HAYLEY APRIL
Hi, hello, I'm Hayley!
Founder of Just Quit Your Job, Babe.
For the best part of a decade, I was what I like to call a Squiggly Career Queen.
Fully convinced the next job would finally be “the one.”
Marketer. Talent Agent. Secondary School Maths Teacher. Accountant. Recruiter…
You name it, I probably gave it a go.
The funny thing is, the problem was never that I was lazy or had a bad work ethic.
Quite the opposite actually.
I was always a straight-A-student-can-I-have-extra-homework-plz kind of girl (aka millennial overachieving people pleasing eldest daughter syndrome)
The worst, I know.
I went to a “reputable” university, got a “solid” degree & genuinely thought I’d become some high-flying corporate gal absolutely loving life.
Hahahahahaha. Good times 🥲
Fast forward to joining the rat race…
& realising it wasn’t quite everything I’d imagined.
The politics.
The hierarchy.
The pointless meetings.
The micromanaging.
Having to ask permission to do literally ANYTHING.
I just didn’t get it.
I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I’d spent my whole life working hard towards… THIS?!?!
So naturally, I assumed I’d simply chosen the wrong career.
I'd start a new job full of excitement...
& six months later I’d feel exactly the same.
Flat.
Either the work wasn’t fulfilling, the environment drained me, or I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was settling for a life that looked good on paper but didn’t actually feel good to live.
And the cycle would just repeat…
Where It All Changed...
I was reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, sipping cocktails in Mexico, when I had one of those “wait a minute…” moments:
I’d spent years trying to find my dream job…
…when my dream was never to have a job in the first place.
So I stopped asking:
“What’s the right job for me?”
…and started asking:
“What kind of life do I actually want?”
Because that’s a completely different question.
And once I’d asked myself the right question…
Code = cracked 🔓
In 2023, I quit 9-5 for good.
Let's get something straight though...
I didn't have every single thing perfectly figured out.
It wasn't the “sensible” or "logical" thing to do.
And most of my friends, family & colleagues thought I was crazy.
But I knew I couldn’t spend another year wasting my life away.
Since then, I’ve been building a life & income outside of the traditional 9-5.
One where my life doesn’t revolve around annual leave requests, Sunday scaries, pointless Teams calls & counting down the hours until I’m allowed to log off.
One where I get to decide how I spend my time, where my energy goes and whether I fancy going to Reformer Pilates at 11am on a Tuesday just because I can.
We were sold the dream...
We’ve been taught that the goal is:
Get the degree.
Get the job.
Climb the ladder.
Be grateful.
Wait for retirement.
Hopefully be fit & healthy enough to enjoy yourself for a few years before you die.
And whilst there’s absolutely nothing wrong with traditional employment if you genuinely love it…
so many women are walking around feeling stuck, burnt out, uninspired or quietly resentful because they know they want more from life than this.
More freedom.
More ownership over their time.
More creativity.
More flexibility.
More LIFE.
Not everyone dreams of climbing the corporate ladder.
Some of us dream about:
Working from anywhere.
Building something of our own.
Being paid for our ideas.
Creating content.
Starting businesses.
Having time for the gym whenever you want.
Booking flights without asking permission.
Making money doing work that actually excites us.
And yet so many women dismiss those dreams because they’ve never seen anyone around them do it before.
That’s exactly why Just Quit Your Job, Babe exists.
There IS another way...
To show women that there ARE other ways to live.
Other ways to work.
Other ways to make money.
Other ways to build a life.
I'm not talking about recklessly quitting your job tomorrow with zero plan, one motivational quote & a pipe dream.
I'm talking:
expanding what feels possible for your life.
questioning the rules you’ve been taught about success.
creating a life that feels like yours.
having the courage to want & go after more.
And most importantly, it’s about surrounding yourself with women who refuse to settle for a life they’ve outgrown.
So whether you’re building a business, growing a personal brand, dreaming about leaving your 9–5 or simply starting to realise you want something different for your life…
Welcome.
You’re in the right place.