Yesterday i saw an ex-colleague, Isabelle Bajart, in her new shop. We worked in the same company four years ago.
Even back then, she stood out. While most of us (banking software sector) either went for suit-and-tie or geek grunge, she always had a fantastic style – like a gauze tutu under a jeans jacket.
After I left she started evening styling (fashion) classes, which she completed top of class. While walking through the centre of Brussels, she stumbled upon a shop that was for rent – and decided to just go for it.
Now she has a vintage shop in the fashionable area of Brussels (rue des chartreux). It’s spacious and well-decorated, and has a good selection of clothes, some of which are her designs.
What i really like about this story, is that she just went for it – bored with what she was doing, she ditched both her studies and her budding career, and started something completely different.
I’ve met a few americans having done the same kind of thing – it seems to be more common over there. People reinvent themselves every 5, 10 years. They work like dogs to realize their new idea. If they fail, so what. They just start again. This makes for interesting people with good stories.
In Belgium most people play it safe. You start doing something, and then you stick at it until you retire, period. This might be a weakness: we’re better off having multi-faceted, energetic people than grumpy burn-outs.
Isabelle seemed to be a bit surprised at herself – and obviously she was worried that it wouldn’t take off, there’s always a risk. And she works 7 days a week at the moment. But i like that she did it.
Such changes often seem enormous, but in fact, it’s one thing at a time. Eventually you get there – if you just take that step, and not just dream about it.