My businesses are not hobbies. To me, both of them I chose as a way to earn income, and give me a sense of pride while I try to make each one a success.
I have three kids, home all day long…I have two home based businesses, plus household responsibilities. The only and I have to stress ONLY time that is quiet enough to do any sort of business, sewing included, is at night. Last I checked, there is only one of me and not any one around that I can ask to sew, or make phone calls to clients, or answer 25 different emails a day, go grocery shopping for me, clean my house, watch my kids, run my errands, etc…
Could it be different, sure, however I don’t have the financial stability yet to delegate responsibilities to other people such as hiring contract sewers, maid services, pt- employees, or even a baby sitter for that matter, but I am willing to make these sacrifices now to reap the rewards later. So, I am up late. Always stayed up late, even when I was younger. Not a morning person, never was. I’d rather stay up till 3 than get up at 5 or 6. That is just me. Yet, even during all of this, I still get up with my kids, feed them, wash them, take care of them, run errands, make dinners, clean the best I can, go out to lunches, hang out with my mom, go shopping, take kids to play dates and out to movies. I can even make time to spend with my husband and the kids on the weekends for our family time which is usually spent going out for breakfast or to the movies or bowling, or my favorite, taking a ride to Naperville, Illinois riverwalk in the summer, bringing a lunch, having a picnic, walking to the park, feeding the ducks along the way and just being together as a family.
Is it all worth it you ask? Heck yeah! I get to stay home with my kids, enjoy their younger years even though at some point through out the course of the day I am ready to pull my hair out with my youngest coloring on the walls, my son crying because he can’t figure something out on a video game, or my oldest daughter complaining that she is bored. My solutions? Mr. Clean for the walls, explaining to my son that just as in any area of life, the more you practice the better you become, so keep trying, you will figure it all out. To my oldest, lets get the craft supplies and make bracelets, or paint on the canvas, or even lets do makeovers on each other! The best feeling in the world is when you hear your child say they want to be just like you, and have their own businesses and websites, etc… I about cried when I heard my oldest tell her friend that. Makes me proud and then I know I am raising a daughter who will be a go-getter, one who will not be afraid to try different things, one that is not afraid to fail because if she does, she knows it will only make her stronger. I am her hero. That is the best job ever!
Quiet time is night time for me. The kids are in bed, my husband is sleeping and the house is a peaceful place once again. I listen to my late night shows while I work and even welcome my clients calling at night so I can talk to them with out listening to kids asking a million questions at one particular moment, as soon as my phone rings!
So yeah, there may be a few more things that do not sound so appealing to some, but those do not out weigh the good things. I am doing what I love, and doing it in my pajamas!
