A Day in the Life of a Small Business Owner

This blog is different than our others because we’re going to give you a quick look into our lives and what it’s like to be a small business owner. You’ll learn about the schedule we have and you’ll get some idea of what your life would be like if you made the leap to become an SBO. 

Hi, it’s me, Taylor and this is a day in my life.

One really cool part about being a small business owner is that, unlike most jobs, you get to make your own schedule. Because each day requires different tasks to be completed and each of those tasks takes different amounts of time, it doesn’t make sense to sit down and come up with a set-in-stone schedule. It’s better for me to work at my own speed than rushing myself and potentially losing quality in my work.  

I wake up around 6:45 in the morning because now that Landon is in school, I need to get him up and ready to get on the bus around 7:35. After the bus picks him up, I’ll go in and start making my iced coffee with my Aeropress because it’s just so much better than a Keurig. Usually, I’ll grab my coffee and some water to start my day.
I recently started working with Josh at Winans very part-time to help us save money to move. If it’s my day to work, I’ll go there and help out packing candy and other things until 2 PM. Landon gets home around 3:40 PM so we like to clean up the house and run any errands before he gets home.

Some of the plants we’re getting ready to take to the shop.

If I do not work at Winans that day, around 8 AM is when my day really gets started. First things first, I’ll check on my plants, turn on their light and humidifiers, and make sure they don’t need to be watered. They usually don’t, but they’re my pride and joys so I have to make sure they’re well taken care of. Sometimes I’ll need to remove some old leaves and sometimes I’ll give them a little bit of fertilizer. Most of the time, however, I don’t really need to do anything with them. Recently I’ve been taking lots of clippings and rooting them in water because I’d like to start selling them at the shop. I’ve got some begonias, some coleus plants, and some spider plants that are rooted and ready to go!

After I water my plants, I’ll hop on my computer and check my emails. If there are any to respond to or send, I’ll do that first before working on our social media post for the day. I try to have everything typed up and scheduled so if I get busy, that’s one thing off my list. However, that usually doesn’t happen because I get really busy sometimes so it’s usually typed and posted in one sitting. One day I’ll be more prepared and get things ready ahead of time. Some days I feel too overwhelmed to post on social media, but most days I do try to post something. After it’s posted, I like to sit and scroll through Instagram for a little while and engage with posts from other small businesses like us. 

After social media is done and I’ve had a small break, the rest of the day becomes less structured because it varies day-to-day. I work on whatever computer work needs to be done. Instead of making a schedule, I make to-do lists and then complete the tasks that require attention first. 
Lots of things fall into the “computer work” category so let try to lay me lay them out for you real quick. First and foremost are client commissions. People oftentimes hire me to create logos and other graphics for them and I am so thankful for all of you who have hired me. Client commissions almost always come before our own work because they’re important to me and I always try to deliver products as quickly and efficiently as I can, even if that means my own work gets put to the side for a bit.  I’ll be completely honest - I bounce back and forth from task to task as I come up with ideas. It can be chaotic but it’s how my brain works. 

A picture of my workspace where most everything gets completed. Pictured is my iMac, my printer, and my Cricut Maker.

If I have any client commissions to work on, I’ll sit down and work on those for an hour or two. I try to allow myself enough breaks to help keep me sane. I oftentimes find myself so concentrated on what I’m doing that I feel like I never blink and hours can pass without me even realizing it. Taking a break is also helpful for me because when I can step back into a project with fresh eyes I oftentimes find myself noticing mistakes and flaws that I would have just kept looking over had I not taken a break.

I work on my commissions until I am satisfied with my progress with them for the day. If I don’t have client work, I’ll move on to updating our important spreadsheets and then start working on any design or website work for Sage & Oak if needed. This can consist of future social media posts, product labels, organizing our products, new sticker designs, and really anything that involves Sage & Oak that being at my computer can accomplish. 

When I’m finished with my computer work for the day, I’ll start working on products that need to be created to either add inventory or for an order. Most of the products we sell are already made so if we get an order, we typically don’t have to make those. We just run to the shop and get the product so we can mail it. Most days I work on creating new polymer clay earrings, cut vinyl for t-shirts, or start the process of creating our new products. This is where I should stop to mention what my “breaks” are. 

While I do allow myself time to take breaks where I just stretch, grab a snack, or run to the restroom, oftentimes my breaks are spent doing all the things that keep our house running normally. I’ll take a break from working to go start a load of laundry, or I’ll step away from my work to go sweep the floors or clean up after the cats. My breaks aren’t usually that “fun,” but it helps our family function so we can stay better organized. Being so busy all the time, it’s not quite that easy to make time to clean up every single day so our house does get messy sometimes. If you know me, you know I can’t handle things not being organized without getting super stressed. I guess that’s probably a good thing though, right?
On Fridays, we’re open at the shop but my day is pretty much the same. I usually don’t work at Winans on Fridays so I’ll spend the day getting caught up on things for the week and trying to finish up commissions to start the week fresh. I’ll try to come up with a social media plan for the week so the week doesn’t begin stressfully. I’ve found it best to prepare for the weekends and for the start of the weeks to try to eliminate any chaos that could occur. If we made new products and plan on bringing them to the shop, I’ll make sure to get everything ready so we don’t forget anything last-minute planning like we always do. This includes packaging and pricing everything but also making sure those products are listed inside our point-of-sale system so we can easily check people out at the time of purchase. 

Fridays are busy because after work, Josh drives to get the girls (over an hour away) and I’ll stay home to wait for Landon as I continue to straighten up the house. We sometimes pick up dinner next door at COHatch on Fridays when we are open. We love supporting local businesses and the food is always delicious! If we can’t make that work, I’ll prepare dinner for them and have it ready when they get back so we aren’t late opening the shop.

A photo from the Springfield Farmers Market on a Saturday morning.

Saturday mornings are also very fun because from 9 AM - 12:30 PM, the Springfield Farmers Market takes place right outside of our shop so we like to be open during that. We’ve met so many cool people this year at the Farmers Market and we just love seeing our city come together to shop local. It’s so nice to see our city growing the way it has over the years. If you haven’t been yet, you really should come to check it out! You don’t have to buy anything, but it’s really cool to learn about the small businesses you may have never even known existed!

After Farmers Market, we try to spend the rest of the day enjoying the company of our family without working. I try not to work on any client work or any business things (besides social media) on Saturdays because it’s really our only day off together and we deserve the time away from the constant work we’re doing. We like to visit our local parks and take trips to the zoo (which we’re doing tomorrow and are absolutely stoked about).

Sundays are spent with family but also cleaning up the house really well. We’ll deep clean so we can start the week with a nice, clean house. By doing so, we eliminate the stress of the messes but we also start the week on a positive note because our chores are caught up. The girls go home Sunday afternoons, so after lunch usually, we’ll take them to their mom and come back and finish cleaning up the house and getting ready for the work/school week ahead.

While the life of a small business owner can clearly be chaotic, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being able to create my own schedule and do the things I love as “work” has really changed my life. I’d recommend it to anyone who is interested. Though it’s probably one of the most stressful things I’ve done, it’s also my greatest joy and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come. If you take the time to learn and apply yourself, you’ll be successful if you keep pushing through the rough times. They exist much too often, but they do not last forever. 

The best advice I could give is to make sure you research before committing. You will need to understand what is expected of you as a small business owner and what it will take to be successful. Basically, don’t quit your job right now and start a business if you’re not ready and haven’t been planning for at least months. When you feel ready, get your name out there and shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear. Make sure you have great branding and an even better business plan though! If you need help with branding, reach out! We’ll design it for you! Once you have a good following and you think it’s time, register your business with the state in which you live and launch your products/services!

We hope this blog helped you understand what it’s like to be a small business owner. Though we could not possibly sit and write down every single thing we do in detail with our busy schedules, we did highlight the most important parts. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and we’ll do our best to help you as much as we can! If you’re a small business owner, be sure to plug your business name in the comments so we can follow you!

Also as a special thank you for reading this blog, take 10% off your next order with promo code: “BLOG10”!