<aside> 💼 Before moving home, I told my design friends it would be 5-10 years before I went out on my own, but it ended up being 5-10 months.
</aside>
I knew 10 years ago that someday I would own a small business. It's one of those things that I'm glad I didn't know the specifics of until it happened, like childbirth or selling a house. I don't think I would have gone through with it if I'd known the path it took to get there.
In hindsight, I probably should have taken a run at this sooner. The immediate benefits are:
My favorite space in the house — a literal hideout.
The obvious hurdles, and reasons I was reluctant to take the leap for so long are:
Those last two bullet points are the biggest reasons I was so afraid to leave my in-house design job. Without recent events unfolding the way they have, I may very well still be working in-house — although one could argue it's more likely I'd be delivering pizzas, because I hated my most recent in-house job (another journal entry for another time).
Regarding health insurance: My wife recently accepted a job at the local children's hospital and after ten months of staying home with the kids (and me) she's ready to go back to work. I'm a little nervous about flying solo as the stay-at-home dad 2-3 days a week, but mom's new gig has solved our insurance problem. Because of this, I share my experience from a position of privilege, but I digress (not really).
<aside> 🧼 Until our country recognizes that healthcare is a right everyone should have, I acknowledge that it's not that simple for most people. Unfortunately, this limits who can start their own business on their own time.
</aside>
As for the money situation, like most designers I know, I've been freelancing on my own for nearly my entire career. After wrapping two large projects near the end of 2020, I'd cushioned the blow of losing a regular paycheck by nearly two months — it would have been three, but leaving my job within 2 years required me to pay back nearly all of the $6,000 I'd been given in signing bonuses and relocation assistance. That runway, along with a couple solid leads, gave me the courage I needed to finally go it alone. No more excuses.