After 20 years at IBM, I changed careers and started a side gig. My small business is now a 7-figure company that hit $2 million in revenue this year — here’s how I grew it.

Becky DeGrossa spent 20 years in Big Tech before opening her business, CounselingWise. Matthew DeFeo for BI Becky DeGrossa, 66, worked at IBM and then became a therapist before opening CounselingWise. The service helps therapists market their businesses through custom websites, SEO, and Google Ads. She works with 40 to 50 contractors who have great people skills, which has helped her scale. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Becky DeGrossa, a 66-year-old who is founder of CounselingWise from Boulder, Colorado. It's been edited for length and clarity. I earned a degree in computer science from Cal Poly and then spent 20 years in total at IBM , leaving the company in 2003. When I left, I was a consultant and managing principal, and I was supposed to be leading the team up the hill — but I just really wasn't passionate about it at all anymore.