new ventures

I’ve been hinting around for the past few weeks, maybe months, that there is a new project brewing around here. The first I already spilled the beans on – I am writing a non-fiction book about relocating with kids. The second goes hand-in-hand, and it’s all about getting that book (and some others) out into the world.

Like any new venture, there’s been a ton of research (probably too much), a fair amount of doubt (trying to keep that in check is a part-time job on its own), and a lot of staring over the cliff (whoa, it’s a long way down).

On the other hand, I’m also trusting my gut, having faith in my abilities, and instincts and feeling ready to take the leap.

And I’m not going it alone. I’ve got a partner.

Here’s the short version –

My husband Kevin and I have started a company that develops and distributes books digitally and in print. We create books that we wish we had when we were facing tough career and personal decisions. I am the day-to-day administrative manager and chief of all things marketing and Kevin will continue to work full time and contribute his publishing experience and expertise. A lot of meetings happen in the evening over wine. It’s a very civilized way to do business. Our company web site will be up and running by the end of May, and we will have books in the market this fall.

And the long version –

Kevin has been diligently working on a manuscript for a few years writing at night when the kids go to bed and I’m doing non-productive things like watching the Real Housewives of New York. He would even write during his lunch hour or for 15 minutes at the end of his work day before he started his commute home. This is while working full time. The man is motivated. And by plugging away little by little, he eventually had written a book. A really good book.

He’s been trying to bring me in on this project for awhile to help with marketing, design and the stuff that I do best. Since he works in publishing, he already has a good grasp on that part. So together we would make a good team. Right?

No way. That’s what I’ve been saying for the past two years. Nope. I don’t want to work on your thing. I want to do my thing. Which has made sense. I needed to go through the process of self-discovery and not get sucked into someone else’s thing. That is what I was afraid of. His book project trumping my writing projects. And so I said no. That is not a good idea.

But over this past winter, something shifted.

I fully committed to writing my own book. Plugging away bit by bit. And now I have something to publish too. I have more of a vested interest. It’s not his or mine, it’s ours.

And once my brain started going there, I had a million ideas about what we could do and how we could do it. I started to be really energized and motivated by the idea. I realized that we would be better off doing it together.

I turned the corner. And said, okay. Yes. Let’s really do this. Let’s start a company that publishes books. Books about life and the big career and personal decisions that come up and how we navigate those transitions logistically but also emotionally. Let’s draw on our own personal experiences to bring useful information to people in similar situations.

Let’s make the books we wish we had.

Could that be any more up my alley?

How did I get from no, absolutely not to yes, hell, yes?

I simply changed my perspective. I stopped thinking about everything I would lose, and started thinking about what could be gained. I stopped thinking about what would be taken away from me, and started focusing on what I had to give. I realized that together, we made a dynamic, complementary team that could get stuff done and create something worthwhile.

I also realized that this kind of opportunity, where you do a lot of work up front and then get paid passively, over time is exactly the type of business that I am interested in. For me, this makes more sense than trading service for dollars. And if we start now, maybe in ten or fifteen years, we’ll have enough extra income to do some of the things we want to do like travel and send our kids to college and have the flexibility to work from anywhere.

So while I’m not sitting here making money right now getting paid a salary, I wasn’t before anyway. I can keep my schedule and my freedom and my blog all while investing my time into something that will hopefully one day have a pay out, a modest but respectable pay out. Instead of fighting against it, I’m turning this into an opportunity to collaborate with my favorite person in the world with the end result being books and the sharing of knowledge – my most favorite things in the world.

So yeah, I’m really excited about this venture and can’t wait to share more – more details about our projects and the trials of starting a new business and working with your spouse and how to deal with failure. But for now, I’m relishing in the tiny victory of starting something new. Taking that first step.

I’ll keep you posted when the web site goes live and we officially launch.