Copper Leaf Studios

copper maps ~ custom copper artwork

In Appreciation: Self Employment Slow Food-Style

Teal Palmera metal art

these are just some thoughts that have been wandering around my brain, just wondering if this strikes a chord with anyone else…

Have you heard of “Slow Food”? It speaks to small farms, local food, good for the planet, appreciation of the act of cooking & eating. I had read the term a while ago, but it popped back into my head recently.

It is spring.  I was laid off this time of year, and was realizing this as I sat in my front yard and watched the crocuses which had just bloomed. Every year for the past 10 years I had promised myself I would take a moment to notice them when they popped out of the ground. Or take some time to plant a garden. Or spend more time with my nieces & nephews. But my job always got in the way. Come spring I would be slammed with testing and grading and everything that goes along with the mad rush of the academia world I had been in for so long. But this was the year I saw the crocuses.

Being self-employed has it’s own slam-time — there are definitely days/ weeks/ months when I’m so busy I can’t see straight. But they are balanced by moments like these. And there is a certain ebb and flow, a self-employment tide, if we can only see beyond panicking when the tide is out and sales are slow, and panicking when the tide is in and things are a busy blur.

Running your own business is like Slow Food — not because the hours are less, but because they are more meaningful. You savor the journey, because there is no destination. You create and craft things with your own hands. You work with your mind, heart, and body. There is a connection between materials and product, and it is human. You are not sheltered by a counter or desk or a phone or a corporation. Your customers are real people, with names and sometimes faces.

My income is not what it was when I was working full-time. But it is enough. My bills are less, my day is longer, and I have the freedom to linger on a moment when I want to. It is a better life, a more meaningful life, than I had before. It’s not without its challenges. But the challenges are within my grasp.

I know a new business can be difficult when you are starting out, whether it is a side gig or  a new full-time venture. But you build a wall one brick at a time. See it in your mind, believe it with your whole being, and work toward it, brick by brick. And appreciate the journey.

Between Two Worlds

Been doing a lot of reflecting lately, and involved in lots of interesting discussions… I find myself between two worlds.  One world is filled with artists and entrepreneurs.  As I made the move to self-employment, along the way I made a lot of entrepreneurial friends and mentors, and newsletter writers who felt like companions even if we’d never met.  Before I knew these people I had a mental stereotype of what self-employment like– and how many people could possibly be enjoying it.  There was a certain “fairy tale” aspect to the whole thing.  I didn’t think I could really do it, so I didn’t quite believe many others could either.

The other world is filled with people who don’t believe in the fairy tale.  Or believe it is a fairy tale.  That you can’t exist without a “proper” job, or at least a spouse or trust fund to support your crazy dreams.  I mean, I get it.  I used to be in this camp, or at least close enough to understand it.  It’s like when your mom wishes you’d have a child just like you.  You learn from it.  Or at least you get to experience the same crap that somebody before you did.

So my day job went away, and the sky didn’t fall in, and I’m making a living and paying my bills and feeding my child.  And I love love what I do.  And I try to explain that that to people who think it’s a fairy tale.  And do you know, I get the craziest responses.  A few people have not so subtly suggested that I am lying, which is kind of an interesting thing… I tend to speak from personal experience, so it’s hard to fit dishonesty into that equation.  But interesting that the “fairy tale” response can be so strong.

Lisa Call wrote an interesting blog post discussing her decisions surrounding her day job.  The sentence that caught my eye was this:

We must trade our time and talents in exchange for money.

Yup.  That’s it in a nutshell.  The difference between a “job” and a “career” is whether we primarily trade time or talents.  And the difference with a satisfying career is how much those talents are appreciated.

So if that’s the whole equation, what difference does it make whether the money comes from individual customers or a corporate paystub?  It’s all good as green.  It’s interesting that the process of earning money is so distinct from our work experience –not only does the average worker not handle cash, but with direct deposit doesn’t even have to ever see or sign a check.  It’s similar to how much of our food comes to us in sanitary packages with little connection to the earth it came from.  (Mind, I’m a huge fan — if I had to kill a chicken or make my own pasta for dinner, I’d have starved as soon as the cereal ran out.)

Still, it is a foreign system once you no longer take it for granted.  There’s something very authentic about earning your income directly from your customers.  There’s an accountability and an integrity present — things that should be a part of every business, but often get lost in the scale. And there’s a deeper connection to the process of spending the money, which is quite lovely. (Truly I’ve never felt so excited to pay my mortgage as the first time I did so completely from my art sales.)

So trade your time and talents for money. And sprinkle in your dreams, and your visions, and your ideals. Because it all tastes a little sweeter when it is seasoned with all of the things authentically you.

with love and reflection………………..C.