Many of my customers have emailed me and talked about the challenges of starting up their own business. They work full time, come home, bake until the wee hours of the morning, grab some sleep, and then get up and do it all the next day. They are so passionate about their dog treat business and yet have the need to be practical and pay the bills. I am always delighted when I hear these stories – as it gives me renewed energy.
I am a moonlight dawg too. I work full time at a multi-billion dollar food company as a senior food technologist / project leader. And by night – I am the mad scientist developing new coatings for dog treats. Some days I just collapse and want to sleep – but my mind is racing with ideas, things I still have to do; if fact my mind is so full that the dawg follows me into my dreams. And in my restless sleep I am working with my coatings, contemplating new things to do, or thinking about my customers and what they may need. What else can I do, build, make, write that would help them???
It is exhausting, but in a good way. The dream (and I know it is a dream that many of my customers share) is to depart the corporate world and really do this small business thing 100%. I’ll get there. I’m close. Someone once told me – slow and steady, that’s the way to grow. It has been great advice. It has helped me to realize that there are so many options, so many ways to go – to recognize some of the challenges that might be ahead as my business grows and to recognize the demands that go beyond just developing the products.
It’s funny. Many of my coworkers don’t realize that I have another business. I keep it quite as not to be a distraction at work. They often look forward to the weekends with lots of fun things planned. I am looking forward to my weekends as a chance to try and get ahead for the following week. It’s a chance to focus on Everything Dog Treats 100%. Sometimes my husband has to drag me away and force me to relax. He’s good for me in that way, or else I think I might work myself to death.
So much to do, so much I want to do, so much I can’t wait to do… but I still have to pay the bills. So until that day when I’ve hit it big… I’ll continue moonlighting…I’ll be the moonlight dawg.
