The title is a little cheeky. My reaction to people telling me I could make so much more money if I worked more hours.
I nodded, then ignored them. If I can live a fabulous life and only work 16 hours a week, what more can money buy me?
I’m writing this sitting on the beach in Scarborough. The air is warm and calm and feels like spring. The sound of the waves crashing is gentle, and I can hear the birds singing contentedly.
Yesterday was an entirely different experience. There was wind, rain, and even hail. It was exhilarating and exhausting.
Life as a solepreneur
I have to be in the right head space to be creative. Calm, playful, relaxed. And being a solepreneur requires a huge amount of creativity. Partly because my speciality as the employment genie is to solve impossible work-based problems, which each require an entirely novel approach, but also because running a business requires us to design products and endless social media and networking.
But life, emotions and the journey of a solepreneur are more like the sea than a motorway. Endless opportunities but at times exhausting and scary.
Embracing creativity
In an attempt to fit into a man’s world, most women have tried to even everything out to be consistent and professional. To always be able to deliver the same thing and to control our environment rather than live in harmony with it.
But ignoring the seasons and the ebb and flow of our emotions has led to increasing levels of conflict at work, at home and in the world generally. Not to mention it’s created global warming.
Noticing the ebbs and flows
Few people who know me would doubt I can be strong and confident, do maths and law and lead – typically masculine attributes. And I’m glad I have these skills as part of my arsenal.
But my real breakthroughs in both business and my personal life are where I have begun to notice the ebbs and flows and more gently acknowledge them in myself and others.
When people ask me how I am, and I reply, “Fabulous,” they seem somewhat shocked – and of course, I have bad days. But it’s true I’m in a good place.
Mmm now I’ve written this blog, I might go and make myself a hot chocolate and read for a bit. Such a terrible life indeed 😊
About Aime
Aime Ayrehart is a bestselling author, founder of a trade union, and offers HR crisis management through Ninja HR. But her real passion is supporting female business owners to flourish. She started a female-run collaborative that has launched the Entrepreneurs Mindset Development Tool to help identify strengths and areas for development in a kind way, and through the Sasspreneur Club, we offer unique, cost-effective and accessible support to help you flourish – however that looks for you.