by people who saw you as a line item.
My turning point came when I watched what was left of my 401k go up in smoke during yet another stock market collapse. I realized I was clinging to false security at the expense of my dignity. I was tired of being expendable, tired of watching my expertise become irrelevant. I had maxed out my earning potential and wasn't willing to retrain in another field only to start at the bottom and claw my way up to an empty promise of prosperity.
It became apparent that the only way to make the kind of money I needed to live the life I wanted was through business ownership. But entrepreneurship was frightening. Starting a business would take capital that might not return investment. I had seen too many small businesses fail due to insufficient infrastructure, poor financial decisions, and a lack of quality control.
Slowly, I analyzed business models until one stood out: franchising. A successful franchise offers a small business owner proven financial viability and can net owners profits that far exceed what corporate America called my fair share of its wealth. With due diligence I found one that played to my strengths, fit my investment level and made sense in my market. Training was a joy knowing it was for me—my business that wouldn't be sold or restructured in a year or two! My corporate past came in handy as a franchisee. Metric systems prepared me to seamlessly step into operating systems and sales optimization for my own business.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the dedicated team leaders and coworkers who influenced my work ethic and expertise. Because of them, I've dedicated myself to a free consultation service helping individuals find franchises that work for them. If they want to break free from dead-end careers and build legacy wealth, I can introduce them to a network of industry giants and resources they probably have no idea exist. I also am publishing a book this fall: Corporate Refugee’s Guide to Franchising: Trade Job Insecurity for Business Ownership That Works and I love to share my story on podcasts and contribute regularly to the Franchise Journal.
Beyond financial security, franchise ownership gave me something I hadn't experienced in decades: control. Not just over my income, but over my destiny. Today, I wake up owning my work instead of being owned by it. The freedom isn't just financial; it's the dignity of building something rather than watching others tear it down.
Corporations showed me loyalty that only flowed upward and temporary security. Entrepreneurship proved the only real security comes from betting on yourself. For the first time in my career, I'm not at the mercy of distant executives—I'm the author of my own professional story.
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