October Musings.

October again, halfway through at that.  This year has flown so far!  As stated in my previous post, I got my first stage approval on my immigration Application back in August.  They had asked me to send off yet more information, so I did (for the second time!), and now I can apply for a work permit.  The downside to this is that it takes 3 months for the application to be processed, but the good side is that it keeps my status legal for a year.  I don’t have to keep paying out for a visitors visa extension.

Since knowing that I’m now eligible to work, or rather, at least apply for my permit, I’ve really been racking my brains as to what to do for a living.  Back when I lived in the UK, I either worked in a care home for the elderly, or in stores.  While I loved both those jobs, me being the social butterfly that I am, I knew that it’s not really what I want to do in Canada.   While those are jobs that I enjoyed, I hate the thought of being tied down to a job and an employer, earning slightly above minimum wage, because I’ll be classed as a new immigrant.

This all changed yesterday.  Jeff and I, along with our friend Andy, went to an Artisan Farmers Market in Burnaby, not too far from where we live.  We only found out about it a week ago, and decided to tootle along, and see what was what.  I honestly wasn’t getting my hopes up.  I guess I expected a whole lot of nothing, but in fact, it was really good and a whole lot of fun.  We spent waaaaay more than we should have, and enjoyed every second.  One of the stalls there was run by a lady, selling all natural, handmade soap, bath teas and those little sachets you can use to freshen up your dresser drawers.  I bought a lavender gift basket for $12, containing one each of the above.

As I lay soaking in the bath last night (after adding the Bath Tea), musing over the same old ‘What can I do for a living?’ question, it hit me!  If the lady at the stall could make all natural, handmade soap in her kitchen, why couldn’t I?  Resisting the urge to jump out of the bath and start researching immediately, I laid back and relaxed, getting out only when I’d had to add hot water to the bath twice.

Most of the rest of the evening was spent researching how to make this happen.  I figured starting out mail order/online would be best, but this morning, Jeff suggested starting out locally.  He told me that I should start out selling to friends, and friends of friends, and as word of mouth spreads, placing ads, starting up a website, and even attending some artisan markets as a vendor instead of as a customer.  Then we can maybe think about expanding to different countries, such as the States,  and the UK.

Of course, even before that, I have to source ingredients, and experiment to see what kind of products I can come up with, and improve on the quality of them before I start to sell them.  And so far, I have no lack of willing Guinea Pigs (friends) to test them on.  Two friends have already told me that if I make it, they’ll buy it.  Sounds good to me.

In terms of actual products, I’ve come up with a list of a few already.  Soaps, Shampoo Bars, Body Lotions, Bath Teas, Bath Bombs, and bubble baths.  I also would like to do a range for men.  A lot of times, these products are stereotypically geared towards women.  A lot of the scents are decidedly floral, and/or perfume – y.  I’d like to change that and market a range of products towards men too.  Hopefully, I’d also like to start making Gift baskets and selling those.  Stuffed full of all natural, homemade smelly stuff, women in particular will go nuts for them!

So, there you have it folks.  I’ve finally made a decision, and with a little bit of work, and a lot of hope, I am going into business for myself.  More details will be posted as they happen.  Watch this space!

Ciao.

 

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