Silversmith+Jeweler

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Leaving My Job to Start a Business

I left my full time job last August, not quite 2 years after I opened Harold Studio.

The decision was incredibly terrifying for me, a young woman with a mortgage and other things in life to worry about keeping up with financially, to do. It is, still, somewhat of a terrifying idea to me. Being under 30, owning my own home and responsible for my own paycheck(or being self-employed). I have acquaintances who think I've got it all together. That I have a good head on my shoulders, and that I know what I'm doing. I think the only people who really know how terrified I am are my parents and the one or two other people who are closest to me.

I seriously have very little clue what I'm doing most of the time. Most of the time, I am asking the advice of many different people. Some, whose opinions I value, others who I know will have a different perspective than one I've considered before. Most of the time I am doing things by trial and error and hopefully learning from where I've erred. I'm making less mistakes now. But, I still very much make them!

I'm learning how to better delegate and also, how to most efficiently use my time. One of the things that was most difficult for me transitioning from working full time to working for myself full time was keeping to a schedule and sticking to it. It is so easy to work all the time but not very effectively. I'm trying to do a better job of keeping to a schedule. It gets easier. Not much, but it definitely does.

4 comments

  1. Ha Ha, Johanna, I could have written those last two paragraphs myself. They fit me to a tee. The funny part is, I made the leap in 1968 and never looked back. But they still apply. Don't worry, you're off to a good start and you'll do fine.
    John

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    1. Hey John,

      Thank you for the words of encouragement. Your work is beautiful by the way.
      -Johanna

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  2. We sound so much alike... I purchased a home when I was 24 and have been running my own business out of it since then while selling my work at craft shows. Just turned 30 and am still doing it while working full time. I haven't made the leap to quit the day job yet, but I see that day in my future. Finding your blog was very encouraging, it's nice to see that it it possible!

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    Replies
    1. It made my day to hear the blog was encouraging to you! Good luck with making the leap. It's very empowering!

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