When I left my job at Meijer behind, the goal was to do what I love and have more time for things that are important to me. More time for my family, more time to learn and develop this passion. Time to get in shape and keep my house up. Time to enjoy this amazing life with my son. That kid is so stinking funny right now and I am missing it. I wanted time to just be. To be in the moment. Time to enjoy what is going on around me and participate.Time to volunteer and serve.
To be honest, if a job working for someone else required this time commitment from me, I would walk away as would anyone. So why am I doing it to myself? I am a bit of a workaholic and my expectations of what I can get done and reality rarely match.
I heart lists. A lot. I make really great and long lists and schedules of when I am going to get them done and rarely do I consider extra time for life to happen. Sometimes I have lots of lists going on and things get missed because I don't have a good system in place. By the way, getting a system in place is on my list. : )
My deepest desire with this business is to provide amazing customer service to my awesome clients. For something so important to me, I don't get to devote much time to it. Another important thing to me is serving the community. I really looked forward to using my time to volunteer at a food bank and provide photography service to families with sick children. I haven't been able to fit that in and I feel it calling to me every.single.day.
One of my favorite quotes is "Be the change you wish to see in the world" by Ghandi.
Well, this is my world...and I am going to be the change within it. In order to be fair to my family and myself, I am changing my hours that I work. I love working from home, but the downside is that my work is ALWAYS here and waiting. On the rare occasion I sit with my family at dinner or on the couch I feel like my computer is staring at me. It's really creepy. I love working for myself, but that means I am the only person who can take care of stuff. Changing my hours is all fine and good, but if I don't lessen my workload, nothing is going to change.
Starting October 31, I will no longer work on Sundays. No sessions, no emails, no editing. This is a day I have promised to keep work free so I can rest and enjoy time with my family. My hubby is holding me to this, so no exceptions.
Speaking of my hubby, that man does all of the laundry and dishes and has for over 6 months. He washes and drys and folds and hangs and puts it all away. I couldn't do this without his support!
Beginning in November, I am limited to only 3 sessions per week. This is my magic number right now for being able to pay the bills and provide the level of customer service I feel you all deserve!
I also have an intern starting soon who will be tackling my very long list of marketing and product info pieces. Graphic design is something I can do, but certainly do not specialize in. This was an easy choice to let someone else do. Bring on the experts, please! I can't wait to get this all together and I am so excited to show it all off when the concepts come to life.
I will also be using the services of a book keeper to organize my receipts and expenses each month. I love the fact that I can hand off an envelope full of receipts and get a spreadsheet back.
I feel so incredibly blessed that I even have the problem of too much work. My greatest fear when I left Meijer was that I would fail. Who isn't afraid of that? I had NOTHING on my calendar when I gave them my notice. Leaving a secure paycheck took a lot of faith and hard work, but I am so glad I took the jump. Even burned out, I am so happy!
I look forward to giving you all amazing service and I am so grateful for your business! New things coming: Session consultations, extensive what to wear support, fun sessions, and easy ordering. I can't wait to get started!
Thanks!!
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