I do! I went to engineering school... for no real reason other than I was good at math and didn't know what I wanted to do and it sounded "responsible." I had no idea about Asperger's at the time.. liked engineering school well enough for the first couple years but hated it by the end. but at that point, I just wanted to finish my degree and be done with school. Quitting with all those student loans was not an option. Got a job relatively easily.. economy was great when I graduated and I got a job through a professor so I didn't even have to interview (thank goodness.. I don't think I would have made it through an interview process). Stayed at that job for 9 years.. it was ok in the beginning.. I was good at it and pretty much just got to sit at my desk and run calculations all day. Aspie heaven, right? Well.. economy crashed and my boss retired and I got moved to a new group within my office and started having problems immediately. That group was all about climbing the stupid corporate ladder and taking on more responsibilities. I used to have panic attacks every time my phone rang because it was always something I didn't have an answer for. I got really good at saying "send me an email for the record, please".. at least that gave me time to formulate a response to architect and contractor questions and not have to try and talk. Job site visits and meetings were another pretty big problem for me. Work pretty much got to be a total nightmare. I started getting really poor reviews, too. I lasted another couple years before figuring out I needed to get out of it.. still unaware of Aspergers..
Anyways.. I've always loved to sew.. like really really loved to sew..ever since as long as I can remember. So I started an etsy shop and it took off well enough to make a decent living.. I had enough money saved up to quit my engineering job so I just did it. I've been self employed over a year now and my business is doing pretty well. I haven't touched my savings except for a couple times, and I've been able to put it all back the next month. Now, I have an entire sewing studio set up across the street from my apartment and I get to sew all day every day. And I am so incredibly happy... full time dedication to my lifelong special interest LOL. I learned about Asperger's about 6 months ago and things definitely make sense in that light now.
Anyways... sorry that got really long, but I'm a big believer in doing what you love.. life is too short for otherwise.
Hi
I have a few questions about your business, if you don't mind.
I see you in LA, I'm from Illinois. Some tax regulations may be different, but shouldn't be that different, I guess.
1) did you have a business plan before you started?
2) did you have to invest in marketing in the beginning?
3) how did you register as self employed?
4) do you have an attorney and an accountant, and, if you do, did you use their services from the beginning?
5) how frequently do you do your taxes: every 2,6 months or yearly?
6) do you have some sort of business insurance?
7) any advice for a beginner?
what I want to do is to sell some hand made stuff and some printed materials, with a possibility of do freelance design work for somebody else. I'm capable of making many different things and doing different jobs, my issue is not with making but more with negotiating and communicating about the work... my plan for now is to create a portfolio and bunch of products...
If I had money I would hire people to help me, but I have $0 to invest, so my plan is to create something then... maybe, if it goes well ask people to invest ...
As for the legal part... In a few years (or sonner, if I can) I want to register as self employed, but when it comes to absorbing a lot of information and going through a lot of paperwork at once - I can become very overwhelmed, but I'm sure I can manage well if I know what needs to be done exactly.