Pushing myself more

It always seems to be this time of year where you start to question what you are doing is right for you. The past few weeks I have found myself doing exactly that, whether it can be put down to new year blues, the fact I have had enough of the current job I'm on or just want a complete change. Personally it is a combination of all three.

To combat that, I need to know where I actually want to be. Have I had enough of working for someone? Yes and no. Yes because the appeal of being your own boss, finding your own work and making a name for yourself is growing daily. When I add that to the travelling I keep finding myself doing each week to a job where I don't think I am earning anywhere near to my potential, then the lure of working solo is too much. The no factor is my own comfort zone. The fact I haven't got to worry about finding work, a wage that is paid on time each week is a great soother. It's the dilemma I seem to be constantly weighing up, more than I have done before.

It's all those variables that make my decision hard. I feel I do need to be flying solo now, making it on my own. Too long I have given my all to bosses who either use me, or do not value my own worth to them. Others take great delight in crushing your confidence in the work you do, finding faults where there isn't any just to keep you down. That alone has held me back on many an occasion. I'm at the point in my working life where really I should've been ten years ago, can I really afford to let it go on longer?

I'm also well aware how hard it is to start making a name for yourself out there and generate work. There is a lot of competition, not just with standard of work but price. I have will only charge what my time and skill set is worth, I think that is only fair. However when you compete with chancers who will work for a fraction of what you will, the amount of people who will go for cost over standard is staggering. The majority of handymen who are creeping into the decorating industry is growing, are these people fully qualified like myself and others? I highly doubt it. I've been in the trade for nearly twenty years and I still find myself surprised how "tradesmen" get repeat work when they produce sub standard work.

For now I am going to combine the both. Push myself to find my own work, I'm advertising online and got my website and google and Facebook pages, plus my own cards. Hopefully I will have saved enough to get a van and get it sign written by the end of the year as well. But I shall continue to push myself at work, to aim to earn as much as I possibly can and constantly improve my own standards. It's time to push myself for once and achieve what I know I am capable of.

* Recently I brought some Fox brushes. I'd read about them online for a while now and had heard good reviews, also some poor ones which admittedly had held me back from purchasing some. However  I decided to bite the bullet and get some and I am glad that I did. They hold a good amount of paint, flow nicely and cut in some lovely straight lines. Better than the picasso, which is a superb brush but is a bit too stiff for me.  Find myself picking a Fox up instead of my trusted Purdy's now, something I didn't expect to happen. I will be buying some more in the future thats for certain.