Whenever I sit down with friends and family, it is nearly inevitable that My Sister's Sweets wiggles its way in to the conversation. Yesterday, my dear, and I mean dear, Mother-In-Law asked me something that gave me pause. She wondered if this business of mine was keeping me busy every day.
Silence.
Quickly pilfering through information accessible to me in that steel trap (ahem) of a brain, I realize that I have had a lot of orders in the last month and therefore my answer could be, "Yes." However, I have also had a lot of sleep in the last month. A direct comparison could lead to the conclusion that my dreams were keeping me busier than my business.
So then I'm back to racing through recent memories to find more appropriate and supportive data. February. What did I do in February?
Uh-oh. Cue in the ominous music.
Does this business of mine keep me busy every day?
Mind still searching furiously for relevant information, I reason that in a sole proprietorship, such as My Sister's Sweets, as owner and sole proprietor I am advertiser, bookkeeper, CEO, and general doer of everything. Thus the name Sole Proprietorship. I have roped in able help from time to time, but the day to day success of this rests securely on my two little shoulders.
For a food business this involves the expected - recipe and product development, record keeping, emails, supply purchasing, social media posts, order fulfillment, blogs, supply purchasing, bookkeeping, photo shoots, web site updates and supply purchasing.
Also involved is the unexpected - that stuff breaks and gets used up. Huh. Didn't see that coming.
In my secret dreams I see a bigger kitchen with a supply store next door.
Not lingering there, my mind hasn't forgotten her question. Do I keep myself busy doing all those things and more every day? Do I?
Epiphany. What would happen to my business if I did?
Scurrying back to the Sole Proprietorship evidence, I'm thinking, "So, who's responsible for making changes in this business, anyway?" Hmm.
15 milliseconds from the time of the original query, I respond.
"It certainly could, Betty. It certainly could."
And I resolve to make it so.