In keeping with Client Show & Tell & reveling in receiving a brand new iMac (webcams & imovie & photo booth, oh my!),  Alexandra Franzen kindly agreed to be recorded for a Grown-Up Gigs video interview! I got to ask her all about what led her from breaking free of the cube to creating a super Renaissance Soul career (”Writer / Editor / Organization Freak”), why she gave notice without knowing what the heck she was gonna do (& why it worked for her!), the rewards & challenges of  growing up in a non-traditional family (her Mom was an opera singer! her bro is a saxophonist!) & why she’s blowing up right about now.

Also, I wrote a When I Grow Up jingle which is at the beginning & end of this video (and – let’s face it – probably every one I do in the future). So many reasons to watch & enjoy!

Grown-Up Gigs with Michelle Ward & Alexandra Franzen from WhenIGrowUpCoach on Vimeo.

You can visit Alexandra by heading over to her website, reading/commenting on her blog, or tweeting her up. She doesn’t like Facebook, though, so don’t look for her there. You won’t find her.

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Jes’ blog background features her sassy self, her sassy dog, & her sassy parties! Stolen directly from her blog (beware: more sassy pics await you there!)

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me tweeting about the awesomeness that is Happier Hours, which is a mothly amazeballs event hosted by my friend Aidan Donnelley Rowley to add something more to the booze when 5p rolls around – great conversation! Each month she picks a new topic & brings in a speaker to talk about it, starting with Gretchen Rubin on happiness (I know. I fell over, too). This past month, she put herself in the spotlight to talk about her new book, Life After Yes (just just finished it, & it’s gorgeous) along with her friend/wedding planner Jes Gordon, who recently wrote Party Like a Rockstar. While I didn’t know Jes before her name appeared as a Happier Hours speaker, the name of her book & her company definitely sparked my interest! And when I met her in person, I loved loved loved her unique Jes-ness, unafraid to simply tell it like it is with a smile & a laugh. When she described her path from aspiring rock star to big-time party planner, I knew I had to trick/force her into being in the next Grown-Up Gigs spotlight. Thankfully it didn’t take much cajoling!

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? Well, it kept changing. First, I wanted to be a Vet, then after interning with one and putting a perfectly healthy dog down due to inconvenience I knew that wasnt for me… I was always a musician of sorts. I majored in soundtrack for film in college and played in a lot of bands so I would have to say ideally I wanted to be a rock star.

2. You mentioned at Happier Hours that you tried college 2 or 3 times as a music major (hence the Rock Star moniker), & ended up packing it in your last semester, never to return. What kept you going back to school, & what was the breaking point where you knew you were leaving for good? I kept going back to school simply because that was what all my friends were doing. Also I was getting a lot of free marijuana and I had awesome friends! ha!  I had been working the entire time during all of these “attempts” and I was in my last semester finally taking the dreaded music theory class that I had been trying to avoid my entire college career. The professor was a pompous ass and kept coming to me with intricate questions I think she knew I couldn’t answer. Basically she was just in my grill and I walked out of the class, called my Mom from a pay phone and told her i was walking and going into business full time. She gave me her blessing. (more…)

When I got an email from Katie Wilkinson of K Public Relations telling me of a client that went from the Army to Microsoft to a children’s book author, I knew I had to interview him for Grown-Up Gigs! Roger Hackett is the the author of the Ryan & Robbie series (yup, that’s him above reading to a classroom of kids) & is obviously passionate about writing a kid’s book with multicultural characters. A man with a mission – ain’t that what being a Creative is all about?

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a kid, I loved adventures. Because I was so rambunctious, my father always made me carry a book in the car. That left a lasting impression on me, and ever since I have wanted to be an author. Somehow, I always thought I would write about Robots, Outer space, or travel adventures. When I had kids, it totally changed my life, and it was just natural for my first book to be about and for kids!

2.  You’ve had an extremely varied career: from being in the Army, to being a “Microsoftie” (Katie’s word, which I love!) to now writing children’s books. Can you articulate what took you from one place to the next to the next? As an adult I still love adventures. What I do for a living is a huge part of who I am. From the Army, Microsoft, to Apple’s iPod Division, to Ryan and Robbie the work that I have done has given people freedom, improved their lives, and empowered them in ways they never knew were possible.  It has always been engaging and fun all along the way both in the United States and around the world.

For me, there are three words that help me find that next big thing… (more…)

From left to right: Custom stationary that Sarah makes on The Sweet Unfolding’s Etsy shop; a gift box of spa wonderfulness at Matilda & Mae; The Sweet Unfolding logo, which has all your wedding needs

I met Sarah Schultz via Etsy, when I hired her to design custom stationary for a blogger who was super sweet to me. My blogger friend loved her gift, & it started a chain of emails between Sarah & I that led to us asking each other for mutual blog interviews (mine’s here)! As a creative entrepreneur that designs stationary, has her own spa line & has virtually opened a wedding boutique, she was meant for Grown-Up Gigs.

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? I always knew I wanted to work for myself doing something creative. My ideas of how that would play out have changed a lot over the years—they’re still changing, I think—but working for myself and creating has always been my goal. I say on The Sweet Unfolding site somewhere that starting my own business has long been my favorite dream, and it’s so true. In all the various stages of my past, whether in school or at any of my previous jobs (I used to work in advertising and as a writer for nonprofit organizations), working for myself was the dream I kept coming back to. Even though it’s been tough at times, I feel really fortunate that I have the opportunity to work on turning that dream into a reality.

2. As a creative entrepreneur that designs stationary, has a spa line & has virtually opened her wedding boutique, how the heck did you come to dip your pen in all of those pots? I think it’s because I have a short attention span! And I also just really love to design. If I see something that inspires me, whether it’s a cute little bottle or a pretty quilt or a pattern on a tea set, I almost immediately have an idea for a product, followed by ideas for the packaging, product name, etc. I always end up really wanting to see the idea come to life, so oftentimes I’ll just go with it and see what happens. My thought is I can’t lose anything by trying; even if something doesn’t work at least I’ll know I gave it a shot. (more…)

Aint’ It Nice to Be Nice  When You Can Be Nice from thesmalljoys, Jeanette’s printable paperie shop

Do you guys read The Boss of You? I finished the book a few weeks ago (it’s still digesting!) & love the info that Emira & Laura put out into the creative entrepreneur airwaves, like the idea that starting a business does NOT necessarily have to do with making a trillion dollars & being able to buy & sell a Hawaiian island, unless you want it to be. So anyway, I’m on their blog a few months ago & was totally enraptured by their interview with Jeannette Ordas, who I loved from her stationary line, The Beautiful Project. When I read that she has a successful food blog, website design company & printable paperie shop on top of her gorgeous (& funny!) stationary, I freaked out with excitement & emailed to ask her if I can be next up for an interview. She lived up to her super awesomeness & sent back these self-proclaimed “quick ‘n dirty” answers:

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was little I wanted to be a film director. I had a vision of me in a director’s chair directing a movie like Jaws. Later on, in elementary and high school, I really wanted to be a writer.

2. I’m fascinated by those who don’t settle for Just One Career, & find it to be something a lot of creatives are scared of (although they’re wired for it!). How did you embrace your Renaissance Soul & decide to pursue blogging, crafting, & design as a career? I was always very panicked at the idea that I didn’t have a One True Path. I was envious of people who had a drive and a desire to be a violinist or an artist. I was never like that and it seriously worried me. Instead of being good at just one thing, I was pretty good at a lot of things and in my thirties I realized that it was okay and I could embrace that. I was never one to want to work a full time job, so I figured that I could divide my life into blogging and drawing and designing and be happy–and make money at the same time. Who knows what I’ll be doing in 10 years, but I’m okay with going with the flow.
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Keep Out of the Cookies (an animation) from Jessica Gonacha Swift on Vimeo. SO cute & adorable!

How is it that Grown-Up Gigs has yet to feature a full-time artist? The travesty! The most simple but seemingly most elusive career for a creative person (not necessarily a full-time artist but a full time insert-creative-”starving-artist”-profession-here), Jessica Gonacha Swift has been doing it for six years with amazing results. I don’t know how I found my way to Jess’ work initially, but when I saw it I immediately swooned – it’s bright & sweet & quirky & insightful & so unique & personal. In getting to know Jess by being her coach & friend, she continued to inspire me with her words & her actions. Besides bringing her into Spring, I knew I needed to dig a little deeper & ask her some grown-up questions. You’re welcome.

1. You are an artist who makes her living – pays her rent, feeds herself, buys adorable clothes & doesn’t live hand to mouth – solely from selling your illustrations & patterns. That’s so beyond the realm of The Possible by so many of us who are “stuck” in traditional jobs (or traditional families!). What advice can you give to those Grown-Ups out there who think,  “I’ll never be able to pay the bills by being an artist”?

Wow, you make what I do sound so cool! I guess my only real advice is to  not listen to those people who tell you you can’t do it for one reason or another. Because you absolutely CAN. I say, don’t we all have a responsibility to do the things that make us truly joyful in this life? Who made the rule that a job isn’t supposed to be fun? Also, the world NEEDS artists. Can you imagine a world without anything pretty or decorative? Without images that make you think and question? Everything would be so  boring and dull– so if artists are so necessary, why shouldn’t we be able to make a living giving our talents to the world? If you are passionate about what you do and want to share it with the world, then there is an audience for you. You can do it. (more…)

My good friend Sherry (whose name I had to change, & who I have no idea why I just named Sherry) made a big, bold, huge, scary, exciting, freak-out decision: she was going to break loose of her corporate shackles & go to Thailand to volunteer with SOLD, a not-for-profit that prevents Thai children from falling into prostitution, for 6 months. An actor by trade & at heart, Sherry’s going to Thailand not only because she’s passionate about doing her part to eliminate the child sex trade industry there, but because she gets to build the arts curriculum & teach ESL to all the kids they rescue from the streets.

In order to finance her flights, vaccines & living expenses, Sherry is currently raising money for her trip so she can make this, yes, a grown-up gig. While not a career, so to say (at this point anyway!), Sherry’s resolve to leave her corporate life & find something she could be passionate about was a tough road for her to follow. In fact, I have to call her Sherry because her job doesn’t know she’s leaving & she doesn’t want the word to get out before she’s ready. And when this opportunity arose, she knew it was a way for her to get back to her first love – acting, & everything that goes with it – while working towards a cause that she’s passionate about. She also feels like she might love being the head of an arts program as well as being a drama therapist, & this opportunity gives her the chance to try on all of those different hats.

1. What did you want to be when you grew up?

“An actor” was always my prompt and assured response to this question. However, now that I am older (and given all I’ve reflected on this past year+ in corporate America) I realize it was more the “core” of what being an actor meant to me then acting itself. Don’t get me wrong, I love acting- I love the storytelling, the lights, the adrenaline, and cast of characters (pun intended) you meet at auditions and in rehearsals. But really, it had more to do with being engaged and active in my life. I wanted the immediacy of being present in the moment like being up on stage requires of you, I wanted to be interested and involved in what I was doing with my time, I wanted a routine but one that was flexible, I wanted to work in a collaborative. I wanted to be challenged by creating and thinking on my feet. Being an actor, to me, encapsulated all of that. (more…)

Last week I got an email from Improv Everywhere (I’m on their list) saying that their new completed mission, Grocery Store Musical, was, uh, completed & up on their site. Since I read/watch anything with the word “musical”, I clicked on over & was greeted with the greatest thing I’ve ever seen: Musical as Real Life. I dare you not to watch this & wish that you were in Queens at that time, living a musical.

I watched this. I cried. I was happy. I watched it again. I cried again. I continued to be happy. And then I took a look at Improv Everywhere’s sidebar, where they tout their book & their 3rd DVD collection (the first 2 collections sold out).  I remembered hearing them on This American Life, & head on over to their Press page, where I learn that they’ve been featured on The Today Show (multiple times), Nightline, VH1, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, MSNBC & a whole slew of other periodicals & networks. And then I realize:

Holy crap. Improv Everywhere, which has completed 85 “missions”  in 8 years, is a Grown-Up Gig.

Yes, there are grown-ups making a living pranking unassuming people in the best way (did you see the Subway Yearbook Photos, or the Surprise Wedding Reception, or the Slo-Mo Home Depot, or the….OK, I’ll just stop there). (more…)

fortune cookie.1 by laurageorge

This isn’t a Grown-Up Gig per se, but a series of snippits about adults who changed careers – their backstories, their passions, their results & their challenges. NPR’s Take Two: Life Changes stopped in 2006, but you can read a lil’ synopsis & listen to the stories (or read the transcript!) right on the Interweb. Here are some of my favorites:

• An accountant who moved from Seattle to Paris to become a belly dancer
• A corporate director who made a lucrative living jumped ship to start Little MissMatched. This was reported on in 2004, & if you’ve been to a mall lately you know how much this company’s grown!
• A banker who became a life coach (but maybe I’m a bit biased)
• A research assistant at a lab is now working as a marine observer
• An ER doctor who is now a real estate strategist but plans on possibly writing a book about patient advocacy. She says, “There’s a lot of negotiating that goes on in medicine that people don’t realize, trying to convince patients and families to actually implement your treatment plan, despite the fact that they don’t want to give up on their cigarettes or give up on their grease or, you know, not eat past midnight, you know, really getting buy in of everyone, and real estate is all about getting buy in of all the parties. I find I’m using really the same skill set.”
• A 43-yr-old medical resident who is training to be a doctor, but used to be a forest ranger, a lab tech, a carpenter, a ranch hand & a brew pub owner.

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