close your eyes and jump

The boy and I have been talking at great lengths recently about really investing in our "side business" ideas... we are trying to make plans for the future (oh how grown up of us!) and to do the things we want to do we need to pay down some debt (okay, a lot of debt... but it's mostly student debt... so it's not a completely bad thing)... and to pay down that debt, we need to find a way to bring in a little bit of extra money each month...

I have been doing portraits on commission for a long time now, though I've never really done it in any sort of consistent way... mostly just around the holidays, for family and co-workers and such... and I used to spend a lot of time in the summer when I would visit my dad as a kid/teen painting flower pots, signs, and other crafty little things for people... I used to pull in quite a bit of cash for that back in the day...

I've even branched out and done some pretty random stuff recently (like doing a casting of my sister-in-law's very pregnant belly yesterday... which I am going to paint and mount as a decoration for my niece-on-the-way's nursery)

All of that was really more of a hobby than anything else, but the boy (along with many others) have convinced me that there is a real market out there for such things, so I think I'm going to do it... for reals.

We had been discussing it for a while, and looking at the logistics of everything (website, time to draw/paint/etc, business cards, advertising) and I have been wanting to try to do something on my own, because I really would like to be my own boss someday, and I think that maybe... if I really try, and push myself to follow through... I can do this.

So I bought a domain name! hehe...

It is the first step toward building my own business... and hopefully a big step toward building a financially sound future with the boy.

I was daydreaming in the shower this morning about the possibilities... I would love to be able to make my art be my full time job... and hopefully we will be able to start our family soon... and then I will be able to stay home and take care of our family, and still be stable where money is concerned.

I think it would be fantastic to have a business card that read "freelance artist / domestic goddess"! LOL

I still believe in your eyes...

Six years, as of today, and going strong.

Sometimes you look at me in that certain way, and I still get butterflies.

I'm betting that's a really good thing.

:)

xoxo