Why? Because I took this quiz and failed miserably.
Actually, it wasn't that easy. I've thought long and hard about this, and I've decided to do it. As of Tuesday, the 22nd, I will have one month left at my 3 year day job, as a graphic artist. Scary? Yes! Exciting? Hell, yeah! I love the people I work with, and the company I work for, but the time has come. There are a number of reasons why I am quitting. The #1 reason is that I want to make my jewelry business a full-time business, because I am madly in love with it, and I am certain that if I had more time on my hands, I could make a decent living at it. The #2 reason is that I don't make enough money to justify the 8 hours of my life that I spend in the office, and the hour and a half I spend on the road driving there and back, and the price of gas is not getting any lower. Those hours put elsewhere, could really be beneficial. I want to put that time into making and selling more jewelry, taking classes to learn new techniques, attending arts & crafts festivals, etc. Right now, I don't have enough time to do most of these things, and I'd really really really like to spend more time creating new designs.
I don't think that it has hit me, that I am actually going to be self-employed soon. I've been dreaming of this for quite some time. I don't think I was ever meant to sit or stand inside of some building for 8 - 10 hours a day, and have someone tell me what time I need to be there, and what time I can leave, how many times I can use my cell phone throughout the day, or how many breaks I can take, whether I can or can't take a vacation and when I can take a vacation. I know that is the way order is maintained within companies and that there is a reason for that, but I would like to opt out. I wasn't made that way, and it eats me up inside. I want to feel free, and I don't feel free the way things are now. What makes me feel free is waking up and going to my workbench at whatever time I happen to make it there, sipping on a cup of hot tea, while dreaming up new designs, and figuring out ways to make them, then putting them in my store and finding that people really like my jewelry, and are willing to pay me for my creativity and the handmade appeal of such items. And if I should happen to want to stop work and go to the park for a while, or run out to the jewelry supply shop, or take a drive out to the ocean, or maybe I just want to stop and do nothing for a while, then that's what I will do, and I will feel free. Everyone should be able to feel that way, if not all the time, at least for a while.
It is definitely not easy to make a living doing something you love, and it is not easy to know when to just up and quit your day job. If you are not able to make a living yet fully from your craft, I recommend having a backup plan or an additional source of income. I will be relying on my graphic design skills as my additional source of income. I am extremely thankful that I have these skills to make use of, and to keep the cash flowing through my pockets while I make this transition. Before making the decision to quit my job, I was able to find a few companies that I will be doing freelance design for from home, on a regular basis.
As for not having a regular paycheck, I am used to that. Before I got my degree in Graphic Arts, I lived off tips as a bartender for about 8 years. Actually, I never got used to getting paid every 2 weeks, as I do now.
Well, that's it for now, I plan to write more about my transition as time goes on, just thought I'd let you all know that my day job is history. 4 weeks and counting......