Crossroads to Success

A supervisor in a casino forced by a car wreck to seek a new line of work. A business owner whose companies were pummeled by the housing market meltdown. A former software trainer whose career plans were derailed by a bout with cancer.

Each of these three Southwest Floridians faced life-altering adversity and overcame it by reinventing their careers.

It’s a path that many would prefer to avoid, but with today’s economic woes and an increasing number of people losing their jobs, many are seeking new careers.

Leaving behind a lifetime in one profession can be scary, but
attitudes toward career-hopping are much more open than they used to be, says Lois A. Bolin, a Naples-based consultant and executive coach. "Nobody looks at it as if it’s bad anymore," she says.

And, as our three subjects tell it, the change has been very rewarding. Here are their stories.

The Sky’s The Limit

John Luvera was a partner in Fort Myers-based mortgage and title companies when he realized the housing market was beginning to tank. Faced with a 40 percent decrease in the mortgage business in 2006, Luvera sold his shares of both companies. He wasn’t sure what his next step would be.

From 1990 to 2003, he had worked in sales and special-events positions with companies such as Pepsi, Nestlé and Suntory, and he didn’t want to return to the structured environment of corporate America. Nor did he want to start a new business venture because of the economic uncertainty and time commitment. He already had learned what it was like to own a business.

"Yes, I was making a lot of money, but I was never off," he recalls. "I was very stressed out. You’re the accountant, you’re the HR director, you’re the marketing director."