Tag: business

One year ago today death showed its face again

Mia5 Comments
grave stone and candle
©Mia Salminen 2025

Today, it’s been a year since my Dad passed away. It was February 8, 2024, and about 11 o’clock when they called from the hospital to tell me he was no more. A year goes fast. I still have things to do, like going through his clothes. But life has moved on, and I have had other things on my mind. Sometimes, I wish he was here, but maybe it was for the best. You never know when death will show its face. It was good that some things were done before he died.

My Dad was a goldsmith who owned a business for 30 years. He continued even after he retired. It was one of his ways of doing something. He was a very good drawer, and he designed the jewellery he made. He made white golden diamond and zircon rings, pendants and earrings. He had a sales rep from whom he got orders from. But then the sales prep died, so Dad began to think about quitting the business. He decided to stop, and at the end of 2023, he sold the business premises. Ultimately, it was good it happened because fewer problems existed for me.

One of his last works was this ring (and a few earrings that were the same set). As the daughter of a goldsmith, I had access to jewellery without having to buy them. I have a lot of different kinds of jewellery, including yellow and white gold rings and pendants. If he tried new designs, I got to try them, so I might have pieces no one else has. It won’t get me rich if I sell them. No one else, for that matter. I haven’t used them for years because I’ve had rashes on my hands. I wore a necklace that my Dad made once last Christmas. For special occasions, I can wear them. Maybe I could begin to wear rings again every day as I did before.

golden ring on finger
©Mia Salminen 2024

No one is perfect, and my dad wasn’t either, but he was still my father, and I’m grateful for that. We didn’t agree on some things, but we got along great mostly. I hoped to have him around a little longer, but we spent a lot of quality time together, and that’s what matters.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17

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Christmas balls, stars and light part 17
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Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

Daily Writing Prompt

Day 17

I didn’t think a year ago that my Dad would have passed away, for starters. You don’t expect something like that to happen. In January, he was hospitalized with inflammation of the pancreas, and on February 8, he was gone. I still feel sad when I think about it. His memory wasn’t as it used to be, and people say, in a way, it was a relief for me that I didn’t have to go through with his memory loss. That’s true, but he would still be here, and I wouldn’t be alone. He would have turned 80 on March 25. My mother died when she was 68. It makes me wonder how long I got, but with death, you never know. If you stay in that darkness, your life will be wasted. You go through grief for a while, but then you need to move on. Tears will fall occasionally, but then you keep living because that’s what your loved ones want.

A year ago, I didn’t think I would still be unemployed, but then again, I’m not surprised. Looking for work is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Apparently, it’s the same with finding clients for your business. That’s what I thought a year ago as well, to become an entrepreneur. But I have kept putting it off. If you have no clients, there is no business. That’s one of the reasons why I haven’t started. I can’t live on my savings forever. I’ve taken courses on how to be active on social media and how to promote yourself. But what worries me the most is what, if nothing, of those courses will get me clients. Have I wasted my time and money on nothing? Maybe I’m not good enough to be an entrepreneur. Perhaps I’m the problem, and I can’t learn anymore. Being active and posting regularly on social media isn’t the only solution. Those post needs to have decent content. You can’t post only for the sake of it. Starting something is the hardest, but you shouldn’t get into the darkness of your fears and worries. I look at my personal Instagram and see the lack of traffic there; it doesn’t give me much confidence in my professional one. You can’t compare those two because their purpose is different. Luckily, I will have people there to push me forward with my goals.

I don’t picture life ahead because you never know what will happen. Things may have changed a year from now. A lot can happen, whether it’s personal or worldwide. Life is short; it’s only how you live it. You can do something about some things, but there are things you can’t. As Gandalf in Lord of the Rings said,

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”

The only that’s certain in this life is death and paying taxes. I certainly don’t want to do the first one in a long time.

Failure is not an option

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failure is not an option
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Ever had the thought that no matter how many times you try, you feel like a failure? You don’t get the attention you’re looking for. When no one else believes in you, giving up is easier. But nothing would be new if everyone thought the same, and the world wouldn’t have evolved as it is. Everybody won’t become great inventors, but we can do something about our lives. You can either work for others, or you can work for yourself. The latter is the hard way, which scares or worries people, including me. I don’t want to fail because that’s not an option. I don’t have time to start over again. That’s one reason I haven’t taken the step I wish to take, the fear of failure. I’ve failed in different ways. Whether it’s been education or finding a job. Certain things you can’t do yourself, like getting a job. That’s more about luck than failure. I’ve been luckier getting into a school I applied to than getting a job. They say you have a better chance of getting a job if you educate yourself, but in my experience, that isn’t true. Maybe it’s true in some occupations but not in mine.

My biggest fear the most is not being able to pay the bills if I become an entrepreneur. To be paid for a job, you need clients. It’s easier to search for a job but that haven’t happened to me, so I’m seriously thinking about becoming one. I’m already active on social media and have take courses about different approached to online marketing. But my worry is that despite doing what needs to be done, I still don’t get any clients. Am I wasting my time and should I forget about it? Maybe my business plan or dream clients doesn’t exist? What if I’m not good enough because I don’t have work experience and that’s the reason I don’t find clients? Those are the questions I keep asking myself. I don’t want to take the risk to have a business, if I have to wait couple of years to make a profit. Then a job with someone else would be better or being unemployment with benefits. Fortunally, with good planning and good confidence in my skills it won’t take that long. You don’t need to struggle with problems alone because there are people who can help.

I know I work better in an environment that I can control. I’ve been to workplaces where I didn’t feel I belonged. I don’t want to do a job I don’t want to do. Life shouldn’t be about doing things you’re not meant for. I believe you should follow your dreams even if they seem impossible in some other persons eyes. There are always people who hope you fail but that’s because they’re not brave enough to do anything about their own hopes and dreams. When my late Dad worked for another company before he started his own, there were people who were jealous because he made more money than them. But that didn’t stop him from doing a job. He started his company in 1990 and quit at least 2 years before his death this year. He had his ups and downs financially, but his occupation was different from mine. He was a goldsmith and that was an uncertain business. I followed from the sidelines how having a business worked, so I know how it is. He could chose his own hours and that’s more my style too. I’m not meant to do 9-5 jobs and people breathing down my neck. I want to be able to be myself and not try to act to be someone I’m not.