My Future

I know! 3 updates in as many hours! But I keep thinking of things to update about :P

As you all may or may not know, I only finished 3 semesters of college and only 2 of those were remotely successful. While I have always thought out-of-the-box somewhat when it came to living a cookie-cutter life, living in Australia has redefined my attitude towards the necessity of a degree even further. Unlike in the USA, Australians are made well aware that they can be as if not more successful in life by learning a trade as they could by going to school and getting a 4 year degree. They have a multitude of options and trade schools are very common. Almost everyone has a certificate in something or another and, while I know it has a lot to do with the area in which we live, I only know maybe 3 or 4 people here who actually have degrees. I'm not exaggerating! I actually think I'm being generous because I can only think of 2 off the top of my head but I know there must be more than that....lol

So, I've always meant to go back to school and finish my degree, I just never saw the point in wasting thousands of dollars on classes I'd never need while I changed my mind a million times (I know of few people who actually graduate in 4 years for this reason) and my situation has been complicated by the fact that I live thousands of miles from any substantial universities. This has given me plenty of time to think about the things that interest me. On a responsible and purely money-hungry level, I think the most practical degree for me to pursue would be one in HR management. There are so many jobs out there in HR, the money is good and I think I'd be good at it and enjoy myself. On a "you're-dreaming" level, I'd really like to study Psychology more than anything else. I would love being a psychologist and really helping people. I have always been fascinated by human behavior and I know the course work would really intrigue me. However, I don't think I have the time or dedication to finish such an intense degree program with plans of babies in my future! I am really interested in digital graphics and I'm adept at communications, but would I want that to be my career? My head is spinning!

With all of these options and more and my fingertips I have to pull back and say STOP!! What am I truly excited about and interested in? Fashion. Beauty. Arts. Food. Culture. I LOOOVE! So, why NOT? Why not open my own fashion boutique? I've always wanted to. I could be happy for the rest of my life just running my little store and burying myself in all things lovely for all time. I've dreamed of owning my own business since I was about 18 I think. The details of the business have changed since then, but the passion burns nonetheless. I'd love to marry a fashion boutique with a full service espresso bar. There would also be a play-pen area for small children that would be un-supervised but well stocked and gated so perfect for toddler aged children. And the shop would be small enough that mom could peak over at her kids from time to time without having to stop browsing. Those are the only details I've got. I don't have a real business plan or anything but I think that, if this is my goal, I'm definitely going to have to study business. ARGH! I know, in order to run a business I have to know something about business?? lol

After managing Prices Plus, I've had a window into business management and, while I didn't have to create the budget or anything, I did have to stick to it and meet sales goals and so on in order to keep the store running. In other words I learned a thing or two about what it means to run a business. That store was a good 4 times as big as anything I would ever want to try to run by myself though. I'd rather have a small maintainable shop with great products than a large shop with hit-or-miss stock that goes to clearance more often than not.

I have a LOT to learn, but at least I know what I want to study! I'm going to have to do research to find out what steps I need to take in order to insure my success. We are already making plans for future investments to further strengthen our portfolio so I'm hoping that, by the time I'm ready to get started, I could pay for my shop site in cash and not have to worry about selling myself to get some kind of small-business loan. Other than that, nothing's certain! I'm just glad I have a direction to move in now. :)