Sweating the Small Stuff

There are two things about running my own home-based business I never considered.  1) The undeniable sense of isolation.  2) The small stuff.  I’ll start with #2 first.  By "small stuff" I don’t mean insignificant.  In fact, probably the opposite.  What I do mean are the details.  I am not a detail person.  However, it is obviously critical for me to understand my books, to track my spending, and to use this knowledge to budget.  None of which I know much about but I am learning.  So, once you get your "big idea" and your business underway, spend some time educating yourself and setting up the "small stuff". 

Back to my first point, isolation.  I have always worked for big companies.  Places where there were lots of meetings, colleagues to chat with or with whom to share a lunch break and there was probably even more interaction than required.  This I really miss.  I was surprised in the beginning how lonely I felt…really lonely.  I would hang out at Starbucks hoping to bump into someone I knew.  I would beg unsuspecting stay-at-home moms in the schoolyard to join me for a coffee.  Occassionally one of them would actually take me up on my offer. 

Now it is more of an occassional pang.  The need for conversation in an empty house.  I sometimes long for those long-winded ex-colleagues from previous jobs to stop by my office and natter on about projects or people with which we are both intimately acquainted until finally I have to politely cut them off and explain my tight and imminent deadlines.

I know I am not alone in this.  Every time I meet another home-based business owner they say the same thing.  The problem is, we’re often too busy to do anything about it!  So, in the spirit of connection, check out our first Mom Featured Business.  Our very own Ali of Fabulous! fame! 

In the spirit of Jen’s comments about sweating the small stuff our host, Quicken, has provided a great offer to get you started and a great resource to connect with other small business owners.

Featured Mom Business: Bug in a Rug Blankets

Hi.  My name is Ali. I’ve been a mom for almost 6 years now, and have been a mom entrepreneur for the last 9 months. My business, called Bug in a Rug Blankets, specializes in hand-made personalized double-sided fleece baby blankets. They are made-to-order and 100% machine washable. They make great gifts! Check out more pics on my website (http://buginarug.wordpress.com/: it’s under construction but still works!) or email me at fabulous@urbanmoms.ca for more info!