wolfie and the sneak

Here I am, itty bitty tiny. I got small and am hiding under my sewing machine so I can take a break from tote bags for a while.

Okay, maybe not, but that's not too bad of an idea! Actually me and my machine are at one. He's been treating me really well, taking all the abuse and not throwing any frustrating, mechanical tantrums my way. 200 done, 25 to go! Woop!

This time around I have hired help (a first) and I feel really good about the opportunity, hoping it will happen again. Even if it doesn't, I love the feeling of balancing my own business, a rigid self-discipline/schedule, and working with my hands and creativity. What a treat!

In the meantime, The Anti-9 to 5 is my bed time reading (not because it's boring, but because I won't allow myself to read it during the work day. . .or that's all I'd do!), and Boss Lady is my go-to site when business questions arise.

While in college I was always the overachiever, and did things like write grants and organize huge group shows. It's in my blood to take on a huge task and get down to it, so I've had a lot of experience figuring out things on my own.

You see, at my college, marketing yourself wasn't in the curriculum until your final 2 semesters, then you got a class on running an art business in something like 30 1-hour lessons. Anyone out there running a business knows that is only dipping a toe in the water. 30 hours (less than the equivalent of 1 work week) won't get you through trouble shooting, contracts, budgeting and all the other fun-stuff of the business world. Even in the fine arts world, being an artist is running a business.

What I'm trying to say is, there are trip-ups and issues that arise. With those little stumbles you can thank the lawd you have such great sites to reference!

Now it's time to crawl out from under my machine and get the day started.