[Jewelry making - Article 00094] - [Orchid] Dilemma - time to expand?

[Laura Cowan]

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    After 5 years of hard slog I have finally got to the stage that I
    thought I had always dreamed of. 

    I have a set of designs I am proud of, a group of stores that order
    regularly and private sales through my website. 

    But I have now found that I spend 95% of my time on the following -
    writing emails and invoices, repetitive stock making, picking up
    supplies and taking pieces in for polishing, stamping etc which just
    leaves a miserable 5% for designing, which is my real passion. 

    I want to take someone on to do the schlepping and repetitive work,
    leaving me time to do the paperwork (too much of a control freak to
    hand that over) and more designing but as my home studio is very
    small it will mean renting bigger premises. 

    My worries are: 

    Losing my freedom - Although I am very disciplined with my own work,
    I love having the freedom of a home studio. At the moment having no
    employees means I am free to work whatever hours I like, travelling
    and visiting my family who live abroad, and I don't have to think
    about teaching/supervising anyone. 

    Finding the right employee. 

    Covering the new expenses of studio and employee. I have saved up
    enough to cover me for a few months, but then I will be under
    pressure to really increase my income. At the moment I feel I have
    several untapped opportunities for more sales, and with more products
    should have more sales - but who knows.? 

    Scared of the extra responsibility but also scared of standing still
    and not realising my potential. 

    I am excited about: 

    Having someone to do all the boring bits- manufacturing, picking up
    supplies, bank, post office etc. 

    Having time to design and make new pieces, improve my website.

    I would love to hear from other people who have taken the plunge
    from a home studio and any advice would be welcome. 

Thanks in advance,
Laura
www.lauracowan.com

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