Overview
So I've pulled the trigger on My Own Business a few weeks ago. Already had one total meltdown. I'm ADHD and peri?menopausal, so my brain doesn't work like it used to (and it was never particularly organized).
But I know myself, and all my rants become raves over time. I've always enjoyed reading back over problems that I thought were insurmountable, and typing has always cleared my head. So that's what this blog is about: me trying to get this going, organize my own thoughts, and let the people who care about me (and heck, just the curious) see what's going on.
I'll keep my own introduction brief. I'm Amanda, aka Bamawing. It's nifty to be 50, and I'm genuinely excited about being officially Too Old For That BS. I've had a partial hystorectomy (they are every wonderful thing people say they are) so I don't know if I'm fully menopausal or not. My doctor says I probably am. My hot flashes disagree with her. (Hot flashes are the BEST. No, that was not sarcastic. I hit puberty like a brick wall at age 8 and was freezing cold for the next 4 decades. Despite living in Alabama. I live at a ski resort in Washington State now. Bring ON this internal heater!)
I can't spell worth beans, so please forgive that. My spell check is now "AI enhanced" which means instead of giving me the correct spelling, my only option is "help me write." Um, no? Also eff you? I can write fine without AI's help... I've done this professionally... and besides I don't want a computer copying my work. And this illustrates another aspect of me: I'm a luddite to the very marrow of my bones. I hate technology but only because it hated me first. If I hadn't lost my voice for a week in college, I probably still wouldn't know how to type.
Enough about me, here's what's up with my business.
I DM. That's Dungeon Master, for Dungeons and Dragons. I was fortunate enough to do it professionally last summer, and that was IT, y'all, this is what I wanna do. To that end, I've got a bunch of ideas.. I've never counted them, guess I'll do that now... and we'll see what actually makes money and which don't.
Summer camp: Thank you, so much, for hiring me, Ray!! I had a true genuine ball this summer. I taught a veritable slew of kiddos how to roll dice. There are totally things I want to change for next year, but I've already got them written down. Somewhere. I literally changed some long-held travel dreams just to free up my summer next year... I'll see an eclipse when I'm 70, it'll be fine. Only problem is I'll need to figure out how to make money for the rest of the year.
Online DMing: this one is a stronger contender than you'd expect, thanks entirely to Chris. That's right, y'all, I have a mentor! What I don't have is any technological prowess... or a computer that can handle even my weekly game for my friends. One of those is getting delivered in the next few weeks I hope! The other probably not so much.
DMing at renfaires (my current headache): I underestimated the technical prowess needed to get online signups going. At the moment, however, I'm expecting to start this exciting adventure on the banks of my beloved Tennessee River. Somehow. (I have an appointment with someone from Square tomorrow so I can explain why a woman with a Washington driver's license and no business license yet is looking at setting up sales tax in Alabama. My parents still live there, and Mama's already helping me with tables and chairs.)
Selling custom character sheets: the only thing I don't love about 5.5 is the character sheet changes. Fortunately, I'm an artist. And my character sheets are the BEST... designed for players with Autism and perfected over the course of the summer with the kids. They're clear, concise, and I did a bang-up job. Pay what you want. I may also sell mismatched dice sets (sooooo much easier than trying to describe the difference between a D20 and a D12!).
Selling homebrew one-shots: this is a case of filling a need. I'd like to see how that goes at the Alabama renfaire, but I'm still struggling to set up how to sell seats. :p
Seeing if I can do after-school DMing. Dunno how I'd do it, but I'd be happy to. There's a company in New York that supposedly hires DMs to go to schools all over the country. I'll look into that as soon as I get this renfaire taken care of. I could probably also do an after-school thing... but woof. One major thing at a time, please.
Weekends at Bee's farm. My friend Bee has a farm at which she likes doing events. I'd have to figure out how and who to advertise, but I could probably do a really cool weekend there.