Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I have looked for work that allows me to be with my family. My eldest, our gorgeous Louie, has a disability, so it is incredibly important to me that work is flexible, rewarding and always driven by passion. My volunteer work at Scullin Traders allows me to take my children with me, and a lot of my making and designing at home happens around the children while playing, listening to music, sitting quietly or watching Harry Potter! But it is definitely a hard balance to strike – I’m constantly reminding myself that it’s ok to just take a break and do nothing, always conscious of our children and how they are feeling with the balance of having two parents that are sole traders.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
The fear of people not liking or responding positively to my work (whether my creations or workshops). Social media can be a very damaging place and very fickle, so I have chosen to only follow people that inspire me with their creativity and honesty. Having children, especially such challenging medical issues in the early years, has taught me to be strong and worry less about others’ opinions and laugh a lot more.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The pros are being able to do something that you are passionate about and to coordinate your work and family life. Also having a positive impact on others is so rewarding! The cons are definitely that people think you work 24/7 and should be accessible all the time and a huge one is finance. I really do miss earning a regular wage. Managing the cashflow of a small business can be very challenging and there are a lot of steep learning curves with tax, stock, income, and various other business requirements.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I have been absolutely loving holding workshops. My dream has always been to have a space that was retail/workshop/coffee shop – somewhere that people can come to sit and be a part of a community and share skills.
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