I’m not going to lie. I started a business like most people: autonomy. I wanted to be autonomous. I wanted to make my own decisions and not have someone deciding what and how I did something.
Should I mention here that I’m a licensed and certified school teacher?
I went into teaching with ideas for how I would teach my students so that they could learn. I had big ideas. Slowly, these ideas were pushed down and new ideas presented for my use. Not by my choice. These ideas were researched and new. So I sought something I had control over: my own business.
I’ve run a homebased business before, years ago before teaching and the internet was still young. I was a sewist. I loved sewing, and I made a nice bit of money sewing for others. It was nice since I was a stay at home mom, but then the opportunity presented itself for me to go back to school and become a teacher.
Fast forward to my third set of state standards, and the ninth best way to teach reading, and you’ll find me here. I started my business, K and R Styles LLC, as a side hustle to give my then daughter-in-law a purpose, but I realized that I truly missed sewing. Since beginning it in 2019, I’ve expanded it to include not only children’s clothes, but I sell adult clothing and embroidered home goods, as well. Our adult site is having to be rehauled and is slowly coming back to life due to technical issues, but it is all good. The one thing that you learn quickly if you own your own website is that you have to have a regular maintenance schedule. That time to do all of the necessary things that you tend to neglect when you are busy creating and selling.
Having a handmade business allows me the creativity that I enjoy. I love creating new designs and new styles. The fact that I do not have someone telling me how to create or run my business gives me the autonomy I need. I still teach. I would be remiss if I said I didn’t love teaching. However, at the end of the day, I come home and destress by cranking up the sewing machine, serger, or embroidery machine. I turn on the music or a podcast and I create. It’s my happy place as your business should be.
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