Me looking cheerful, having just put up the Giant Christmas Wreath, pre-dawn in light snow.

December is never easy for small scale growers. With no large heated greenhouses, production slows right down or halts completely in January and February. Which means very little or no income. So December is our last chance to earn money and we all feel the pressure to bring in extra income to tide us through until the spring crops are ready. Supplying foliage to florists, running wreath workshops, selling our own wreaths, arrangements or trees and trying to find products for the Christmas market are all things we all try to do. It takes a lot of time, is quite exhausting and often takes us way outside of our comfort zone (comfort zone in my case is working behind the scenes growing the blooms).

Of course me being me, as well as being booked up to the hilt until Christmas with either wreath workshops, wreath orders or markets, I also like to add on a few extra time consuming things to bring in some money and make sure I rarely get a moment to eat, sleep or sit down. We always start the season with the creation and installation of the ‘Love Bedford’ giant Christmas Wreath in town. And this year Pete came home one day to say that our neighbouring farmer was struggling to find a part time staff member to work a few afternoons each week in his beautiful Christmas shop. The words ‘I’ll do it’ were out of my mouth before he’d even got his coat off. So I’m now a retail assistant three afternoons a week. It’s three afternoons I don’t have spare, but I am enjoying it. Firstly, it’s a case of a change is as good as a rest (well it’s supposed to be isn’t it?). Secondly, I’m learning a lot about how our neighbour runs his very successful diversification. A lot, but not all, of what I learn is irrelevant to the flower farm, but it’s still interesting. Lastly, I’m not in charge there, so I get a reminder of what it is like to work for someone else, and have limited responsibilities (limited in this case to trying to be polite to everyone, charge the correct amount, give the correct change and top up stock if I can when it’s not too busy). I get in my car at the end of the day and drive home, and I rarely think much about the place until my next shift starts.

If you are thinking of quitting the day job and starting your own business, some of the things you may not consider are things that are quite significant. Working out and paying your own taxes. Making sure you continue to make pension contributions. What will happen if you are sick? How will you make sure you get days off? If you will be working from home, how will you arrange the space so that you can shut the door on your business at the end of the day? How will you manage cashflow to cover less busy times? I’m not going to lie, some of these are things I am still not good at. I rarely manage a day off every week. It’s probably closer to one day off a month. Running a small business is all consuming. Luckily most small business owners are like me and are passionate about what they do, which is essential I think. It’s never easy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.