My life is changing. I didn’t choose this particular change at this particular moment, but here it is. Next week I will be saying goodbye to a client that I’ve spent many hours with. I will visit her in her new home, but I will only visit. I’m very sad to be saying goodbye to her.
Almost immediately after I heard that this client was moving, I decided to use this change as an opportunity to test the viability of my business. I was excited, I was terrified, I was very worried about money. One thing I’m sure of is that when I’m paralyzed with worry about money, this worry is usually a smokescreen for whatever feelings I’m having. Rather than feel the sadness of saying goodbye to my client, I might panic about losing the work hours. I felt that happen a bit, but I knew what I was doing, so it didn’t continue for long. Awareness is a beautiful thing.
I have made plans for the business. I’ve already started working harder creating products to sell. I have a few custom orders that I’m working on. I’ve made a financial plan so I will know whether or not I’m successful enough to continue on this path. For the month of August, the plan is to get through the month, pay all my bills and don’t use any of the $2000 I have left in savings. It may work, it may not. If I reach the point where I need to spend some of my savings, I will need to find additional paid work – another client or two, another part-time job. I will do whatever I need to do to take care of myself.
Meanwhile, I’m percolating with ideas and energy for my business and I’m feeling the sadness as I say goodbye to my friend.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Jump
I’ve been buckling down on expenses lately. I’ve been more frugal with food. I’ve turned down or postponed several invitations to visit friends because I can’t afford the gas, airfare, time off from work, etc. It’s a good thing I’ve done that. I just found out that one of my homecare clients is moving so I’m losing 16 hours of work per week.
I’m very sad to lose this client. We’ve become very close over the past 3 ½ years. I will be able to visit her occasionally, but it won’t be the same. It’s also a financial issue.
My knee-jerk reaction was to feel panic about how I’m going to make up the income, but the panic subsided pretty quickly. I can probably get more clients from the agency I work for. I could get a part-time job at a nursing home or assisted living facility or another homecare agency. Or I could try to ramp up my business to make up the difference in income. Gulp.
I am excited and terrified in equal measure at the thought of trying to make my business support me. I’ve had enough success that I think it may be possible. I have enough experience to know that I’ll have to be much more dedicated and productive. All in all, it seems like a good opportunity to find out if I can generate enough regular income to live on. Yikes!
I have about two weeks to figure this out. That’s when my client is moving. It will be a melancholy two weeks as we say goodbye. It will also be exciting as I ramp up my business. My plan is to streamline my production to make larger quantities of my products. I’m timing myself as I do business tasks to see how long everything really takes. And I’ll be putting a lot more up for sale on my web site. Whether or not I make sales and how many sales I make, will tell me a lot. Wish me luck. I’m going to jump into the pool.
I’m very sad to lose this client. We’ve become very close over the past 3 ½ years. I will be able to visit her occasionally, but it won’t be the same. It’s also a financial issue.
My knee-jerk reaction was to feel panic about how I’m going to make up the income, but the panic subsided pretty quickly. I can probably get more clients from the agency I work for. I could get a part-time job at a nursing home or assisted living facility or another homecare agency. Or I could try to ramp up my business to make up the difference in income. Gulp.
I am excited and terrified in equal measure at the thought of trying to make my business support me. I’ve had enough success that I think it may be possible. I have enough experience to know that I’ll have to be much more dedicated and productive. All in all, it seems like a good opportunity to find out if I can generate enough regular income to live on. Yikes!
I have about two weeks to figure this out. That’s when my client is moving. It will be a melancholy two weeks as we say goodbye. It will also be exciting as I ramp up my business. My plan is to streamline my production to make larger quantities of my products. I’m timing myself as I do business tasks to see how long everything really takes. And I’ll be putting a lot more up for sale on my web site. Whether or not I make sales and how many sales I make, will tell me a lot. Wish me luck. I’m going to jump into the pool.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Reality Check
I don’t always like being a grownup. I’ve been downright cranky about it lately. I’ve been facing a lot of little unpleasant realities. For example, I’ve recently learned that if I want to save money by cooking at home, I have to do the dishes more than once a day. Yuck. If I want to feel healthier physically, I need to lose weight. If I want to lose weight, I need to pay attention to everything I eat and drink. Double yuck. If I want my business to thrive, I need to get organized. If I want to get organized, I need to get rid of the clutter I’ve been accumulating for years. Sigh. Being a grownup can be quite tedious.
Finally, I remembered what the solution is to this crankiness. It’s gratitude. It works every time.
I used to be very suspicious of people who recommended gratitude as the solution to anything. I thought it was a way to ignore problems, rather than deal with them. I thought it was a form of denial. I was wrong.
In recent years, I’ve learned that gratitude actually makes me happy. It’s a necessary counterweight to my normal depression. It allows me to recognize the good things in my life that I usually don’t see. For me, it’s not a smokescreen, it’s a reality check.
I’ve learned from others to make gratitude lists. These are lists of things in my life for which I am grateful. I usually start with the basics. I’m grateful for plentiful clean water. There are a lot of places in the world that don’t have that. I have plenty of good food - another luxury that not everyone enjoys. I have a beautiful place to live in a beautiful state. I have plenty of clothes. I have good friends and family I love.
It goes on from there. When I finish a gratitude list of twenty items, I am reminded once again that I’m very lucky. I have everything I need. In fact, I have way more than I need. I’m rich. It’s good to know that.
Finally, I remembered what the solution is to this crankiness. It’s gratitude. It works every time.
I used to be very suspicious of people who recommended gratitude as the solution to anything. I thought it was a way to ignore problems, rather than deal with them. I thought it was a form of denial. I was wrong.
In recent years, I’ve learned that gratitude actually makes me happy. It’s a necessary counterweight to my normal depression. It allows me to recognize the good things in my life that I usually don’t see. For me, it’s not a smokescreen, it’s a reality check.
I’ve learned from others to make gratitude lists. These are lists of things in my life for which I am grateful. I usually start with the basics. I’m grateful for plentiful clean water. There are a lot of places in the world that don’t have that. I have plenty of good food - another luxury that not everyone enjoys. I have a beautiful place to live in a beautiful state. I have plenty of clothes. I have good friends and family I love.
It goes on from there. When I finish a gratitude list of twenty items, I am reminded once again that I’m very lucky. I have everything I need. In fact, I have way more than I need. I’m rich. It’s good to know that.
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