In 2008, on January 24, I walked into the chamber of commerce in The Hague and registered my business
I had no intention of leaving my job back then. I had no intention of becoming self-employed either. All I had was a product that I was hoping to sell one day, as a side gig.
Half a year earlier...
In Summer 2007 I had the idea to create a set of poker cards. Only instead of the kings and queens on the cards' faces, I wanted coaching questions that would help newly promoted managers become better team leaders.
I had been running weekly meetings for my fellow operations managers in the company and I wanted a playful tool to facilitate educational conversation between the junior managers and the more experienced ones.
But I didn't know how to get started. How do you even make poker cards?
And because I didn't know, I stopped right there.
Lesson 1: Don't stop just because you don't know how to do something
Do you know how many attempts most people make at achieving their goals?
Less than one!!How is that possible? Because they resign or talk themselves out of it before they even get started.
Don't be like most people.
The Kickstart
Half a year after I had had my idea and forgot about it, I visited my family on Christmas 2007. When my brother asked me over dinner what I had been up to, I told him I had an idea for Poker cards, but they should be more like coaching cards, and since I didn't know where to start, nothing had come of it yet.
And then I asked him, "What would you do? How would you start?"
I still remember this, like it was yesterday. He looked at me with his fork half way to his mouth and said, "Call some printers??"
Oh.
Yeah, I could probably do that... Duh!
After dinner I googled "printers". I found ten suitable ones for playing cards. I contacted three, one in Germany, one in Poland and one in Hongkong.
I found out quickly that I couldn't just create one set of cards to use at work - I had to order 500 sets!!!
Oh.
The Polish one made me the best offer and sent me samples a couple of weeks later in January 2008. I realised this would cost me around €1,000 for one set (which was all I wanted).
But then I thought, if I like the idea, maybe others will, too? Maybe I could sell the other 499 sets I didn't need?
I don't remember how long I thought about this. Not too long I guess, considering I found myself at the chamber of commerce in the very same month. I had a good salary back then, so I allowed myself to make the investment, and I also allowed myself to fail and lose it all, should it not work out.
Lesson 2: I you believe you have a chance at succeeding, calculate the risk and then do it
Failing or losing a bit of money is better than regretting you never even tried.
The Mega Learning Curve
Of course, naive little me thought I could just tell the printers what to print instead of Kings and Queens on the cards' faces. I wanted to send them an Excel file with the 52 question I wanted to print on the fronts.
"Nooo..." they told me, "You design. We print. We do not make any changes to any files you send us. So send us ready-made card designs - front and back - upload them to our FTP server and then we'll print!"
Whaaat? I'm not a designer! I know Excel, not InDesign or Photoshop or whatever!! I don't have any design knowledge! And what's an FTP server??
But then I remembered where I worked... Tommy Hilfiger! European Headquarter!! I was literally sitting next to designers in the office every day!
So one of my very kind colleagues made me a nice template for the cards, explained me the basics of Illustrator, and then I did the rest myself. At home after work. It probably took me 100 times longer than a professional but I enjoyed the creative process.
Lesson 3: Trust that you'll figure things out and be ready to learn something new every day
Not only did I have to learn Illustrator, I also realised I needed a website and someone to design it.
Long story short, I figured everything out. I took about half a year, but it was the most creative project I had ever worked on, and it was the first project that was entirely mine. I hadn't been instructed to do this by an employer.
Turn of events
While I was busy creating my cards, I found out that I was going to get fired. I forgot to tell you that I had declined a promotion a few months earlier, and told them I wanted to become a coach instead. In the company. Turns out you don't do that... You always say Yes to the plans of top management.
I won't lie, it was the most difficult time of my career. I loved that company, and suddenly I had to deal with lawyers, couldn't trust anyone and felt like I lost my home and my whole family was breaking up with me after 8 years. But at the same time I also felt really strongly that something good would come from this.
In May 2008 I walked out of the building for the last time, with a nice golden handshake, mind you, that would keep me safe for almost a year. I thought I would take two months off, take care of my little cards side gig, and take my time to look for a new job. But the universe had different plans...
When one door closes, another one opens
A couple of weeks later, in June, my shipment of 500 sets of cards arrived. I can't even tell you what a proud moment that was, holding my own creation in my hands.
I sent one set to a friend in Germany right away, who worked for a big consultancy. She gave it to her HR director. The HR director immediately ordered a whole bunch and asked me, "What else do you have?"
"Nothing on paper, but a lot in my head!" I replied.
And so she hired me as a coach for a group of her managers. Not only did I earn my whole initial investment back (and more), but I was also suddenly a "proper coach".
Be careful what you wish for
I had wanted to become a coach for about 3 years by then. It just would have never occurred to me that I would be a coach outside of my employer, in my own business. On one hand I was hurt and felt unfairly treated, but I also saw that I now had exactly what I wanted.
Things don't happen to us. They happen for us.
It was quite scary. While I finally got to officially "coach", I had no idea how to be an entrepreneur: how to make an offer, how to set my prices, how to deal with a corporate client! But I said YES anyway, and thought I could figure out the rest later. And I did. Because once you make a commitment, you'll become naturally resourceful and opportunities will present themselves.
And you know how I figured out what prices to charge? My then-boyfriend was a channel, so he connected with my spirit guides and I simply asked them! 😄
I thought, cool, I'm going to do this coaching project, and then I'm just going to look for another job afterwards. It will give me a chance to try out this "entrepreneur" thing.
Final lesson: Always say YES before your ready
Well, it's 10 years later and I still haven't looked for that new job...
It feels quite unbelievable to me, but I feel I have just gone with the flow and responded to everything the universe offered me to do. Just like we will move into a task-based income model in the future, I have been living a service-based one for the past 10 years.
In addition to coaching managers, I also started coaching individuals in 2009. Another thing I wasn't ready for. And that started a whole series of services that I wasn't ready for, but I learned to say YES and just get ready on the way.
I taught at the University of The Hague in 2011. --- I consulted for Karl Lagerfeld in Amsterdam and for a local café in The Hague in 2012. --- I ran regular local workshops on DiSC personality types. --- I started running an online money coaching course in 2013. --- I taught people at Calvin Klein in Mexico City some Excel stuff in 2014 and 2015. --- I wrote a couple of Ebooks. --- I ran the online business operations of a spiritual teacher from Australia remotely for 4 years, and built an online school with her.
And now I teach women how to invest in cryptocurrencies and earn money on Steemit!! CRAZY!!
Skills To Go
None of this has ever been full-time work. A lot of things run in parallel, and most of it can be done from home or a café, or a co-working space in Bali. And sometimes there are long breaks in between. I had no idea how much freedom and variety the universe had in store for me, when it kicked me out of that job in 2008.
One thing is for sure: linear careers are over. There is no benefit anymore of staying in the same job at the same company all your life.
Experiences are the new career. Spotting needs and picking up skills as you go. In today's world, we can do that anywhere.
And if you're still looking for your thing and you don't know what you want to be when you grow up, this is it:
When your skills and talents meet the needs of other people, that's your purpose.
There are so many ways we can put our skills to good use, while being free and enjoying ourselves.
(Disclaimer: You need to be a good money manager and be able to handle the down times. Money doesn't always just magically come in when it suits you. You need to be prepared for that.)
**
And my cards? They are still there. They never became a huge seller, but I think I did ship them to every continent. I had them made in English, German and Dutch, and every now and then I still get a random order and ship them somewhere in the world - until I will be out of stock one day.
They were my business- and creativity- and freedom-starter and I am celebrating them today! 🍾