It's been a little over 2 weeks since I quit working my job, and started working on my own business.
So, it's time for a short review of sorts.
At first, I was petrified. ... still am, at moments. And it's odd how it will catch me out of the blue and get me tied up in knots.
Money paranoia is a strange beast. You don't want to be a slave to the all-mighty dollar; and yet, it does become the bottom line on so many things... especially when you are so very short on it.
I've wrapped my idea of success for so many years, on the thoughts of others... and I think for most people, that in-grained belief of the stereo-typical idea of success can be hard to shake off.
All I want, really; is to be able to pay my bills... eat good, local, healthy food... and be able to travel when I want to.
Fresh flowers in the house, good coffee.... music, art and books.
Defining those needs and wants is so crucial... and while I thought I had them "down pat"... it never hurts to review and readjust.
The "reverse schedule" idea from this week; has indeed worked well for me... in spite of the fact that other things kept cropping up, and my studio time ended up being more limited. Sticking to some semblance of a schedule did help... and I feel slightly less freaked out for this coming show than for shows in the past.
This week we also touched on the idea of saying NO... of setting well defined rules for your work as far as communication/ phone calls/emails/ etc.
Boundaries. I know, what a concept.
But it's sometimes really hard to put into practice.
The other thing I've been trying to do... is step out of my comfort zone on occasion.
I am still formulating a "deadline" of sorts for this... ie: do one "uncomfortable" thing a month... or some such... but in the meantime; I've done a couple things that required a little extra bravery on my part.
-I submitted an idea for publication to a magazine I like
-I hired a lawyer to start the process to get the name MoonGipsies established as a business in PA.
In PA, you can easily start a business under your own legal name without too much "trouble"... but I've gone with the name MoonGipsies for so long; and I want to keep it. This means I have to register it as a "fictitious name request" to the state; and jump thru a couple hoops. So I've started the process. Once this is done; I can set up a tax ID number, etc.
I've also done a couple extra things... ordered some supplies... ordered a couple extra tables... ordered some display stuff. Unfortunately, most of it hasn't shown up yet for this weekend's show... but it will all certainly come in handy later on.
--- and so here I am ... inch by inch... mile by mile.... easing on down the road.