Well guys, it's been a few months and I'm still here. I have to admit, I went hard initially with the creative process, and then I had to take a step back because, guess what? I wasn't selling sh*t and I was spending a lot of time without any of that whatdoyoucallit, yeah. Reward. I am writing this blog on Pattern, which is somehow linked to Etsy, but tbh, I'm not sure of the difference. I definitely should take an Etsy class, or something. 

But that's the fun part of this. Learning something new and something that is my own!

Hopefully, this finds its way to an actual person, but if not, I'm still ok, because this is just me journaling at this point. Maybe one day I'll have a wildly successful t-shirt business and I'll look back on the "hard days" and it will be an inspiring story. Otherwise, I'll have some fun posts to read about what I was thinking about and doing FOR MYSELF, instead of for my day job or the typical BS-of-the-day that goes along with being a parent and being married and trying to make it all work. Some of ya'll, I'm sure, have a better pair of rose colored sun glasses, but I am either too cynical, or else have too high of expectations. 

I like to think I'm a realist and am just trying to end the day proud of what I accomplished and with a smile on my face, but that is not always the case. 

What do you do? I mean, selling t-shirts probably isn't the answer, haha, but having a creative outlet that allows me to learn and grow personally, even if this is just a hobby, feels worthwhile so ya'll are stuck with me. And if I can look half as happy as these people in this pic (mocked up in my t-shirts, of course), that's a life goal, for sure. Look at them...both so fit and she even likes him still - hahahaha.

I definitely don't have this all figured out yet, but I've made some pretty cool shirts for friends and family and someone favorited my shop the other day and I was so proud, it was like, this day can end now because I'm on top of the mountain. I guess, since they didn't buy anything, I should scale that back a bit to maybe a big hill, but it felt good!

I'm starting to feel my inner voice calling me back to my store; to focus more and see what I can create,  which is really exciting to me. Like I said, I put a lot of  sweat equity into this business and then I felt drained when I didn't immediately sell a million shirts. I travel frequently for work, I have two little kids that can be draining and then I also have another business (whaaaa?) that takes up a lot of my energy. 

But I like a challenge, and I like to learn (kind of).

I would rather get a root canal then go back to school, but I find this wave of entrepreneurial  internet opportunities fascinating. Anyone can start an on-line business and if they execute well, provide a product/service people want and the quality and service people desire, their options are endless. That was a poorly worded sentenced, but think about it. 

ANYONE can start their own business these days and if you figure out what you're doing, ANYONE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL. 

If that's not motivating, I don't know what is. It's so easy to stay in your day-to-day rut and think about the "I wish" or "If only", but anyone with a computer and the internet can do this. There are market intel sites that give you free insight on what to sell and how to sell it. If I see one more  "buy my how-to guide for $7", I might cave, but seriously. I can't possibly be the only person that is being inundated with this info, and now with AI rapidly ramping up....that's a game changer for sure. Not eveyrone has the time, energy, motification, desire, etc....to start a business and I don't think everyone should, BUT, if you're unhappy with your current situation, or are interested in checking it out, you should. I'm not selling anything here. I don't have a $7 how-to guide and I definitely don't have my own sh*t figured out, but my point is that you can. If you're on the fence, invest in yourself and your future. Who knows where you can end up?!

And if you succeed, be sure to remember me and buy one of my t-shirts, haha. I'll make a custom design, just for you! Oh, how fun would that be? I'm thinking I'll have a person (you), sitting with their computer on top of a mountain made out of money (but chic and not an obnoxious money mountain, of course).

Ok, my kids are fighting and one's having a meltdown so looks like "me time" is over. It was a good run while it lasted. Until next time, my friends!

Omgosh, and if you made it this far, THANK YOU and BLESS YOUR HEART for the patience you must have been blessed with, because that is impressive :)