SELF-EMPLOYMENT ONE MONTH IN

LOOK. 2 hours of free time to write a blog post. Shock bloody horror.

It’s 11th October which is pretty insane. Because I swear two minutes ago we were at the beginning of September and now I’m basically in the throws of counting down to Christmas.

This past month has flown by. And I’m not saying that to fill conversation like we English people sometimes do – I really mean it. Like I have no idea where the past month has gone. It’s a blur of 32 dogs, endless hours of time on Buffer, countless hours of walking, too many poops to count & a teeny, tiny bit of dog sick. No jokes.

Not gonna lie, I still kinda feel like I’m on a big extended holiday. I wake up naturally around 7.30am and revel in the fact that NOPE, not already on a train to London in the ever-getting-darker mornings and YUP, I can lay in bed for a bit longer if my canine pal snoozing in the kitchen lets me.

I do on average around 15,000 steps a day, 2-3 hours of walking & a hell of a lot of carbing (because I totally can now I’m doing all the extra cardio, right?) I rarely wear make up, and when I do I catch myself in the mirror and go ‘WOW YOU LOOK SO FLIPPIN’ FINE’ because I haven’t seen my eyes all done up in a while. I clean a lot. More than your average human being. Dogs don’t wear shoes which makes for mucky laminate floors (although I’m thinking if dog shoes aren’t a thing, can I make them a thing for the winter months?)

On the whole, I feel like I really am living the dream as I had meticulously planned out in my head. But it is bloody hard work. I am living this job 24/7. I work every day of the week, Monday – Sunday. My work continues long into the night sometimes, reassuring a worried dog that it’s alright, he’s just staying for the night and his owners will be back in the morning.  My work day sometimes starts at 4am, when a dog can’t sleep because DAYUM, they need to pee so bad & they know I won’t appreciate it on my cream carpet (cheers hun, I would choose getting up at 4am anyday over pee on my carpet)

There have been lows. The projectile vomit that one wee poppet did all over my front door because OPPS, she totally ate some poop that day and it didn’t agree with her tummy. The time I popped a dog in a fabric crate just to nip to the shops and he chewed all the way through it like a madman.The hours I’ve spent glued to my laptop just to get all the scheduling for my freelance social media work done, rather than giving my husband-to-be all the attention he so totally deserves. The invitations from friends that I have had to turn down.  The puppy that no matter how lovely he is in my arms, just won’t and cannot get on with other dogs to save his life.

But I wouldn’t change any of it. And the best bit, the very best bit, is when I realise that it’s not an extended holiday. Because I actually earned a decent salary in my first month of business. In fact, exactly the same as what I was earning in London which is beyond my wildest dreams of what I was expecting to do.

So here’s to fresh starts & big wins. I’m ecstatic to share the news with you that my first month of self-employment has been one big thumbs up. I hope everyone else is kicking butt at life at the moment, and if not, remember – you can & you will.

Thanks for reading. I hope that didn’t sound like a big list of smugness – I just thought some people might be curious to know whether I’m sinking or swimming. And it feels like I’m in full on butterfly stroke right now.