Has it really been SIX WHOLE MONTHS since I started my own business? I guess it’s true, the date doesn’t lie!
Am I where I thought I would be?
Absolutely not.
I am somewhere between what my best guess was and “how did I get here?” I guess I had thought that my own business would be a little entrepreneurial endeavor and that I would find or accept a better offer working for someone else within a quarter or two. What about the clients I got? Well, they would have been taken care of as my side business but I guess I didn’t expect my business to be able to sustain me.
I’m not saying it has, especially in the last month, I have fallen on the assistance of my parents to be able to go to my friends wedding or a bachelorette party or some sort of other event. For their support I am beyond appreciative! I can’t imagine going through these ups and downs without them as a support system because, honestly, I don’t have many friends my age that are in the same geographical location as me.
I am thankful for great clients and I am even more thankful to watch the way that each and every one of them have grown in the time that I have been with them. I am excited and honored that they continue to choose to work with me and that they continue to grow. If you’re interested in working with my company to provide social media or brand management, articles, copyright, etc. for your business; feel free to email me at katie.schrock@thatwesternlife.com.
Riding Solo
Being ALONE was not something that I had really figured into the whole entrepenurial endeavor. I had become accustomed to having co-workers and have realized that I have taken them for granted. Working for yourself, for your own company or freelance, is this inexplicable and desolate ALONENESS. You are solo… all of the time.
Missing human interaction, I started to set up more and more meetings in person with my clients just to get up, get out and converse with someone. Unfortunately, I had to be realistic and start adding up all of the financial costs of meeting with these clients or potential clients, where only a small percentage actually came through to fruition.
Getting smarter, getting stricter, has definitely been one of the more challenging parts for me. I don’t want to say “I have a big heart,” because I hate when people make self-proclamations like that but I always want to help and have a huge issue not only saying no, but from also stopping myself from volunteering for EVERYTHING.
Awards and Accolades
One of the things that I love to do is WRITE. I know you know this because you follow my blog… which started as the first form for me to do what I love to do. In the past quarter, though, I have written about something new!
Yes NEW!
Something that is new and out of my comfort zone and that was done with a big thanks to my friend Chelly with Trailsong Photography. Both Chelly and myself have a huge love of country music and not just the mainstream radio country music you probably listen too. We love the up and coming artists, the “Red Dirt” or “Texas Country” music.
Because of this, we went to Eugene where we did an interview and photo shoot (ALL Chelly, she’s AMAZING) with James Carothers and his band. I wrote a quick review article on him that we placed on That Western Life called, “A ‘Relapse’ For The Positive.” James and his band were so amazing! Not only in their stage presence, songwriting and singing; but in their down-to-earth, blue-collared way they handled the interview and all my questions.
I look forward to doing even more stories!
Pecos Bill
I know that a lot of you follow along for more information about my young colt Pecos Bill. I adore him dearly and, at 38 rides and counting, he’s doing quite well! I am very proud of him but we are now beginning to conquer his realization that he is a boy. That he has hormones and he THINKS he has needs. Living on a property with a handful of mares who thought they might want to have foals some day soon this spring has provided great learning opportunities for PB.
One of the things that I have most looked forward to with PB is introducing him to cattle.
From a young age, even in my naive in “horse training” ways, I knew that PB has what horse people call “Cow Sense.” His natural reaction to trail, lock in on and “get in the zone” on items such as dogs, cats, birds, or a trailing flag on the ground, meant to me that he had an interest in noticing and reacting to animate objects. Introducing him to cows at a cutting horse and reined cowhorse trainer with MANY years of expertise under his belt, I felt very good.
“There, that’s it! That’s the look!” Mr. Ken Walling exclaimed!
“I really like how he’s looking at the cow, do you see that?” He said to my sister who was chaperoning.
Teaching him from the start to not surge and over pass the calf, to respect it’s boundary and, in return, have it respect his boundaries was a learning experience for me. The way he got his step, the way his ears focused, all of it was very exciting for me BUT poor PB will have a harsh reality when he realizes his racehorse genes are not going to allow him to be a 14 hand cutting horse… especially since he’s already 15.1 and growing again!
Future Plans
It’s taken me a while to write on my blog, quite simply because I had no idea what direction to take it!
Originally, this blog was anonymous and I got the opportunity to write the stories that I always wanted to share. Now, I have a platform for that called That Western Life. Not only do I get to write the stories that I want to share with the world, but I also get the opportunity to allow others, via my platform and occasional writing assistance, to write and tell the stories that they think are important as well.
I am also excited to say that I get to write for two separate magazines; CATTLE MAG and AG MAG. Even more exciting? I get to provide PAID opportunities to others to write on this platform as well!
Then I tried to use this blog to write, literally, articles about myself <insert eye roll>. That was never destined to work because I felt like I had to be so standoffish, to lose the “realness” and, almost, the authenticity of myself.
Now this isn’t my journal, but this is my blog. If you want to find out what I have been up too, just check in here and you’ll learn more. I’ll continue with product reviews, event reviews, updates on PB and my business, the adventures that I get to go on now that I can work for myself. Because, just like my life, I am full of a variety of stories and I want to make sure that each and every one of you can find something of interest in my blog.
Pacific North West Country Girl 