• Activity
  • Votes
  • Comments
  • New
  • All activity
    • Showing only topics in ~life with the tag "self". Back to normal view / Search all groups

    1. I could take over a business, and I really want to, but I have no idea what I'm doing

      Ask (advice)
      I went to a friend's print shop today. We've been friends for a while now, business associates even longer, and it's a small mom-and-pop print shop with two presses that I go to for all my small...

      I went to a friend's print shop today. We've been friends for a while now, business associates even longer, and it's a small mom-and-pop print shop with two presses that I go to for all my small to mid-format printing needs. I'm a graphic designer, and sometimes I need a brochure, business cards or some smaller posters done. The business is well regarded, is cashflow-positive and has a strong local presence within my city.

      However, said friend - the owner and sole employee - is getting tired of the work. They want to retire, in around two or three years, and that would mean closing down the shop. They're running it as the third owner now, and previous owners have been running it since 1970. So, I joked about maybe taking it over one day - and my friend was immediately interested. They said that that would take a load off their mind, and that it would be nice to have someone like me continue the legacy of this established store.

      And, well, I gotta be honest with you, I really want to do it. The work is something I've done before (digital print, prepress, cut and finish printed products, printer maintenance and first and foremost graphic design), and my actual education was in graphic design. I'd be able to do both the craft of print production and offer more services like brand and web design to my prospective clients (which would be a value add to existing and new customers).

      The thing is, I've never run a business. I'm not a business person, and I don't know the first thing about it. I know about how to deal with customers, how to budget my time and money, and how to work in an organised and precise manner, but I've never been a manager or a boss.

      So, I guess, this is my question to the Tildesian hive mind: Is it doable? Is owning a business really that difficult if you know how to do the actual day-to-day operations well? Should I leave the safety of wage labour and try to make something of my own? Has any of you taken over a business or founded one, and if so, what are things I should know?

      PS: I'm 25 years old and am from Central Europe.

      31 votes

    3. What would your past self say about your current self?

      Ask
      What would your past self(intentionally vague) say about your current self(also intentionally vague)? my own answer My past self would be surprised by the following: I am both less black and white...

      What would your past self(intentionally vague) say about your current self(also intentionally vague)?

      my own answer

      My past self would be surprised by the following:

      I am both less black and white and more black and white thinking than I used to be.
      I no longer put as heavy of an emphasis on Science being the only way to explain things.
      I have chosen to have less reliance on external validation.
      I burned out and hit at least two rock bottoms, and still have not fully recovered from them.
      I am pansexual and have at least grey thoughts about monogamy.
      I am more spiritual.
      I struggle socially (not in making friends, but how much anxiety or exhaustion I have around it)
      I am disabled.
      I can no longer travel or do physical activities that were a large part of my life.
      Experiencing pain that is constant and chronic.
      I would mourn so many things at such young an age.
      My family would become disconnected.
      I would have a much better relationship with my dad, but not my mom.
      I would live in a non-high density or HCOL area.
      I would consider a career outside of lawyer, psychiatrist, or scientist.
      Difficulty reading or learning.
      Commitment issues.
      Losing some of my best friends or other partners.
      I am neurodivergent (though that is only because the terminology did not exist at the time).
      Not being able to solve all problems or get myself out of everything, a drop in self-reliance, see burnout.
      Liking children and desiring to be a mentor or some sort of male au-pair.
      No longer like drinking, but do enjoy cannabis, ketamine, and LSD.

      My past self would not be surprised by:
      Still a perfectionist
      Still argumentative
      Still a clown and silly
      Enjoyment of philosophy and law
      Holding out to not have a car for decades only to be saddled with a lemon.
      Constant boredom and a need to know "why" or learn something new or otherwise seek out novelty and stimulation.
      Don't know what to do in life. Want to be a constant traveler and learner.
      Still hate cars.
      Still have a pretension and elitist problem.
      Struggle with self-love and self-worth, probably self-compassion too.
      Overly generous.
      Overly forgiving.
      Lover of showers and baths.
      Foodie despite hating the word and being anosmic. Becoming anosmic for two years and counting should be on the surprised list.
      I learn best by visual instruction as well as hands on.

      My current self, for the most part, likes itself in a way that I hadn't experienced for a long time. It's like my body took a break for ten years, deciding it hated itself and wanted constant improvement, all the while being its own worst critic and never really cheering it on. My current self is turning away from this mindset, and it feels great to have a more optimistic and self-satisfying life, but I just wish my physical body had not taken such a toll over the last few years.

      Look forward to hearing others' thoughts.

      28 votes

    13. What novel things can people do from home?

      Ask (recommendations)
      With the need for social distancing and self-isolation and #Stay(ing)TheFuckHome becoming near global realities, it is looking like many of us, and nearly everyone we know, will be spending large...

      With the need for social distancing and self-isolation and #Stay(ing)TheFuckHome becoming near global realities, it is looking like many of us, and nearly everyone we know, will be spending large amounts of time staying in. I like this guide (thanks again, @aphoenix!), which ends with "Treat quarantine as an opportunity to do some of those things you never usually have time for."

      Certainly we all have things in our life like that, but I also think it would be neat to try to brainstorm a list of things people can do for new experiences -- things they might not think to do or know are available to them. Everybody knows we can catch up on Netflix and our unread pile of books, but what else is out there? What can I do when I need a change of pace? What novel things can people do from home/online that don't require them to go out for resources/supplies?

      18 votes

    14. Work From Home (WFH) Thread - March 16th, 2020

      Text 175 words
      I suspect many of you are, like me, working from home today and in the near future. I thought that it might be nice to have a single thread where we can chat about WFH and our day to day lives...

      I suspect many of you are, like me, working from home today and in the near future. I thought that it might be nice to have a single thread where we can chat about WFH and our day to day lives while self-isolating in order to feel a bit less isolated. If people think this kind of thing is a good idea, perhaps this can be a daily (or weekly o_o) thread.

      Feel free to talk about:

      • Day to day life at home
      • What's on your agenda for work
      • Your thoughts on self-isolating and quarantine.
      • Casual talk that you might normally have with coworkers .
      • Anything else! (Though of course, the rest of the site still exists)

      I personally tend to get more work done while working from home as there are less interruptions in the form of meetings and informal breaks. So in a weird way I'm looking forward to this time in order to get quite a bit done. Still, it's hard not to get cabin fever.

      How are you all doing?

      19 votes