Today, I begin my 36th year on this earth…. and I’m enjoying my 13th year in business. 13 years being, as Barbara Winter calls it, a self-bosser.
Barbara Winter, by the way, wrote the FIRST business book I ever read. I still recommend it. (How to Make a Living Without Having A Job.)
After all, that was my original goal. To make money without having a job that would require my kids to be in a day care setting. Or — frankly — in the care of anyone else. For any length of time. =)
I needed a “job” that allowed me to work while the kids slept and enjoy and embrace and educate them while they were awake. Oh — and I needed it to AT LEAST replace my former full-time income.
Looking back, my goal was comically small. Small business offers no income ceiling. Time AND Money freedom. I can’t imagine life any other way, to be honest.
Dressing how my boss wants me to dress. Arriving when I was told. Answering for spending an extra half hour at lunch. Fighting traffic created by all of those that are also coming and going when they were instructed to come and go.
Don’t get me wrong. As I write these words, I can see how incredibly insensitive they may sound — especially for those who are unemployed and looking. It’s not that I discount “jobs” entirely. My husband’s job — its beautiful 9 month schedule and specifically its health benefits for our family — make it very easy to do what I do. A job is just not for me.
I’ve had one “real” job in my life, and –while I was never fired — I’m sure my very “old” and very traditional supervisors were none to sad to see me go. It wasn’t because I wasn’t good at or passionate about what I did. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was just not a good “FIT” for an employee. I sort of wrote my own rules, schedule, dress code. And was relatively UNconcerned with theirs. =)
Anyway, 13 years in business. This morning I responded to a new inquiry with these words:
Nothing has stretched me more than this journey of self-employment. I’m in my 13th year of business now. Things have change swiftly and dramatically, but the important stuff has stayed the same.My WHY, for instance — time freedom to be with my kids, that’s still the same.And also, how to market and sell. That hasn’t changed.
