I also, like many people, have a few mental health challenges. This is where being able to work my own hours in my own home really helps. There are many days where I simply do not leave the house, but it is absolutely fine because it does not affect my work.
For the first couple of years, I found it really hard to receive any sort of mentoring or business advice. There was just nothing available. My family are wonderful and supportive, but they were not in any of the industries I was trying to navigate. Only in the last year have I begun to find programs that help small businesses, or artists, to grow and learn useful skills, this has been very helpful.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The best thing about running my own business is being able to work when and where I want with a flexible schedule. If I have an unexpected errand or appointment at 10am, then I can make up that time at 9pm. I crashed and burned many times trying different jobs as a teenager and in my early twenties because I couldn’t balance them with my mental health. Now I can work around my mental health and still be productive, which is fantastic.
The negative aspect of running my business is that I never switch off from it. The good thing is that I love it and I wouldn’t want to do anything else, but I don’t really have weekends or holidays, because I am always planning or meeting deadlines, etc. This is the same with our home as I don’t have a set studio. I will have art things set up in the kitchen, in the lounge, packed in my car…we can’t really get away from it. Thankfully my partner is very tolerant!
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I always look at my work and think ‘it is not as good as what I want it to be – it doesn’t transport me into magical worlds like the stories I read when I was a child’. The goal for my children’s books is to one day be able to create that beautiful, whimsical magic and I will keep striving for that. In a way, it forces me to create something better each time. I am also a painter and am regularly creating work/attending exhibitions alongside my books. My main goal is to create children’s books that really resonate with kids and help to make everyone’s life a little bit brighter and more cheerful.
Visit Hayley’s website and Facebook page to find out more and to view her work. You can also check out her books and children’s products on Instagram, and visit her Art Instagram page.
