From corporate to entrepreneurship with Emily Dorschler of NurtureWorks
Sally speaks with Emily Dorschler of NurtureWorks about her squiggly career path from drama graduate and hospitality leader to training, consultancy, and finally business owner. The conversation focuses on what changes when women leave corporate, why early-stage entrepreneurs need mindset support before they build the visible parts of a business, and how to stop thinking like an employee.We discuss identity, self-worth, money blocks, visibility, and why experimentation matters more than perfection in the first months of business.
Key topics
- Emily shares how a drama degree led to hotel events, global hospitality, and senior leadership before moving into training and consultancy.
- We discuss the value of a “squiggly path” and why trying different roles can clarify what you do and do not want.
- Emily explains how supporting a community of around 3,500 practitioners helped her discover she was strong at advising people, not just managing operations.
- She describes the accidental path into virtual assistant and operations support work, and why it felt too disconnected from the people element she really wanted.
- Emily introduces NurtureWorks and her focus on women leaving corporate who are still thinking like employees.
- We discuss the “corporate hangover” – the habits, expectations, and people-pleasing patterns that follow people out of salaried roles.
- Emily breaks down the early mindset work around identity, self-worth, money, selling, and visibility.
- She argues that websites, branding, and social media strategy are not the first step, because early-stage founders need clarity before polish.
- Sally and Emily compare notes on showing both expertise and personality, including the human value of podcasting and newsletters.
- Emily stresses that small business ownership is hard, but community, alignment, and experimentation make it far more sustainable.
Www.nurtureworks.uk
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