The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Finding time in an already busy life to run a business on the side is probably an ongoing challenge that we continue to learn from.
Everyone who has children knows that there is very little spare time when the kids are young. When we started out, I was full of enthusiasm and thought that I could do it all, even if that meant very little sleep. Of course, that was extremely naïve thinking and not at all a sustainable way of living. I have had to learn to balance, and accept that I actually can’t do everything! Planning and prioritising have become effective tools for both running the business and also my health and wellbeing.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
I love having the flexibility to balance work around a busy family life.
Also, having a creative outlet is so much fun and a complete contrast from my job working on our dry stock farm.
Another pro is the good vibes when we get positive feedback from our lovely customers. That always puts a massive smile on my face.
The biggest con would be that at times it is extremely difficult to find the time to actually sit down and work on the business. Especially during school holidays when peace and quiet is non-existent and at certain times of the year when our farming operation is at its busiest.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
I would really love to continue to develop our gumboot design. I have some ideas which I would love to see come to life for the boot design. But these are very much ideas at this stage, so hopefully we can make them happen in the future…..watch this space.
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