Some people thought I was nuts. Some thought I was missing out on the best time of the year for online retail sales. Some of the time I thought they were right. :) Was I crazy???
I was talking about my reasons at a favorite annual family bakeoff and my wise uncle said, "you should blog about this". So I am. Here goes.....
It is hard for me to say no. I am a woman who likes to make others happy. I like to please people. I want people to like me.
I am also a driven woman. I want to succeed. I want my business to flourish. I want to help my family with our income. I want to be a great businesswoman and artist.
But......I am also tired. I am a mom of 4, wife of a very patient man, and have many other things on my plate other than Cellar Designs. Balancing all of these things is difficult. The months from May to November were exciting, exhilerating, energizing, fun, creative.........but I didn't do a great job of balancing things. I made mistakes. I am learning.
So when deciding whether or not to close up shop for a month many things went on my pros and cons list in my head. It was strikingly unbalanced though. This is what it looked like:
PROS CONS
~time to finish holiday orders ~lost potential orders
~ability to make Christmas gifts myself ~loss of potential income
~time to spend with my kids ~GREED
~enjoy holidays
~time to clean house before heading to MN
~not be rushed at holidays
~spend quality time with family
~no stress
~my kids miss me
~I have been a slacker mom
~I want a break.....a needed rest
The only real reason to stay open and keep orders coming in was greed. It is a powerful thing. It tempted me for weeks and even made me rethink my decision a few times. "Just think what you could do with that extra money", "Can you imagine what December sales would have been like?" were statements dancing around in my head.
I am thankful I made the decision I did.
I can't wait to open back up next week.
I feel renewed and ready to hit the creative ground running!
I am grateful for this rest.
It has been a good rest.
A family filled rest.
A stressLESS rest.
A needed rest.
From my family to yours..... a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I hope that you found time this holiday season to rest as well.
May you not succumb to greed and other temptations and instead.....rest.
From my family to yours..... a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
You know what? It's alright to say no. I've recently done it myself and it feels pretty good. I think saying no is healthy too. If you say yes all the time, people will expect it all the time. As an independent graphic designer, one of my goals in the new year is to put the brakes on things. I'll say no more often, but when I say yes my crazy, speedy turn around times will be a little more leisurely. It's not my fault that you waited until the last second and about time I realized that. Happy New Year.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteGood for you!!! I am so happy that you and the family got this much need vacation. After reading your blog it made me stop and think that I too made a wise decision. I have taken time for my family and home this Christmas break instead of going into the office. While I have lots of guilt for not going to work I am also very happy with some things that have got done at home. My work will still be there when I go back this week and it won't be the end of the world that it didn't get done yet. Your orders too will be there when you return. You have amazing talent and people will still want your signs when you return. Here's to a great 2012 my friend!!!
Again fantastic. I thought I had signed up to get your posts via email- none had came, so I didn't know you had been posting. I am going to sign up again, and see if I can't get on board. You have such wonderful posts- I don't want to miss any! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteKasse D.