If you know me very well, then you know that it’s my dream to start a business and work for myself. In fact, I probably dragged you along with my naive ideas and most of you have been very smart or skeptical not to follow along. Well, that’s because my ideas were just that, ” ideas” and nothing more. It’s been evident throughout my working and personal life that I am willing to put on the work but something always kept me away from pursuing my dreams. That something is called “insecurity”, it tells you that you are not smart enough, not capable enough and you don’t possess the oomph that most entrepreneurs have.
The reality is that I don’t know anything about entrepreneurship but that’s not the reason that kept me away. The true reason is failure, what if I try and fail? What if can’t sell my idea, it’s not convincing or good enough. Then personal traumas invade my thought reminding that I might get too overwhelmed and trapped in my anxiety. All of this could be true, I might get overwhelmed and my anxiety my paralyze me completely. Yet still this was not the absolute true reason that kept me away from this venue. If you still reading than you can see how confusing and multifaceted I can be.
Since I can remember, I’ve always been my worst critic; overthinking and caring too much of what people think of me. I went through a phase where I was building up my confidence and than motherhood knocked me right down that hole. In some ways, motherhood has been the most important, life learning experience. However, a lot of the times we as mothers, feel like we are left behind in the society. If you decide to take a year or more from work to stay home with your children, the next thing you know someone younger than you, knows more and has more professional experience. After all, we can’t put “managing a house full of children”, as your private day care business on your resume, (or maybe you can).
Most people are just like me, they are tired from putting all of their efforts and time in a workplace just to be unappreciated. Like me, people would like to work for themselves where no one tells them what to do and how to do it. This sounds like a dream come true but as an Anthropologist by “nature”, this philosophy doesn’t sound efficient nor sustainable. Most businesses are not working for themselves, they are working to provide value to someone else’s life and in turn you receive fulfillment in your life whether or not you become financially “successful”.
The first venue I would like to explore, is this right here, my blog. Now I’ve been blogging in and out for years,and to be honest I felt like I have not been my authentic self here. Not because I don’t want to but rather, I’ve been using the protective mechanism for myself that I’ve held on to for far too long. In order to “succeed” with this blog, I need to provide value in someone else’s life. I have many experiences that are invaluable and perhaps can help someone out there feeling alone and misunderstood in a society where one does not know exactly where one belongs.
All of this rambling just to tell you that I took the courage to try an Etsy store, I am trying it slowly with just some prints I’ve taken throughout my travels. It’s on Etsy for download in a very affordable prize (let me know if I should reduce the prize even further). The goal of this store is not to build profit, but for the learning experience towards the path of entrepreneurship. I ask all my family, friends, readers and more to support me and most importantly give me your honest feedback and advice. I might use the funds or part of it towards charity (not in my realms at the moment but I will keep you guys in the loop). Again, I want to overcome my fears that have been setting me back; you can only move forward by taking steps. I welcome all types of support, whether its purchasing, commenting, giving feedback, tips or even spreading the love.
Etsy store:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CultureBlossom?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
Teespring:
https://teespring.com/stores/cultureblossom
I will be putting more items and have lots of other projects in mind so stay tune on updates here.
I’m cringing and totally scared right now, this is very knew to me but I have to take a leap of faith.
Andrea Blossom 
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