Former Charlotte reporter had her own ‘Great Resignation,’ years before it was a thing
In 2013, Sarah Colón-Harris — a single mother in the midst of a successful 10-year reporting career — quit her reliable and prestigious job at WBTV to set her own pace as an entrepreneur.
“I felt like I was breaking up with a dream. All I had wanted to do since I was a child was be a reporter,” Colón- Harris said. Complicating her decision was her place as a Latino woman in television. “There were very few Latinos in the market at the time. Part of my struggle with leaving was if I’m not here, there isn’t any representation.”
“People were telling me I was crazy for leaving my career. They thought I had lost my mind. I had a teenage son, was in my early 30s, owned a home — the stakes were really high, but I felt this stirring in my gut that I couldn’t ignore.”
This story may sound familiar, as nearly 48% of Americans are re-thinking the type of job they want as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and 74% of respondents to a LinkedIn survey said the pandemic was a wake-up call. But Colón-Harris was about eight years ahead of what is now being deemed The Great Resignation in her effort to find a better work-life balance that met her needs.
How it all started
While she was still reporting for WBTV as Sarah Batista, someone had emailed Colón-Harris an article about a former reporter in Boston who had left her job to start a video production company. The idea was compelling, so Colón-Harris reached out to this reporter and to other women-owned production companies.
The women were generous with both their time and information, and within a year Colón-Harris felt ready to take the leap and leave her career at WBTV to start her own film production and entertainment company, Stories to Inspire.
As word got out about Colón-Harris’ career shift, people were curious about how she made such a courageous decision. The frequency of these questions prompted her to begin filming her journey in a documentary that is still in development called ”She Flew the Coop.”
The video follows Colón-Harris on her personal journey over the course of the past seven years, where she sold her house and all of her belongings and traveled around the world.
From a mission trip in Nicaragua to participating in a musical in Canada, Colón-Harris broke out of the box people had put her in. She was trying new things and interviewing interesting and inspiring people along the way, including her grandmother in Puerto Rico.
“It was my version of ’Eat, Pray, Love,’” Colón-Harris said. “I sold everything. I was literally down to the last kernel of my being. If I look back and reflect, it was really shedding all these layers and expectations society puts on us and looking at — do I really like this job? Do I really need this big house? What do I really value, and what brings me joy and peace and happiness?”
Grounded in her values
During this time, Colón-Harris was also meeting with groups of women to help empower them to make their own life transitions. What started as simple gatherings, has evolved into a women’s empowerment non-profit called She Flew the Coop, which was formally established in 2020.
Through meetings, discussion groups and its 8-week Uncaged program, She Flew the Coop gives women the tools to set boundaries, overcome self doubt and empower them to make a change.
Armed with a greater sense of self, Colón-Harris recently re-entered the television space as an executive producer at PBS Charlotte. “I missed it and I felt like I could come back — not as the person who felt like she needed to prove anything, but for the pure joy,” Colón-Harris said. The flexibility of her current role allows her to continue producing her documentary and running She Flew the Coop.
“One of the greatest lessons I learned in this journey is that things don’t ground you, your values do. Living in alignment with my values and having that peace — that’s what success is for me.”
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 6:45 AM.
