Gone With The Blog

Listening to:  the sound of the fan.  Not in a music mood.

Reading: Gone With The Wind (obvious inspiration for the post title) and Google + For Business by Chris Brogan (a great read for small business owners).  


Yesterday I was reading a recent blog entry of graphic designer David Airey.  The topic was self-employment and David had listed 7 links to designers who had all taken this big leap and were good enough to share their reflections on what they had learned.  It got me reflecting on my own decision to start up Marmalade and for me two themes really stand out.  Organisation and Fear.

A few months ago I was in paid full time employment in a role that required diligent organisation skills.  My day was broken up into perfectly timed blocks.  My coworker Kathrin and I even had a scheduled chocolate break.  I both loved it and hated it at the same time.  On the one hand your day is fully mapped out for you, you just rock up and do your thing.  On the other hand your day is fully mapped out for, you rock up, do your thing and every Monday is the same as the last Monday, every tea break the same as the last tea break.  

Working from home requires a different set of organisation skills, a set that I'm always struggling with regardless of my best intentions.  Dividing my day into blocks doesn't work well for me.  I can't simply sit down at my computer and 'be creative' for an allotted time.  It's not that simple.  I think organisation is something I'll always need to work at improving.  I don't think having a scheduled chocolate break will ever be a problem though.

This lack of organisation allows me to embrace my true procrastinating self.  Sure I'll type up a new blog post...just as soon as I clean the bathroom.  Today I'll source a picture frame supplier...just as soon as my kitchen floor smells like lavender and my DVDs are organised by alphabet and genre.  Do you see a theme?  

I know I need to overcome this procrastination.  I swear I'll do it later.

Now we come to Fear.  Where to start?  There is the fear of failure and oddly the fear of success.  I have wonderful, supportive friends and I worry about not living up to their belief in me.  I worry about letting down my family as I know I have before.  I'm always jealous of other designers and wonder if I will always be wondering 'why didn't I think of that?' or 'why aren't I as good as them?'  And there is the obvious fear of not making enough money to stay self-employed full time.

Guy Moorehouse, designer/developer for Futurefabric says to embrace the fear.  The fear, he says, is psychological, that society has conditioned us to not take risks because they are something negative that need to be avoided.  He believes that working for yourself isn't really risky, that it maybe just needs a bit of planning and to be a bit organised.

Oh brother.

Moorehouse also says not to let the fear hold you back.  "Embrace it and use it to give you the energy to get your sh!t together."  So that's what I'm going to do. Tomorrow.  After I rearrange my sock drawer.

Deb

I came, I saw, I blogged.

So here is the blog I've been threatening planning to start for about six months.  I made a promise to myself that I would definitely publish my first post in the new year and so as we reach the tail end of January (already...where did the time go?) I realise I had better get a move on.

I've got lots of ideas for 2013.  I'm working on a new logo, something to better reflect Marmalade.  I'll be updating and adding to my invitation range, introducing gift cards and tags and testing the water with framed artwork.


My other 'Big Plans for Success' include:

• Give in and fully embrace social media this year and recognise it's various forms as the useful communication tools that they are. 
• Will update my super awesome and not at all dorky and embarrassing iTunes work playlist.
• I will attempt to give my work space a Feng Shui overhaul for optimal results in brilliant new designs.  (Probably won't do this one)
• I will cut down on office gossip.  As a sole trader this should be easy, and the cat never has anything interesting to say anyway.

I'm feeling really positive about the year ahead and look forward to seeing how things unfold.

Happy New Year,

Deb.