Being self employed is brilliant for me and my family. I can tailor my work time around my children and work when my husband has his days off. This does mean some odd working hours and all my workshop time happens at weekends, but for us it’s perfect.
Being self employed means that I have been able to stay at home with both children without having to put them in childcare. I work when they nap or play or “help” me. I’ve found I need to be very adaptable and switch between mummy mode and business mode very quickly. One minute I’m designing a new piece of work, the next I’m changing a nappy or fetching a snack. I often do my accounts whilst breastfeeding as it’s a little bit of quiet time.
The hardest parts for me is making time where the business is a priority, designating time to focus on work and turning off my mummy brain for a minute. Being self employed I don’t get sick pay or holiday pay which means both feel like a luxury but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
I certainly don’t think the government support self employed people as well as employed people and the pandemic really highlighted that for me. I wasn’t eligible for any support simply because of when I had taken maternity leave! This seems crazy to me but thanks to my wonderful customers I managed to stay afloat with online orders and for that, for you, I am eternally grateful.
Being self employed was certainly a leap of faith but luckily I landed on my feet and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t thank the stars for it!