Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Budding entrepreneurs (or not)

My mom is visiting this week. Between spoiling the grandkids and helping me sort fall clothes, she's bemoaning the loss of her second job. She appreciated its independent hours and extra income.

I must lack the entrepreneurial spark. Why can't we have a great idea for a business? Both of us are creative people, but neither of us like risk. Right now, everyday life is satisfying/challenging/overwhelming enough for me. (Insert appropriate adjective depending on the time of day.)

Perhaps I should put a subscription to the new Victoria on my Christmas list. Its Business of Bliss profiles were always so inspiring.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have this book on my request list at my library. :)

rhonda jean said...

Hello Meredith. I just dropped by to say hello and have a quick read. It's good to hear you have your mum there. I hope you are all well and happy. : )

Missy K said...

Enjoy your mom's visit!

Anonymous said...

Sometimes using your gifts is not money-making. It can be, but it can be REALLY important in its own right. Just by inspiring other people, families, homes. Your life can be very effective, without the hassle of all that a business entails. I know even ebaying is enough business for me. And I have come to the conclusion that at this stage of my life, NOT having demands in the realm of creativity is what sweetens it for me. If it was money/business, I know I would quickly tire of the whole thing. You know what I mean?

Cyndi Lewis said...

Meredith,
God made us all different. It's okay not to be entrepreneurial. However you have so much right in front of you that you could turn into a business if you desired. Like compliling an online gallery of all your photos and selling them for stock photos. They are really lovely. (I'm cursed...er... blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit.) Enjoy having your mom with you and thank you for your blog which I very much enjoy.

Kate said...

I'm the opposite. I have so many business ideas! I have several small businesses right now, though none are really making any money at all. I sew re-enacting clothing, I mend, I make Bubby Hats and I own and operate Re-enactor Classifieds (http://reenactorclassifieds.homestead.com). I have other business ideas including a local 3-season gift store, a Localtarian General Store, selling fresh herbs at farmers markets and making items for museum gift shops. The problem is, I have a really hard time finding a customer base and start up funds, on top of having the time. Oh, I've also looked into Real Estate and becoming a travel agent as well as purchasing land and planting an orchard and garden.

Who says at-home wives aren't creative!

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

We're not all cut from the same cloth. I'm not entrepreneurial, either, and I'm okay with that. I think it's really just our culture that tells us that we women are supposed to be bringing in the money, too.

I just tell people that my husband's job is to make the money, and my job is to make the money work for us.

Granted, I do TAKS tutoring in the spring (that's the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills--the big stakes state testing), but that's about it for money-making from me. And it's not a side business; I work for the local school district when I do that.

JavaMama said...

It is always such a blessing to visit you Meredith!! Such an encouragement, enjoy your mother.

JOYfully in Him,
Keli

Harper said...

When I left my last job, I felt like I was abandoning a child. I had put so much of myself into it that I needed a mourning period. It can take a while to appreciate all the energy and brain cells freed up by the change.

If you are looking for ideas, I think you could sell greeting cards with some of your lovely photos on the front. Maybe your mother could coordinate publishing your artwork in such a manner?

Anyway, good luck to your mother in this transition.

Anonymous said...

I recommend that you compile an ebook with your most popular and informative blog posts (which would be most of them). You have great ideas. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Creative Life Studio said...

Such a pretty photo! I lack the entrepreneurial spark myself. I always do wonder what I'll do as my children grow and graduate from our homeschool. Still a "long" way off, but it speeds by way too fast for my taste!

There's a lot of traffic at my site & I'm sure it's thanks to your mention. Thanks for the link, Meredith. :)

Anonymous said...

I'm not naturally entrepreneurial, either... though my husband definitely is!!! :)

When I first had the idea of doing a recipe blog, I thought about the idea for weeks before mentioning it to Joshua. (I knew he would be excited, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to add another thing to my "plate"! ;D)

Finally I told him I was thinking about doing a recipe blog and he got so excited, that evening he had already bought a domain name for it!! ;)

Carrien Blue said...

My hubby just started up a travel business that involves the purchase of a travel website and promoting it. It's fun to do because we can throw parties and stuff to tell people about it and get creative with themes and cruise things. It may not be your thing or your mother's but you can check it out at saphirevacations.biz to find out more.

Perhaps you could charge a fee to arrange frugal parties. You could capture the niche in between over the top expensive planning, and do it yourselfers. :) You have already proven that you are good at cost analysis, that may be what others need. You could be the frugal party consultant and of course the cost analysis would show just how much money your fee will save them.

Janette said...

I'd buy your photos! May I buy your double stroller when you are done with it:>)?

Anonymous said...

Meredith - I know of one lady who uses a mom just like yourself as a "helper". Basically, the other mom does her grocery shopping, picks kids up from school etc. Since the kids already go to school together it isn't an extra trip, the mom does the grocery shopping for both families at the same time.

Even though I don't have a family, I've often thought it would be nice to hire someone to run errands.

Service businesses are a lot easier to start than anything involving selling goods. The only thing you risk is your lost time. It may feel like "why would someone pay me to do that" but you never know what a blessing you could be!