I attended a great small business workshop this weekend. Hosted by Sylvia of Foundtree and Greg of Farm Food Drink (and assorted companies), we learned about everything from product risks (and how to mitigate and prevent them) to marketing and projections. Sounds super businessy and not congruent with my lifestyle, doesn't it? Well, if you'd described it to me that way, I would have thought so too but it really wasn't.
I think what I appreciated about both presenters is that they're both committed to helping micro- and small-businesses thrive. I know, I know, anyone could say that but really, they've both worked in some big corporate situations and neither of them felt like they wanted to stay there. Much like many of us who returned to rural living, it seemed like they'd both made a lifestyle/values choice about how to do their work. I also appreciated my fellow participants. They seemed like a group of people there with a similar goal to me - make enough money to sustain my lifestyle, hire some people (so, sharing the bounty locally), and contribute to some aid projects or do some good works. It was interest as many of us in the local/small/ag world feel a bit sheepish about profits and making money. What I've realized is that's a bit like being a martyr; no one thinks I'm a sell out when I'm making a professional wage at my day job, after all. In my opinion, it's a bit funny on the face of it. Anyway, I've got a lot of thinking to do (and planning, and scheming), but it's all good and it's all fun. And it's finally spring, so the perfect time for it. Sometimes you realize the direction you're trying to go isn't really the direction you're supposed to go in. You know the feeling right? When you're struggling upstream or feeling abraded a bit? I realize that's been happening to me lately. I've been really stuck on the how but not really feeling it.
I've just had a sense of ease as I realized my focus needs to be more on the why than the how. So rather than how to grow tomatoes, how to trim hooves, how to can, it's more the why. I like the doing and I think when you try to philosophize about something like lifestyle from arm's length, I think it falls flat. You might have some evidence to the contrary but do you think the words of Wendell Berry would resonate so were he not out living on the land and with the land? Imagine Wildwood, had Roger Deakin just sat in an office and imagined, never having rambled or lived outdoors? Consider Anne LaBastille, had she stayed in some safe, suburban existence; would we have had Woodswoman? In all its rawness and grit? Now it's not that I'm comparing myself to such illustrious folks, except maybe by way of my aspirations, but I realize that a collection of how to videos and posts just doesn't grab me. It must be Spring. Change is the air. I'll be heading out to clean the greenhouse which has functionally been a litter box this winter - as it turns out. Now that's a how to video I should share. Well, we had a 24 hour blizzard which wasn't awesome - especially since I had to drive home in the dark during the blizzard. It's usually about 75 mins but took an extra hour because: blizzard. But today, we woke up to no new snow and a light freeze. A light freeze! Not rock solid, not snow covered, not any of what we've been waking up to. And now it's dripping. Like melting dripping. I know I shouldn't care but I really do. And I know there's going to be lots of wet. Lots and lots and lots of wet and mud. For example, this big wad of snow that's encroaching on my deck. You might ask yourself why I'm letting the snow encroach that far onto my deck. I mean really, why not just shovel it off. Well, let's just say that when we built our house, we didn't think about things like massive amounts of snow sliding from the roof and creating huge piles - mountains really - of snow. So without any reference point, it might be hard to tell but that pile is about 6ft high and stretches the length of the deck. So yes, there will be wetness. Lots of wetness. And our deck is a mess - filled with my dye pots and all sorts of things.
But still.... it's melting I'm happy about that. I'm so ready to get to gardening. I think I've been too busy to really appreciate the winter so that's on the list to shift as well - I don't want to be so busy that I just grumble about the mud. And truly, I'm making myself so busy I'm back in the "chasing my tail" frame of the modern mind. It's silly because I know better and I help other people know better. Just shows how insidious it is, doesn't it? Hmmm. More (internal) work needed! I don't know about you but I had this deluded notion that things would be slowing down around this time. Um, no. And it is a bit self inflicted, I confess. I took a full time contract that lasts until the end of fiscal. You got that; in addition to my private clients (and everything else going on), I took on full time work. Yeah. Not my most sensible decision. Except that it will only be for another six weeks and then it's back to half time. The good of it is, before kidding starts and the garden is in full swing, I have a chance to pay down some of the debt I took on getting the store started. And, while I'm a big fan of not getting too into the workaholism thing these days, I can dust off my former workaholic self when I need to. But, today, in spite of the business this week, the light at the end of the tunnel is a-shining! I remembered to get my re-registration done for the goats (babies shouldn't be far off), I'm ordering seeds and plants, and generally in "getting read for spring" mode. This is in spite of the snow we still have, epic snow. It rained all night and we still have epic snow. Luckily, I love winter and at the same time, am so glad that the air feels like spring. I'm trying not to think about the bigger repercussions of an early spring because really, I have no control over it. I'm just going to order my seeds and carry on.
Happy planning everyone. |
AuthorI'm a 40-something writer and smallholder living in the wilds of BC with my family, our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. Archives
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