Want to “feel the shiver of something new”?

Yes – you guessed it. That’s the highly memorable line from the Disney movie ‘Encanto’. Remember the sing-song part when Isabella’s flower magic conjures a super rad, prickly, colourful cactus instead of another boring, old, predictable pink rose? That’s the ‘shiver’ moment. Have you felt it? Are you feeling it now? The moment you realize you may be ready for something new, destined for something more, and ready to explore what the shiver is trying to tell you.

In my coaching experience, we talk about the entrepreneur’s ‘leap’ to the point of exhaustion. Leaping is usually about scaling the semi-mature business, or maybe it’s about hiring talented people, or taking out the big loan for the building you need, etc. This is generally sort of  half-way-point stuff. I’m much more interested in helping you at early stage of starting your maker business, when you first feel that ‘shiver’. Maybe this is ideation for you – just a wicked idea you need to flesh out, or maybe you’ve been crafting at home in the evenings to take the edge off your stressful work life. You see the irony there, right? Wherever you are in your maker journey as a new entrepreneur, I can’t wait to hear about the shiver!

Leaving your 9-5 to work for yourself is definitely a leap, and it does take some courage, but take heart, maker. If you’re confident that you’re making or creating something awesome, and there’s a customer base for you, then you are already wielding the sword you need to cut the bridge drawstrings.

Take your time to think it through, but don’t ignore it. Have you ever found yourself sitting in your office, or worse – your cubicle – staring off into grey space thinking about the possibility of living a life with the freedom to earn an income from home doing something you actually LOVE? Maybe you’d like to spend more time with your kids, or create a lifestyle where you just take better care of yourself and eliminate the 2-hour commute? News flash – podcasts are awesome when you’re not trapped in a car too. I’ve heard so many corporate employee friends default to this answer when I ask them if they mind the travel time. Dude, self-employment is the dream we all have – and if you have any kind of maker magic in you, it could be yours.  Especially in these post-pandemic days where the very idea of the 9-5, in-person workday model feels about as outdated as public drinking fountains. So long, drooly slurp.

By the way, my second favourite line from an Encanto song comes fro Luisa who says – “I glow because I know what my worth is.” Do you know what your worth is?…