Inspirations and Asperations

I recently went into a little shop just full of fun home decor items, picture frames and wall hangings, scarves and aprons and headbands, flowers, etc. I loved it!

And then I realized that I know how to make almost everything that was in there.

So I got to thinking about how fun it would be to work in a little shop like that. Then I thought about how easy it would probably be to start. I've got the skills, and because I know I couldn't do it alone I'd likely hire a few other crafty people to help me along. All I have to do is get past this fear of taking out a loan. I think that's the only way I could afford to do it, and my credit union probably has some good business loan options. I'll just have to look into it.

I know something like that would be extremely time consuming, but I'm down to taking 6 credits a semester now until I graduate. Plus, I think it would be worth it to love my job again. It's not that I hate the one I'm at now, but I feel so limited by it. I'm pretty sure I'm at the maximum hourly wage allowed for RSMs, there's no further promotion I can get (plus I'm really not interested in ever becoming Events Manager--sitting at a computer making phone calls and scheduling out the various setups/strikes for all the performances each semester). I'm limited to 20-ish hours of work a week since I'm a student and a campus employee.

Owning a crafty little shop would take most of my time during the day, but if it's an atmosphere that I like and I get to create things and use my hobbies and talents the whole time, I think I'd really like it. I say that now, but who knows if I'll still feel that way after actually doing that, right? Well, I loved working at the bead shop in Clarksville, and I seriously would have loved to work full time there. I think that's similar enough. And obviously as the owner of a business I'd have to deal with all the budget and inventory issues as well, but then again, I could always hire someone to do that part for me. Plus Bob talked about how he'd like to help out if I ever actually get this idea up and running. He'd be pretty decent at that I think.

I see all the pros and cons to this idea (okay, maybe not ALL of them right now but I see lots of each), but I'm not scared of giving it a shot. I really want to. Plus at this point in life I feel like I could focus a lot on the poor college student apartment and how to make it nicer for cheaper. I'd love to make almost everything in the store for sale too, including the window drapes, tables that things are displayed on, etc. I could even offer kits or classes on how to make various things.

I definitely want to do it. Now, when is the question. Next semester would be awesome. But it seems like these dreams of mine are only dreams and I never actually do them. But that is slowly changing. I am going to Singapore in May for a study abroad. That's something I'd always dream about but never actually do, and here I am getting a passport and rolling out a few thousand dollars for it. I'm actually doing it! Now I feel more motivation to do this store idea. Bob did suggest that I start online. Maybe that would be a good place to get things rolling and start making some income to fund this little shop idea. We'll see. I'm feeling kind of excited about it.

Oh, and I got free frozen yogurt today. Life really can be so great sometimes.