Trading in Salary for Satisfaction

Welcome to Trading Places, a small-business series that takes a look at entrepreneurs who have successfully transitioned from working in the corporate world to founding their own business. If you have such a story you'd like to share, please email me.

Ten years ago, Tina Tang was living the life of six-figure bliss. But the equities trading job at Goldman Sachs (GS), which provided her ample salary, was just that: a job and nothing more. It wasn't something she loved, it wasn't something she hated and it wasn't something she thought about outside her place of work.

"Everyone enjoys the money and works hard," she says. "It's always challenging working on Wall Street, but I would say out of the group of 70 people in the department, only two traders I knew absolutely loved what they did."

Tang says she came to a point where she looked around her department and realized everyone, including her, had on corporate handcuffs. "I wanted to feel connected to my job," she recalls. "I wanted to be creative and work with my hands."

A short while later, Tang uncuffed herself, quit her job and went in search of a career that would give her something more than money could buy: satisfaction.

Previous job: International equities trader

Now: Jewelry designer and founder and owner of Tina Tang Studio.

The transition: "The first year was extremely difficult," Tang says. "For a lot of people the money situation is hard, but I think the harder part is trying to create something out of nothing." In the corporate world, your job or role already exists, "but when you're starting on your own, you're building it from scratch, trying to make inroads in whatever industry you're in," she explains.