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It’s Rachel here, and I’m a little nervous to “out” myself to you as something that I think is a little untraditional.
Let me dial it back a couple weeks, so you know what’s up …
I was on the phone with my good friend and fellow coach Joanna (she’s so talented, I love her to pieces!), and I was feeling a little antsy. I’d just admitted to her that I really don’t want to do anything full time … not even my own business.
I asked her, “Why do I always have to choose the harder path? Why can’t I just be happy doing one thing, all of the time? It’d be way easier.”
She said, “Because you’ve never liked the norm. Not ever. And that’s OK.”
Sometimes, the best thing in the world is someone “giving you permission” to want what you want.
FOR ME, THAT MEANS BEING A COBBLER.
I almost can’t type that without laughing because I’m reminded instantly of the delicious dessert or those little old men who make shoes (which was a popular profession in fairy tales, but might not exist anymore).
But it’s the best word to describe what I want — to “piece together” a career that’s made up of multiple parts, not just one thing.
It’s a little nerve-wracking to admit that because I know it’s not “normal.” And despite Joanna’s permission, I still feel a little crazy for wanting it.
I’VE TRIED TO DO JUST ONE THING, ALL THE TIME, AND IT DOESN’T WORK.
Honestly, the full-time thing just doesn’t work for me. I thought that once I was working for myself, I wouldn’t mind working full-time. After all, there’d be no boss to tell me what I could and couldn’t do, and I’d actually care about the work I was doing.
It turns out, though, that even working for myself 24/7 doesn’t feel as good as I thought it would. Focusing on the same job all of the time feels stifling to me, regardless of what I’m doing.
It’s a recipe for boredom and, even worse, resentment and burnout.
IT FEELS SO MUCH BETTER TO DO A FEW SMALLER THINGS THAN ONE BIG THING.
It’s definitely not normal, but I feel way better now that I’m splitting my efforts between a few different moneymaking activities.
I’m still coaching individual clients, obviously. And Kristen and I are working on a semi-secret project that we’ll talk more about in a few weeks. It’s not individual coaching, and we’re really excited to launch it in the fall.
I’m also helping a good friend, who’s a solopreneur, get organized and run her business smoothly.
In addition to that, I have a relationship marketing business that, so far, helps me make a little residual income. Right now it mostly just pays for my monthly products (it’s a fantastic line of high-quality supplements), but I’m slowly growing it so that one day I’ll have monthly residual $$$ flowing in.
And, for fun and a complete change of pace, I might even work at one of my favorite clothing boutiques over the upcoming holiday season. Hello, employee discounts!
THIS MIGHT SOUND TOTALLY OVERWHELMING TO YOU.
I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that I’m nuts for wanting to do so many different things.
But I’ve realized that, for me, with more balance comes less pressure for any one thing to “perform.”
And trust me, when you’re running your own business, the pressure for it to succeed beyond your wildest dreams is often enough to sap all of the fun out of it.
Scaling back and balancing my time between a few fun jobs makes everything feel more manageable and keeps my creativity and motivation flowing.
It’s not “the norm,” and it’s maybe not the easiest choice to have made, but (for right now) being a “cobbler” feels good.
SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT?
There is definitely not one “right” way to earn a living. More to the point, there’s no right way to earn a living that also makes you feel awesome while you’re doing it.
Which is why, in addition to that semi-secret project we’re working on, Kristen and I are developing a quiz that will tell you your unique “Passion Profile.”
It will reveal how you, personally, can combine your passion with earning money, so that you can go forth and do something you love (and get paid for it, too). If you want to know when it’s ready, just enter your email address in the blue bar at the top of this page {it will add you to our email list so you’ll get updated as soon as the quiz is available}.
The bottom line: It’s totally OK to want what you want. If you want to work full-time for someone else, great! If you want to be a solopreneur with one big “thing,” fantastic! If you want to be a weirdo cobbler like me, come join the party!
The caveat — you’ve got to admit to what you want, so that you can get it.
And if you don’t yet know what you want, that’s why we’re making you a quiz! 😉
So, what do you think of my newfound “cobbler” status? How are you earning a living now, and do you want to keep doing it that way or change it up? Let us know in the comments!
Much love,
Rachel (+ Kristen)
Rachel, I beyond understand what you are feeling about being a Cobbler! And I also thought of the dessert and little men working on shoes haha 🙂
I never went to college because I wasn’t willing to go into debt when I didn’t know what of the 7 paths I wanted to commit to. Instead I started working full-time and built a career as an Executive Assistant for corporations in Las Vegas and now Washington, DC. Talk about a career where you are never doing just one thing. Being in this field for 6 years and now making the transition to full-time creative entrepreneurship has taught me that I can’t ever do JUST ONE thing. I also think as a small business owner it can be smart to diversify your income by having several streams that bring in money that way if something dries up a bit then you still have other things coming in. That may not be the best solution for everyone but I know that it will be the best solution for me and my business.
I love seeing you help share that every path and any path can be right as long as it is the right fit for you personally!! Best of luck to you, fellow cobbler, and best of luck to all of the other entrepreneurs out there finding their right way!
xoxohannah
Glad to hear I’m not the only “abnormal” one!
Congrats to you for knowing yourself well enough to take the untraditional path, and for starting your creative business! Entrepreneurship is a wild ride, and multiple streams of income will help keep you sane.
Let us know how your transition into full-time creative entrepreneurship goes! We Cobblers need to stick together 😉
I love this! I completely relate to the desire to have variety in my life. I’ve been feeling this strongly lately, and have been feeling a desire to work work at Starbucks actually, which I dismissed out of hand because of the income. Now I’m reconsidering! Life is such an adventure, it seems a shame to miss out on opportunities because they don’t fit our idea of how we should be living. My one fear, however, is not becoming an expert at any one thing, and thus never being really good, or making a really good living.
If you keep getting a nudge to work at Starbucks, that’s likely your intuition leading you where to go! Who knows, maybe you’re supposed to meet an important client, friend, or connection there … or maybe you’ll just make some extra money and learn how to make a killer latte, and that will be enough.
And I definitely understand your fear of never getting really good at one thing. But keep in mind, you get to decide what you want to be an expert in — maybe your expertise comes from combining a few things in a unique way!
I’ll echo Rachel in saying that if you feel the pull to work at Starbucks, go give it a try! I’ll also add that I was a barista at a local coffee shop in high school and it is still one of my favorite jobs ever.
To take it one step further…what is it that draws you to Starbucks? What do you think you’ll enjoy about it? In addition to Starbucks, there are probably a lot of other jobs that will satisfy you in a similar way.