You have unique ideas. You dream of working at something you love. You feel bored at work. Your co-workers are nice, but your heart isn’t engaged in your present role. You aren’t even sure the organization’s mission resonates with you anymore.

Perhaps you have traveled this experience as far as you can. Or perhaps you can alter your current position to better things in the future. You can either unravel what is possible within or outside of your organization.

Often at midlife employees feel chained to their jobs. Some call it “Golden Handcuffs”. I first heard that term when I worked for local government. All of a sudden the job you took on a whim in your twenties/thirties has lasted 20 plus years and you are deep into the benefits package. Your lifestyle and responsibilities have grown and you are living well on those benefits. Alternate companies are no longer offering defined retirement plans, 5 weeks vacation, security, recognition.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”

Chinese Proverb

What would make you leave all that behind? What leap are you willing to take? Some people have a burning desire to create their own business. After learning the ropes in a particular field, you want to be in charge, to do it your way, to be creative. Or you have a secondary interest that has followed you throughout your life. It never seemed practical enough to provide support, but it kept calling you.

Maybe you left it behind or maybe you made it a hobby. But it’s always brought you great pleasure and satisfaction. It’s something you could learn about and practice for hours without tiring. What would it be like to turn this love into a business?

The fear in taking this passion seriously is that it would erase the joy. It would become work and resemble what you are struggling with now. So you ignore the call and put it in the impossible dream category.

What if you had the courage to look at it differently? What if you examined the possibilities versus the unlikelihoods?

Marion loves designing and sewing. Since being a young girl, she has drawn and made her own clothes. Marion learned from her mother who created her children’s clothes for financial reasons. Marion has less time now to sew and more money from her job as a bank Vice President to buy designer clothes. But she’s still fascinated by the innovative, hands on process.

What can Marion do? It might be foolish to give up what she has developed as a professional. But every year she is feeling more restless, less satisfied. Her job is not very creative. She is extremely competent at her position, but has little wiggle room to operate differently.

Marion takes an Italian vacation and visits Positano. There she is fascinated by the unique stores selling handmade clothes and shoes. She learns the town has a long history of family workshops and begins talking with the owners, designers and seamstresses. She is in heaven to be around these people.

Once home to her real world, Marion cannot forget what she experienced in Positano. She wonders about having her own business. Is it an unachievable dream or something she could establish? Being a practical person with many resources, Marion begins researching the design trade. She locates people to interview. She begins drafting a business plan.

Having seen many business plans as a bank official, Marion is familiar with the required elements. Each one leads her to more thought and investigation regarding niche, legalities, expenses, marketing. She takes a local course given by a small business attorney to learn more. All the while, Marion is planning and building, weighing the costs and benefits. She is excited.

While Marion knows she likes to design and sew, there are more pieces needed to run a successful business. She identifies those and consults people who are doing them. She ponders the options of a brick and mortar store, or online sales or supplying inventory to larger companies. Which would bring her most satisfaction? Delivering the products into the hands of customers or being further removed?

All the while, Marion is examining her financials. What is needed to begin a business? How much does she require to live on? What is the risk of leaving the bank and going off on her own? What is the risk of never trying this?

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon seem inevitable”

Christopher Reeve

We’ll learn more about Marion’s decisions next month.  Meanwhile you can:

Identify your work passion
Ask what part of it intrigues you
Visualize developing a business
Find role models to learn from
Assess your financial health

Start dreaming and see you on the path!