I have two kids at home – a three year old toddler and an 8 month old baby. I can only work in the workshop when the baby is asleep. Otherwise, I can not work at all. She always wants to be carried! The toddler boy is fine, he just plays around when I am working but sometimes, he craves my attention as well. So if I am unable to work in the morning, I try to compensate it by working late at night. Let’s specify here what working means for me – it means cleaning, cooking, feeding and taking care of the two kids, working at the workshop, styling and taking photos for the Etsy shop and social media, answering emails and messages from customers and the list goes on.
On the other hand, my husband wakes up at 5:30am, takes a 1+ hour train to work to the city, comes home at around 5pm, hugs the kids, changes clothes, rests a bit and starts to work at the workshop! On weekends, he also brings our son to his soccer and swimming classes, buys stuff for our shop, and works at the workshop all day!
Our hearts and souls are in each product that we create. I am sure it is the same for other handmade makers out there. That is why it means everything to us when you support a small business! It makes our day when you buy from us, take the time to leave a lovely review, send us photos or tag us in your Instagram accounts! It makes everything that we do, worth it.
So to those who are thinking of starting their small business or taking on that new role at work … go on, take that big challenge, take that risk. It will probably be difficult. But never give up, just hustle and you might succeed!