Building The Runway: Eleanor Antonacci on Layoffs, Freedom & Boundaries
What if the next chapter of your career was already taking shape, but you weren't quite ready to trust it?
Eleanor Antonacci had a corporate career in marketing and a growing travel business she started as a passion project. She loved what she was building, but the security of a steady paycheck was hard to walk away from. In fact, she was considering scaling the business back when an unexpected layoff changed everything.
In this episode of The Leap Lounge, Joan Russell sits down with Eleanor, travel advisor and founder of Elevate Your Escapes, to explore what happens when a leap arrives before you feel ready to take it.
Eleanor shares how she navigated the uncertainty of leaving corporate life, the practical preparation that gave her room to move forward, and the unexpected challenges of turning a passion into a full-time business. Because even when the leap works out, building a life that doesn't recreate the burnout you wanted to escape is another challenge entirely.
If you've been building something on the side while holding tightly to the security of what you know, this conversation might offer a different way to think about your next move.
In This Episode:
How Eleanor turned her love of travel into a growing business while working in corporate marketing.
The unexpected layoff that changed her plans just as she was considering scaling back.
Why financial preparation, existing experience, and a practical runway mattered as much as confidence.
What changed when she began building a career around work she genuinely enjoyed.
How rapid business growth led to burnout, difficult decisions, and learning to say no.
Why boundaries, delegation, and building strong foundations became essential to creating sustainable freedom.
Eleanor's story reminds us that a leap doesn't always begin with certainty. Sometimes the groundwork is already there, even when we haven't fully recognized it.
And sometimes the next challenge isn't taking the leap—it's learning how to live and work differently on the other side.
Resources & Links:
Connect with Eleanor Antonacci
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