I've been feeling a little blue every now and then and I think I finally managed to pin point why that is.
I primarily work alone, from my home and therefore I have learnt how important it is to reach out to people in order to not get completely immersed in the solitude of working by yourself.
My work with weaving has the added effect of being like meditation and sometimes I find myself going really deep within, maybe deeper than what is good for a pensive soul like myself.
With the abundance of activity on (a)social media I am surprised I haven't ran into more articles about how lonely it actually it is to be working as an independent craft entrepreneur.
And judging on the increase of craftspeople selling homemade goods on Etsy, there must be an abundance of people alone being faced with a one-man work community.
Mind you I'm not complaining, I actually quite fancy working on my own, but sometimes I get really starved for human contact.
It helps that I still have one foot in the school I'm finishing my studies in, but I rarely go there for classes anymore.
The nature of my work has got me seeking out creative cooperation opportunities and of course I attend seminars and business events like Barents Reunion whenever I can.
Speaking of which, my own school Lapland University of Applied Sciences invited me to speak at one of their student seminars earlier this month, to share some of my entrepreneurship path so far. How great is that of them to think of me!
The event went well even though I was nervous to speak to so many students. Plus, I was honoured to be among speakers like Jan-Erik Leutola from Treeform , maker of Ilahu powder surfboards and Finland's former prime minsiter Matti Vanhanen among other inspiring people. Cool!
My main points I wanted to get across to students who are interested in entrepreneurship were the following:
Focus not only product development, but also on personal development; in other words learn to work your mojo!
Learn to set goals for yourself, apart from many smaller goals to keep you on your way, set on big goal that'll keep you motivated for a lifetime
Sharing your process with actual people also outside of social media is important.
Work really hard, and remember that entrepreneurship is an attitude, not a job!
