Grab a cuppa…
…and enjoy 10 minutes reading my newest blog post, ‘the last year’ round up!
We’re all living and coping (just about!) through this crazy time of a global pandemic and all of the changes it brings with it. I have taken so much from this year, it will warrant a separate blog post but I just thought I’d start by looking back at the year I’ve had with SK Design Studio and give you an insight on some of the things I have been up to but not necessarily shared along the way.
I’ll take it back exactly one year ago today…
MARCH 2020
I had a quiet couple of months to start the year, giving me time and space to address what I needed in my business and what I wanted going forward. I signed up to a taster session with MINT Business Club at The Royal Quays Business Centre, after seeing social media posts from the lovely Vicky of Tori Lo Designs and amazing Aimee of Corsetry & Couture. My intrigue grew as I watched all of Nicola’s (Nicola Jayne Little, Founder of MINT Business Club) YouTube videos and anything I could cast my eager eyes on to give me an insight into this business club. I attended the free taster session on the 16th March 2020 and knew it was the right move for me… I was looking for companionship, help and support, and knew I could get all of those things from these very friendly, experienced and enthusiastic people – so I signed up and didn’t look back!
APRIL 2020
This month marked the end of the tax year and the start of a new one; a bit of a number-crunching time for me where I look back at the previous year. I left my full-time employment in September 2018 so it was my first FULL tax year as a self-employed sole trader with SK DESIGN STUDIO – what an achievement!
Once I got to grips with Zoom and appearing on a webcam(!), I enjoyed online networking with my newly found ‘colleagues’ in MINT Business Club and started making friends! I hadn’t really realised how lonely I had been at work until now. The new rules and restrictions came in to the UK to keep us safe from COVID-19 and work contracts I had with design agencies began to get cancelled, despite my offers of working from home, as was advised at the time.
The doom and gloom of the unknown started to panic and worry me, my family, friends and fellow self-employed pals. I watched an unhealthy amount of news. So in an attempt to keep busy and take my mind away from 24/7 news channels, the lockdown project was born… My range of rainbow prints came about out of wanting to brighten the lives of those working from home and creating their own workspace from the kitchen table. I sat on it for weeks before launching, frustrated with not being able to take decent images of my designs, until my best friend sent me some happy post; bright yellow joggers, (I’m sorry, loungewear!) and I just knew these were my positive pants! It was the perfect excuse to reignite my Etsy store and get to grips with the platform.