Let the flood gates begin

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links within the post, I may receive a commission for your click and purchase. You do not have to make a purchase to enjoy this post, I only highlight products to help with the cost of running the blog, and I only post links to products relevant to the topic in that post and to companies I use and trust.”

Please Note:  I started writing this blogpost in pen and paper.  You know, the old-fashioned way of writing.  I got the idea from an episode from Star Trek: Voyager where one of my favorite captains, Captain Janeway was sick of technology, after dealing with species 842 and the Borg.  This was the episode that introduced Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, a former Borg drone brought back by to her human self by The doctor, authorized by Captain Janeway.  Captain Janeway decided to take to writing her captain’s log by this method.  It is a practice that we should all do in the wake of this pandemic.  To me, even though you are seeing my post in digital form, it was a way of getting back to things in a natural way. 

Photo by Pixabay

This was the week when my city reopened for retail.  Today was the day I ventured out to a new norm of new rules (other than what was already in place).  As I drove, doing my errands of depositing money in my business checking account and going to a grocery store that carried a Starbucks kiosk, because the Starbucks down the street lied about being open, I was thinking, “was it all worth being quarantined for the past 2 ½ months?”  The only difference was Columbus, Ohio all of sudden looked like a Japanese prefecture, with mask-wearing people out and about in the 70° plus weather.  This is something that the Japanese and other Asians are used to doing, not Americans. 

Americans are used to having the freedom to do whatever we want to do, and how we want to do it.  If it puts us in jail, so be it.  When we get out, some of us will try it again until someone ignores us, then it becomes a norm.  If we have to protest, that is fine, it makes an interesting news story locally and/or nationally.

I am not sure how I feel about it.  

OK, let me explain….

Since this whole Covid-19 started, I have been squeamish about a few things and those are:

• What is my new norm?
• How is the country supposed to work now that there is the new little bug that can wipe us out, especially in places like the city where I live and places that I love, like the Caribbean and Walt Disney World.

What is my new norm?

I have been a quiet person all my life.  I get it from my mom.  So, I do not mind being isolated during this time period.  My only problem at first was wearing the mask and gloves, and I get it.  I had no problem putting them on, the problem comes because my hands are the same size as a child. There are people who cannot be around others because of their immune system and they are the elderly and the young.  I have 6 people I have to respect that.  My parents and aunt all have pre-existing conditions and they are elderly.  I have a niece who will be 3 months old next week, I have a friend who also has a pre-existing condition and a pastor who has a pre-existing condition.  I also have to watch it because I have high blood pressure and I am pre-diabetic. Depending on the doctor, I either have diabetics, or it can come at any time.  Either way, I have to watch my diet and my weight.  Thank you, Corona for giving me the sense of ignoring those two things.  I am much better at doing that now.

Also my new norm:  My business.  I could tell you that I have the easiest job I could ever have, but like most businesses, there is the struggle of getting gigs.  There is a struggle of getting money for this business.  I also could say that I like the stimulus package for small or even home businesses.  I do not have a small business, I have a home business, and as a home business owner, we often get lumped in with small businesses.  What Is a home business?  It is a business that is operated out of the home and if you do have any employees, it is usually an assistant.  Your revenue is lower than a small business.  A good year is when a person is able to earn $1,000 plus per month. 

Why offer help to small businesses if big businesses get approved?

Well, to be honest, the EIDLE and the PPP portion of the first stimulus package has done nothing for me and my business because of companies like Potbelly and The Lakers basketball team, who should not have been allowed to apply in the first place, nor their applications should never been approved.  Potbelly has returned the money and I believe so has The Lakers.  That still does not help P. Lynne Designs. I applied twice.  The first application was on Go Alice, while the second application was on the SBA.gov site. I have not heard back, and I doubt I will at this point.  I do not have any employees.  This is just to maintain the business of one, and for growth.  The government did not handle this process very well.  I chucked as “I am getting no help as usual” and went about my day. Update:  Last night, I was able to file for unemployment, a right that was not given to people like freelance writers and freelance graphic designers, which I am.  I pray and hope they approve it.

So let us go back to what I was talking about

THE RETAIL STORES

I do not mind the retail stores being open.  Personally, I will not be going in the very beginning.  Actually, I am having fun online ordering.  I do not have to worry about donning on a mask, fighting crowds, not finding what I want. In fact, I ordered a mystery Die cut bag from Tonic Studios at 3 am this morning.  That is how much fun I am having to order online.  Yes, I can always order online, then pick up at the store like Walmart. 

Amazon has been my store of the hour, and ever since I was told by my governor that even pickup was impossible in the craft stores in my state, I said “okay”, and started ordering online.   Ordering online is natural for me anyway, so it did not bother me that I could not go to any of my stores, except Ikea.  That is another story for another day.

I have been to two grocery stores since lockdown.  One was for last-minute stuff as I found out just today that the second store only allows me to do pickup ordering if the order was over $30.  The reason:  Cat food.  Well my nephew came through with the cat food, so now I do not have to buy that.

It is best if all stores keep in mind a level of safety.   My feeling is this since I do have pre-existing conditions, as well as my parents, I do not want to spread the super germs.  I am calling Corona that until we find a vaccination for it

My hardest hit yet, Walt Disney World

I am having the hardest time with a Disney Vacation.  Last May, I booked a stay for 12 at The Bay Lake Towers at The Contemporary Resort (its official name) for the time of December 15-20, 2019, with all the bells and whistles as this might be the last vacation with my parents, who are in their 80s. 

This was a well-meaning trip as two things went wrong from the start:  how to pay for a $30,627.00 trip that included a 3-bedroom villa, tickets to the parks, and a deluxe dining plan, and how to tell a Disney-hating father that we were going to the “land of the mouse” times 4 (The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and The Animal Kingdom theme parks).  It would not be a requirement for my parents to go into the parks unless they wanted to.  In years past (1998, 2004, and Disneyland in 2007 respectively), my father stayed at the resort or drove around the property, Orlando, and surrounding cities (Cape Canaveral, Kissimmee, and Tampa are close by).  This time, my mom, who loves the parks will join him if she wants to.  She is not too keen on using a riding scooter.

We were going to drive down instead of flying.  We were coming back home that Sunday so that my siblings and my nephew and niece can get back to work by that Monday before Christmas.  The kids (Nephews (age 12 and 9) and niece (11)) was being pulled out of school.  Ohio has a funny winter break schedule where they are out either the day before Christmas eve or a couple of days before Christmas.  Either way, it would have been fun.  I pulled the plug on that trip on October 15^th, one month before our last cancelation date of November 15^th.  I did not cry because I was going to call them the day after Christmas with a new date of December 12-19, 2020.

Well with Ms. ‘Rona on the prowl, and for the first time ever since Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955, all the parks were close, due her not wanting to play fair, I decided to see what Disney is going to do with the guidelines that they and the State of Florida government, as well as the federal government, was going to say about a reopening date.  For the moment, Disney reopened Shanghai Disneyland Monday, Disney Springs, Walt Disney World’s shopping area is reopening on May 20^th, and Walt Disney World is excepting bookings starting July 1 (it has been delayed from June 1^st). 

I do not want a vacation in 2020.  I feel like it is too soon to book a vacation and go in 2020.  So, I have decided to wait until December 15-19, 2021 to take the trip.  This all depends on two things:  the health of my parents and the health of our savings.  There is one more factor and I am not depending on whether I do or do not do for this vacation and that is to get another Disney Vacation Club membership.  This will affect how we pay for this trip.  Naturally, this membership is a timeshare, and I have spoken about timeshares before on this blog. That is a talk for my yet to be created a new blog, which will be Disney-related.  I took all the travel stuff off of my blog, Home Prep because it is not related.

Some good has come out of all this…

My stories are not all bad, in fact, some of them quite funny.

Last week, a friend had a birthday.  She announces it each year 6 days in advance.  This year was no different.  What I love about Facebook is the ability to have people donate to your favorite charity in loo of presents for your birthday.  I am going to do one, I am not sure where yet.  July 21 has not gotten here yet.

Anyway, her sister and mother thought that since Ms. ‘Rona decided to cancel my friend’s plans, a surprise drive-by birthday salute was in order.  Can I tell you that I do not know how to do one, LOL?

First, I told her mother that I was coming by via Facebook invite.  I have seen lineups, so I thought that I was going to meet at her mother’s house, and we would fall in line to go to my friend’s apartment.  After all, it was a surprise.  Since I am one of those people who would show up late to her own wedding if given a chance, I decided to arrive early so my friend’s mother cannot say that I was late.  So, I drove to the house at 4:46 and I did not see any cars.  “Good, I am the first one,” I thought, so I went the next street over to turn around.  Okay, next thing I knew, I saw my friend’s daughter, who is 3, then my friend.  I thought, “Oh, Crap”, and I drove off to my parent’s house who live around the corner.   This drive-by was at 5, so I killed some time at my parent’s house and went back over there.  It turned out to be an “individual” happy birthday, as my friend and her mother sat there while people drove by, wishing her a happy birthday.  It turned out great, and this goofy person now know the proper drive by, LOL.

Business Dealings….

I was able to get some things done for my business while on lockdown.  I was approved for an affiliate that I have been wanting since 2017.  You know how much I love Erin Condren products, so you will be seeing more affiliate links from that company.  As always, I only support companies that I love and believe in, and you are not obligated to make a purchase, but it would be nice for the support.  It is a way to put money back into my business.  Some of these companies with affiliates, like Erin Condren, Cricut, and Amazon may have links that will help you save money as well.  So in that case, if you need the product, it is good to help out a blog and save money at the same time. 

I am also working on some things that will help improve this blog, including the infamous blog move.

Even though I was down and out during this period of time, I am fine now and living a new norm.  For the moment, my state is wrapping being on lockdown.  This is the reason for this title.   Let the flood gates open!!! Well, I am over my limit.  Be well and safe.  Wear a mask, and I will talk to you later.

Introductory to a new year and change

Hello, and welcome to 2020.  This post is in place of the Motivational Monday I usually have for a Monday post.  I will start back to regular Motivational Mondays next week.  There is so much to see and do in my life until I have to explain it along the way.  Before I get into today’s topic, let me revisit a few things:

2019 the year of mystery and misery…

Not true.  I will admit that I had a bad year, but who hasn’t.  I am going to tell you right now that as long as you are going to be alive, you are going to go through something.

2019 was a year of first-time losses in a very long time.  The last person I lost that was close in my family (meaning biological) was my grandmother.  This was 2003.  In 2019, I lost an aunt in Indianapolis, IN.  she just turned 84 in September.  She was my uncle’s wife, who is my mother’s brother.   The second person died Monday, December 30^th.  She was my mother sister who lived in Bessemer, AL, she was 79. So, as my brother would tell me on the phone yesterday, it is starting.  My mother’s siblings are dying, but I do not look at it that way, as we are all dying.  We do not know when and how we are dying.  The moment that a baby takes its first breath, on second thought, when it is conceived, that baby is dying.  It may live to be born or not.  A friend of mines baby did that 6 years ago.  She died the moment she was born. Then again, that baby may live to be 100 years old or more.  It all depends on how it is taken care of by the parents and other caregivers, and how they decide to take care of themselves once they turn 18 years old.

Photos from Pixabay;
Arranged by P. Lynne Designs
(c) 2020

2019 was a year of self-discovery.  As I get older, I am learning what is tolerated by me, who I let into my life, and how I handle the situations that are thrown at me.  For instance, It has been a challenge to deal with my parents getting older, especially my mom.  She is holding on her own, but I feel that traveling is a challenge for me, rather I invite the family to come or not.

Back in May, I finally booked that Walt Disney World vacation I have been trying to get the family to go on for years since me, my parents, and my eldest nephew, who was 11 at the time, came back from Southern  That day in Anaheim was a blast.  While me, my mom, and nephew spend the day at Disneyland, my father, who is not a Disney fan spent time at a Dodger’s game.  Perfect timing. My brother nor sister did not go.  My sister could not go because my middle nephew was 3 months old and not cleared to fly.  My brother had to work.

California, and spending time in Temecula, Los Angeles, San Bernardino (where the family lived for 6 years), and Anaheim where Disneyland is located.

I decided to plan the Walt Disney World trip after the first of the year, 2010, but since then, things and situations had come up over the years, including my mother’s illness.  I had to continually cancel a booking after booking and even allowed Disney to cancel a couple for a lack of commitment on my part.  I made the announcement at the beginning of 2019 but kept putting it off.  This coupled with the opening of the Galaxy’s Edge in Disney's Hollywood Studios, which drew a lot of people, I did not want to be standing in long lines for one ride.  So, I booked for us to go from December 15-20, 2019, in a 3-bedroom Grand Villa at Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary Resort.  Everyone was excited, except dad, who I had to try to ask in a nice way if he wanted to go to Florida, which would automatically land him at Walt Disney World. Well, that did not pan so good.  I will mention in another blog post what happened (Hint- At Home with Tricia's Baskets)

It is little things like that which made me wonder if 2019 was a bad year, but really it was not.  No one has threatened me, threaten to take anything away from me, and so forth.  My health was pretty good. So I postponed one little trip?  A year is what you make it, good or bad.

Now finally for today’s topic 2020.

I want to take the last few moments to talk about this year 2020.

Business dealings 2019 and the coming 2020

I finally did it.  P. Lynne Designs is splitting up.  This is how that is going to happen.

P. Lynne Designs is going back to its roots.  I started this company as a creative company.  Creating stationery products such as greeting and note cards, invitations, business cards, bookmarkers, and anything related to them.  However, I am not going back to scrapbooking.  The reason is quite clear.  The industry itself has changed and has incorporated digital to its core lineup.  In the wake of Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tiktok, it is hard for me to keep up while handling these items and my other business.  If a person requests it, I will do one for them, but it is not going to be the main product of my business anymore.

Speaking of my other business.  I will admit that I have felt the loss of running two businesses.  Before it was being a Longaberger Home consultant (which is coming back in a new way for the moment via QVC), and P. Lynne Designs. It was fun doing the juggling act.  No, I will not be a consultant for another company.  Although it was fun, I was not getting commissions like I would want it too, because I had too few customers in comparison to other home consultants.  This has to do with my blogs and the freelance writing side of P. Lynne Designs. The new company is called The Writing Grove, and this is where I will take on clients who need something written for their business or personally.  I will also house the blogs, At Home with Tricia's Baskets and My Ambiance Life (which I am thinking about changing the name to The Writing Grove). The P. Lynne Designs blog will be with business, P. Lynne Designs.

There is a third business that will allow for affiliate marketing and content sponsorship, but it will serve both companies, so it is not an official company and it will not be registered with the State of Ohio.

Speaking of which, my name renewal for P. Lynne Designs is coming up in April, although I have up to that time to pay it, and I will be registering The Writing Grove at the same time.   Unless it has gone up, that is around $100 for both companies (or $50 each).

2020 personal

Lastly, my plans for me are simple.  I am finally going to try to adopt a child.  I know, dealing with a child and a business is going to be rough, but I am up for the challenge.  I also want to take home my friend’s babies.  I also hope to find a nice guy.  Yep, love life to which I currently do not have.

Photo by Annette Meyer from Pixabay

Personal buys I would like to make.  A new home and a new car.  About the new home, I have been talking about this since I moved out of my last apartment, which was 2002.  Yes, I live in this amazing condo that I did not intend to stay for more than 5 years, but it has been close to 20 years.  I want a home where I do not have to worry about stairs.  I want a larger kitchen, a dedicated room for my craftroom, which I will have in the current condo when my nephew and his girlfriend move out, but at the present moment, I have a corner in the dining area.  This is more than what the average crafter/business owner could ask for.  I also prefer not to share my garage space.  I am sharing mine with the neighbor upstairs, and sometimes they irritate me.  The other day, my nephew was unloading something from his car, and in the middle of his unloading, the neighbor’s father came down and closed the garage door, without asking.  I could not tell him to leave the garage door alone because my Spanish is rusty, and he does not speak English at all. Gone are the days when I could tell my neighbor to leave the garage door up.

As for the new car, I am currently driving a used 2008 Dodge Caliber.  This car was an emergency buy because I had an accident in 2015 with my 1998 Honda Accord.  This car was only supposed to get me through the fall and winter of 2015-16, but I elected to keep it for a while and shop for a car payment that I could handle.  For a while, I was dead set on getting a Honda CR-V, a year behind whatever current year.  So, if the current year is 2020, then I would get 2019.  Well, I rode in my friend’s car, and I could not help but think how big this car was.  I mean, the only thing riding with me would be my child (unless I get siblings), and my business, so I switched to an HR-V, which is much smaller, easier to handle, and it is still a Honda, plus it is the same size as my Caliber.  Next thing I knew after making the announcement that this is what I am going to purchase or lease, my father thinks that I am better off with a 2020 Hyundai Kona, like the one that one of the older ladies at my church drives.  I got irritated with that.  So, now, I am supposed to test drive both the Kona and the HR-V. My money is still on the HR-V, but I am open.  He also does not want me to lease, even though he has been leasing his cars for years.  OooKay?

2020 Blogs

I will tackle this in the next post.  I have spent too long talking about the other stuff, and I am close to the 2000 wordmark, which is a tip, this is actually small in comparison to what was the 1000 wordmark for most blog posts.  I will have the normal Motivational Mondays, only it will be on all three blogs.  My Ambiance Life blog, everything will be about the same for now.  I will mention on At Home with Tricia's Baskets what I am going to change on that blog, as well on the P. Lynne Designs blog as well.

Well, this is long and drawn out.  I hope I did not bore you.  I am really out to grab more readers and give you information on all things writing, creating blogs, journaling, and other things related, like planners.  This is going to be a fun year, I can tell.  Until then, check out the rest of my blog posts from 2019 and before.  May God bless you, and peace out.  

Fiverr

THIS POST IS NOT SPONSORED

If you are getting started with your business it is easy to say that you want to do it all by yourself.  I say do not resist outside help and I will explain that in a moment.  For right now, I want to talk to you about a little service called Fiverr.

Photo by Sarah Pflug © 2019

First off, this is not a sponsored post because I have a love/hate relationship with the service.  Yes, I have posted some ads on it, I have not gained any revenue from it, but I keep it in the back of my mind. Confusing, right? Again, it will be all explained along the way.

What is Fiverr?

Fiverr is a task service.  It is a place for artists like me to list jobs they will do for $5, hence the name, Fiverr.  In addition to listing $5 gigs that we will do, we can also list bigger jobs for a lot higher.  For example, I am listed on the site as a freelance writer and a freelance graphic designer.  My products are not small in price.  I usually start at $10, not $5, with my highest package deal being $100.  So far I have not received anyone wanting my services since 2016.  At that time, I listed that I will do resumes, and I did one resume for a person, who paid $4.  Resume writing itself is worth more than $4, but that is why Fiverr is so cheap.

I have seen listings where a person will, “sing happy birthday in the resistor's favorite character for $5.  Voice impersonators make more than $5. 

Even though I am still on Fiverr, I have problems with it, and here are my top reasons for anyone to not make it your main source of income.

1. Cheap. 

They are cheap as I said.  They are cheap and the sequesters are cheap.  Cheap can be good or bad.  Good in if you are starting out in business, sometimes, you do not have a lot of money to spend.  If you are in the United States, depending on your state, you will be shelling out some money for registering your business, getting a business license, opening a business checking and Savings accounts, and hiring people to run your business.  You do not have a lot of money to create stunning advertisements, and purchasing software from companies such as Adobe and Microsoft, which can get a bit pricey.  You also do not have the time.  When you look at a listing on a site like Fiverr, paying $5 is like buying a candy bar.  It is a drop in your budget, which you can afford.  You go for the basic package, a little more if you can spare the change.

Likewise, If you are that person who puts up a listing, $5 is all you will get paid most of the time.  Yes, $5 does add up, but tell that to your utility companies.  If you do not go pro with your listings (a whole different animal than regular Fiverr), you may be eating Ramen noodles for the next month.

I am lucky that Fiverr is not the only place where I list my work. Plus, how do you think they make money on the website?  Yes, from what you earn.

2. Everyone is on Fiverr

When I mean everyone, I am talking Foreigners as well. You are not just seeing someone from the United States, Canada, or Mexico, I am talking someone from India, Saudi Arabia, England, France and Nigeria to name a few.  Fiverr does not discriminate, which is a good thing if you are from that country, but I wish that they would separate the countries. I do not like competing for your hard-earned dollars if you are the other countries I mentioned, I have to do that with my own country, which is in the US. 

Not only that, sometimes they tell you that they are from the United States, and they are really from Russia.

With that in mind, you do have to watch who your clients are.  This did not happen to me on Fiverr, but another popular website for gigs called Freelancer, which I will talk about in more detail at another time.  One of freelancer for potential customers is for them not to contact freelancers outside the site. The person who asked me to open several accounts for him did.  I ended the relationship because he wanted me to send the money to Nigeria.  I did, so I would get the stolen money out of my account.  This can also happen on Fiverr.

My recommendations for this stream of income:

Go with caution.  You never know.  This could work if you are not looking for a huge amount of payback from it (income).  It is also helpful if you are not familiar with having clients.  In other words, if you are new to freelancing.

However, as I said before, buyer beware, seller beware.  There are a lot of people out there who may not be what your ideal client should be. 

Most business people who come to Fiverr are getting started for the first time.  They do not have a ton of money, and if you can get them a simple graphic design, such as basic business card, print off no more than 50 cards is worth the $5.  If they want more, this is where you would give them your website if you have one.  Once there, the client can see more of your products, and they may not have to purchase on Fiverr.  If they still want the $5 product, at least they know what is out there on your site.  Now you have a repeat customer.

Once you are established in your niche, cut ties with Fiverr, but not before setting up your website, and not before you have gained some traffic and customers.

This is the same thing that I would recommend for Etsy, but I will get to that website as well.

Tips and Tricks (the new name for Takeaway):

In the meantime, proceed to Fiverr with caution. I cannot say it fast enough that if you want to go for it, OK, but it would be a little simpler if you open a website in either Blogger or WordPress, set your prices, and promoting your service or craft.  You will at least have all your money (until the IRS comes a-knocking), and you can screen your clients (there is a right way and a wrong way).  I would even go with Wix.

Be safe, work your business every day, even if you are checking emails, and God Bless You.

Types of journals and what they are best for- Day 3 (Journaling)

Welcome to day 3 of learning how to journal.  If this is your first time viewing this, please take this time to go back to day 1, which covers an introduction to journaling and day 2, which covers how to journal, where to journal, and when to journal.

Today covers what to journal and how that journaling impacts on your actual styling and so forth. 

There are so many different styles of journaling out there until I will start by saying that I will not be covering all of them, just the major ones that people tend to start.  There are journals for every mood known to mankind, and the very first thing is to figure out what your mood is and why you want to journal. 

Generalization Journaling:

If this journal is for you and you alone, find out what is it you want your future self to remember about you in the present.  Perhaps you want to grow from your situation.  Is this a teaching moment for you and your child?  What do you want the world to know about you?  These are all good journals to start, and they are a generalized journal.  The goal of this journal is to teach and learn from the past or the present in hopes for a better future for you and those who you want to teach.

The journal I write in almost every day is a generalized journal.  The end goal is for me and my child to learn and to grow from any situation that I have to throw out, including things such how I feel about my present situation, love life, having and adopting children, and financial matters.  I throw in a little spiritual because I am a Christian, and it must have that meaning for me to understand what God wants in my life.  I also throw in when I am angry because life is no bed of roses.  I want me and my future child to know that.   There was a portion of my journals where I mention my child specifically because I wanted to let her know that when she gets here, in my presence, that she was well loved before I even met her. In my last three incarnations of my journal, I am not so child-focused because I have not adopted my child yet.  Once I get the process going, I will start up again.  This is when I will have this type of journal:

Gratitude Journal

What is being grateful?  You are grateful for everything that has ever been given to you, allowed to see, and allowed to experience.  This is a daily journaling practice to show you just how lucky you truly are, no matter what you are going through.  You can combine it with Bible Journaling (description below) to get a real effect on your life.  The purpose if to find yourself in the gratefulness, and never complain.

Birth or adoption journal:

In this type of journal, it is focused on you and your child, and how you are doing before the child arrived.  It may start out with “the day I found out that I will be a mom/dad”. (yes, men, you can have this type of journal too.) It has an end date, and that end date can be anywhere from, “The day they placed you in my arms for the first time” to “The day you left for College”, “The day I gave you away in marriage”, “the day you had your first child”, or even, “the day I had to bury you” (sorry to morbid on the last title, but some parents do go through that).  The point is that it has a start date and an end date. 

This can apply to the day you decide to adopt. You can call it a life book.  This is a book that foster agencies give to kids when they move from house to house.  My foster sister had one.  It is a type of memory book, but you can easily adapt it to your birth child as well.

On my wedding Day:

You can journal about your wedding plans.  You can start with the proposal up to your wedding day.  Make this more of a creative-type of a journal.  You can place in things like a photo of your engagement ring, your china pattern, your colors for your wedding, a sample of your invitation, who you want to invite, and even receipts from the cater and other vendors.  Write about how you felt the day of your wedding and who was there to rally with your intended.  Go further to talk about your honeymoon, where was it, and how it felt to be newly wedded. Also, talk about your first place as a couple.  I am sure you have stories to tell.

Project journals:

Is there a specific project you want to work on?  Journal it.  Startup business, building a home, remodeling, even a trip all qualify as writing down how you felt when this event happened.  Write down your research if you are doing some.  Talk about the cost of the project, when you will start it, and when you plan on finishing it.  Talk about the setbacks, the problems, the headaches, and what happened when you had to start over and rethink it out. Even talk about if you had to abandon the project for some reason.

I have been planning a trip to Walt Disney World with the family for years.  I started journaling this trip because to me since we are not from Florida, but Ohio, it is no easy trip.  It takes money and time to go to Walt Disney World.  I started without journaling in 2010, and since I had so many setbacks, I decided to journal those setbacks and the “Yeah, I made the reservations”, and the “Oh, I have to cancel because of this problem and that person was pregnant, and this person did not want their child to experience Disney at this time”.  Yes, it was all there.  The “nail in the coffin” time was this year, when we had a family reunion in Orlando, and thought, “perfect timing”, but it was not for a couple of reasons, and I had to give up for a moment.  Now, I am back, journaling about this, but not in my everyday journal.  I have a new journal that I am starting and again will talk about the ups and downs of planning a trip for maybe 10-20 people (I will be asking my cousin if he and his family want to join us for 2019).

But the point I am making has this type of journal ready for anything, the good and the bad.

Food, weight, and other personal goals:

This next type of journaling determines how your health is affected.  Some doctors may ask you to keep a food journal of what you ate and how much.  This is good for weight loss, how certain foods react to your body in the case of diabetics, high blood pressure, or allergies.  You may do it yourself to figure out how much caloric intake your body needs to maintain a certain weight goal. 

While I am in the neighborhood, if you are hit with a specific diagnosis (i.e. MS, Lupus, Cancer), you may want to start a “This is how I feel today” journal.  Because you cannot predict how your day is going, you can hash it out in your journal.

A few years ago, I was going through some symptoms unknown to me and my body.  After self-diagnosing myself with an online medical guide, which I highly recommend that you do not attempt, even if you have a medical degree, I thought I had Lupus.  This was around 2003.  I talked to my doctor about it, and she determined that I might be stressed, but I before I talked to her, I documented it in my journal and my feelings on what would happen if I had the disease.  Years later, around 2013, I was sent to a kidney doctor by mine because the lab results showed that I had protein in my urine.  Another time to journal it. Then when he said one of the possibilities was Lupus, I freaked out, and again, I journaled it.  The test turned out to be negative, but each time I put it in my general journal.  No need for a special journal for it.    

Bible Journaling

The latest trend in journaling is bible journaling, or what I would like to call, “what your faith speaks to you about”.  This is a “find yourself” type journal.  This is inspirational passages, scriptures, and things you see God in.  I am covering the Christian version of this type of journaling, but I see any religious or spiritual person using this technique to get into the Koran, Torah, or any book you are studying at this time.  My suggestion is not to journal when you find yourself in a bad situation then write about it.  Do it when you are filled with joy and happiness.  Yesterday, in a group discussion after church, I told my group that I do journal when I am down, and I am not sure what to do. 

To me, journaling and when adding scripture to that journal, it helps you see things clearer, and it strengthens your faith as well.  You know what to do next because you found it through scripture.  Also, do not be afraid to mark up your bible.  Add notes to it so if you find yourself in the situation again, you know where to go, and how you got out of it.  It is the devotional you need in good times and bad.

Business Journaling

This is a specific type of journaling for your business.  It takes special care to do this type of journaling because you are documenting everything you do for your business.  If you are not planning to start a business, I would suggest that you have one for your job, or document anything that you have learned so you can get another job. 

What goes in this journal is your research for your type of industry, the start-up costs, the skills you need, the name of your business, a copy of your vendor’s license from the state and any other government documentation, such as your tax number to name a few.   You may want to put in your journal whenever you hire someone or do business with someone.   This also where you can put your ideas about a new product, service, or concept. 

My business journal is for the event that I start to hire employees and so I do not forget how I made a product. I am in the stationery design business, and my journal is one big folder on my computer on a cloud.  One day, when I have ½ of it finished, I will switch to a three-ringed binder.  For now, I am confident that my system will not go down.

Conclusion:

I know this section is long, and I have not even touched the surface of the plethora of journals a person can start.  Some are more like a list of things (bullet journaling which I have not touched on), while others are documenting lives, events, and projects, such as the examples I gave above. The constant theme I keep stressing is there is no wrong or right way of journaling.  This post if to give you ideas on what can you touch on without the journaling police coming after you.  Well, guess what, there is no journaling police to give you a written citation on the type of journal you can have.  I even heard of angry journals, where a person can journal about anything they are angry about.  I personally do not recommend it, but again, it is your journal, and if that is what you want to write about it, go ahead, but everyone needs a little happiness in their life.

If you have any questions at this point in the series, let me know by emailing me at plogan721@att.net, you can also make suggestions on what you want me to cover further. 

Next on our road to journaling:

I will cover the written journal in depth.  This is where you have to deal with your handwriting and love it or hate it, it is your handwriting.    I will also cover the types of notebooks to use, different sizes depending on what you are journaling, and even the type of pen you use makes a difference.  Until then, God bless you.

Hire an Entrepreneur

As she decides on what to do next on her life’s journey, she contemplates on if this is the correct path that she has for herself.  After all, she is an entrepreneur.  She was trained to go beyond the job she spent years working on. 

By P.Lynne Designs

My work story

I was asked like most little girls about marriage and career.  I aspired to be an actress, teacher, nurse, and mommy.  By the time I was 16, the acting bug, as well as the dancing bug was in me, I hated to the sight of blood and guts, and I wanted to teach little children BEFORE Kindergarten.  (although I would have settled for any child who was shorter than my 5’ frame).

I graduated from high school, and even when I wanted to go to UCLA, I settled on going to Ohio State, only to be close to my parents.  I came home every other weekend because I had home tickets and was in the Block O cheering team.  I left Ohio State due to bad grades.

In January of the following year, I transferred to Columbus Technical Institute, now Columbus State Community College, studying Social Work, a major I was not happy with, but I turned that into the major I loved, with was Early Childhood Education, and a few years later, I returned back to Columbus State for a business major.

In between all of that, I learned about finance through a couple of jobs, I was a customer service rep for a computer company (CompuServe), and did more customer service call center calls for Bank One (now Chase), Chase Financial, and a couple of other call centers.  I was never good at it to make a full career out of it.  Finally, I graduated from Franklin University with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing.  Along the way, I also picked up the crafting bug (from years of being creative in music, dance, and drama), and I started making cards, scrapbooks, albums, you name it in the crafting world, which some I held onto and others I let go of.  It was when I was working for a craft store (Archiver’s, a Memories store) that I finally realized that I need to make good of something that makes me happy.

You see, I would never be happy in a government type of job.  Sure, some do pay good money, and I am not against anyone getting a job with the government (state, city, county, or military), I felt that I was meant for more than getting a paycheck, which is what I would be doing.  The truth of the matter is I have tried to apply several times over the years, and never go one single interview.

So, what does that have to do with the title?

Good question.  Just joking.  Seriously, I wanted to give you a little hint of my background in what I think is a great little company, P. Lynne Designs I am building.  I have explained in a previous post (in fact several posts) of what my company is about.  First, it is a paper crafting company, specializing in cards, scrapbooks, and mini books.  I have an Etsy shop and a blog.  A shop is forthcoming by Autumn. 

Next, P. Lynne Designs is a stationery company, specializing in invitations, cards (yes, I meant to say that twice), and business products (business cards, resumes, and letterheads).  They are being designed in Photoshop and Illustrator (I finished a background of old paper 5 minutes ago).

Last, there’s freelancing in both graphic design and writing.  The graphic designs are the stationery and specialized products, while in writing, I also do some ghostwriting and guest writing for blog posts and research articles, as well as SEO writing.  I also do Virtual Assistance and social media for short and long-term projects.  My specializations in software are Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and Microsoft Office.  If there is a program you have, but you want me to work with that program, let me know ahead of time so I can prepare.  I also work with Paypal, Square, Wix, Webbly, YouTube,

and many others.

So, you see, I have quite a list of tasks I can help you within both personal and business. 

Takeaway moments

Do not be afraid to ask for someone to hire you.  After all, you need the work.  Preparing to make that happen takes work, and to some family members, like mine, it takes guts to tell a person to back off. It is no disrespect to that person and you may feel rotten about speaking up, but at the end of the day, you have to live with yourself.

Where do I fit in, Disney?

I was looking at the history of the Disney Channel.  Why?  This is where curiosity hits the cat and hits the cat hard.  Here are a couple of facts:

·         The Disney Channel first started in 1977, according to Wikipedia, my favorite site for facts.  There was a problem, Disney decided to focus all of their energy on Epcot, which opened in 1982.  So, they tabled the idea of starting the channel.

·         The Disney Channel started as a premium channel on April 18, 1983, and it was on from 7:00 am to 1:00 am.  Its first show was called Good Morning, Mickey. (Humm, that name sounds familiar, and Disney did not own ABC at the time)

·         At the time of its debut, Disney had no princesses of color at all.  Princess and the Frog did not debut until December 11, 2009.  Moana was so last year, and the Disney Channel’s first Hispanic Princess was July 22, 2016, on Disney Junior, NOT the Disney Channel. 

Sometimes, I wonder as a Disney fan if I really like the company, who does not treat my people with fairness in terms of roles in the movies, both animated and live.

This has been a fight for all people (not only African Americans) for years when it comes to movie roles that represent how we really live, and not for the stereotypical roles as seen in the news and other parts of the country, and the world. 

Let’s face it, when movie productions want a gang, they hire African American and Hispanic males to fill in the void.  Poverty, same thing.  When the movies call for someone rich, A white person is hired.   When they hire an African American to play a rich person, that role has to be married to a white person.  Asians get the treatment of owning a restaurant, nail salon or doing martial arts. 

Often times when a casting manager hired a person in a lead role, who is the total opposite of what they think the movie audience wants to see, there are often bad ratings.  This is in both the movies and television.

Getting back to Disney.  When Tiana, Disney’s first African American Princess, who actually marries into royalty, not royalty from birth, shows up at the parks, I was ecstatic.  I could not wait to see her every time I go to Disney.  She, after all, represented that little girl inside of me, who used to put a long towel on my head after a bath, and parade around the bathroom like I was royalty.   Then I found out that Princess Tiana will only be around the parks for special occasions I wanted to know why.  What if I and my family show up on a day when there is nothing special going on in the parks?  Who is my niece of 8 years old going to see when we get to the parks?  So, I started watching YouTube videos and researching all things, Princess Tiana.  After all, I wanted my niece to be happy to see someone special who was dark-skinned like her. Boy, I could never have been so wrong in my life.

I was not looking at why I and my family is going to Disney in the first place.  We were going there to bond.  I am busy, my parents are busy, my sister is busy, and my brother is busy.  We all lead separate lives and this was a trip that may be a trip where all of us are together doing something special.  This not supposed to be a trip where I am finding someone that looks like me.  That is what family reunions are all about.  Disney is about having fun, riding the rides, eating the expensive food (I did not say that Disney is cheap), and bonding with your family and your favorite childhood memory. 

So, what if we do not find Princess Tiana or any other character that is supposed to look like me and my family.  I am supposed to look like me. I am supposed to represent me and my character.  When they see me, they are not supposed to see some animated princess in a flowy dress.  Disney is supposed to see a paying customer who is happy that she spent her hard-earned money with them. 

At the end of the day, Disney is a company, a business, and an entity who is supposed to turn happiness into profits on their end.  If I am not happy, is Disney going to make sure that they take care of what I need in order for me and my family to return for another vacation?  You bet.  It says so in each Cast Member’s contract.  If enough customers are not satisfied, that person is fired, and Disney will not see a profit.  If there are not enough profits to earn, then shareholders will turn on them.  If shareholders turn on them, Bob Igor will not have a company to run, and Disney will be out of business.  I believe this is one of the reasons why Macy’s, Sears, HHGregg, K-Mart, The Limited, Payless Shoes, and countless others are closing stores, whole companies going out of business, and liquidating for the bankruptcy courts.

If there is something I want to you to take away from this post is this:  everything is not about race.  At least it shouldn’t.  I want what is fair and just for all, but it is also up to all of us to get Disney and the other studios to continually see that characters do not come in one race of color, and to stop stereo typecasting.  Gangs and drug dealers in real life come in different races.  Same with drug addicts, prostitutes, the rich, the poor, the working class, the dancer, the evangelist, and the priest.   We all have different roles that make up this world.  It is about time the movies, plays, and television programs show it. 

Movie and television companies alike, stop holding back roles for certain people.  If they meet at least the basic requirements (age range, gender, and height) and have the basic knowledge of the type of role they would be playing, give them a chance.  Do not turn them down because they are a certain color or race.  It is discriminating.  Who knows, maybe you will spark the best actor/actress you have seen in a while, and you may have launched someone’s career.  Everyone deserves a chance, and I deserve to see someone who represents me.  So, where do I fit in, Disney?  I think I fit in fine where I sit.

Not Today

I do not think so.
(c) 2016 Adobe Stock

(Warning:  Some of the links below may contain affiliate information.  I may receive a commission for that link. For a full explanation, please see my disclosure page. Thank you.)

Ever since my post titled, “Happy Holidays and Welcome to December the last month”, I have been playing around, trying to explain to my followers my Black Friday experience.  I even have a post half way written, so I can just plop it onto this blog, and be gone.  It is not easy being a business person. 

One of my goals with this particular blog was NOT to write a blog post, have cute frilly words, give you guidance, and then when the hook is securely firm into your neck, I will hit you with 500 products you can buy from me, all with a low price of $1000 a package.  It has never been my way.

So, when I talk to you about my Black Friday experience as a seller, it is MY experience.  Nothing fancy about it.  Can I tell you what I do when I am not writing a blog post?  I have mentioned it several times, but for those who are just finding my blog, it would be helpful if you knew about people behind the blog.

I am not going into the whole, “when I was a little girl” type of story because I sort of fell into selling. I only figured out that I liked marketing and advertising 20 years ago, and it all started when I was a baby, and my parents told me that I would play during the television shows, but stopped when a commercial came on.  OK, enough of that.  Let’s fast forward…

It was really a failed attempted on getting marketing internship jobs that lead me to becoming an Independent Longaberger Home Consultant. I thought, “why am I acing an interview, and then suddenly they could not hire me.  I understood that in order for a company to even offer an internship (paid or unpaid), they had to have money to do so.  Every single one of the internships I interviewed for, offered me the position the day of my interview, but then turned around to tell me that through budget cuts or some other odd reason, the position was dropped.  I thanked the interviewer, and reassure he or she that I am available, should the position become open again.  One marketing firm I was interviewed 3 separate times.

It is a Dog eat Dog World. A word on writing, niche, and business growth.

Not what you think.  Two months ago, nephew #1’s dog had puppies.  Strype has 2 sons, 5 daughters.  Some of the names are:  Cayman, Duchess, Princess, Penelope or Venelope (not sure what niece (7) named her), not sure with the other names are.  Great nephew called them all Scripy (he is 14 months, and trying to say Strype’s name, and cannot say the other names). 

I met all puppies but 2 of them yesterday.  When I first met Strype, she was about the size these new little ones were.  I was also glad she was named for the stripe down her nose, and a great tribute to a previously-owned dog also named Stripe.  We had this Stripe, who was a Beagle mixed with German Shepard for 18 years.  He was family, not saying that Strype and the puppies are not part of our family.  I am a dog lover (more dog than cat).  Other family dogs were PJ (Puppy Junior) a Beagle, who lived with us only a few months, and Victoria, a German Shepard, who lived with us for 4 years in California.   All of them resided with my parents.  I personally have not owned any dogs in my home. 

Now you are wondering what do dogs and puppies have to do with writing.  Dogs are exciting to watch, and if you notice how they react to something new, they get excited, and they are excited about everything, and they want to know about that new thing to the point knocking over anything that gets in the way.  Today, I was at parent’s house, and I went outside to the dogs.  Strype jumped all over me, while Cayman, Duchess, and a puppy’s name I could not remember was grabbing and pulling at my left pant leg.  I never had that experience since Victoria kept knocking me over when I was 4 (she was much taller than me standing up on two legs).  I am sure part of Strype’s jumping were to make sure her puppies are safe from my feet, (she I also a little jealous) while the puppies wanted something to chew on (they are teething after all).  Princess wanted to do her own thing by trying to climb onto the deck through an opening in the railing, which she failed at and gave up.

As new writers, we are excited when anything new comes our way.  We jump at the chance to get noticed and we chew and claw our way to the top.  That goes for Freelancing as well as Journalism.  As we get older in our craft, new people come in and feel the same way.  We fight our way to stay at the top of our game.  For freelancers, client come to see the “pick of the litter” writers, and when they find one they like, it is a match made in heaven or not.  Sometimes, we are like Princess, who finds a different way of getting to where she is want to go, by different means.  Instead of climbing the one step to get onto the deck, Princess chose to go between the wood bars.  As proven, you can either fail and give up, or try something different another day.

If you try doing it your way, just like Princess, do not give up.  In fact, it that does not help, try yet a different way but never sell yourself short.  There are many different ways to achieve the same end goal.  This is how human babies learn to do things when no one is helping them.  It does not have to be the traditional method.

Also, be like the puppies who were chewing at the leg of my pants.  This represents a person who is thirsty for knowledge.  Always want to learn more.  Never settle for less. “The more you learn, the more you know.  The more you know, the more you grow.”  This was a quote I heard in my teens.  This talks about wisdom and knowledge. 

For instance, I am a crafter.  I have talked about it several times on this blog, as well as other blogs.  What if I learned to only glue paper to another surface?  That may be fine, but if I want to teach someone or write about crafting, I can only get so far with just the gluing part.  That does not get very far into the process.  In order to do that, I had to learn how to use tools, different techniques with the appropriate tools and gluing, and even go outside that crafting area to learn how to teach a crafting technique or writing techniques in order to write about it.  sure that last part I should have learned starting in Elementary school and through my parents, but it also took a lot of practice and hard work to get to this point in my life.  This is how most blog posts are born.  Another subject for another post.

So the conclusion of this thing called writing is simple:

1.       Do find a niche.  Be excite about that niche, because, it will come through in your writing.  One tip:  If the post does not feel right, you will know it.  You have a choice to change it or write something else.

2.      Be alert.  There will always people who have started writing before you and people who will start writing after you.

3.      Do not stay in one place.  Always learn from your niche, hobby, and new ways to get your point across.  Always be prepared to teach and to be teachable.  Rules, techniques, and time are always changing.

4.      Find new ways to do something new and different.  It goes back to #2 and 3.

If you are not willing to change with the time, you will not grow in writing and in your niche.  If you do not grow in your niche and business, you will not increase in income nor influence someone else whose life you may not get to change.

Day 8: wait, there’s more to this.

(c)2015 The Made In America Movement

Yesterday, I talked to you about what you need to prepare to see if owning a business is right for you. Today’s lesson is about 3 different types of business you can own. It is really 2 types of business you can own, but I decided to split the second business up and to 2 different types of business because it all depends on what type of business you want to own.

The first type of business is called a direct selling business. These are your Avon’s, Tupperwares, and other companies like them.  They mostly sell products, but some sell services like insurance.  This type of business is perfect for the person who doesn’t know how to start a business, or not sure owning a business is right for them. The reason why owning a direct selling business is perfect for the unsure person, is for 1) that company has taken care of all the legal matters when you start a business, and 2) all of the marketing materials and products are provided for that person. However, a direct selling business may not be right for you, if you know what types of products you want to sell, your market share (the people who you think will buy your product), or if you have a patent for that product which you would like to sell. The other drawback to having a direct selling business, is you are like a shareholder in the company, but sort of an employee of the company. You do have to sell what the company offers to its customers. In other words, you cannot invent a product and sell it under that company name.

Currently, I sell for the Longaberger company. They have been in business since 1973 and they make baskets, pottery, and other home good items that complement the baskets and pottery. I have been a consultant with them since October 2001. Anything that involves any legal matters, which I, fortunately, have not had with them, they will take care of it. However, I do have guidelines that I need to follow legally, or I will have my contract pulled. They are simple little matters, such as using the trademark labels and logos at craft fairs, marketing materials I make on my own, and fundraisers. I also have to be careful about sponsorships as well. I do get discounts (25% on current products, 20% on retired products), my commission is 20%, and I get a monthly 1% commission override for any person who signs up to be on my team, and has earned $1000 in sales their first month as a consultant.  I can also earn incentives, such as trips and free product. I earn sales through home parties, individual orders, online sales, online parties (such as social media events), and fundraisers.

The next business I would like to talk about is entrepreneurship. This is the only way I can best describe it. In this business ownership, you own 100% of the business, meaning you are the decision-maker of everything. There are 2 different types of entrepreneurship you can go into. The first one is product base, where you supply the product. The Second one is based on service, where you supply the service. It doesn’t matter what type of business have in this category, 1^st 3 steps you take when starting a business is 1) what is your product or service 2) name of your business 3) was this for. Next, there are the legal matters to take care of, such as registering your business with your state, if you are in the United States (I am not familiar with and to international business startups), getting a tax ID number, and getting a business/vendors license for your state. (Again, I am not familiar with international law for each country.) Be prepared to hire an accountant, a business advisor, a web designer, and maybe have a lawyer on speed–dial. You may not need a lawyer, but it helps in case you need any business law advice.

Currently, I am also a sole proprietor for my company, P. Lynne Designs. I envisioned it in 2007 while I was working for a scrapbooking store called Archiver’s. I, as well as other customer associates, kept getting questions on making the products (meaning cards and scrapbooks) in-house, and they pay for the finished product. Archiver’s sold supplies to make the finished products and showed customers how to make them in the form of a class. They were not a hallmark or an American Greeting Card Company for pre-made cards either.   That is when I got the idea to make them myself. Once I had the idea, which the company is both a product and service company, then I came up with the name MDN Creates. (I am not going into details on how I came up with the name in this blog post.) I officially opened for business in November 2009, but I had a slight problem. Archiver’s had changed the employee handbook to state that no employee may not start any business of any kind while working for the company. This also meant that if I was to stay with Archiver’s, I would have to quit as a Longaberger consultant as well. So in January 2010, I made the painful decision to leave my position at Archiver’s. I mentioned in a post 2 days ago about the mistakes I made when I left the company.

I mentioned that P. Lynne Designs was a dual company, meaning it was both a product and service company. The product portion of the company is that I am a stationer, creating designs for cards, scrapbooks, invitations, and other stationery products. The service portion of the company is sitting down with the client, and helping them decide what kind of product they want according to their taste in design. It is still a work in progress, because I just register the company with the state of Ohio a few months ago, as well as getting my vendor license. This is something I did not have to do when I started selling Longaberger products, which I still do. The other service portion of P. Lynne Designs is freelance services, where I write blog posts, research documents and write them, and graphic designing with Photoshop, Lightroom, and Illustrator. I know it sounds like a lot for this company, but I am pleased with the results so far, even though I can do more.

So this is an overview of the different types of businesses you can go into. There is one more that I failed to mention to you, and that is the role of the nonprofit company. I will get to that another day. But for right now if you have any questions, you can always find an expert on the subject of entrepreneurship for owning your own company.

Day 7: all nice and warm.

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

Well, Columbus had its first major snowstorm of the season, and I would not call it a major snowstorm yet. The reason why I call it a major snowstorm because people around here do not know how to drive in snow. I am serious. Folks around Columbus believe that ice is the natural norm around here, and decide to drive like it is springtime weather. They forget rules when stopping, they forget that they do not have snow tires (which is not a requirement in Ohio), and it is like a three-ring circus on the highways. Another plus for working at home.

So yesterday, I covered how you can apply to work from home if your employer allows it, and how to do it effectively. Today, I am going to briefly show you how to start the process of becoming an entrepreneur. It is not as easy as it looks, and you have to make sacrifices. I am going to show you what I did wrong, as well as what I am doing right.  Keep in mind that I am not an expert on the subject of all things owning your own business from A-Z because I am still learning.  I am learning what a business owner can and cannot do and I have been learning for almost 15 years (14 as an independent direct seller and 5 as an entrepreneur, and 4 as a freelance writer).  There are differences between the three, and since my other blogs are currently down because of an upgrade (this is the last blog to get the upgrade), I will address it here.

Preparation steps:

•          Make sure you have 6 months to a year’s worth of money saved before taking on this task.  It goes hand in hand with the next one I will mention in a moment.  This should be common sense anyway because you will never know what will happen.  You may get sick to the point of not being able to work, or laid off either in a company closing, downsizing, or fired for whatever reason the boss cooks up.  Now, this was my mistake, and the reason was shopping.  I had to have it now, instead of waiting on that item.  I had 3 months saved, and I had bills.  I will address bills in a moment as well. 
•          Keep your job, for now.  You cannot go to work, and announce that you quit because you have your own business.  Wait until profits increase before you make that announcement.  It shows three things:  You are loyal to your job (even if you hate it to pieces), You have a backup in case things fail, and it looks good on your credit report.  Not only that but if things do go bad down the road (say in 2-3 years) when your business has a lean year (not making enough profits), you can go back to your former employer and work a while.  Once your business picks up again, you can always leave.  Do not bite the hand that feeds you and do not talk bad about the company when you leave.  Tip:  Do not take their clients either if you are still in the same industry.  There is a reason why they have you sign that waiver when they first hired you.  My company changed its employee handbook to read that I could not open a business of any kind, so they forced my hand in signing it, but then I quit. You can always work your business on the weekends and days off for a while.
•          Bills, bills, and more bills.  We all have them.  Credit Card, utility, even magazine subscriptions.  Continue to pay them on a regular basis.  What it looks like to the creditors:  money in your pocket to pay them, and there are no breaks in the payment.
•          Try not to get a loan.  Enough said.  If you do, wait until you need equipment or some other major tool or property, not when you first start the business.
•          Benefits.  Another reason why you should not quit work right away.  The moment you quit, you have to pay your own health insurance, and you do not get that bonus or that vacation pay if you do not take one.  You also do not get unemployment benefits. (Not one dime of it).  When you are ready (see “Keep your job, for now.”), you can negotiate your back pay (if they are a fair company), and bid a proper goodbye.  Even if you are bitter about it, do not leave in anger, you may need a favor down the road.

I hope this helps you to decide if owning your own business is right for you.  You can always read further, and research for yourself, but I love it, and I may not get it right all the time, but tomorrow I will show you how to get things in line BEFORE you yell “Open for business”.