Mental health

Mental health is just as important as physical health. 

Mental health affects us all on some degree, we all have days that are better than others. If you are really struggling with your mental health and feel like you have anxiety or depression then go to your doctors asap as the quicker you go, the better the result will be, just like with a physical illness. Just know that you are not alone as 1 in 6 people have mental health problems with 1 in 10 people suffering from anxiety and depression.

One thing that can be hard is managing daily life, I personally know people who have started their own business because their mental health was so bad they couldn't work in a 'normal' job as they kept having to take time off, so they decided to work for themselves where they could have as much time of as they needed and effectively work around their mental health struggles. Working for yourself brings a whole new wave of feelings and emotions though, like feeling anxious about everything you need to do or whether people like your products or whether you will make enough money this month to cover the bills or not. Or feeling stressed that you have a lot of things to do. It also brings waves of happiness when you make a sale and when you join in on the handmade community and make new friends and business contacts.

One way to manage your anxiety is to create lists of everything you need to do, this way you can manage your time better and once you've ticked something off your list, you will feel a lot better and feel a sense of accomplishment. Another way you can manage your anxiety is to talk about everything that is worrying you, whether this is talking to a family member, friends or even messaging a friend or other small business owner on Instagram or Facebook. Most people on Instagram are lovely people, well the ones I follow are and I know I could ask them anything and they would help out, so try and build yourself a support network if you don't already have one.

As for feeling anxious over whether people will like your products or not...this does not matter. Certain people like certain things and if a bunch of people say they don't like something then keep searching for the ones who do! Sometimes it about making something and then worrying about finding a customer for it as sometimes letting your creative side out is a great stress-reliever.

Feeling anxious over money is of course an important thing but nearly everybody feels like this at one point or another. If you are really struggling to make enough money each month from your small business then try to think of new products that you charge a little more for or try expanding where you are selling your wares, for example if you only sell online then try contacting small local boutiques in your local town center, this will expand your market further, potentially earning you more money. I would also suggest doing craft fairs, especially around Christmas as these seem to be the busiest with people actually buying things for gifts etc.

Set yourself business goals but make them attainable. Try to plan ahead especially around holiday periods like Christmas and Valentines Day. Make sure you have allowed yourself enough time to get everything planned for those events if you wish to make a collection based around that.

Making lists and planning ahead are the best way to stay on top of things and to help manage your time. However always allow yourself a little slack when planning as things don't always go to plan and your life may all of a sudden get busy so you can't commit to your business as much as you would like to at certain times.