Do what you love!

I have to be honest, the blog has been one of the furthest things from my mind the past few weeks. It started with the flood in our basement, but that was cleaned up within a few days. Though we're still dealing with the aftermath of the insurance and cleaning company (and trying to figure out what happens now with everything that was destroyed), it is no longer the urgent disaster that it was.

But what has been all-consuming for me has been a new venture that I (and by exstention; our family) am starting. I'll admit it, I get distracted easily. As soon as something new and shiny comes along, I have difficulty not becoming all-consumed to the exclusion of everything else. It's something I'm working on!

The new venture is something I have been dreaming of for a few years now. I've talked of it often to family and friends, but it was always along the lines of "what if...?" or "if we ever won the lottery..." Chris a few weeks ago began to encourage me to look at the numbers and begin research to see if it would be viable, and the result is:

I am opening up my own yarn store!

Now, my research is not complete. One of the largest unknowns is on the market research end of things; at the moment I do not know just how much of a demand and interest there is to support such a store. I know our community has many knitters, crocheters, and fiber artists, but not if there is enough to support a full-fledged store.

There are several considerations, the first being that the store must be successful enough to allow me to hire a full time manager. I will not work in the store, for several reasons. For one; it will allow me to focus on being an entrepreneur, and not on the day-to-day operations, and second; it will allow me to continue to work at my day job without wearing myself out (or taking too much away from family time). Especially for the first few years I believe it's important to not throw all my eggs in one basket, and if the store turns out to not be financially successful, I will still have been working throughout it all.

So to test out the market I will operate the store at first on a smaller scale. Starting this June, the pilot project, operated out of our home, will open. It will be a part-time venture that will run for 12 months, at the end of which I will have a much better idea of what kind of market there is in the area. I am so excited!

Many people will tell you to find what you love or where your passion lies, and use that to make your living. So in my own way, that's what I am trying to do!

So I must ask for the pardon of my readers. Things are not the planning frenzy they once were, so I can now focus once more on this blog, and the home and garden aspects of my writing.

I am also working on a website for the store. Once it is complete, I will be moving any of the knitting and crafting patterns/tutorials over there (of course links will be posted!), and this site will once more focus on the "homesteading" parts of our lives.

Oh, and for anyone following the news, I refuse to omit the words "urban homestead" from the blog. I will continue to use, and encourage others to do so as well and not back down. If you have no idea what I am talking about, check it out here.