{Quit Your Day Job, featuring Lisa From Scratch}

Editors note:
It has been 8 lovely months since I quit my day job to work on Gussy Sews full time — and to help celebrate the anniversary of this little dream of mine, I’ve got a handful of artists lined up over the next week or so to share their “I quit my day job” story with you :] I’m pumped!

Stay tuned for many more stories of encouragement, inspiration and how-to with my {Quit Your Day Job} mini-series.

Bio:

I’m Lisa, a 20-something wife and momma to two furbabies, with an intense and insatiable desire to create. I am a mostly self-taught sewist {as my husband calls me} and create makeup bags, tote bags and all kinds of little odds and ends. I also dabble in digital design.

I try to challenge myself with each new project I try.

The Interview:

1. What were some ways you prepared to become a handmade biz owner {your day-to-day schedule, financially, emotionally, etc.}?
I can’t say that I had much of a plan when I quit my job. It was the perfect storm of being frustrated with my job, craving the freedom to create, wanting to prep for trying to get pregnant and this new hobby I had picked up: sewing. Once I quit, I had the realization that I didn’t really know what I was doing and hadn’t planned very well. It took me a few weeks to get the wheels turning. I created a budget, made infinite lists and was constantly researching new things to try. I had started an Etsy page the year before for jewelry, and didn’t have much luck. So I made up a bunch of bags and started from there.

2. Share with us a positive “ah-hah” moment from this process.
My first “ah-ha!” moment was just a few weeks into starting this new venture. I received an e-mail from a woman who was interested in making a bulk order for her new line of organic baby products. I went back and forth with her for about a week trying to pin down what she wanted. It forced me to create a spreadsheet and really look at the numbers part of this project. I’m not good with numbers, so I enlisted the help of my smarty-pants husband and he did the math with me to be able to give her a quote. Even though it didn’t end up working out it was a great experience. I got to feel an incredible excitement at the thought of someone potentially wanting me for a project of this undertaking, and also how complicated the business aspect of this “hobby” can be.

3. What was the time frame from when you decided you were going to quit to when you actually put in your notice/took some serious steps toward becoming self-employed?
I first started talking about quitting my job this past summer. I quit my job at the beginning of September. It wasn’t an incredibly long time. But it seemed like from the first time the thought crept into my head, it was all I could think of. By the time I gave my notice I was so miserable while I was at work, I don’t think anyone was surprised that I left.

4. What was your first day like as a handmade biz owner? Describe your feelings, were you really excited? Did it seem soooo weird to be home/self-employed? Share this moment with us.
The first day I was home with my sewing machine it almost didn’t seem real. It took me awhile to shake the feeling that I was supposed to be somewhere else. I sewed several bags that day and I remember when my husband came home I met him at the door to show him what I had made. I was so proud of myself!

5. Do you write out a “schedule” for each day? How do you divide and organize your time?
I am an organizational nut job. I use the Daily Docket from Simple Mom, a planner and at any given time have about 6,000 post-its floating around with notes to myself. Oh, and there’s the white board on the fridge… I have mild obsessive compulsive disorder, so its imperative that I stay organized and have a plan or I can’t get anything done. The more lists I have the better off I am. I usually block my schedule by an hour at a time. Not doing the same thing for a long stretch of time helps me stay more productive.

6. What is a current challenge are you facing, and how do you plan to overcome it?
The current challenge is marketing. I am trying to make strides to advertise and to get my name out there as much as possible. Though I realize that you have to spend money to make money, as I am a fledgling business I don’t have piles of money to throw around. My plan is to start small and work my way up to advertising on multiple blogs. Starting here. :]

7. What are three tips you can to pass along to someone that’s ready to make the leap? :]
Tip 1: don’t wait for the “perfect moment” to take the leap. You have to make your perfect moment. If you let yourself make a lot of excuses, there will always be another reason not to take a chance. Tip 2: be patient. Things are not going to happen overnight. I struggle most with this, as I am incredibly impatient. Work hard and try your best, that’s all anyone can do. Tip 3: network, network, network. There are a million social media platforms out there, get your name into cyberspace. Start small like I did and create an Etsy page. Twitter, post your creations on Facebook, share them on Tumblr. Just share them any way you can.

Connect with Lisa ~
blog
twitter
shop
etsy