Small business | Running… with Autism

I am working on a project all about Thanks next year. I can’t hardly wait…but I have to exercise patience while we wait for people to make decisions, agree to ideas and come to the table with the support needed to make this effort as huge as we want it to.
While we wait, I have been reflecting on what I’m Thankful for after living through a fairly turbulent albeit incredibly exciting year. Below are a few “Thankfuls” I have realized have been a major part in getting me to where I am these days… happy, fulfilled, and getting closer to balanced every day.

From Twitter to Wine to Work/Life Balance, life is good.

I am Thankful for a husband who is truly a partner & gets that in this period of our lives he is the cheerleader, supporter, parent, chief bottle washer and laundry keeper upper. These days I have definitely been the worker bee (this pendulum has swung many times throughout our relationship) but I think he sees that I am energized and excited by what I’m doing vs coming home in a big giant stressball.

I am Thankful that being forced into a career change has helped create a much stronger work/life balance than I’ve ever had before in my life. I had a friend recently post on her blog about the time element of work/life balance, discussing the fact that you are never really “on” and “off” working freelance or for yourself. I look at it from a different perspective and see all the other positive elements of that work/life balance, opportunities I have had a chance to enjoy since starting up my business again. A few examples…I can take my son to his speech pathology appt every week without having to beg permission or explain to a boss: I have been able to volunteer at my children’s school, which feels good and right: I can choose when to go workout to stay healthy and focused (certain weeks it doesn’t always work, but I am doing it a heck of a lot more than when I was working corporate side): and my overall happiness is balanced and positive..I don’t rush to get out of the house in the morning…I take a deep breath to enjoy a quiet moment at times…because I can.

I am Thankful that I am working on projects that truly resonate with me vs. slogging/marketing products for the sake of a paycheque. Figuring out and coming into my own on what I like to do, the strategy I enjoy developing and the social media engagement that plays a major role in my business.

I am Thankful for Social Media. I think in a world of working on your own and working from remote locations, Twitter and Facebook is a way to keep in touch..meet around the virtual water cooler and maintain that base social need people have to stay connected. I am also incredibly Thankful for Twitter. In the past year, I have met online and in real life, some of the most beautiful (and hilarious) people I have ever had the privilege of getting to know. I have such fondness for so many of them and enjoy the daily laughter, quips, support and encouragement that these tweeps have sent my way, and I in turn want to do the same.

I am Thankful that I can now fit into Banana Republic sizing (They have fabulous work/life balance cross-over clothing for the fabu working from home gig) because of actually getting into exercising and running specifically, learning to endure it and proudly achieving some major accomplishments this year.

I am Thankful for wine…this just an ode to the fact that a glass of wine can somehow magically soothe the day away, be enjoyed at a party, insinuate a romantic moment, and be the perfect company to a girls night out…

I am Thankful for friends. Real life, got your back, biggest fan, encouraging friends. I didn’t realize how deeply those friendships went until so many changes happened in our lives. When I lost my job, I got Congratulations : When I decided to start my business again, I got absolute faith that I could accomplish it: When T was diagnosed, we got “what can we do?”: When I don’t know how to talk about Autism and the roller coaster of emotions I have felt, they have listened, talked, hugged, been a shoulder, asked questions and quietly waited until we have found the ability to ask for help..Those friends have gotten me through so much and I cannot express to them how much I love them but hopefully as they read this post, they realize how very special they are. THANK YOU.

I used to work for a very well known brand and had a very awesome job…but sometimes when certain perspectives are thrown in… “very awesome” is not all that great. I had plenty of privileges and access to VIP events but it also took me away from my family, required me to work many 14-16 hr days, late into the evening and impacted my personal life.

What a difference a year makes..I believe that everything happens for a reason and that reason is now perfectly clear. You see, I was in the automotive industry in the middle of the recession and was part of the many lay-offs that happened during that time. At first I was hurt, deeply heartbroken that I (after working so hard for the business) was one of the ones let go.. But I had been making noises about travelling too much and had asked to be considered for a contract position in order to have a better quality of that whole work/life balance everyone looks for.

Right as I was let go was at the height of T’s problems at daycare…he was getting more and more aggressive, that kid who bit or hit or didn’t play nicely with other children. There were a number of parents who got very adamant about not having our “bad” kid anywhere near theirs…aggressive in fact and we were devastated. So I pulled him from that daycare. Instead, we hired our babysitter for the summer to fully engage our two children and give them opportunities to grow. The change in T was instantaneous…the biting stopped, the aggression died down, everything became far more manageable….and I started my own business.

Which is kind of funny because I have also heard that raising a special needs child is like running a small business…so I guess I’m running 2 businesses..Not sure if I am running either well but hey..this is officially my learning curve. My husband will tell you that I do good work but that I am THE worst administrative business owner on the planet.While I’m not sure the planet, I am going to agree that I am pretty bad at it..

So why did this all happen this way? What if I hadn’t started my own thing? I can ONLY imagine how absolutely challenging it would be “corporately” to coordinate the necessity of the daytime appts or how taxing it would be to be travelling and try to work with my husband to manage all the scheduled requirements…having my business affords me the luxury of working when I want and when I need to but also being able to be there for our son. I am quickly becoming accustomed to the need for flexibility and learning that the “need to succeed’ can easily be tempered with the “need to provide” the best opportunities for T.

For awhile I was a terrible supplier…just couldn’t manage to get my stuff together professionally and adjust to this change in our lives. But somehow now…I’m back..and I’m changing. My viewpoint on life and business has become more about what do I need to do sustain vs what do I need to do to become a million dollar business. And shockingly for the first time in my life, that’s ok..I’m still kinda weirded out that that is ok but for now, I’m totally going with it…

Running… with Autism

Tag: Small business

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