Building A Business – The Ground Work and Learning

Looking for a change? I know I am, seems 20 years is about my limit at any one job.

Owning your own business is not all that glamorous, it takes hard work and many times not making any money at all. I am in one of the hardest businesses, I own rental property. I am a landlady. For several years I have wanted to change my job, In 2014 this was an actual new year resolution, that is how bad I wanted out of the rental property business.

Back in 2014 I tried a few different jobs, one being a caregiver and tossed that idea after being a live in for a month, took a 10 day break and went back for another 2 weeks before she was back on her feet, I`m not made for this type of work, but I  took on one more job when Tony got sick in 2016 and asked, I still think I`m not made for this type of work. Full time is very hard, I had taken care of a few sick people in the past but it was part time and usually they were terminal. So…… I go back to the drawing board but in the meantime I still have to have an income and I dive in with undivided attention to the good old stand by, the rental houses.

While looking for a better way to make a living I began to observe the behavior of the tenants, the upkeep of the houses and how I could make both better with little to no cost. But, the tenants were….. Hmm, how to say this? I guess there is no polite way to express this, they knew how to work the system to benefit them and screw me over. So, I took a big risk, I evicted three, One went all the way to the end, I hired the courts to evict and the sheriff to set him out.

With little to no income coming in I used my savings, I shelled out a lot of money and I worked hard, doing 99% of the work myself, I upgraded those three houses. From adding walls to make another bedroom to laying mew carpet and tiles, painting and new hardware, I made them all pretty again, then jacked up the price. But raising the amount of rent it automatic stopped the calls from lower income people who did not work and who did not care about the houses.This paid off, so far, with all the houses staying filled well over a year by the same tenants, except one. By doing this, months and months of work, I attracted a better class of people that not only work at good jobs but also respect their living spaces by being clean and caring of the houses.

BUT……I feel like I still need that change, that new job, new people, a new way of life. Its already 5 months into 2018!

I have, through word of mouth,  learned how to do one thing that I have been trying to figure out for years and years and I found little to nothing online about “How to” so , one down on the learning of how to go about it but its also going to be a lot of work and a huge one time investment. I may not be able to pull that off without a partner.

But…..

I`m still thinking about something more simple, something easier but rewarding, people are changing and want something smaller and simple. I will go back in time! I think I will go back to homemade and from the earth.

So while I am working as a 24/7 caregiver I can also do research on “at home” jobs that will be back to nature but still bring in a income.

And since I have a little land here and there I can do a few things with what I have now.

I can make stuff from flowers that are wild and free. I can make body products from everyday free stuff, left overs! I can make food from the free plants. Little investment.

I started this…. this, new stuff, a couple weeks ago. Some think I am crazy, some think I am brilliant. I think I want to make this work. There will always be haters and that is something everyone must accept to achieve success.

A business that involves a primitive way of living, no power or running water. Candles and soap. Foraging for food, home canning and drying. Making your own medical remedies. That would be true freedom.

Would you give up one life for another?

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By Andria Perry

Photos by Andria Perry