What's it Really Like to Run Your Business From Home

My week is not like most people's weeks are. My schedule is quite unusual. I work odd hours. I often work more hours than people realize. And I make less than a lot of people probably think I do. Let's start with my typical week...

Every day for me usually begins at 7am. On Sundays (first day of the week for me) I often finish my morning routine by 8:30. I take it a little easier this day, as I sometimes stay up late on Saturday night. I'll start my morning doing my week's plan. This consists of what things I want to complete this week - project tasks, marketing, and personal goals. It's here that I plan out each hour of the week and try to be as accurate as I can in this. I've yet to get it completely right, as I have never estimated the time correctly that many tasks take, so I'm always behind. Maybe this is why I always feel like I'm rushed.

My planning usually takes less than an hour. And so I spend the rest of the morning working on whatever task is most important for the week. This is usually a project that I wanted to get done the previous week, whether it's artwork, accounting, or marketing. I plan out when, but not what, I am going to do my marketing for each week, as well as my production time. I've noticed that, at this point, I still have to spend at least half of my tie in administration and marketing. I do hope that I will start to bring in enough money that I can subcontract some of this out or hire a part-time employee to take care of a lot of it.

I plan every hour of my week, including time with my family and friends. So, if someone hasn't booked with me by Sunday, chances are that they won't get me until the next week. Ha ha!

My Sunday's vary as to what I do, but the really consistent things are that all morning is spent working, and often the afternoon until at least 5pm, sometimes later. This is a regular work day for me, and I tell all of my friends and family that. They still seem to get upset that I don't just drop everything and spend time with them. Sunday evenings are my me time, and I play some games with friends every week.

My Mondays are also a work day. Typically this is a production day. I work from 8 o'clock in the morning until I go to bed at night, with breaks only for meals, etc. Once a month I take the time to teach a short martial arts workshop. It's not really profitable, but I love doing it! And so I keep it up. And about once a month I will take the evening off to spend with someone close. :-)

Tuesdays are similar to Mondays - they are also work days. I again start by 8 am. And I work until 6pm. At that time I grab a really quick supper and head off to my martial arts class that I teach until 9:30 that night. This is every Tuesday! Some weeks it's the only exercise I get on the day my kids aren't with me.

Wednesdays are like Tuesdays. I start work by 8am and work until 4:30 pm, though. This is because I go pick up my kids from their mom's and bring them home. Wednesday evenings are often spent with my kids, doing little else except visiting them and perhaps catching up on housework. It's always a tough evening, as they try to push and get away with as much as they can. My daughter is often extra whiny and pushes really hard to get her way, including staying up late. If I manage to get the kids in bed on time (8pm for Ariana, 8:30 for Daveed), I can spend another hour working in my office doing marketing or administration or I can work on some drawings. If you can figure it out, by Wednesday I have worked my 40 hours already, sometimes more.

Ariana showing off the cloak I made her

Thursdays are sometimes a complete write-off for work. My daughter isn't in school at all that day, so she wants my attention at all times. As the weather improves, however, she will spend more time outside with her friends in the afternoon and evening. This means I can get 3 or 4 hours of work in when the weather is nice, including the little evening time that my kids want to play with their friends. I can't really do any noisy work, because I monitor them mostly by ear. I work in my office, keeping the door open (it has an outside door), so I can hear them all the time.

Friday mornings, as soon as I drop Ariana off at school, I spend working on whatever drawing project I have going at the time. This is actually how I have completed all of the illustrations, thus far, for the forthcoming "Secret Places" children's book. So, this is another 3 hours of work I manage to get in! Sometimes in the afternoon I can get another hour or two in if Ariana is playing with her friend Izzy, who lives a couple of doors down. But other times I spend it with her. We will bake or play games or read, usually. She likes it when we make cakes, but bread is beyond her patience, because she doesn't like waiting for it to rise.

After school on Fridays I always check my son's homework and make sure that he is aware of what has to be done, and he agrees on what he's going to do for the week. A lot of times it means agreeing to do things at his mom's, then me checking his progress on Wednesday evening when he's back home. The kids like to play with their friends when the weather is nice, so I allow it and spend the time when they're outside marketing, writing, or doing administration. Right now I make very little from my writing. I do have a couple of projects on the go that I am hoping will pay some reasonable amounts once they're published. Time will tell. Friday evenings starts Shabbos. Once the candles are lit it means kids are inside and there are no computers allowed to be on. This includes any handheld games and the Wii. This is our family time! From here until sundown on Saturday our time is not for work, but only for family and G-d. We often stay up late together on Friday nights. The kids are allowed to stay up as late as they want. This usually means that Ariana is asleep by 9pm and Daveed within and hour of that. It is rare that either of them goes to sleep before nine or stays awake past ten. They just get tired! And so do I. If I'm really tired, they end up going to bed, because they don't want to stay up alone. I'm sure that will change in a few years, though. ;-)

Saturdays we have a nice family routine. The mornings are always a special breakfast, and we often don't get out of bed before 8am. My daughter dances, for now, so we go to her class each morning. While she's in class Daveed and I read. Up until a couple of weeks ago I would either read to him or he to me, but he started reading silently to himself and only asking for my input when he can't figure out a word. We sit close together and cuddle while reading, which I really like. It won't last for too much longer, as he's already seven. The rest of Saturday is spent together doing whatever we can find that is fun! Often we go out for the afternoon to the playground or a park or something else special. Most Saturday evenings their mom comes and picks them up, but about once or twice a month they spend the night with me and don't go home until late Saturday morning. They're good about this and tend to let me work, often going outside to play with their friends as soon as there's noise. It's pretty good that way!

And that my weekly routine. I try to take advantage of every minute I can to get some work in, and realise that I actually work at least 50 hours each week. It often seems like I don't get a lot done at the end of the week. There is only so much of my work that is billable, however. I'm probably spending 30 hours on non-billable work - things that keep my business going, such as administration, cleaning (artwork and armour are messy), accounting, marketing, and research. Then I spend the other 20 on payable work. This means that if I wanted to make $50,000 per year I'd have to charge $100 per hour on that "billable" time. I actually make less than that. No, I won't tell you what, but it's just enough to survive with me and my two kids.

Papa & Kids, Canada Day 2009

Working for yourself is often tough! You have to be disciplined. You will have to make sacrifices. There were weeks early on when I had a hard time pulling myself out of bed, or getting myself to work when I should have. I sometimes thought that I could multitask and either watch TV or listen to a book on CD while I was working. I couldn't. It slowed my production way too much. I ended up cancelling my cable, because I never watched TV any more, and neither did my kids. I had some great mentoring from Tyler at VisionCast that helped me motivate myself in my business. Now when we want to watch something, it's a move from the library. We go the library every other Thursday afternoon as part of our routine.

There are some nights when I will work until midnight (at least once a week). I've even worked until 3am and then got up at 6:30 to keep working, because I have deadlines on projects. This is really hard for me, since I have a sleep disorder that makes me sleepy almost all the time and demands more sleep than average (it's called idiopathic CNS hypersomnolence, possibly caused by fibromyalgia), as the medications for it either are ineffective or give me the shakes or palpitations. Can't have the shakes and be a good artist!

But working from home is worth it! If I need to run out and deal with something with my kids, I can. I can pick them up and drop them off from school every day. I can use Thursdays to spend time with them, since it's their short day at school. Yes, my social life is limited because I work and am a single parent. It wouldn't be an issue if I weren't a single parent. But my kids are worth it! Yes, I might have to deal with a work issue at 9pm. I have had clients call me at 10 at night. But I can be flexible enough to deal with it all. I work more hours than most people for less pay. But the flexibility and the pleasure in what I do make it worth it. I make less than half of what I did working full-time (I was an accountant). And I hope I never have to turn back to working for someone else again!

Missing Being Able to Call my Kids

I thought a lot about my kids today. Last night my son called me from his baba's, surprising me quite a bit. It's very rare that he calls me at all of his own accord. But he is only seven-years-old. It was great to speak with him, even for a few minutes! And of course I also spoke with my 5-year-old daughter. She doesn't usually talk much on the phone, but when she does, it's hard to let her go, as she talks quite a lot!

I love hearing about their day! It perks me up to hear their voices, each day. But lately that hasn't been possible. Their mom's phone has supposedly broken down and she is unable to get it fixed. She says she can't afford it. I have a hard time believing her, since last month she spend 10 days in the Dominican Republic for vacation. I strongly believe that it is important for each of us to be accessible by phone because of the issues that can happen with the kids. What if there is an emergency? What if something happens to one of their grandparents? Or to the other parent?

I also believe that we should be able to speak with our kids every day. My kids' mom has a history of cutting off my access to them when she is angry and wants me to give her money. We're currently fighting about the money she owes me. Part of the issue here is that we recently sold a house and I refused to let her take the money from it, since she owes me more money than the value of the proceeds. My kids aren't tools. And I find it reprehensible that she has used them that way in the past. Ah well...

Most days when I talk with my kids they tell me about what they did at school. My son's big thing is to tell me that he hasn't learned anything. Then he tells me about the things that he did in school, which usually contradicts the previous statement. :-)  It's often amusing, but great to hear! But my daughter is more straight-forward. She tells me all about her friends and the things they did in school together, and usually proceeds to tell me about what "Madam" (her teacher) said that day that sticks in her mind.

 And the kids also like telling me about their friends, any crafts or arts that they do, and the movies and shows they watch, and any games they play. There is TV every day at their mom's, so I do hear a lot about that. But I enjoy it more hearing about their friendships, any games they play (whether with their friends, each other, or their mom), and about the things they like to make. I am surprised that their mom has chosen to fore-go this part of her day when they are with me. Her boyfriend does have a phone. And she lives with him. But I am shouldn't be surprised, really. Games, games, games... Why can't the only games that are played be the ones that our kids play? And that we play with them? Better to have honest fun, I think!

Maybe I'm just missing my kids today, without my usual contact with them. I wish I could call them now... <sigh>

Martial Arts and Life Long Learning

Yesterday I participated in the annual Bushido Alberta Open, which is one of the larger open martial arts tournaments in our fair province. I fought in six events: longsword, double-stick, sword & dagger, dagger, single stick, and black belt (point) sparring. And my son, Daveed, sparred in the event for his age group (6 & 7-year-olds). I'm pretty proud of him for his participation! He did really well, when you look at it. Was that other kid actually seven? He's a giant!



Yes, martial arts is a big part of my life. I teach a class every Tuesday evening here in Edmonton. It concentrates mostly on weapons, and is a complete system (meaning that it includes all modes of self defence, from unarmed to using improvised weapons to specific training with a variety of weapons, historical and modern).

Back to yesterday... My kids were both with me, and they both said that they had a lot of fun! I, of course, enjoyed myself, too. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't fun. :-) I managed to take two medals, both silver (one doesn't look silver, because they ran out of bronze medals, so were using gold for silver, and silver for bronze... odd); one for the sword and dagger, the other for the black belt point sparring. I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I was surprised I managed to do that! The last fight was one of the better fights I've had in years, as the techniques were so clean and crisp against the other guy (and from him, of course), that it was a lot like poetry in motion. I wish I had been able to film it. Not just to see what it was from an outsider's view, but also to analyze my fighting to see how I could improve. Yes, I know for a fact that I can greatly improve my skills! But learning and improvement is a life-long endeavour, regardless of what skills one is referring to.

I know that the martial arts is something that I will do as long as my body is fit enough for me to move well enough. And even then I will continue to try and learn. One thing I learned is that I am sorely out of shape! I woke up this morning and could hardly move, my muscles were so full of lactic acid. Ouch! Even now raising my right arm is painful in the shoulder muscles. It gives me more resolve to get into better shape, though. I want to be one of those old men, when I'm in my sixties and seventies, who runs circles around guys in their thirties. Heh heh! But lots of work to do before that happens. I figure it'll take me a year to get into the kind of shape that I want to be, with working out on a regular basis (at least 3 times per week). I know what I'm doing at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning...

Heart to Art

Explaining what my art is to me is never an easy thing. It's always complicated to explain something that is so broad and so diverse and has such an impact on my life. Art has always been important to me. In my high school year book everyone had to write what they wanted to be. I put "world famous artist". To me art has always meant more than just painting or drawing or sculpting. It also means writing. It means combining the two, which could mean illustrating my own work or someone else's writing. Or making the words themselves into a visual experience. 

"Split Earth" cuff bracelet

Yes, I do a variety of work. In the past year I've worried a lot about my art lacking a specific focus. I guess my whole life has been like that up until now. I've neglected my art career over the last decade quite a bit. In the 1990's I was in several juried shows, particularly for my silversmithing work, participated in group exhibitions, and had my work displayed in galleries throughout Western Canada. Could I even name one of those shows today? Nope... I lost all the information ages ago, probably when I moved to Germany, where I completed my MBA. That was a waste of time for me!

Well, maybe not completely. I did manage to visit some awesome galleries and museums. I got kicked out of the Louvre because I didn't hear the closing announcement and was still sketching and looking at work. <sigh> And I was about the 10th person in that day. I still didn't get to see everything I wanted, in that museum and several others. I'm hoping to go back again someday, perhaps when my kids are a little older. That way I can take them along and they can enjoy it, too.

I read a great quote from another artist earlier today:

"...I have stopped believing in a lot of what is thought of as art these days. It’s as if a couple of hundred, dull-headed middle-aged men and women – not just artists, but educators, curators, gallerists, and critics – have come up with a set of rules to define what real art and real artists are. The rules are vague and yet still as constrictive and moralistic as anything concocted by a Reformation cleric. Which is, I guess, exactly what one should expect since art became a kind of religion in the late 20th century, a cargo cult for the upper-middle-class, with the artists themselves playing make-shift shamen." - Hazel Dooney

It reminds me a lot of when I was in art school, back at the University of Calgary. It seemed that the professors were so pretentious and that if your art wasn't similar to theirs and what they thought art should be, it simply didn't matter. And even if you met all of the "technical" and other criteria that was outlined in an assignment, you could fail for their own judgement mattered most. It had to be the "art" they wanted it to be. And realism was greatly frowned upon at that time. It's one of the reasons that I switched my major from drawing to English composition (writing). And the dean of humanities almost didn't let me, because I had so many art courses that it was usually looked at as a double major. I bit the bullet and had art put on my transcript as a minor. Meh... I'm not sure it matters at all today. What I think matters most is the art itself.

Nowadays I make a lot of different things, artistically. I still do quite a bit of jewellery. And as drawing was my major, I do a lot of that. I sculpt. I make armour. I paint. My topics for all artistic mediums include landscapes, animals, people, historical and mythic subjects (my art professors hated that!), and some more controversial things. I'm very interested in fantasy, sexuality, and the human condition. And so I explore these things in my art and my writing. Even when I make jewellery I want it to be at least somewhat artistic. I rarely do anything that isn't like that any more (I'm glad I don't have to).

Art is truly the core of my heart. It is in everything I do and how I view the entire world. It influences everything I do - so it's no wonder it was such torture for me to be a full time accountant, which I did for a number of years (due to family pressure, particularly those I had married). I realized a couple of years ago that I had to live my life for me firstly. And then for my children. And that is all that matters, truly! My kids needed a sane dad. I was literally losing my hair and having a lot of health problems because of the stress of my life. And a huge portion of that was coming from doing work that I hated. Since I've been back to doing art full time, I've been healthier, happier, and easier to get along with. And my kids love that I can actually spend some real time with them! They their priorities straight -- they'd rather I spent time with them than worked tonnes and tonnes away from home to make a living. And being an artist allows me the flexibility to be with them on the days they live with me (they spend half of their time living with their mom).

With my kids I never have to explain my art. They simply accept that all the things I do are okay, and it doesn't have to fit into a particular style or genre or medium of work. I can make a leather belt with cool drawings all over it one day and the next day do the plans for a historical Norse Spangenhelm, complete with cool dragon knotwork in brass, then the next day work on an abstract drawing or painting, and a week later be doing something realistic. My son's favourite, of course, is when I draw monsters. He loves the fantasy theme work. And my daughter's favourites are my butterfly series and my fairies (sometimes I think I do those just for her) and one of my abstract paintings.

So, really, how do I define my art? There is no simple way to do so. I have to say that it is whatever inspires me, regardless of medium or topic, genre or style. My art ranges from the abstract to the comic, to realistic to fantasy, to wearable couture to the impractical and modern, from family oriented to sexually provocative. Maybe it's because I'm complex and don't fit into a simple mould. Nor would I want to. Life is much too interesting for that.