Something made you start. Where has that dream gone?
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing live music for the first time in almost a year. After almost seven months of lockdowns and restrictions, the simple act of gathering with strangers and listening to live music — in my case the brilliant classical musician, Josh Hooke at Tempo Rubato — was magnificent.
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we take far too much for granted. The whole year was a huge reminder of what’s really important. I know how fortunate I am to have been able to be there last night.
Perhaps it was coming off the back of 2020, or perhaps influenced by the conversations I’ve had with good friends lately, but last night, while sitting there in the darkened room, listening to the flawless performance from Hooke, I was struck by the fact we - the audience, the grand piano, the staff working and Josh himself - were all simply sitting in one person’s dream.
Tempo Rubato was created by Georgie Imberger, founder of the charity Piano Project — which supports projects that provide access to music education. Georgie wanted to create a business that would bring classical music to people in an affordable, non-pretentious, welcoming and relaxed setting, while also supporting Piano Project. The globally renowned musicians who play at Tempo Rubato actually take the time to chat with the audience in an intimate setting, giving you insights and ideas you’d rarely get a glimpse of in more formal music environment.
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I’m fortunate to know Georgie personally and I remember years ago, while having a cup of tea at her home, her telling me about the idea for Tempo Rubato. “It’s a bit out there” she had laughed at the time, “but I reckon I can make it happen”.
Every single small business owner starts with an idea, a dream, a want to bring something they’re passionate about into the world. And if we are fortunate enough, we get to actually make it happen.
And yet, for many, this dream becomes diluted in a sea of admin, scattergun marketing tactics (with no real strategy in place) and staff challenges. In time, we can end up questioning why we even started.
Why did you start your business?
Really. Take a minute to consider it.
If you trace your small business journey back, what was the catalyst to make it happen?
What was your dream?
Are you still as committed to that?
More so?
Less so?
If things have changed, when did they change? Was there a catalyst or did things simply evolve to a point that you no longer remember the initial dream?
How might some of that original dream come back?
How might you tweak things in your business in 2021 so that you’re just as engaged and enthusiastic about it as you were in the beginning? Perhaps even more so?
My dream was to own my own time. To control how I spent my days and be able to choose the projects and people I worked with. I remember sitting in the Monday business review meetings at my last employed role having no real attachment to the product I was supposed to be leading the marketing on. I remember thinking that life was short and that I needed to create a way to design my own life, my own business and to go to sleep every night knowing I’d actually helped someone.
When things get challenging in my own business, when I feel like I’m so far from where I “should” be, when I doubt myself or when I fall into a comparison trap, I stop and try to come back to that dream.
· I now control my own time.
· I now choose who I work with.
· I now have more ability to design my own life.
· I now go to sleep feeling like I’ve helped someone - whether a client in a coaching session or a stranger over IG DM.
It allows me to see that even if things aren’t “exactly” where I’d like them to be, I’m where I am supposed to be.
There’s a dad at my son’s school who always answers my how-are-you-greeting with, “Living the dream Fiona, living the dream”.
So many people on this planet don’t have a choice in how they spend their days or how (or if) they make a living to support themselves and their loved ones. To have the access and ability to create and run a business is an incredible privilege. How are we making the most of that?
How might we take the time to remind ourselves of why we started? How might a simple change in perspective allow us to see that we might just be “living the dream” too?