Being my own boss

The freedom of being your own boss can be rather intoxicating. I get to make all the decisions, choose my working hours, my holidays, my tasks, and my dress code. If I want to spend the day in a nest of blankets and my bunny slippers, and have a three hour lunch break, who is going to stop me? But there’s a flip side to that coin, because if I want to get an order finished for a gallery, working through the night, without stopping to eat anything, only to start a new project immediately afterwards, without any kind of rest, who is going to stop me then? It takes discipline to find the right sort of balance. And I don’t always get it right- I have absolutely done both of those examples, and I’m sure I’ll do them again.

In order to run a business successfully, I think it’s important to have rules and be fairly strict with yourself. The joy of being my own boss, of course, is that I can choose those rules.

I used to think I needed a regular routine in order to be productive. And my open studio provided that routine, which I had for six years as my own studio, and previous six years as a sharer (in the fabulous Tracey Birchwood’s studio). Manchester Craft and Design Centre has some rather excellent people among its tenants, so the company was rather nice, but keeping a schedule as a shopkeeper was never something I was good at or enjoyed. MCDC opens at 10 am, while I’m often ready to start working from 5 am. And I’m a terrible time keeper. So I often ran late, or had to disrupt my working day in order to open up the studio, which was not productive for me. So finding a routine that actually works is important. I don’t work 10am until 5.30pm. I like to get started early and have a leisurely dinner hour (or two! I have pets in need of attention.)

I also am an auntie to two almost twelve year olds and they expect quality crafting! If they want to visit for a week to build dens, and sew ballgowns, and draw comic books, I enjoy the freedom of taking a week off work to do the fun stuff. One of the best parts of being self employed is that it works around me. If I’m ill, or I have an adventure planned with friends or family, I can schedule everything in with very little restriction. If I want to work all hours one week, to have a long weekend, I absolutely can.

Funnily enough, as leisurely as that sounds, it’s rather rare for me to take much time off. Being self employed makes you keenly aware of the old phrase ‘time is money’. Days spent playing rather than working means that no money is coming in. And sales are never guaranteed; my income fluctuates massively from month to month. I’m never certain when I’ll be busy with orders and when there will be crickets. So the impetus to work all the time is strong! And so is the impetus to say yes to every opportunity, just in case it’s the last opportunity you’re ever offered.

I think that cash flow pays a huge part in people giving up their small businesses. It is certainly an unusual way to live, and it’s important to build some savings where you can. It probably takes a certain kind of person not to find that entirely stressful!

There are also lots of different facets to being self employed. Accounts, marketing, business planning, financial forecasting, professional development, are all parts of the pie. I don’t actually just sit around playing with paper and glue all day, as much as I may like to! And that was actually another part I found restrictive about having an open studio; customers would be disappointed not to find us always making. And that’s absolutely fair- the joy of visiting an artist in person is to watch them make something, right before your eyes. But business professionals will tell you that making only takes up 40% of an artist’s time, which does not match with having an open studio 6 days a week, because I dislike to disappoint people.

I’m not sure I’ll ever have the balance down perfectly. There are times when I’m constantly making from dawn until dusk, and there are times when I’m attached to my computer all the time. Sometimes when I get carried away with my sketchbook for hours on end, doodling in the garden! There are also times when I haven’t saved as much money as I’d like, and I’m hoping for a big sale to tide me over- as unprofessional as that sounds! These things happen, but it’s worth it to to me to be able to set my own rules, set my own business standards, and be my own boss.

And that’s one of my favourite things about it- I can run my own company in keeping with my own values. I choose my vegan materials. I choose to purchase the recycled papers with the nicest textures. I choose the charity for my annual raffle. I choose which new designs to work on. There is something quite delightful about never having to compromise, because ultimately everything depends on me. And it’s nice to own each failure and success, and take with me what I learn along the way.