INTERVIEW: From bad job to bed and breakfast

Jim Rizzo left an unsatisfying job to open a bed and breakfast in Provincetown, MA. The rest, as they say, is history.


What prompted you to leave your job without a backup plan?

The dream of running a successful bed and breakfast called Christopher’s by the Bay in Provincetown, MA! It was a quite a leap of faith going from a steady paycheck to not knowing if the bills would get paid.

Was that the first time you left a job without another one in the queue?

No. The first time I left another job without one in the wings was early in my career. It was one of those "agreements" that it just wasn't a good fit for either of us. Part of the reason it wasn’t going to work was my closet case boss constantly hitting on me. His boss, another married closet case thought it was intriguing when I brought up the issue. As I said, it just wasn't going to work out.

How did you navigate the "oh, no, what have I done. NOW what?!" feeling?

The first time, I felt much more at ease not being in a hostile environment. I took the severance and immediately started networking with friends and associates searching for another position. Most recently, I again turned to friends and experts in the field for moral support and an understanding of what it takes to be successful. After buying my own business that I had no background in, I most definitely had that pit in my stomach "now what?!" feeling!

Looking back, would you say that you made the right decisions to split without a backup plan?

I do feel I made the right decision. Sometimes you just have to let go and trust that it'll all turn out OK.

If you had to leave a job again (without another job to go to), what would you do differently?

Find a silver daddy!

Based on your experience, what would you tell someone who's ready to call it quits?

Life is too short to be unhappy. In my opinion, its better to be poor and have a better quality of life than to draw a paycheck in an unfulfilling position.