The Domestic Entrepreneur

Welcome September!

As I celebrate the beginning of the third year of my website, I have finally accepted that there are many parallels between entrepreneurship and domesticity. As a home-based sole proprietor, I now know that I must manage both to succeed at either.

When choosing a home or business, it’s important to find the right fit, and I had very specific requirements for both. When I think of the business as the structure within which I design, create, promote, and sell my products, it’s even easier to see just how closely related they are, and it’s up to me to create the right environment for productivity and prosperity.

Compare the items I create with the meals I prepare. Whether I start with a recipe or just mix and make on the fly, I need the right ingredients. Some designs, like some dishes, require multiple components and a lot of precision, while more simple designs are as easy as making boiled eggs. It all depends on what appetites I’m feeding while creating.

If the product represents the meal itself, then the website is dessert; not strictly necessary, but a welcome finish to a satisfying meal. While I lack the skill to attempt croquembouche, I make a darn good banana pudding – the old-fashioned way. My website isn’t fancy, but it’s an extra something beyond the basics of my business.

Cooking is one of my favorite things, but I’m as messy in my kitchen as in my studio. Housework is time-consuming, tedious, and never-ending, but it must be done lest I devolve into chaos. My business requires the same level of dedication. After a super busy Spring season, I needed to put my house in order and reflect on the direction I had taken. I had gotten exactly what I asked for, but I was no longer sure that it was what I wanted. Having reached so many of my goals, I was surprised at the decision I finally made. Fewer shows, closer to home, and making much more than just jewelry. I can live with that.

My life, my art, my home, and my business are all intertwined and each deserves the best that I can give. It means asking for help when I need it, and often making sacrifices for one over the other. It means keeping good records and taking care of minor issues before they become major problems. It means honor, authenticity, and integrity in my products and in my relationships with the people I encounter. It means doing what I love exactly how I love to do it, and that just makes me happy. Now I’ll make myself a cup of good, strong coffee and exhale. This task is done.

Thank you for visiting Freestyle Art & Design ❤️