Everyone in New York has a side piece

Did you know that there is a holiday in the US to promote Small businesses?

No kidding : since 2011, during the holiday frenzy between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, USA celebrates ‘Small Business Saturday’.

Maggie Gross, a Strategist at Havas NY I had the chance to meet told me about it. She has actually worked on the communication strategy to create this new ‘movement’ with American Express — how stunning is that! (Check-out here her instructive SXSW speech that explains the variables for a successful movement)

Apart from Maggie’s amazing job, it’s not by chance if this holiday exists here. I discovered that small businesses are very numerous in the US (look at the 16 Surprising Statistics About Small Businesses by Forbes) and one of the reasons may be that it is more common to have side projects besides one’s main job.

I am intrigued by this phenomenon because I wanted to start side projects at several times during the past years and never succeeded in doing it properly in addition with my job. Well, Havas NY is full of people with side projects. And contrary to what one might think, it is not incompatible with doing great at your job. It may even enhance your skills and performance.

Some people I met consider their side project as an extension of their job. They are passionate about their job and their side project is nothing but continuing their passion outside work. For instance, Sylvain Tron is co-Head of Production for North America in Havas and he is also a photographer (http://sylvaintron.tumblr.com/) He explained to me that his job at Havas and being a photographer is part of the same thing. Seeing artists exhibitions, going to the cinema, taking pictures are as part of his personal fulfillment as his professional development.

No doubt that New York has also something to do with it. The city is a great source of inspiration. For Michaela Turley, brand architect at Havas Worldwide, her side project begun when she moved from Australia to New York. At first, she was only looking for a hobby … and New York had a lot on hand to propose. She began some classes of jewelry and now she has a small workshop in a closet in her apartment to make her own pieces of jewelry! New York’s eclecticism and cultural bubbling constituted an efficient way of finding a passion and worked on her creativity.

As one often says, people in the US are ‘doers’. This inclination for side projects are another proof of this. Just like most people, they have an idea, a passion or just a hobby and they want to make it meaningful. But the difference is that they are not afraid to go for it, even if it’s step by step. It makes them more interesting, more fulfilled and well-rounded at a personal and a professional level. Now it’s my turn to take example from this mindset and make my move.