Running a Business

So...about a year ago I started this whole "blog designing" thing. I never really thought it would take off as much as it has - but I'm happy to say that doing designs has literally kept us afloat this year. But there are a few things that I wish I would have known before I started, and a few things that I'm proud I was able to handle gracefully.

First, I'm learning in my "Personal Finance" class the importance of "liquidity." Which basically means it's important to have a whole butt-load of cash handy for emergencies every month because chances are, something will come up and you'll need the money. (Like when you decide at the last minute to throw your husband a themed birthday party...) I feel this way with TIME. It seems something comes up every month that steals away my time to do blog designs.

In case you were unaware, I go to work full time...from 8am-5pm every day. I attend school part time. I am a Young Women's Advisor. I have Lap-Band meetings. I handle all the family finances. I workout. Usually. Which all seems pretty easy to keep straight on a timed schedule (like I know what that is.) But what about when you sister-in-law has a heart attack and you have to spend a long weekend away? What about the three months you spend trying to have a baby? (And failing.) What about the people who request freebies for their dying baby/husband/self? What about the 78 e-mails I come home to each day? What about writing tutorials and making buttons? What about going through 34 drafts of the same design? What about when that happens three times in a month? And finally....what happens when your husband has a heart attack at 28, and has to spend a week in the ICU?

Running a business is hard. And it's even harder when you're a "creative" type trying to be an "organized" type. Harder yet when people expect you to devote your life to their blog design and exclaim that you should be "working" instead of playing "Guitar Hero" on a Friday night. Really? Do you wake up at 8am on a Saturday and work until 1am that night?

Anyway, my point is that I need to refocus and come up with a much better plan to give the best customer service possible. I want to work on ONE client at a time. I don't want people to wait three months for a design. I want to offer low prices, and high quality designs to reduce drafts. I also have to stop being so "nice." That sounds horrible, but I can't keep saying "yes" to everyone who wants a free design, another draft, more revisions, etc... etc... I don't want to be a jerk or anything...but my niceness needs to have limits.

I'm not going to be doing any more designs until after the first of the year. (Which really means I will work on the waiting list until the first of the year...) I'm going to re-vamp my bloggy, organize things, make designing really "fun" again, work on offering more freebies and things to get customers to stop by more often...and really focus on giving you what you want, while gaining my life back and leaving enough "liquidity" in my schedule if things go awry. Or if I need a break. Or a weekend to myself. Or like...a vacation in Cabo. (In ten years...)