Musings on Building a Homespun Business

From the moment I became a mother I knew that I wanted to be at home and have some sort of creative business that I run from home. Why? because I am in my element when I enter any type of needle work store. Fabric, wool and threads make me happy. I suspect other crafters are the same hence the ‘stashes’ we acquire.

 Years ago I had dreams of spinning my own yarn and dying it up. Except I had no idea how to spin yarn, there were no spinners nearby to take classes from and part of my ideal was that it would be my own homegrown fleeces that I would be doing this with. For the longest time that fact that I did not live on a smallholding and have my own sheep is what held up my dream of starting a homespun business. It was my excuse not to start because the ideal in my head did not match up to my suburban reality.

 Then I started to think outside the box. I may not be able to live on a smallholding, raise sheep and spin my own yarn but I could source undyed yarn and dye it.

 A fellow home educator had dabbled in dying yarn and she was only too happy to share who supplied her undyed yarn and where to get dyes etc. I will forever be grateful to her for her generosity in sharing that information as I really did not have a clue on where to start. 6 years later I have a little crafty business that is ready to grow.

History repeats itself… for the past year I have wanted to develop my business in two ways. First I would love to be able to design my own knitting patterns. But where to start? I feel that I’m in the same space I was 6 years ago wondering how I start a yarn dying business. 

The second bit that tugs at my heart strings is to host cozy gatherings every so often. But in my head I’m thinking…but I need the perfect setting! My home has to look just right, I want to have a little mercantile store where workshop ladies can go shopping. My dream looks so different to my reality!

Recently the light switch suddenly went on and a new realization dawned. Funny how that can just suddenly happen don’t you think?

First, if I want to learn how to design knitwear than I need to invest in the tools and time to learn to do so. So I bought a book on designing knitwear and for the foreseeable future I will need to learn all I can about it and practice, practice, practice. I mean you are never going to get good at anything or grow if you don’t invest the time right?

Secondly, I may not have that adorable little mercantile store attached to my home like Chris from the Cozy Club has (*sigh* I wish) but I can still begin to develop my classes and now that I have my little summer house it can be utilized as a creative studio/mercantile. 

Point is…I know that I for one can find every excuse under the sun and every reason why I shouldn’t do something and then feel frustrated that I am not moving forward in my (humble) dreams. Yet I am the only one standing in the way of building the life that I want. I’m waiting for the ‘perfect’ this or that ‘perfect’ that instead of doing anything at all!

Do you find that? Is there something you are hoping and wanting to do but it feels that you are stuck in treacle and unable to move?

What steps could you take (even baby steps) to build the life you want? These are questions I am currently mulling over in my head. 

 I think back to my young 20-something self with a baby on her hip and a dream in her heart and I think that I am finally brave enough to stop making excuses and actually turn that dream into a reality. My reality is starting to look like I will be able to do this. 

Last year reduced my work week to a three day week. This has been wonderful but still not enough. I plan to be home full time in the next few months – by September at the latest.

The goal? Not to make millions! But to bring in enough with my business so that I can turn my attention to it full time in the near future. 

Why? Because having worked for 3 years in a professional environment I know that it’s not for me. Its time to be brave and try build the life I want. The simple life. A life where I have time to focus on my faith, on being available for my family and friends in the way I want to and doing things that I love to do. Things that bring joy to my heart.

Do you have any dreams that you are holding back on because you are waiting for things to be just perfect? Perhaps ‘just good enough’ is better than waiting for ‘perfect’.