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We were lucky to catch up with Naomi Clement recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Naomi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
To be honest, I was a pretty reluctant entrepreneur—I really resisted the idea of being my own boss and running a business. I’m a pretty risk-averse person, and as a single human, it always felt really scary to run a business. But I find it suits me pretty darn well! While there are certainly times that I wish I had a regular job, and had someone telling me what to do, I definitely couldn’t go back to that. I love the flexibility and creativity of running my own business. I’ve learned to see it as another extension of my creative practice.
The last time I had that thought “wouldn’t it be nice to have a job to go to and have someone tell me what to do” was probably February. I’ve always struggled with seasonal depression/anxiety, so February in Canada can be rough. During those times it’s hard to find the motivation and inspiration that’s needed to run a business. But ultimately I realized I just need to plan differently for that time of year, so that I can take some time off, or get a hit of vitamin D. That and learning to outsource more—that’s been the biggest lesson that I’ve needed to learn of late. I can’t do it all myself, so I’m better off hiring people to help support the aspects that I either hate, or am not as good at. That frees me up to focus my energy on things that I am good at and that I love to do. It’s a big mindset shift for sure.
Looking to get a jump start on your career? In my Professional Practices course I take you through all the things I wish I'd known when I was first starting out as an artist.
