Lily Woi: Deloitte Management Consultant to Entrepreneur & Author

She was 3 months away from a promotion at Deloitte UK.

Then texted her manager to say: “I resign.”

Everyone was shocked.

Her colleagues thought something had gone wrong (her parents were kept in the dark).

But nothing was actually wrong.

The ‘safe’ path just wasn’t for her anymore.

This is the story of Lily Woi - someone who describes herself as shy, quiet and even awkward - who went on to build a business from scratch, write a book, and speak on stages that used to terrify her!

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Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Lily came to the UK 12 years ago to study at Bristol, then stayed on for her master's in London.

💼 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬
She joined Deloitte's graduate program and was on the fast track to manager.

But along the way, she found her real passion in leadership development, culture change & coaching. A project director even sponsored her coaching qualification because she dove so deep into it!

With just one problem: To keep getting promoted, she had to demonstrate things she no longer enjoyed doing.

Initially, she tried to start a side hustle - and got buried in red tape.

Then one random morning, she decided she’d had enough.

She quit.

Her first clients came through referrals from her Deloitte network.

She figured out LinkedIn. Built a website. Learned to sell.

Then started speaking on stages.

(This wasn’t without its hiccups - at her first conference, she left early and had a mini breakdown at a friend's place!)

Today, Lily gets paid to speak.

She’s also published a book in 2023 called Quiet Confidence - a distillation of her personal journey from awkward introvert to bold entrepreneur & a practical guide for others who feel the same pull but keep telling themselves they can't.

Other things we talked about: 
✓ How Lily used to hide in corporate bathrooms after being overwhelmed from socializing
✓ The reality of the first year of business and shedding her old identity
✓ Learning to sell herself for the first time
✓ Why confidence isn’t a trait you’re born with, but built piece by piece
✓ How sheer stubbornness helped her succeed

So many corporate people feel exactly what Lily felt.

That because they aren’t the ‘loudest’, they lack the ability to lead or start a business.

But look at Lily: She’s living proof that you can be quiet, awkward and incredibly bold at the same time.

Confidence, and success, is built piece by piece.

If you’re willing to take that plunge.

Listen to the full episode on the Clocking Out podcast here →