Yes, Virginia. You Can Do What You Love, and Still Eat
My dear late friend and mentor Nancy Brown Manville always told me that if you do what you love, and do it well, the income would follow. When I first went into business for myself in 1993, I really wanted to believe that. Nan was my biggest cheerleader and a very wise woman who unselfishly shared the benefits of her experiences -- good and bad -- with me. When she told me that I would eventually be able to actually support myself doing what I loved, she also told me that in order to do so, I was going to have to be willing to work harder than I had at any job I ever had. When she told me that, I was flat broke and could not see that there was much financial light at the end of the tunnel no matter how hard I worked. I thanked Nan for her encouragement and good wishes, but it took many years before I actually began to see that what she was saying is indeed true.
But it is true, Virginia. You can do what you love and still eat. There is a Scripture that I believe addresses this. Galatians 6:9 says "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." What this says to me is that if we use our business to make a valuable contribution to society, we will reap the benefits if we are willing to work hard and not give up. If you are a mom and a business owner, you will be tired. You will lose sleep. You will be working while other people are playing in the family room or enjoying restful slumber. You will invest your time and your money for a while without ever seeing a return. You will give up some personal time. You will have to ask people to help you with your children. All of these things conspire to make us weary and disheartened, like what we are doing is too hard and will never pay off. But if you choose to remain hopeful and continue to diligently do what you feel called to do, you will reap the benefits.
I have experienced this personally many times over in my life. In 2001, when my first child was a few months old, my husband and I had about $60 in liquid funds in the bank. We did not have the money to cover the mortgage and we did not have a Christmas tree that year. My husband was working as hard as he could to provide for us, yet as a self-employed news videographer, he was not working a full 40-hour work week and gigs were hard to come by after 9/11. At that time, I earned about $500 a month from a part-time legal job and my business was generating revenue, but no profit.
My husband and I had a very difficult heart to heart one morning and my husband told me he thought I needed to go back to work and he was going to try to get a full-time job. I could not believe my ears. My dreams of being a mother were coming true and I was excited to be nursing my first child, just 2 months old at the time. But the business ownership goals were a part of the dream too, and it looked like it was all slipping through my fingers. But in that moment, something inside of we welled up and reminded me that I had a purpose. I had unique gifts and talents that I could put to good use being available to my family while also generating income so we could build the kind of wealth we needed to enjoy life and send our children to college someday. After wiping my tears, I took my daughter into my home office, made sure she was comfortable and resolved to jump start my business and take it up a notch, and I was willing to lose sleep and bring home fast food for a week in order to do that. The next week, we had enough money to pay the mortgage and my husband was well on his way to finding regular gigs with a national news organization.
There is an old saying that good things come to those who wait. I disagree. Not only must we wait, and understand the benefits of delayed gratification. We must also do something in the meantime, and we must be wise about the things we do. If you have started a business and you feel like you are beginning to lose hope that it will ever become profitable, here are a few things you can do today to kick things into high gear.
1. Put yourself on a schedule. If the laundry is not on a schedule, it will eventually get done because everyone needs clean underwear. But if you do not promote your business this week, your business will not be promoted at all. If you do not schedule your business around your family, it will never percolate to the top of your list of things to do. List all the things you feel have to be done to get you to your goals and then schedule them into your week. Schedule the most important ones, and the ones that can generate cash the fastest first. Eliminate anything that is not absolutely necessary.
2. List your goals. Do not be tempted to say things like, make a sale every day, or make money. Be more specific than that. Challenge yourself. Your goals should be how you plan to make sales, not simply that you plan to make them. For example, if you make and sell clothing, say more than that you want to sell at least 5 garments each week. Instead, say you will tell at least 50 people about your business each week, and follow up on the ones who turn out to be the most promising prospects, so you can sell at least 5 garments each week. If you need to take steps to set your business up more professionally, make it a goal to educate yourself about the various corporate structures available to you and then pick the one that works best for you. (This article can help you get started.) Maybe even make it a goal to hire an accountant to help you keep more of the money you make.
3. Cut the fat! Cut all the excess out of your budget and put every available penny either toward growing your business or saving for your future.
Try starting with these small steps of scheduling business time, identifying goals and cutting the fat and you will be on your way to reaping the benefits!
