crossroads

I was doing a wee bit of reading today about people who start their own businesses. It was supposed to be an inspiration to pull yourself up by the bootstraps sort of thing, and it got me thinking. If I, Hannah, were to start a business, what would I do?

My skill set doesn't really lend itself to a lot of business models, I've spent most of my adult career life either dealing with children or sitting behind a desk placating the permanently grumpy. And for six glorious months I bartended a mostly empty bar before I quit, after the mismanagement and the constant shame of not even having vodka or being double booked for events and it was just me to stifle the deluge. Hopefully in January I'll start CNA classes, but I've always dreamed of being my own boss.

We want to buy our own track of land and start a modest organic/pastured farm (eggs and veggies) I know, I know, a vegan raising eggs? Honestly, the world needs more humane sources of animal products since the demand is still so high, and I honestly don't see it declining any time soon. Each egg that comes from a happy chicken is one less egg from some miserable caged bird that never got to see the sun. And while personally eating eggs creeps me out, if the hens are happy, I can put aside personal views and supply a demand while educating folks about ethical food and food security.

Anyway, that dream is ten+ years out, we have nowhere near the money for it right now.

Lesson? Get pantsuit, profit!

What do I do in the meantime? Hopefully once I finish the CNA course I can work part time as a CNA, but I want to start something of my own, something simple that I can do to squirrel away money for an emergency or the farm.  My father always told me that people may go to work, but they make the real money on their own time. (as in folks who start their own businesses)

I thought about growing veggies for the farmer's market, but I don't know if it's legal to sell produce from your back yard here. I've thought about trying to see what restaurants around here are willing to pay the extra money for, be it micro greens or white asparagus, but even if it were legal, Chicago would be the place to try and sell niche market goods. Plus we just saw white asparagus at the grocery store and it was cheaper than the green stuff...shit.

I've been painting my whole life, my aunt (an art teacher) taught me when I was little and it's been something I've always done. I started sculpting in high school and I can say that the calmest I get is when I'm kneading clay. But is there a big enough market for creepy paintings and large scale sculptures in this economy? Even if I just threw cups and dishes, it could only be the partest of part time money makers. Not to mention the cost of either buying or going in on a kiln or joining a coop might make it more of a hobby for personal enjoyment than something to actually make extra money.

This leaves me with my last brainstorm...soap.

I posted before how to make soap with used cooking oil, and sadly, I have yet to buy the lye to try it out. That ends tomorrow. I'm going to make a batch of soap next week. Then another, and another, until I am a soap queen. I'm going to build a recycled soap empire, with homemade lye and herbs from my garden.


Talking about this makes me want a bubble bath.

But in all honestly, we should all have something small on the back burner to build towards, to strive for, ours is the farm. Some folks want to be snappin' necks and cashin' checks, we want to grow zucchini. And if I have to sponge bath folks and do the whole "entrepreneur" thing on my own time, so be it. Erick busts his ass every night at work, I need to step it up. POW POW!