Ideas and Buddha

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”- Buddha

I have a sketch book, scraps of paper, post-it notes by my nightstand filled with ideas and drawings of things I'd like to make or attempt to make.  But they often languish on their pages for months and sometimes years before I even manage to find the time to bring them into being.

Sometimes because I've waited so long before trying my idea the whole passion for it has faded into the background and it takes alot of effort to bring it back out and recall all the specifics about what I wanted to do with said idea.  Then my self-doubt will creep in and I'll start thinking, what if I waited too long and there's no longer a need or a market for this? What if I "missed the boat" already?  What if people hate it or find it lame?  Why didn't I just sit down and do it?

Don't wait.

If you have a great idea, get it out there.

Use your note pad and jot it down, but get crackin' and get it made up.  Breathe life into it.

The world deserves to see and experience your idea and your awesomeness.

Fulfillment?

I’ve decided that when we have a second house we will have a big yard with lots of trees, but a sunny spot for garden, and a basement area for canning stuffs. And I’m going to have a garden and I’m going to can things. Delicious things. I will also have a sewing room that has lots of light and 3 kids....and maybe a hamster.

But 3 kids might be pushing it. I might be too old by then and my uterus might be tired and dusty or maybe both. You know because 30 something is "old" to be having kids and rough housing with them.

BAHAHAHAHA!

Callouses

Callouses happen when you work hard. You can get them anywhere where tough skin is required, but what about business callouses?

How toughened is your skin to those bad days? Can you cope? Do you press on with the knowledge that the end result will be good?
I like to think I'm getting my business callouses started. I press ahead when times are super busy or super tough. When the hours are long I remember that hard work will get me ahead. I try to rest easy knowing that I can always BE better. It's not easy and occasionally you have to exfoliate those bad days down and remember what it was like when you first had an inkling to start a business.

It's a balance.

The Things No One Can Tell You

No one can ever tell you everything they've learned from experience about running their business. So here's what I've been learning and experiencing over the past 10 months.No one can ever tell you when you cross the line between a business and a hobby. When does it happen? It's not like after you've sold "X" amount of gadgets you're suddenly legit. I think it happens when you realize how much you need to organize and keep track of your expenses, when you see you're making a profit instead of just putting it back into supplies or maybe it happens when you make that first sale.I think I've fallen into all three here. I need to get more organized about my expenses and get official starting in December. I hope that I won't owe anything already but there's alot I'm paranoid about. I've always been paranoid about how business taxes work. Like:

-will I be over taxed-Will it become a hassle to collect-how do I keep good records of my sales
-will I under pay on taxes
-will I owe
-do I need business insurance
-how the hell do I file them? quarterly? yearly? bi-yearly?
-Do I only need to charge for the state of Ohio tax,
-do I charge county tax of where my business is based.
-What if I don't sell anything in State do I still pay taxes?If only there were classes on this stuff in my area. I'm sure there are but how on earth do I find out?

Our county office is a cess pool of fail so I'm more than intimidated about finding out how the heck I go about this becoming "Official" bit.I feel better writing it all out. It means I'm seriously pondering all this madness. I'm not trying to evade anyone or anything it just feels so overwhelming. I mean will it be a benefit to be official like this? I don't know? It's not like I can say, oh wait I've changed my mind unregister me!I know a lawyer I'm sure she can advise me in the legal matters of taxes and whatnot or at least push me in the right direction of where to seek out the answers.Personally it's exciting and scary all at the same time. My family doesn't really have any entrepnuers, my dad's dad was, but that was AGES ago. It would go along with all the other first I've been thru in my life. 1st Born, 1st to Graduate HS, 1st to go to College, 1st to be financially independent, 1st house.....all that stuff. Being new to something shouldn't scare me, but it does. It's always the unknown that frightens people the most. So I'll just have to do what I do every time I try something new and that's research, think, and leap.