How to Pivot Careers
Tom Kenny had his first taste of grant writing while working in nonprofit leadership. He managed a large
team and held some hefty responsibility. One responsibility was grant writing. It didn’t take long before he
realized that he was pretty good at it. He didn’t immediately switch careers to pursue grant writing
consulting full-time, but steadily built up to it until the timing was right.
“I had been reading books on grant writing for a couple years to try to polish my skills,” Tom said. “And I
was thinking maybe I could do that someday. Finally, I was presented with this opportunity where I could go
out and do that. I felt like the universe pushed me into it.”
It was stressful to consider the logistics of making such a major career pivot, but Tom knew that the change
was right for him. While he liked leading a big team and being a changemaker in his leadership position,
after a few years of doing that he realized he had lost himself in it.
“I didn't really know what I liked to do anymore,” Tom said. “I was so caught up in work that I didn’t have
hobbies. I really wanted to make some changes. I wanted to have more time and be able to do things that I
enjoy, but also still have a big impact on my community and the world.”
👉
Check out this video for our
top 7 tips to launch your successful transition from full-time grant writer to consultant.
Making the change involved a lot of small steps, a supportive community, and some major mental shifts for
Tom. Tom came to understand that if he was going to make this career change, he couldn’t expect a regular
paycheck every two weeks. He decided to do what was necessary to make his dream work. This included selling
his Jeep Wrangler to buy something more economical.
“With the way that used car prices were, it was worth a lot more than what I owed on it,” Tom said. “I was
stressing myself out for something I didn't even really need. An economical car was worth the peace of mind
while I got my business rolling. Every day doing something to further that vision to being a reality.
Consistency and remembering why I wanted to do it was huge.”
A nice car can be a sign of success of sorts, but Tom quickly scrapped that mentality to focus
on building his business and gaining momentum. This new perspective helped to clarify decision-making for
Tom. He was able to make decisions that were for the good of growing his business.
Grant Writing Consulting
In his first year of grant writing consulting, Tom landed several clients and a growing pipeline of work.
Working as a grant writing consultant is a perfect fit for Tom because he enjoys helping people and knowing
that his efforts are meaningful. Also, Tom has been able to build a more flexible schedule with greater
work-life balance.
Tom has found clients in a number of ways, including through LinkedIn. He did the free premium trial on
LinkedIn and that provided him a few really great contracts.
Tom also stresses the importance of getting your name out there and having a simple website. The website and
his LinkedIn profile are both concrete evidence for people to look at and see his tangible skills.
“I've really enjoyed LinkedIn so far. It seems like everyone's there for that same reason of learning and
being professional,” Tom said. “It's a really good environment. I go on there a lot more now than I ever did
before. I actually enjoy it more than other social media now because people post inspiring quotes and
articles and it’s a learning environment.”
👉
Check out this video for
How to Get Clients as a Grant Writing Consultant.
At this point in time, the demand for Tom’s work is on the brink of being more than he can handle as an
individual. With such strong momentum behind him, he’s toying with the idea of building out a team.
“The stuff that I started being consistent with about a year ago is starting to gain momentum,” said Tom.
“Now everything's sort of happening all at once. How can I make this happen? I'm brainstorming who I know
that could maybe help me. I can definitely see myself building a team whether big or small.” Fortunately for
Tom, he has access to hundreds of peer grant writers to expand his team and find the right collaborators.
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To those considering joining the
Grant Writing Unicorn Collective, Tom would say “do it.” He joined after leaving his position in nonprofit leadership and when he was
unsure about how to make grant writing consulting a reality. He stumbled across the Collective while
searching on Google and signed up that same day. Tom hasn’t looked back.
“When I was driving around town, I was listening to the podcast version of the book and I loved it,” Tom
said. “And I was like, wow, this is like the bee's knees. This is what I needed. I kind of knew what I was
doing with grants, had written a bunch, and I was pretty successful at it. The Collective really reinforced
what I was doing and it put me in an entrepreneurial mind of what to do.”
Having the wisdom and support of the Collective has been beneficial for Tom. The Collective is for people
who are new to grant writing and have experience with the skill.
👉
Wondering if the Collective is only for beginners? What if you’re an expert grant writer?
Watch this video for answers.
“It’s so nice to have a community to ask questions to,” Tom said. “The members of the Collective are great
too, because there's such a variety of experience. Even people that are newer and maybe don't have a lot of
grant writing experience, have other experiences. It's great to have a community and a place where you
belong.”
The Collective has also encouraged Tom to celebrate his wins more regularly (yay,
celebration is one of our core values!). In the beginning he would often call family and friends to share the good news, but his celebration has
evolved since then.
“Now I kind of do some different things to celebrate like going for walks or rewarding myself in different
ways like that. I guess sometimes a mountain of nachos can be involved.”
Grant Writing Resources
Watch our interviews with other Collective members here:
Grant Writing Unicorn Spotlights.
Read this blog post to learn more about making a
career change to grant writing.
Interested in getting your feet wet with grant writing? Check out our
free training on how to build a career in grant writing.
Want to speak with someone in the Grant Writing Unicorn Collective to get their perspective? Shoot us a DM
on Instagram and we can connect you:
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