It’s Never Too Late
I’ve never considered myself to be entrepreneurial. In fact, if I had acted on even one of my ideas over the years, any of these concepts could have come to fruition: The pasta pot that whistles when the water is ready. The tween-oriented DIY beauty product store. The school fundraising kit full of organic and sustainable products. The healthy bubble tea shop. And more.
But that would have meant risk. And I’m squarely risk-averse. No, I’d rather stay at the same job, where there’s security and health insurance. And security. Oh, I said that already.
And then the pandemic struck. What started as a ho-hum, same-old, same-old year quickly became the year that unlikely things actually happened. For me, this meant my job of over 27 years went from retirement plan to part-time pursuit overnight. And this led to the most unlikely thing of all: putting a tenuous toe into the turbulent - and very risky - seas of entrepreneurship.
The first step wasn’t too bad. I started a consulting practice - Impactorum - that has existed now since mid-2020, alongside my part-time corporate job. I’ve had fun with Impactorum: hosting webcasts with change makers and authors, advising CSR and sustainability professionals about their career journeys, and speaking out about the perils of fashion in today’s materialistic world. In fact, I surprisingly love consulting. It taps into my creativity and sense of self-determination.
But then something else unexpected happened. I read a book. Not just any of my usual time travel romance books. But a book called, Impact: A Step-by-Step Plan to Create the World You Want to Live In, by Christen Brandt and Tammy Tibbetts. I read this book in order to prepare for my “Impact Matters” webcast featuring Christen and Tammy. And, as I got into it, I decided to do their impact plan exercises - even though I'd already spent my whole professional life immersed in impact-oriented endeavors. To be brutally honest, I didn't think I'd discover anything new about myself, both because of my highly impactful career thus far AND because I've done so much self-examination through workplace training (including the Enneagram, Strengthsfinders, and more). But I figured I’d go through the process - if only to better equip myself for the interview.
The book guides the reader to develop an impact plan, anchored by a personal North Star. That North Star should complete the sentence, “I want to live in a world where . . .” From my perspective, after developing a supply chain human rights program and a philanthropic program benefitting women - both from scratch - it’s awfully hard to come up with a new aspiration that feels remotely meaningful. So, after playing with three possible North Stars ("I want to live in a world where . . . climate change is under control and biodiversity is returning" . . . "where ethical and environmentally conscious business is the norm" . . . "where people from different races, ethnicities and genders live in complete harmony"), I needed to choose one. Making decisions has never been my strong point. But, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s how to trust my gut.
In this case, I tried very hard to align myself around the first North Star (“living in a world where climate change is under control and biodiversity is returning”) because I felt like I SHOULD be working on that. But it just didn't feel quite right in my gut. When I did a sort of Marie Kondo-esque exercise with all three phrases, what DID feel right was the third one: where people from different races, ethnicities and genders live in complete harmony. It simply made my heart feel lighter, happier, and yes, joyful. At that time, though, I also felt overwhelm. How I could possibly steer an entire world toward greater harmony? So, as I did with all my other previous ideas, I put the concept on the shelf and went back to my day jobs.
Two months later, I issued a fun call to action for my friends to clean out their closets and give up 40 items of clothing for Lent. (I'm not religious, but Lent seemed like something people could relate to.) Lots of people participated, and I found myself advising folks on where to donate their unwanted clothes. As I was doing my own clean-out, I also decided to thin out my bookshelves. But I immediately ran into a brick wall: What to do with the books? Our local library doesn't usually accept them. And I'm not a big proponent of Goodwill (since I know a lot of their stuff gets thrown away.) That's when the first kernel of a new endeavor started to take root.
Over the ensuing weeks, the notion continued to grow inside me. And I couldn't shake it. There was something about this new concept that felt almost inevitable. And, whenever I shared the idea with close friends, I received tons of encouragement back. It seemed I was onto something.
What's the idea? I'm planning to open a used/new bookstore called, "Hudson Valley Books for Humanity,” in downtown Ossining, NY. A place that brings people together through books. (Remember the “harmony” idea?) Hudson Valley Books for Humanity will offer used books of all genres, new books focused on social justice issues (especially books by and about women, People of Color, and other historically marginalized voices), books in Spanish, Hudson Valley artisan products, and events showcasing local artistic and literary talent. It's meant to be a place of gathering for the community and surrounding towns.
Over the past couple of months, things have started to fall into place rather miraculously. We found 45 bookshelves on Facebook Marketplace for a fraction of what they'd cost new. They were, in fact, from a bookstore that had moved locations and left them behind. We also landed my dream retail space - right in the center of town in an historic building. I have an enthusiastic advisory committee, committed artisans that I've identified from various craft fairs over the summer, and support from the Village Supervisor who can't wait for us to open. I've also quietly collected over 4,000 books from friends and family, and much more. To make sure this idea was right for the Village, I rallied several people to help me conduct consumer research in our farmer's market and have learned that people can't wait to have a bookstore here. It seems we can't open soon enough.
And so, it hit me. I want to live in a world where people from different races, ethnicities and genders live in complete harmony. And that world is the town where I live. It's not about harmonizing the whole world, but rather my own world. Right here where I live. And I've never felt more centered or focused.
I guess it’s never too late to take a risk, dive in head first, and become an entrepreneur. And I can’t wait!