My small business is turning five in June 2018! I cannot believe it. It feels both like I just started yesterday and have been working forever! I was reading an article about children’s development and where they may be when they reach five and thought I might compare them with where my baby is at!
Physical and Skills Development Milestones
According to research, five-year-olds still need a lot of sleep…well this has not started so well! 10 to 13 hours a night.
Well, my baby rarely sleeps and the creative mind that feeds it often has ideas at the most inopportune moments! So my goal for year six it to aim for more sleep – even possibly some sort of sleep pattern. I have discovered, this year, that it is hard to never stop. No matter how many ideas you have, how afraid you may run out of time to bring a new idea to life or how short on money you are for your mortgage you have to take care of yourself and the rest then somehow works out. Or at least you have a clearer, rested mind to deal with it!
Play is important to enjoy and develop at this stage.
Safely, I think my small business ticks the boxes here. We are always playing make-believe, singing, dancing, acting, skipping or jumping. The processes and coordination of events is becoming more defined and easier!
Emotional Milestones
Children become more relaxed away from you and learn the value of friendship.
This year has been a year where so many people have jumped in and shown support and assistance with what I do. More importantly for me, I have found a group of people I trust to work within my business and my business has been able to grow because of it. My small business is expanding into new and exciting areas, sometimes faster than I can manage and in ways that are both terrifying and exciting in equal measure.
Then there are times when it doesn’t seem to matter what I do my baby is unhappy. Sometimes there are outside influences or a wrong choice. It feels as though no one likes it or wants it and these are times to re-assess directions it is moving in and see if they are the right ones. Sometimes it is best to take my business out of certain situations no matter how hard, hurtful or unfair it may seem. It does need to be protected and nurtured so it can grow and learn.
Sometimes it feels like my business has split personalities all demanding of my time and throwing big dummy spits if I cannot keep up! A big lesson this year is to look at what I can reasonably manage – taking into account all the things you don’t expect to happen – so that they can be done well and so everyone is happy.
Thinking and Communication Milestones
Children are learning the difference between fantasy and reality.
This is a trick question right? Who wants to live in reality! I think dreaming big until it becomes reality is a wonderful space to live in. Dreaming of things that do not exist yet or reimagining things that do. In reality, though you have to make time for those around you. It doesn’t just magically happen. It is the most important thing I have learnt. Fantasy will always be there waiting.
They learn and use hundreds of more words.
Ok, I am not always the best at writing. My high school English teacher used to always love my work but it was full of grammatical errors. So I have learnt to play to my strengths…and get the same English teacher to proof my work! There is no shame in not being able to do it all – to be good at everything. It will make your business stronger.
Final Thoughts
Anyway, I am not business expert and certainly am not perfect! I am human, still growing and learning every day. Getting to do what I love, no matter how hard and sometimes utterly devastating that can be, is a wonderful thing. This article, I hope, might give a little encouragement or help to someone else looking to start their business. Well, it is a little insight into my business at the very least!
I am looking forward to facing the next five years with the knowledge I have gained. Lets see what becomes of my small business! It has been pretty awesome so far! If you are interested in seeing what I have achieved so far then click here and check out my previous productions! Otherwise, enjoy your day!
Emma