When I purchased Seth Godin’s book, ‘It’s Your Turn’, Seth issued a challenge to post a story a day. Every day. For 7 days.
I took up the challenge.
And chose to share insights into the values that influence the way I live.
And the way I run my business, The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies.
This is Day 6.
Is Your Business Your Lifestyle? Your Love? Or Just Plain Work?
I’m Carol Jones. And I’m the purveyor of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies.
Not everyone can work for themselves.
But those of us that do are able to carve out a distinctive way of life.
That’s vastly different to those who work for other people.
Having owned my own businesses since 1983, it’s true to say that most of my friends are men and women who also own their own businesses.
Because.
Like.
Attracts Like.
And it’s also important to have common ground with those who are your friends.
When reflecting on my friends who own their own businesses, I can’t think of one friend whose business isn’t also their lifestyle.
And their love.
We all get grumpy about aspects of our business.
But when the crunch comes, those of us who start our own business, rather than inherit a family business, set out to develop a lifestyle that the business fits into. Because we’re building businesses around our skills. And our talents.
Some do it consciously.
Some unconsciously.
A friend who’s a mechanic owns a service station in a nearby rural town. I’ve known him and his wife for over 20 years. They raised their two children in the bowels of the garage.
Because both were working in the business, the children were brought to work every day until they entered school. And came to the service station every day after school. To ride their bikes. And play within sight of both mum and dad.
Those two children are now adults. Both worship their parents. And have a close bond as a family unit that I see lacking in other families.
My partner and I have carved out a lifestyle that’s the envy of our friends.
And customers.
I run my worldwide online business from our remote rural property in the picturesque hills of the Central Tablelands of NSW.
We live and work in one of the most scenic and gorgeous locations in Australia.
I work long days.
I start at 4am. So I can be in contact with my customers on the other side of the world during their ‘awake’ hours.
And I rarely shut down my desktop before 7pm at night.
7 days a week.
My weekend is spent keeping an eye on online and telephone orders while I get on with my two favourite hobbies.
Every Saturday I have a date with my kitchen. And spend the day baking.
Bread. Cookies. Cakes.
While tripping down memory lane listening to my favourite CD’s.
Sunday is spent with my partner in our hectare of garden. Attending to whatever needs to be done.
Listening to the choir of the more than 110 species of birds that fly in. And fly out. Of our garden every year.
My partner, Victor Pleshev, an architect, and the designer of my product range, also designed and built a second home on our property for his mother, Margarita, to live in.
Which she did for 14 years.
That home is now a beautiful guest house on the 54 hectares that we live and work from.
And is called Meadow House Getaway.
Meadow House because it sits in a meadow shaded by hundreds of tall Scribbly Gums and Eucalyptus Yellow Box trees.
And Getaway because our location is so remote, and our rural property is so beautiful, it’s the perfect place to ‘getaway’ to . . .
Relax.
Renew.
And recover.
And is a destination for couples who really want to escape from the hubbub of city life.
To recharge their batteries.
Meadow House is a full time business project for Victor.
Not only are there guests to book.
And welcome.
But there’s the constant marketing to be done to make sure Meadow House is never out of the public eye.
Since 1994, we’ve spent every day carving out our dream life.
Creating.
Developing.
Massaging.
Adapting to changes as we take this journey in life.
And yes.
It’s been – and still is – WORK!
But the WORK has been about doing something that we love doing.
And at the end of the day, that actually doesn’t seem like WORK.
We’re always told to do something that we love.
And we need to recognise that that’s work too.
But a different kind of work.
It’s interesting work.
Because we’re creating something for ourselves.
Not for someone else.
You can be a talented graphic designer.
And be in love with what you do.
But the reality is that handling clients all day. And satisfying their needs. Can be very tiresome. And trying.
But you get through it because your love of graphic design is the magnet that pulls everything together for you.
Every day.
Because graphic design and working for yourself feeds your soul.
If you don’t love what you do.
And your business isn’t part of your lifestyle.
May I suggest that what you’re doing falls into the category of just plain dull and boring work?
It’s a chore. Without any additional benefits.
And may I ask why, with the freedom you have to own your own business, and the ability to carve out a way of life that’s unique for you, why you choose to be no different than those who work 40 hours a week ‘for the man’?
~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤
PS. You can read ‘Our Story. How We Built A Worldwide Business From Broke’. Here.
And this is the link to Seth’s Book, It’s Your Turn. Highly recommended.
I Am The Purveyor Of The Tantrum Free Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies
Made with love and care in RURAL Australia by men and women who have a disability.
It’s not for everyone.
But it’s definitely for you if you’re fussy about the cover you iron on.
And if you love to support Australian made.
And want to put something back into the community when you make a purchase.
The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover cover has more than 350,000 customers in 29 countries. Because it lives up to its name. It ‘Fitz Like A Glove™’ every time you iron.
And these are the ‘Other Goodies’
Like this post? Share it with your family and friends on . . .
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The share button is at the end of this post.
Have a question? Email me.
Or phone me, Carol Jones, in rural Australia on 02 63 588 511.
Photos of my rural property are courtesy of me, Ironing Diva – who is also known as Paddock Paparazzi – and taken at sunrise every morning.
Sunrise In Morning Fog
PS. And I have a fabulous newsletter ‘A Smidgen Of Gossip’. This is what a subscriber says about it. “Carol. Just had some time to read it and found that it is, as with everything you do, rather wonderful. A great read. W” You can subscribe to it by clicking this link. It’s FREE! This is not a lifetime commitment. You can Unsubscribe at any time. Don’t miss out. Click this link now!
Paddock Grass At Sunrise
