Expecting the Expected

I love to ask for advice, but it's somewhat funny how rarely I actually listen to it.  It's not that I don't value the advice I'm given, it's more that I'm always quite sure that things are going to go differently for me than it did for other people.  Sometimes I think it's more important to me to know the advice is actually out there than it is to follow it.  And, sometimes that pays off, in the form of blazing my own trails, and sometimes it doesn't, in the form of my not actually expecting the expected.

I was definitely told that the Holiday shopping season would mean a lot of time spent working, but for whatever reason, I thought that my beautiful check-off lists and planning my working hours (10 am - 4 pm?  Hah!!) would help me to avoid that kind of drama.

It didn't quite go that way.

A 35-40 hour work week?  Well, that's a joke.  I work almost from the time I wake up (9:15 am) until I go to sleep (1-2 am).  Sure, there are breaks for writing emails to friends, or making cookies, and the occasional Netflix movie.  But more often than not, I'm writing emails while printing orders, making cookies while resin cures, and watching movies while I bend jump rings or put stickers on gift boxes.

But the thing is... I like it.  I love it.  I'm busy, I'm frazzled, I always have too many things to do, and I'm enjoying it!  Sure, there are stressful moments where I might forget I ever typed those words... but they pass eventually, and most of the time I feel really awesome about what I'm doing.

It's a great feeling, to be in charge of my own future, to know that I have a say in how successful I am, that it doesn't only depend on my customers (although I love them, and they are pretty important, hehe), that I have control over it!

When I first started this endeavor, I didn't feel like I was in control.  If I had a slow day, I blamed not having enough views on my Etsy shop, or not understanding SEO, or some other reason... but then I realized that there were days when I would have over $100 in sales with only 75 views, and that I could conquer SEO on my slow sale days.

So yeah, I'm tired and I'm having a difficult time not wearing pajamas (there's no time to put on real clothes!), and I don't often lie on my couch sipping cocoa and doing nothing (holiday traditions) -- but I feel so good.  Just so darn good.

So to my customers, and to everyone who supports tiny businesses, and makers of handmade things -- thank you for making this such an exciting time, not just for me, but for all of us!