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Reality Check| 5 Facts About Running my Home-Based Business that May Surprise You

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One of the things I enjoyed so much at the Haven Conference was getting to “peek behind the curtain,” if you will, to see the real lives of these home decor bloggers I have been following for years.

What you see online is so often the staged, edited, best-versions of ourselves, our homes, and our businesses.

After all, our job is to share beautiful and inspiring images–who needs pictures of my messy kitchen and toy-strewn living room?

But it’s nice sometimes though to get that behind-the-scenes look.  

As a blogger, sharing that side of ourselves (the side that shows reality) is a way that we can remind our readers that we are just normal people with normal lives.

So to have a little fun today, I want to pull back the curtain and share what it really looks like to run Lost & Found. It’s not always quite as glamorous as it may seem 🙂

Here are 5 facts about running my home-based business that may surprise you

1.  I don’t have a good system for storing the furniture pieces I am working on.  

They are piled in my garage, and when that gets too full (or it gets to be the hot summer and parking the car in the garage is a must), they will spill over onto my back porch and even my dining room.

And when its hot like this I will paint inside, either in my kitchen or in my living room.

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My boys have learned and they know to not touch Mommy’s furniture while it’s being painted.

Sometimes I will throw down a drop cloth, but quite often not.

I can get pretty lazy about that, and would rather wipe paint off the floor later than take the time to dig out a drop cloth before I get started.

I’m hoping to one day have a storage shed, but for now, it is what it is.

Random furniture just takes over our house.

2.  I don’t make a ton of money on my blog.  

Some bloggers do very well blogging and can earn a full-time income from it.  For whatever reason though, that hasn’t been my story.  In my years of blogging, I think I have made less than $2000 in ad revenue.  $300 a year is not too amazing!

But every little bit helps, and I’m hoping that after implementing some things I learned at Haven, I may be able to do a better job monetizing my blog in the future.

This blog has brought about a good bit of indirect income, as a way of promoting my business and now Fusion Mineral Paint.

Plus, I just enjoy the process of connecting with readers and offering information that helps others.

But if you assume that every blogger out there is raking it in from their blog . . . well, that’s not reality.

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3. Speaking of money, I pay taxes.

Just because my business is run out of my home doesn’t mean I get to skip out on Uncle Sam or the state of Texas.

My two rented retail locations collect and pay in my TX state sales tax for me, but anytime I sell a piece from my home or from a weekend market, I am responsible for paying in the sales tax myself.

Also, each year I file my federal taxes and typically owe a decent little bit to the US government.

So 100% of the cash I make doesn’t wind up in my pocket, the tax man still gets his little piece of the pie.

4. I don’t have a regular babysitter to help with my kids.  

People all the time ask me, “How do you have time to do what you do with those three little boys?”

I’m betting the assumption may be that I have regular help–whether family that lives nearby or paid help–but I don’t.

With the exception of this summer, when I hired a sitter for 2 hours one morning a week, I have never had a mother’s helper or a daycare for when I need to work.

Nor do I have family that lives nearby . . . My husband and I are the only Texas residents on each side of our family.

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Now I’m not saying that to sound prideful or to make you feel bad for me, just to be real.

My main job is to be a mom to my boys, and so I’ve had to find a way to wear both my “Mom” and “Business Owner” hat.

During the school year, my kids are in school all day, but in the past my youngest would spend two days a week at preschool.

I maximize that at-school time by trying to get most of my projects done then.

I also work on things a lot in the evenings, after dinner when my husband is home.

I have a very helpful husband whose work schedule is quite flexible, which makes a lot of what I do possible.  I have also learned though that my boys can do a pretty incredible job of entertaining themselves if I let them be, and in the long run I think having that ability will be to their benefit.

I am by no means a “helicopter parent.”

So during the summer days, my kids are off playing a lot by themselves–running around outside, playing together upstairs, or just doing their own things.

While they are busing being kids I get things done.

And when they want me to sit down and play with them, I can usually set aside my projects to meet their relational needs, then they are ready to run back off on their own again.

It works for us.

5. Work on my own home gets done very, very, very slowly.

Remember this bathroom project?

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I started making over this bathroom in February, and it’s still not done.

And remember my project of painting my kitchen cabinets?

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I painted this one section at Christmastime, and guess how much more has been painted?

Yep, none.  I have a kitchen with 3 white cabinets.  And I have no idea on when I will get around to finishing the rest.

Life is full of family time and business time, so finding time to work on my own home projects is way down on the priority list.

I don’t like to live in a chaotic, unfinished state, but it’s just the way life works right now. I’m trying to embrace it.

So if you ever look at mine, or other blogger’s DIY projects and think, “I could never have the time to do that!” take a deep breath, and remember my 8 month long bathroom renovation.

Being a stay-at-home mom and running your own home-based business is a wonderful privilege.

But it’s never as easy or as pulled-together as it looks.  I hope that reality check will helps other moms out there give it a try themselves.

To be a business owner you don’t have to be perfect, just passionate about what you do and willing to work hard while you can.

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Linking up to:  Metamorphosis Monday,  Wow Us Wednesday

Merry Monday

Denise Hardy

Tuesday 25th of August 2015

Thanks for sharing your part of your 'real life' and I used to be the same as you, but have never done a 'blog' - I have been doing what I do since 1998, but have only had websites, which is so different to having a 'blog', which obviously takes a lot more time and energy - specifically if you want to make some cash out of it. I have managed to turn myself around now after all these years and tend to just take on a little work as and when I want to and do all the stuff that I couldn't get done before for ME :) But... I am a lot older than yourself and do not have to look after young children anymore as they are all grown up and now I have grand children. So.... I just take a bit of a back seat now, but still love 'keeping my hand in' as they say. Thank you though for sharing part of your life - it is enlightening and encouraging to those people that are like yourself and sure it will be much appreciated by many :)

Melanie

Thursday 17th of September 2015

Thank you Denise for your thoughtful comment. It is tough keeping all of these plates spinning in this stage of life, but I think I am learning that life will always be "busy," just in different ways :)

Quandie

Wednesday 5th of August 2015

I'm glad I'm not the only one storing finished pieces in my dining room! My garage a.k.a. carriage house is usually too damp and spidery for the finished product. I can fit 4 to 6 pieces all lined up around the perimeter of my dining room, and we hardly ever eat in there anyway. It does make it difficult to throw a good dinner party though ;-)

Melanie

Thursday 17th of September 2015

You get pretty good at figuring out places in your house to stash extra pieces in this business, huh?

Jackie B.

Tuesday 4th of August 2015

Thank you for being one of the girls and sharing with us your life. I feel like I have been to a slumber party and we got to see another side of you. You have a good philosophy on raising independent and healthy boys. I enjoyed this post immensely.

Melanie

Wednesday 5th of August 2015

Thank you Jackie. I like the slumber party analogy :) I'm so glad you enjoyed the post--connecting with my readers on a more authentic level was my goal.

Cynthia - Clockwork Interiors

Tuesday 4th of August 2015

Great picture of you and your boys -- did you notice there is also a lovely painted blue frame behind you?! haha You DO have a great husband -- I think mine would have a stroke if he saw me painting without drop cloths in the garage -- let alone the house! Hope you're having a good week!

Melanie

Wednesday 5th of August 2015

Thank you Cynthia. I had never noticed that blue frame in that photo, but it makes sense--it's Disney World, where everything is beautiful!! Don't give your poor husband a stroke, be sure to use a drop cloth :)

Christi

Tuesday 4th of August 2015

Thank you so much...I feel so much better about my chaotic life after reading this...it makes me feel a little more like I need to lighten up about the whole thing. I have been doing the same as you (except for the blog...haven't tackled that one yet) for about a year and a half and my house is overflowing with furniture that I just had to have! Your post made me feel like it is all going to be okay :)

Melanie

Wednesday 5th of August 2015

Oh Christy, yes! Give yourself some grace :) My dad asks me over and over again how I have time to be doing all of this (he is supportive, just wonders how I fit it all in), and I always tell him that I cook and clean a lot less than I used to! It will all be ok--and if it ever gets too overwhelming just sell off all of your extra pieces for awhile and take a few weeks to live in an uncluttered house :)