I Thought Quitting Would Fix Everything

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I was two years into "freedom" when I found myself scrolling LinkedIn at 11PM, looking at job postings.

Not casually browsing. Actually considering going back.

The irony wasn't lost on me. I'd left my corporate marketing job specifically to avoid moments like the one that made me quit in the first place… watching my boss fly from LA to Montreal to meet with me, then immediately to New York, then London. All in one week.

I remember thinking: I'm not cut out for this. I can't climb this ladder. For what? Incremental salary bumps? All at the cost of my family and my freedom.

So I left. Started building businesses. Finally had control of my time.

Except I didn't feel free. I felt more trapped than ever.

Here's what I thought the problem was: I just needed to escape the 9-to-5. Once I did that, everything would click.

But freedom wasn't the issue. Integration was.

I'd left my job, but I brought the employee mindset with me. I hid in the tasks I was already good at; the comfortable, easy-to-me work that made me feel productive but didn't actually move anything forward.

Worse, I struggled with pride. My wife Tabitha is a talented author and illustrator. Her books were starting to take off. But instead of leaning into that (our family's actual unfair advantage) I kept trying to start businesses that were "mine."

I didn't want her talents to outshine me. So I kept us separate. Her thing. My thing. Running parallel lives that occasionally intersected.

Sound familiar?

A few years ago, a friend and I decided to start an Amazon e-commerce business together. It checked all the boxes:

We dove in. Sourced products. Built systems. Started moving.

And I was miserable.

Not because the business wasn't moving. But because it completely isolated me from my family. Hours alone at my computer. Time-intensive. Capital-intensive. Zero integration with what actually mattered.

I left the book business mostly to my wife… she was doing the real work that involved our kids, created legacy, and used her gifts. Meanwhile, I was chasing an Amazon play because... I don't even know why. It seemed like the "entrepreneurial" thing to do.

Around that same time, I almost went back to a W-2.

I was close. LinkedIn open. Messages sent. Conversations started.

Tabitha saw it. She knew I was in an identity crisis. She was contributing wholeheartedly to our family business—putting in the work, involving the kids, building something real. And I was still trying to prove something to myself by building alone.

She stopped me. Not by telling me what to do, but by helping me see what I was actually running from.

The turning point wasn't dramatic. It was a decision.

Tabitha and I made one clear choice: we were going all-in on books. Everything else; licensing deals that distracted us, side hustles that pulled us apart, "opportunities" that sounded good but drained us… we cut it all.

For me, it meant finally showing up as a full partner. Using my marketing background, my systems thinking, my corporate experience. Not to build my business, but to build our business.

We leaned into our combined unfair advantages. Her creativity and artistry. My strategy and operations knowledge. Together.

And here's what happened: we put in years of work. Late nights, painting, editing, launches, pitching, building. We didn't see the fruits immediately. But now? The royalty checks are coming in. The business is scaling. And we're doing it together.

Not just as business partners. As a family.

When an opportunity comes up: a new business idea, a partnership, an event, an investment… I run it through one filter:

Does this integrate with my family, or does it isolate me from them?

That Amazon business? Isolated. We put it on hold (maybe not forever, but for now).

The ornament assembly days where our daughter Lacey works alongside her friends from school, packaging thousands of units on our kitchen table? Integrated. We do more of that.

The slow mornings where I rock our 3-year-old instead of writing a "banger LinkedIn post"? Integrated. Highest ROI investment I'll ever make.

The business opportunities that sound great but require me to rebuild the employee grind I just escaped? Isolated. Hard pass.

If you're reading this and feeling stuck, whether you're still in the 9-to-5 dreaming of freedom, or you've left and you're wondering why it still doesn't feel right… ask yourself this:

Are you building something that integrates the people and priorities that matter most? Or are you just building a different cage?

Because here's what I learned the hard way: freedom isn't about escaping your job. It's about building something where work, family, faith, and purpose all move in the same direction.

Not balance. Integration.

That's what Family Business Revival is all about. And if this resonates with you, I'm glad you're here.

Let's build something that actually works... for your business and your family.

P.S. If you're thinking about a new business opportunity right now, ask yourself: Does this pull me closer to my family, or further away? Your answer might surprise you.

Jordan Schmitt

Find me on LinkedIn, Instagram, X or Book a 1:1 Call

Hope you enjoyed today’s message.

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