Thought I'd give a bit of a personal update for those who might be interested. :)
Once again, I ended up in a crazy busy period from as far back as I can remember... I keep promising myself that I will take on fewer projects, but I still keep insanely busy. The month of May about did me in. I have never felt so much pressure before! It seems that having 2 businesses (my graphic/web design business and my craft business) is crazy for one, plus volunteering to do a ton of graphic design work for my church for two, and having company from out of town for three and my kids' extra end-of-the-year recitals, projects, parties, field trips, etc.; well all those things together were insane. Making me insane.
Once again, now that I can catch my breath again, I am questioning all of it. I know I have to limit something! I just can't figure out what to drop. Do I close my craft business (again)?
The Pros of closing it: I could do crafts to fun again and not always have to worry about marketability, etc.. I could stop feeling the pressure I always have because people always want their orders NOW. I could catch up on the projects I already have going for my own family. It's not an income producer for me because I never charge enough to really do more than break even, if that.
(Why don't I charge enough? That's a side story that has to do with undervaluing my own work b/c of my stupidly low self-esteem.)
The Cons: I would miss the thrill of the sale when people tell me they love my products.
Is that a crazy reason to keep doing it? Here's the compromise I'm thinking of. Close my craft website temporarily. See how it feels. Maybe reopen it as an etsy account in which I charge the prices I need to to stop losing money and see what happens...
The other solution I see is to stop doing so much volunteer work for church. I spend 20-30 hours per week doing design work that I don't get paid for. I enjoy doing it, but it really takes a lot of my time.
I'm a terrible decision maker. Every time I jump into a final decision to take a step like volunteer less or close my craft business, I end up feeling guilty or missing it and then taking it back on again.
You all must think I'm hopelessly confused! I think I need you guys to decide for me! I'm so terrible at decisions!
