Ok...so maybe it's not but actually it is..in a way. Some of us have decided to go it alone and escape the realm of the 9-5. That means no more guaranteed salary at the end of the month. No more paid holidays. And there goes the paid sick days or duvet days, whatever you want to call them. There's no team of people to help or hinder you and no set lunch time breaks to make sure you don't starve to death when you forget to eat.
But...what do you get instead?
(There are many pros and cons, ups and downs, but I'll save that for a later date.) You get to work when you want. Even if that is only 2-6pm if you fancy it. Have a long lie in the morning. Work in your pyjamas from bed. No one will know, trust me. You even get to set up your own meetings to accommodate the aforementioned long lie or planned lunchtime cocktails. Because it's all allowed when you're your own boss, right? Then again if you're a night hawk it's a win win situation and you can burn the midnight oil without hearing the alarm go off at an ungodly hour.
There is always the reality of being self employed too, and how you juggle the art of wearing many hats as well as trying functioning outside of the business. Although any social activities are usually limited due to you working to get the business up and running, to keep it going and attempting to take the reigns of your bank balance.
As for the hats you need to wear, in any given day or week you find yourself taking up all of the roles that someone else did in your day job. You become an ideas person, a designer, a printer, a photographer, a writer, a marketer, a social media person, a web designer and of course an accountant. The list is never ending. And so is the to do list.
All that and don't forget you're trying to earn a crust at the same time.
But I wouldn't change it for the world. That's why it's important to celebrate the Just A Card campaign and especially today. It's Just A Card Day. It goes without saying that buying just a card from small independent businesses can make a HUGE difference. I can vouch for that. If it wasn't for the people I wouldn't still be creating, designing and printing all these new card ideas that are merely a scribble in my notebooks.
Small Purchases = Big Difference
Yeah it's that simple. Without people buying a small purchase such as a card, I wouldn't be doing something that I love. And I really do get a major buzz when I hear the ker-ching from the Etsy app or my website and even the ding of an email with a new order from Not On The High Street. I am so fucking chuffed and grateful that you lot find me online, take the time to communicate and most of all, buy one of my products.
So thanks to you, I'll keep going. World domination beckons...starting with the high street.
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