Starting your own business gives you the opportunity to combine your passions and talents into a career you love, while providing a platform to support the causes you champion.

According to the book Designing Your Life, your career, values, and personal life should be in sync. A great way to achieve this is to start your own business. We live in the golden age of entrepreneurship. The power of the Internet and social media allow you to reach your customers way easier than a decade ago. Being the boss allows you to champion causes close to your heart. No more feeling forced by your employer to give to organizations like United Way.

For those of you who’ve dreamed of opening your own business but have been afraid, check out Hannah Fraser, a professional mermaid and ocean conservation activist. She’s loved mermaids since she was a child, even making herself a mermaid tail for swimming. Her work as a photographer, costume designer and fantasy painter morphed into her profession as a mermaid, after she created spectacular images during an underwater modeling shoot. She also uses her talents to bring attention to the plights facing ocean life. If Hannah can make a living as a mermaid, then the rest of us can give creating our own more mainstream businesses a shot!

Until I read about Hannah, I used to think that stand-up comedians had the hardest job on the planet. Unlike the corporate world, with its steady paycheck, yearly reviews and severance packages, a comedian finds out every time he steps on stage if he’s been successful.

My son, Peter, is pursuing a career as a stand-up comedian. I asked him why. “I’ve always wanted to make people laugh. I like finding humor in everyday life.” And he has, since he was a little kid. He has taken classes at The Second City, spends his down time reading about and watching comedy and participates in open mike nights several times a week. Does he have any causes he passionate about? Not yet. But activists bring about change by raising awareness, and raising awareness in a humorous way is what makes a comedian successful.

Like Hannah and Peter, my childhood interests are the basis of my business. I’ve always loved miniatures, making things and telling people what to do. I built on those interests while raising my kids. I attended art school part-time and was an art appreciation volunteer at their school. Unlike Hannah, who uncovered a previously unforeseen need for mermaids, I realized that parents wanted more than the one-day-a-week art classes at school, so I started an art studio for kids. I’m beginning to explore my activism by offering scholarships to my classes for kids in need.

Now that we are in the midst of a pandemic and may have more down time, it’s the perfect opportunity to think about what changes you may want to make. Take a look at your life! What are you good at? What did you love as a child? What are you doing in your free time? Do you see a need that is not being met? What causes are you passionate about? I started my art business at age fifty and my coaching business at fifty-seven. It’s not too late for you!