Kari DiFabio had tears of joy in her eyes when she earned her Elementary Education degree and couldn’t wait to get started on her career as a teacher. After teaching multiple grades in Arizona and Nevada she had a revelation that launched her personal career change. “Sitting in the teacher’s lounge one day, my life flashed before my eyes and I saw myself 20 years down the road, unhappy and bitter if I stayed in this career.” Following her intuition, Kari quit teaching, moved to California and lived with her grandmother while she figured out what to do next.
A Transitional “Fun Job” That Turned Into a Career
As a way to generate income while she figured out her next career move, Kari took a part time job at a winery in a small tasting room earning just pennies above minimum wage.
“After I left teaching, I found the wine business by asking myself, ‘If I have to get a job while I figure out what I want to do with my life, what menial job sounds like the most fun?’ I believe I found something I enjoyed because I took the pressure off myself to find the right job.”
Kari learned a lot in her first job in the winery tasting room by asking many questions and absorbing information from her co-workers. It was like learning a new language in the beginning and visiting other vineyards expanded her industry acumen. While some family and friends thought she had jumped off the solid career bridge, Kari remained positive and enjoyed her new work experience in the winery. She loved the blend of science and art, intellect and creativity and even though this was not a long term job, Kari discovered it was a starting point and had tremendous growth potential. She moved on to sell wine to key accounts as a distributor in Los Angeles for several years.
“I realized early on after I left teaching how many skills I had that I considered transferable. As a teacher, I was managing a team of 20-40 people (albeit “little” people) and had daily tasks that included sales, communications, PR (parents), staff management, and teaching. I decided I was just as equipped for the business world as anyone. So, during my first wine sales interview, the manager interviewed me. He was an old-timer of the business and looked it, kind of like an old cowboy who could eat you up and spit you out at breakfast. He looked over my resume and said almost with a sneer, “So you were a teacher. What makes you think you can sell wine?” I looked at him and replied without blinking, “I use to sell algebra to eight year-olds. Do you really think selling wine is going to be hard for me?” I got the job.”
As with any new career transition, Kari faced a lot of challenges. It was financially difficult since her first sales job was 100% commission in the lowest producing territory and the thought of not being able to pay the rent was terrifying to her. Her grandmother always served as a mentor and inspiration and she encouraged Kari to persevere and ignore the naysayers.
The Power of Self Reflection
As she progressed through different jobs in the wine industry, Kari moved to Napa and pursued a thoughtful self reflection of her values, interests, personality, and skills to find a more meaningful position that was a good fit for her in the industry. She considered what a dream day would look like at work and started a list that included: working for someone she respected, working in a beautiful environment, being allowed to use all of her talents and abilities in one position, not being micromanaged, and having an opportunity to work from home.
On a whim, she logged onto a Wine Jobs website and found her current position at Sodaro Estate Winery. Her employer shared: “We knew immediately that Kari was the right fit for the position.” and the rest is history.
Although Kari has autonomy over her entire work day, self motivation is essential. “The good part is that you are all by yourself, the bad part is also that you are all by yourself!” Sometimes she misses having an office environment to bounce ideas around and although the winery staff works independently, they are definitely a team.
With the world of social networking, Kari is learning to become adept at utilizing Twitter and Facebook to keep Sodaro Estate’s wine in the limelight of a competitive industry. You have to be a jack-of-all-trades in a smaller company. She’s now a tech person, a marketing person, a sales person, a hospitality person, a VP business person, an accounting department, and an office manager all-in-one. Way to multi task, Kari – although she does have a part-time assistant who helps greatly.
Dare to Design Your Dream Job
She got all of the dream job wishes on her list and now works from home as well as at the beautiful Sodaro Winery – a breathtaking landscape that reflects the stunning beauty and individuality of this estate. Working with renowned winemakers Bill and Dawnine Dyer and Don Sodaro, Kari is thrilled to have colleagues she respects.
Kari sees life as a continual journey and hopes to own her own business someday. For now, she is thrilled to hone her skills and work in this dream job at Sodaro Estate Winery and thankful that she had the courage to admit that teaching was not a good fit. It’s liberating to know that we can change our career minds as often as we wish and teaches us all to trust our gut instincts. Cheers to Kari on her self assessment and reinvention!
Kari’s Advice and Action Steps:
- Follow your intuition no matter how quietly it speaks; follow what calls to you – no matter how crazy it sounds.
- Get specific about what you want – make a list and make it happen.
- Test drive different jobs/ideas until you find what suits you best.
- Make excellent mistakes – that is how you learn and life is a journey.
Quote: “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what this world needs are people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman
Resources:
Sodaro Estate Winery http://www.sodarowines.com/
Savor the Success http://www.savorthesuccess.com/
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