The challenges of working at home with a pet

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Nasa, my 18 year old, bossy cat made it impossible to work at home without constant interruptions today. I finally grabbed my laptop and drove to the lake – working from my car all afternoon. Not a bad place for an office, though I don’t want her to think that she’s in charge either.

Despite having to take up office space in my car, we finalised the design for Product #3 today. If I can only afford to fund one product at a time, I reckon this is the one to help all the others just because it’s less complicated from an installation point of view. 🙂

Today, I was also contacted by an executive recruiter for a large international charity CEO role. I respectfully declined. I already have a job – even if it’s not paying yet.  

Job opp in the circular economy

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Did a phone interview for the first and only job I’ve applied for in the circular economy. It went well, and they said that they would recommend me for a 2nd interview. The problem – it would be a huge pay cut from any job I’ve had for the last 15 years, and a step backwards in terms of role. However, it’s a way in to learn more about the industry. So, I told them that I’m still interested because of the learning opportunity.

In fact, in my head I was thinking that less responsibility means that I will still have the brain power to do this business as a side-hustle.

Start a business and/or get a job?

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I attended an event to hear a local panel of successful entrepreneurs talk about their businesses and how they got started. It’s motivating to know that it’s possible to grow something big and meaningful locally.

I saw a job ad for a middle manager role in the circular economy industry – first one that I’ve seen. I think I can provide them with real value too. I’ll go ahead and apply since it could help me learn about this industry faster if I get it.

Putting a stake in the ground

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I met with my executive recruiter contact today, and he advice was really useful. He asked me what I wanted to do, and I gave him a few ideas about the areas I was most interested in, but told him that I was afraid to close off job options. He said that I needed to put a stake in the ground, and that once I declared my direction it was more likely that these types of opportunities would come to me.

For months, I have been posting articles on LinkedIn that have to do with the circular economy and environment concerns with waste. In fact, in December I even organised the clean-up of our local lake. At Christmas time, I was chatting with my brothers about business ideas for plastic alternatives. Yet, I had not decided to work in this space.

I admit that I also feel like no one will hire me because of my lack of industry experience. Regardless – if this is where I want to be, I should just go for it rather than waiting for some other miracle opportunity to come to me. So… here I go. Stake in the ground.