escape a life of corporate servitude

Today was hard. I did my 8 corporate hours, and dashed out to meet a couple of my clients for readings. The readings were good, and supported my decision to start my own business. But I’m FINISHED. Having a job AND starting a business at the same time is HARD. On the other hand, I can’t afford to quit the corporate job yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I might be able to do it sometime in 2007!

So what do I do to generate business? Grrrrr….
Advertizing – done. Doesn’t seem to work.
Word of mouth – goes slowly. Does work, but slowly.
Offering excellent things… Hmm.. Maybe I should focus on that?

I’m in the process of printing out books of invoices (legally required) as well as calling cards. The graphics design is done, and the printing will probably be finished sometime next week. I probably need to work out an advertising plan.

I’ve finished dealing with all three tax agencies that need to register me as a business. I’m officially ready to go. SCARY.

I was supposed to have two clients yesterday. Only one showed up, the other canclled. This is frustrating, but I know I’ll make it. I need a minimum of 3 clients a day, and then I could quit my job.

Escaping a life of corporate servitude, for me, is not about having no career path, or being aimless. On the contrary, it means that I will pursue my own goals, in my own time, and accordancew with my own values. It means that I’ll do something I love doing, and that most of the money out of it will go to me, not to senior executives who don’t care about me, or to shareholders that I’ve never even met.

I know what sort of career I want. I want to read Tarot cards, help people see their past and present more clearly, and encourage them to make healthy, powerful choices for the future. I also want to write poems and create art embodying my magic, for the benefit of other people.

I won’t be a corporate slave, but I won’t be aimless either.

Building a solid client base is hard work. It’s also hard to see someone really interested, and then decline when they hear the cost. It’s very tempting to reduce prices just to get a customer, but I know I shouldn’t. My prices are fair, and my service is good and honest. Things will have to grow from there.

Meeting with second client is happening tonight. A third one is scheduled for next week. I’m making progress, it seems :-)

Today I met with my frist client. This is weird.

So, today is Passover, the Jewish holiday of freedom. Today my tribe celebrates the end of slavery. I got to think about this today. Technically speaking, of course I’m not a slave. I can’t compare my current condition as an employee of a corporation to that of a slave. Yet, there are similarities. The servitude is there, and the abuse is there, and most of all – there’s the feeling that you’re not worth much as a human being, only as a tool for the bottom line, for somebody else’s needs and profits. The difference is, I can choose to walk away. I can reclaim freedom. Not easy, in a world of brands and corporations, but not impossible, either. I’ll get there.