Do Good Design

“I work in a job I hate, but don’t know what else to do.”

Sound familiar? It did to me four years ago.

I was stuck in a job I didn’t know how to get out of. I was a web manager for a telecom corporation in a glamorous office in Washington, DC.

I made great money, had a good boss, but my heart wasn’t in it. I just didn’t feel like my work had any meaning.

I’ve had enough!

Things started to change when I finally felt I had to resign. I had no idea what my next job would be, I just new I needed a change.

I decided to go on holiday to Scotland. I dug into my savings and planned a month’s adventure to figure things out.

Three days into my vacation, I met my future husband. We were engaged in two weeks, and I left behind everything in the U.S. to start a new life in Scotland.

Even with so many changes, it took me another three years to start my own business. Most of that was figuring out what I wanted to really do.

Here’s how I did it.

A career book that finally did the trick

I’ll start with a blatant plug (no, I don’t get paid for this): read Finding Your Perfect Work by Paul and Sarah Edwards.

A fellow Bryn Mawr graduate generously sent it to me in the mail when she heard I was casting around for direction. It turned out to be the critical catalyst to help me discover the right business.

As a connoisseur of these find-your-career books, I can say this one made such an impact because it not only looked at what I’m good at, it also asked me to think about what I most cared about.

Then it helped me figure out how I could earn a living from work I’d love to do.

Plugging into my innermost convictions and then figuring out how they can connect to the needs of others. That’s the philosophy.

Bring back some magic into the world

In my case, one of my deeply cherished beliefs that I didn’t even know I had until I did this was to “restore a sense of magic to the world.”

It sounds a little namby-pamby, but what I mean is that I love the sense of wonder and delight we all felt as children.

When people do what they love, they get that sense of delight, of magic. That’s why I knew my business had to be about working with people who have passion and delight in what they do.

By helping them succeed, I’m adding a little more magic back into the world.

Web design was the other piece, because I knew I was good at it and enjoyed it. And it gives me a lot of creative scope to make beautiful, functional things.

Go for it

So if you’re stuck in the cubicle vortex because you don’t know where you’d go, try Finding Your Perfect Work and see if that gives you some ideas that’ll lead you to freedom.

Once you do, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how you’re getting on. I’ll be rooting for you.

Next time: Turning your dream business into a reality

About Do Good Design

At Do Good, we create websites for small businesses who are passionate about what they do. We combine elegant design with punchy business tactics.

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