Bloganuary: Not that crazy business idea

blue book on pink background
Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

Come up with a crazy business idea.

Bloganuary 2024

I did a serious business plan when I studied entrepreneurship. It isn’t a crazy plan; it could be a serious one. My ideas aren’t crazy. They try to be as realistic as possible. The plan has changed since then. It was 2018. I must have been mad if I thought web design would be one of my services. You can call me a serial offender when it comes to making plans. But you are allowed to change your plans.

The general idea was to do digital graphic design. I would use my own photography and maybe sell them separately as well. My business would be for small and medium-sized companies based in Finland. Especially female entrepreneurs. My clients would also be foreigners living in Finland, so my clients could work with me in English. I can also work in the Swedish language. I’ve had clients when I studied web design, so working with people isn’t new. I liked it when I could work whenever I wanted, and for a while, I kept thinking about starting a graphic design business. I’m not a brave person who can start something like that. I don’t even have work experience in the field, and my portfolio isn’t super good. I thought about getting a part-time job, but I had no luck. I sent an application a few days ago but haven’t heard from them. Maybe that is a lost cause. It’s probably hopeless to get any work experience.

Having a business is a little romanticised. It’s hard work; they say it can take a few years to profit. That’s a bit of a turn-off. I don’t want to wait that long. I need to get money somewhere. It feels like I belong to a group of people who are destined to live on welfare. What worries me the most about having a business is finding paying clients. I don’t even get likes on Instagram. I have to like my own posts. Likes differ from getting a client, but marketing your business isn’t easy. Maybe it’s a crazy business idea of some sort, but it could also be a true one. I hope I can make a decision about what I truly want.

Hurrah for the Bloganuary Challenge 2024

sunset 2023
©️Mia Salminen 2023

What are your biggest challenges?

Bloganuary 2024

Welcome 2024. Hurrah for that and for the Bloganuary. The question for day 1 is, what’s the biggest challenge. Well, I have had those over the years, but that is the past. The biggest challenge has been getting a job, which is also one of them this year. I’m tired of getting ideas for jobs I don’t want. Why can’t I get a job that I have studied for?! It’s a bit frustrating. I wish I was brave enough to become an entrepreneur, but it’s complicated. I studied entrepreneurship some years ago because I had never gotten started. Maybe I don’t believe in my skills enough. You can’t start a business cold turkey. I don’t know if I could handle a part-time and keep a business. The last time I had a part-time job, I was too tired when the day ended. I couldn’t think clearly, and I only wanted to do relaxing things. It would be better if I would be a total entrepreneur instead. I could choose my own business hours.

That aside, the biggest challenge right now is getting out of bed. I like to sleep a little too much. I think I will start with some at the beginning of every year, but I never do. I should do better because I know I can and want to. We’ll see how things will go in 2024. Many things will happen this year in the world, so you never know what could happen. Let’s hope things won’t get worse. Hurrah for the new year, though.

The golden moment came and went

black cross across gold
Made in Canva

I have a temporary enthusiasm when it comes to interests. I get excited about one thing, but then the golden moment passes. For example, I applied for a job, and they would contact me the following week. Now it’s almost a month, and still no message. I could reach the place, but I’m no longer interested in the job. I prefer to apply for something else instead. I rarely get excited about things, but then when I do, it doesn’t take long. If there were ADHD for making decisions, I would probably have it. My mind is easily distracted. That’s maybe the reason why I have so much unfinished fictions.

I read a column about how you these days need to know what you want to do at 15. It was the same when I was that age; so things haven’t changed. In Finland, you can choose where to study after elementary school. You can go to high school or training school. I didn’t choose either. I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I knew I didn’t want anything ordinary. I went to a folk school for a year in education I didn’t want to be in. But my late mother said you need to start somewhere. I’ve had a few schools I didn’t want to be in, but that’s another story. The column reminded me of how many different subjects I’ve studied. It hasn’t got me a job, but I’m versatile. You don’t need to know what you want to be at 15. You have the right to change your mind. Your interests change. I don’t understand why people tell kids they must choose a career at a young age or they’ll be screwed. Everyone doesn’t know what they want to be. We can’t all be made in the same format. No wonder young people get stressed and depressed when they are lied to. Pressure is the worse kind of motivating factor. The golden moment might never happen but never say never. Life is about trying different things; try again if one doesn’t work.

I had an enthusiasm for becoming an entrepreneur. When I studied web design some years ago, I had a taste of working with clients. It appealed to me not having to go anywhere and working when I wanted. I even went on a course about entrepreneurship in 2018. I still had that as an option later on. But now I’m trying the easier way out, finding a job, because starting a business seems too much work and time-consuming. I’m not afraid of working hard, but I’m not getting any younger. Once, I wanted to become a professional photographer. I put all my thoughts into it. I studied it at the beginning of the 2000s. I enjoyed it for two months, but then I quit. One of the teachers put me off it. He was against digital cameras. It was only film cameras, and nothing else mattered. Developing film and all that was too difficult for me as well. I didn’t think about photography as a profession for years. Thanks to digital cameras, my interest in photography was on again. To make the story short. I came to the conclusion I wanted to do more than photography. It’s only been a hobby for me. It would be nice if I could also use it in a job.

People change, and interests change. What you wanted to do when you were a kid, you might not want when you’re an adult. People change jobs and careers every day. Everything is temporary. Once upon a time, people stayed in a job until they retired, but today and in the future, nothing lasts forever. Doing variable jobs during your lifetime is much better than doing one position for the rest of your life. I would feel trapped if I wasn’t allowed to do different things. I end this post with one of the ‘Lord of the rings’ quotes I can relate to.

“What do you fear, lady?” [Aragorn] asked.
“A cage,” [Éowyn] said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King