My Cottage Industry (part 2)

Fun-fact about me: I did not take my first airplane ride until I was 19 years old. Both of my parents traveled at various times during their own careers, so the only context for air-travel I ever had (prior to experiencing it myself) was all based on what they could tell me. Dad was totally fine with it - nothing ever really seemed to phase him. Mom was fine only after take-off - the uncontrollable feeling of being thrust forward and up still puts her on edge.

But for me, flying for the first time ever was a genuinely exhilarating experience... even though there are only a few things I can remember clearly about it now. I remember being surprised by the cramp-ness of the cabin (something I'd always been warned about, but could never really fathom until I saw it); I remember the queasy, nerve-wracking feeling of going through security for the first time (partly because I didn't know what to expect, and partly because I was the sort of person who panicked for no reason around authority-figures).

But the thing I remember most was the butterfly-sensation that blossomed in the pit of my stomach... as the pilots prepared for take-off. Feeling the plane rolling and shifting into position on the track felt like being side the hollow belly of behemoth, moving with sluggish intent. Mom, who I was accompanying for this trip, had already shut her eyes in quiet preparation for what was (and still is) the worst part of travel for her. I kept my eyes open and fixed steadily out the window, eager to see what the world looked like as we raced by at break-neck speeds.

I was not disappointed.

While I still can't fully describe the depths of my joyful exuberance, I can equate it to something I'm sure you and everyone's grandma is familiar with: I wanted to stick my hands straight up and scream "Faster! FASTER!"

Taking that plane ride for that particular trip also gave me some much needed context for something I would hear only a few months later in my first college-level business class: "Building a business is like trying to build a working plane while in the middle of a free fall." Honestly, it's a sentiment I now strongly stand by.

The idea of starting a small business - especially if there's a legitimate demand for it - is as exciting as flying for the first time. And it's supposed to be - the most thrilling things we ever get to do in life are directly tied to our individual passions.

But with the thrills come the bitter pitfalls and painful crashes.

To tattle on myself a bit, when I started building up my business, I had a lot of ideas, and a lot of input from family and friends... though, not all of those ideas were particularly good. I toyed with the idea of running a consignment store; I toyed with the thought of opening a boutique. For a long time I had my heart set on a hybrid between a studio and an office space; and then very briefly I thought I wanted to just teach.

Every time I decided to try something new, or adapt to a new trend, I had to pump myself with the usual self-promoting mantras: "This is it! This is the one! This is going to be great!" And then 9 times out 10, I would end up being horribly disappointed because it hadn't worked out.

I honestly can't tell you how many times I thought about just outright quitting. Always cycling through the same three or four excuses: "The timing just isn't right;" "The finances simply won't support it;" "There's not nearly enough time for me to compete;" "I'm just not experienced enough to make this work." All are perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to continue with a small business - especially if you're still very young, educated, and have other options for working available.

But I think the reason I didn't (and haven't) thrown in the towel yet, is because of that tiny 10% success rate. Yes, 9 times out of 10 things did not work out at all like I wanted. But, there was always that 1 single time, where things went surprisingly well - in fact, better than I expected. And, sometimes, they still didn't work out like I'd hoped... they worked out even better in ways I didn't foresee.

The point I'm trying to make here is part of what I touched on a little bit last time: you have to be passionate about what you're doing if you plan to start a business. But, you also have to temper that excitement with the understanding that you are probably (most likely) going to fail again, and again, and again (just for good measure!) before you finally find your stride. Whatever your industry or product or idea, it's going to take time for you to figure out what is going to work best for you; you'll have to keep leaping off that cliff time and time again to see if your airplane is even going work.

And I promise you that is going to leave you feeling pretty sore most of the time.

But with every failure and every mistake, you take one step closer to figuring out what is going to work. For me, that was realizing that I had to run things - and promote my craft - my own way. And 'my own' way turned out to be a bit... unorthodox. How unorthodox? Well... that's my little secret for now.

But... I can give you a tiny clue in the next part, so stay tuned!

-11/18/23