This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org. Courtney Burton has spent most of her career in the retail industry. She was a merchant for several major companies, including Target
TGT,
+1.96%,
CVS
CVS,
+1.27%,
Albertson’s and Lane Bryant. For the last 11 years of her retail career, she represented small companies selling private label products to Target.
She also had a side-gig for more than two decades in Minneapolis-St. Paul: Singing old school jazz with Beasley’s Big Band. “That’s my sweet spot,” she says. “I have become an advocate for keeping this uniquely American art form alive.” Burton decided to retire in 2018 at age 60 for several reasons (although “next chapter” is a more apt term than “retire”). She wanted to leave her job on her own terms and timetable. Her mother was “at the end stage of her dementia journey.” Plus: Needing more money and not being able to work for long — those are just two things retirees didn’t expectThe challenge of changing careers But the primary motivation for retiring was her desire to turn her passion for music and side-hustle as a singer into a full-time career. Her financial planner told her the numbers worked if she kept getting professional engagements. Her career coach said she was ready emotionally to make the transition. “I still have my voice,” she says. “I don’t know how long this is going to last. I got to do it now.” She embraced the music business in 2019. In addition to regular shows with Beasley’s Big Band, she’s also creative director and lead vocalist for her jazz ensemble, Court’s in Session. She also has a side-hustle f …
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TGT,
+1.96%,
CVS
CVS,
+1.27%,
Albertson’s and Lane Bryant. For the last 11 years of her retail career, she represented small companies selling private label products to Target.
She also had a side-gig for more than two decades in Minneapolis-St. Paul: Singing old school jazz with Beasley’s Big Band. “That’s my sweet spot,” she says. “I have become an advocate for keeping this uniquely American art form alive.” Burton decided to retire in 2018 at age 60 for several reasons (although “next chapter” is a more apt term than “retire”). She wanted to leave her job on her own terms and timetable. Her mother was “at the end stage of her dementia journey.” Plus: Needing more money and not being able to work for long — those are just two things retirees didn’t expectThe challenge of changing careers But the primary motivation for retiring was her desire to turn her passion for music and side-hustle as a singer into a full-time career. Her financial planner told her the numbers worked if she kept getting professional engagements. Her career coach said she was ready emotionally to make the transition. “I still have my voice,” she says. “I don’t know how long this is going to last. I got to do it now.” She embraced the music business in 2019. In addition to regular shows with Beasley’s Big Band, she’s also creative director and lead vocalist for her jazz ensemble, Court’s in Session. She also has a side-hustle f …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]