So I started my own business last year. You can check it out - it's cool! www.vinyl-unlimited.com. We do awesome decals, t-shirts and other random stuff our machinery will do that people will pay for.
I also got another awesome job this year, as the marketing manager of an up-scale professional services firm. The salary is pretty awesome. My mentors and colleagues are awesome-er.
And what both of these mean is that I've checked off two major life goals in one year. I started that business. I broke that 6-figure salary ceiling I kept bumping up against. TWO, count them. TWO life goals in ONE year. I've never been so accomplished.
And life is... hard. Business finances are a constant concern as we endure the burn-in stage of every startup without angel backing. Life is full of work, work, work, as I cycle through from one job to the other to home to mommy-dom to stolen moments of alone time to poignant and growth-filled minutes with my honey bun. I've gained weight. Weekends are about cramming as much rest into two days as possible. I've had to manage the anxiety that comes with the month-to-month figures in the bank accounts. I've learned how one day can start with amazing possibilities and end in the pits of despair. I've experienced how sometimes all it takes is a quick conversation with a potential client, friend or fellow marketer or entrepreneur to lift one's spirits and gather my gumption to get back on that horse.
And people. People are more generous, lazy, caring, shallow, encouraging, flaky, strong, weak, and everything in between than I've ever known them to be. And this includes myself.
As much as I would never give up my projects, my commitments to family and friends (and my desire to be thinner), I would never say that all this isn't worthwhile. It is. I wouldn't say it's easy. It's not. I wouldn't say it's all rewarding, because it isn't yet.
The one thing I will say is...
...I need some more FUN in my life! All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl.
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