Exit Strategy

By JACLYN WHITT, from the perspective of Geoff Whitt

As the doctor drove the cortisol needle into the tendon of my hand, all I could think was, “I need to find a new job.” And not just because of the recurring issue with trigger finger. After years of chiropractors, massage therapy, physiotherapy, and naturopaths, it was clear my body was telling me to stop working as a painter. But with a wife and kids to provide for, I couldn’t just quit. I needed an exit strategy. Easier said than done. At 55, and with my health conditions, I had limited options. I continued to drag myself out of bed and do whatever it took to make it to the weekend when I’d have just enough time to start recovering so I could do it all over again.

My wife, Jaclyn, was running off her feet at this time. She home-schooled our youngest (who was a teenager struggling with depression after the pandemic), taught life skills to our other son (who had autism and a goal of living independently), cared for two adult individuals with special needs (they lived with us in our home), and put a lot of effort into cooking foods that would help manage my inflammation while pursuing her career as a screenwriter. There were times I hated to ask, but sometimes I desperately needed a neck massage.

When I was younger, I thought I’d be in a different place at this point in my life. At my age, I should have a stable career, own my own home, and be ready to travel the world with my wife once the kids are grown. But life has a way of changing your plans. Depression wasn’t something I wanted to admit to, but it was clearly becoming my reality. Jaclyn and I talked about different options. Jaclyn even went to the extent of offering the idea of me retiring and leaving the responsibility of earning an income entirely on her shoulders. I was blessed to have her support, but there had to be another way.

We searched online for a business opportunity that I could dive into wholeheartedly, that wouldn’t require too much capital or a learning curve. We found a few, but none of them felt like something I could embrace as a long-term goal. The thought of being an entrepreneur was exciting, but it seemed more doable if I had a partner. One day, Jaclyn shared with me an idea she had that would support screenwriters like herself, saying, “If I’d had something like this, I could’ve saved a lot of time and money!”

The more I thought about it, the more I could see the potential for Jaclyn’s idea; an online peer review festival for screenwriters to get feedback that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. As the conversation continued, we discussed how we could address the obstacles. The biggest one being financial. We were living month to month and couldn’t afford for me to quit so I could focus on building the business. “Let’s sell everything and move to Mexico,” we joked. And the more we thought about it…

A few months later, people were walking out of our house with personal property that no longer belonged to us. Furniture, appliances, and anything that could be posted online for sale. For us to pursue being entrepreneurs, we’d need to take a huge risk; quit our jobs, sell everything, and head to Mexico to be digital nomads. On October 10, 2022, we boarded a plane with our youngest son and headed to Mexico. Our other son, on the autism spectrum, chose to stay in Canada and live independently.

In the months that followed, Jaclyn pursued screenwriting full-time, our son finished his final course to graduate high school, and I built the website for Family Friendly Screenwriting Academy. It wasn’t long before we expanded our services to include screenwriting boot camps, workshops, courses, and mentorship programs. Each day that I wasn’t painting, my body improved. Now, instead of being serenaded by an alarm clock in the morning, I’m serenaded by roosters and locals calling out to sell their bread, coffee, and tamales. We weren’t just living somewhere we could afford to live while we built our business; we were also on an adventure of a lifetime. All in. No exit strategy. No regrets.

CONTACT INFORMATION: www.familyfriendlyscreenwriting.com