I don’t remember when or how I came across Jenna & Mark, the married duo behind Whimsy & Spice, but I was instantly hooked. With gorgeous goods, beautiful photography and a business story I admire, it’s hard to not become a virtual fly on the wall into their journey. And to boot, they have two of the most adorable girls I have ever seen.
Welcome. Give us some background about yourself and your business.
I’m a graphic designer and art director. My husband, Mark is a pastry chef. Together we have over 12 years of experience in our respective industries and 2 years ago we decided to open our own company, Whimsy & Spice, after having talked about it abstractly for many years. We make and sell handmade cookies, marshmallows and other confections.
The decision to take the self-employment route is not always an easy one. What gave you the confidence to take that leap?
I’ve been freelancing as a designer for the past 7 years, so It’s been many many years since I’ve worked in an office, but luckily, this profession is one where working from home is entirely possible. Part of deciding to go freelance is knowing a little about yourself to begin with and I always knew early on that the corporate office life wasn’t really for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a strong network and as a result, have worked on some very interesting, large-scale projects over the years.
Mark took the leap to self employment not by choice, initially. He was laid off from a new job right when the decline in the US economy was happening, so it was a scary time to be unemployed. They say, however, that a surge in start ups and new businesses occur in a down economy, partly because there are no jobs to be had, so we figured we had nothing to lose when the idea to start our own company began to percolate. It’s been almost 2 years and we see that pivotal day as a blessing in disguise. Had he not been laid off, we would have never started Whimsy & Spice.
Self employment can mean long hours, irregular income and other unpredictable stresses. How you do you handle it?
Sometimes not well, lol. There are times when I look at all the factors that are lined up against us and I wonder why we do it: no benefits, no company subsidized heath insurance, no steady paycheck, no stability, crazy work schedules, no clear boundaries between work and home life. It gets really stressful during dry and slow periods, particularly since we have 2 small children and a mortgage to support – there’s really no slacking off. But when I catch myself being anxious about not finding another client or project again, I need to remind myself that in the 7 years that I’ve been freelancing, we’ve always pulled through and I’ve always found work. Basically you need to hustle and work hard, but you also need to trust. It isn’t easy and I am still learning how to do that.
What’s a typical day like for you? How did you keep yourself organized to avoid procrastination and other distractions?
There really are no typical days because each day is dictated by how many orders are received and how many client deadlines I have, but there are always 2 constants: dropping off and picking up our older kid from school. Most of the other tasks revolve around this. Mark will often go into the kitchen to bake during the day, as well as make a trip to the post office to drop off packages that need to ship to customers. If I’m on multiple projects, it’s not uncommon that I’ll work 15 hours a day – I’m a night owl.
As far as keeping organized, we’re pretty low tech on that front! Mark still scribbles his to-do list on paper. Mine is usually all in my head. I’ve never been one to use paper or technology to organize my day.
Do your work from home? Or offsite?
I work from home. We operate our business from home, but Mark bakes in a restaurant kitchen in our neighborhood.
It can get lonely working for yourself. Do you find yourself missing the companionship of a bustling office? How do you make sure you get social interaction throughout the day/week?
I do miss the socialization of an office environment sometimes or the natural collaboration that happens when you’re working in an office with colleagues. Twitter has been a good substitute for that in some respects, but to prevent yourself from feeling too isolated, you have to make an effort, reach out to people and go out. That is my main resolution for the New Year.
Finding a work/life balance can be difficult with any job, perhaps more so with self-employment. Do you think you’ve found that balance?
Depends on the month. When it is our busy season for the business – the holidays – no, the balance is totally imbalanced; we’re working around the clock. It’s easier other times of the year, but like most freelance it can be feast of famine, so when there are times that 3 projects will hit at once, I am constantly working and can be holed up in the apartment with my computer. But the one thing we always do is eat dinner together as a family every single night. I think that helps bring some normalcy to our life. We also try and take at least a few hours on 1 weekend day to do something fun as a family.
What valuable lessons did you learn within your first year. Let’s start with the worst.
In a way, this is counter-intuitive to how I normally make decisions in life, but in our first year we made a business decision with our hearts rather than our heads and it turned out to be the wrong decision that cost us business and money. Sometimes you have to put on your business hat AND keep it on. It certainly made us think more carefully about business decisions after that. We don’t want every decision to be solely based around money, but we are running a business after all – one that needs to sustain and support our family – so we’ve learned to make big decisions with our business hats on.
And now the best.
I’ve learned not to over think and belabor over certain details. I’ve learned to let go to a certain extent and push things out in the world instead of keeping them in production and refinement mode forever. This may seem obvious, but this was a big thing for me. Sometimes you just have to spring into action and not think too much.
Lastly, what advice would you give to others that are thinking about quitting their 9-5 job to pursue self-employment?
Be courageous in your pursuit of self employment, but do have fun. It’s good to weigh the pros and cons of self employment, but sometimes we have to go with our gut and not over-analyze things too much. I know for myself, I would never get anything done if I just went strictly with facts and numbers. It definitely is a leap of faith, but if you have a reasonable plan, ambition and a good attitude, it can be done. It’s also important not to get discouraged and give it some time (I still need to follow this advice!). You can always look for a job if things do not pan out, but at least there will be no regrets for not trying.
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I am a freshly turned 40-year-old, who moonlights as a mom, wife, doggie owner and fitness nut. I am a self-taught fabric & surface designer, having segued over the past 10 years from other creative pursuits that involved building, painting and sewing (not all at once). I produce my own line of fabrics as well as offer custom surface design services to clients.
