S.A.S.S. Life #1
Hey y'all! Do you remember when I used to do a weekly homestead update? I loved those updates. It's so nice to look back and remember what I was doing, what was growing, and all those fun homesteady things. But. Since I'm not really living the homestead life at the moment and I'm looking to make some changes to things around here, I thought I would start a new weekly segment. I'm not sure what I will call it yet, but SASS life comes to mind! LOL. In case you don't know yet, I updated my tagline to be "Southern Appalachian Skills for Sustainability". Or SASS for short. So SASS life seems pretty fitting. At any rate, let's try to do an update and then we'll see where we get to.
The animals
So. In case you don't know, I have two lab mixes-Anna Lee and Daisy. They are 9 and 7 respectfully. My roommate has a dog and we just added a cat to the mix! Everyone has had their growing pains but they all seem to be settling in now. We got the kitten when she was just a baby and she is growing fast!! She is into everything too. And mean! Oh boy. She is mean. But she's starting to get some sweetness about her as she's getting older. She just wants to play 24/7.
There's not much else to report. I take the dogs for a walk as often as I can. We have a walking route in town and also a trail that we run on occasion. We're lucky if we get to the trail once per week. It's a good trail. It does a loop along the lake for most of it and is wooded so it's cool and not in the direct sun. But there are so. many. cobwebs. I end up eating a pound of cobwebs on our trips. It's all good. Well. It's kind of gross. But I like running with the dogs. And there are so many places for them to get in the water.
Speaking of water and the dogs. I'm not sure how much Daisy was around water but she has taken to it! She loves splashing in the river here at the house and playing in the lake when we trail run. She is also just doing better all the way around. When she first came to me at the beginning of the year, she was incontinent. That was mostly due to her nervousness from being away from her family and being thrust into the living situation with me and Anna Lee. But, as it turns out she is indeed incontinent. She is now on medication and is doing wonderfully!
Anna Lee is getting older. She turned 9 recently. But she is just her. She is doing well and just settling into our new living arrangement. Not much else to report. She loves the water too. She still does zoomies around the yard with Daisy chasing her. She is a punk and listens when she wants. Typical.
Currently Making
I am not really making anything at the moment. I've been cooking some yummy meals but they are all about the same: grain, vegetable, protein with some sort of made up sauce. One of my favorite recent creations that I made was brown rice, quinoa, fish, squash, red cabbage, tomatoes, feta cheese, and pepitas. The sauce was soy sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika. It worked. I don't know ratios. I just throw things in and then hope for the best. LOL. Let me know if you want me to share my recipes.
Other than that, I've really been working hard behind the scenes getting things organized. I guess things weren't ever unorganized, but they just weren't consistent. And I've put a lot of things on the back burner. But more on that below. I will say that I get asked a lot a)what my favorite class to teach is (it's piemaking), b)what my favorite thing to make (again, pie), and c)it's more of a statement: I bet you do this all the time....as in I bet you make this thing that you are teaching us to make all the time. The answer is no. I actually don't. Between working on things behind the scenes, prepping for classes, booking more classes, and doing all the things, there's not a lot of time nor energy leftover for making. But that's about to change. I look back on the things I used to do and make and I miss it. I miss getting my hands dirty. I still get them dirty from time to time, but not nearly as much as I'd like. So stay tuned!!
Where to Find Me
The next couple of weeks are light on classes. I have my first virtual event on Sunday-Fermentation! I really love sharing how to make and do with y'all and this is a great way to have you join me from the comfort of your own home. And you get the recording too. Then I have a week off until I dive back into classes for the second half of August. You can see all my upcoming events here. Oh! How could I forget to tell you about my Canning 102 workbook! You can find more info here.
Oh! I am really excited to be hosting a class at Baker Boy Pizza Company in Knoxville. These guys are so cool. I think it is going to be a really fun class. And I know it's in the morning during the workweek, but I think you will really want to skip class that day! We will be in the pizza shop before we open, hanging with these cool guys, and making mozzarella. Who wouldn't want to skip school for that?!
As I move my business forward you will see a lot more offerings, not just in person, but online. And private instruction and private events. It's time for me to see where I can take this business. Give it my all, if you will. I've loved this business for so long but the past couple of months have been really hard. I've been teaching in person classes since I started my business and I finally see the need for this to go online. I can't wait. I've been working with a great business coach, well, two actually. More on that in a minute. For now, just know that I am feeling more at peace with my business.
The Business End of Things
So. The business end of things. It's been a lot lately. Class registration came to a halt. It's been hard to get that momentum back that I had before June. It's been a lot teaching in-person classes, especially when I am feeling burned out. Packing all the materials, shopping, loading, unloading, teaching, packing back up, unpacking, cleaning up, and putting everything up has really taken its toll on me. That doesn't even include the planning, the prep that happens before I even get to the actual packing, unpacking, teaching part. I feel like I have been chasing my own tail lately so I had to take a big step back.
So I did. I took some time to feel my feels and then started brainstorming ways to move the business forward. I won't lie. I almost shut it down. Twice. But then I had a virtual meeting with a friend who is also acting as my business coach and we came up with some ways to really help me focus and get back on track. And one of those ways to reach out to SCORE and get a mentor who could really help me get organized and move this business to the next level. And that's exactly what I did. I realized that I have been hesitating to ask for help and that I should know how to drive my business alone. But that's not true. The truth is is that it's hard to be a solopreneur. It's hard to do it all alone. And that I don't have to have all the answers. And that I needed to change my mindset about the business. My mentor went over some numbers with me on how I could move the business forward and it really helped me open my mind to possibilities. I had the mindset that it wasn't really a business, but I think that was mostly because I didn't know how to grow. Or how to look to the future. And I thought I had to do it all alone.
So I have compiled a major to-do list that needed to get put all in one place. You know how I feel about to-do lists! I've marked through things that no longer serve me and the business. I've tackled some items that have been on the list for a long time. And next will be catching up on some business things. The to-do list included both personal and professional items. Most of the personal items have been taken care or will be tidied up in the next couple of weeks. And then it is forward focusing on the business. I'm trying to break everything down into manageable steps. Each day gets a list of things to accomplish. And I am happy to say that I am getting them done.
The Rest of the Story
Let's keep tradition alive. Most of my to-do list, aka THE LIST, has a lot more to do with my business, but I can see me putting some fun things on it after I'm done tackling this back log of things. So. Here it is:
By the end of this week (August 11th):
Listings to web shop
Cheesemaking-photos needed, write up, listing in shop for kit and kit+ private instruction
Sourdough-photos needed, write up, listing in shop for kit and kit+ private instruction
Fermentation-photos needed, write up, listing in shop for kit and kit+ private instruction
Pie making-photos needed, write up, listing in shop for kit and kit+ private instruction
Aprons to web shop-need photos, pricing, write up
Cutting boards-need photos, pricing, write up
By the end of the week August 18th:
Price out all classes
Blog schedule + content
Set up budget for CL
Get eyebrows waxed
Change address: DMV
Edible Nashville writing sample
Drop off clothes at resale shop (when in Knoxville)
Hi Wire:
pickle workshop: graphic, price, listing in shop, FB event sept 14
Spooky mocktails: graphic, price, listing in shop, FB event (October)
November: decide on craft, graphic, price, listing in shop, FB event
December: decide on craft, graphic, price, listing in shop, FB event
Other than that, I'm just plugging away at life. I've been trying to find new places to network. I have a networking meeting in Johnson City on Thursday. I signed up for a conference in Johnson City for the end of September. I have a couple of other events that I would like to attend. One is a Duck's Unlimited banquet and the other is an event hosted by Garden & Gun magazine. Neither costs very much. And both are accessible and easy to get to. Since I can't really travel right now, I thought these workshops/events would be a good way to meet new people and see different places. Or do something that I wouldn't normally do.
Anyway, let me know if you're still here. I'm working on a blog content calendar that will get us back in this space and get us reacquainted with each other. Let me know where you're checking in from and how you found me!
PS What do you think of the new graphics? I think they're very old school! HAHA.
'til next time
-k
xoxo
