Starting a business. How the hell was I going to do that?
Working for someone else, it always felt as though time was on a sliding scale. Mad rush, followed by slight peace, over and over again.
Days seemed to have a way of warping perspective, how long things can/should take, what to do and when is the deadline?
Further, it doesn’t help to be distracted by something I want to do, I needed to do. So it came down to juggling. Between 08:00 and 17:00 my time was someone else’s. From 10:00 to 10:15 and 13:00 to13:30, I had designated ‘breaks’, this was my time. During the day I was loyal to my employer but I needed to get out and see what I can do.
Side note: Anyone who knows me knows… I’m not a morning person. To this day, I struggle to get a routine going in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I see the value, but I struggle to break the cycle.
Mornings are made up of coffee and a mood…
This is how the days would work…
06:45 Wakeup ‘Grey area begins’.
07:15 ‘Grey area continues’ in the car heading to work.
07:50 Arrive at the office and make coffee.
08:00 – 10:00 At my desk ‘Work time’ generally focusing on admin and emails for my then day job.
10:00 – 10:15 ‘Grey area fades’ (tea break) grab a coffee and a smoke, grab cellphone and head out the office to plan. Focus the day and respond to private emails.
10:15 – 13:00 Work time
13:00 – 13:30 Coffee, smoke and research (more often than not fabric sourcing and logistic, occasionally trends and market).
13:30 – 17:00 Work time
17:00 – 18:00 Stuck in traffic… heading home
18:00 – 19:00 break…
19:00 – 00:00/01:00/02:00 My time… The Batman hours… I have all night to play!
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was enough to start with. I had a goal and resolved my timing issues (or I thought I had). In a day I could squeeze 05:45 hours out to do my own thing.
In hindsight, there are so many grey areas that could have been filled… podcasts while driving or finding a coffee shop nearby to wait out the traffic and work. But that was then, I was young.
I had time, next was funding.
Which was simple, I had a day job to cover my costs and any extra expenses would come in through freelance work. I could make a dress here and there for a matric dance or something. That should do.
Plus I had a little tucked away for when I needed it if I needed something to get the ball rolling (possible around R8K?). Absolute worst-case scenario, credit cards and overdraft… What could go wrong? If only I knew…
In my mind I had it solved.
Time… check.
Funds… check.
All I needed now, was the Who… Who was I doing this for?
