I’m writing this column sat in the snug part of a pub (playing horrific regional radio) in St Ives, Cornwall. The surf has been shocking but hey…

It’s a Tuesday lunchtime and this simply doesn’t happen in our line of work, ever. I know what you’re thinking: ‘Lazy git, why are you sat in a pub not working?’ Well, I’m actually calling time for a moment, (though I am writing an article for work). As a small team of three all mucking in to do everything at once, the seats of our well-worn pants have flown for far too long and it’s time to take five. It is incredibly rare to be able to get a breather and take stock, and if you’re seriously feeling the pinch, you’ve gotta put your hand up. It’s kind of like treading muddy water, when all you want to do is drift around on a lilo in the direction of success. Ha ha, fat chance.

However, there does come a time in one’s career or life, when one just needs to press pause, climb to the highest point and take a damn good look around. If you don’t, even the smallest of things can get on top of you and that isn’t healthy. The straw that breaks the camel’s back should always be marked clearly and avoided. If you’re feeling a heavy load, just stop and analyse every one of those straws and understand how important each one is. I’m sure you’ll soon realise that half of them don’t really mean anything and are just there for the ride anyway.

The rollercoaster of running your own thing has its highs and lows, and both need to be managed carefully. For us, becoming debt-free, collectively project-managing an entire office move, bracing ourselves for an inevitable downward shift in sales as winter approaches, managing useless third-party businesses, being part of the awful marketing noise created by faceless corporates who scream “hurry, while stocks last” and launching our new Mocha range is just a handful of huge things happening in the world of Jimmy’s right now and they must be prioritised well. Oh, stop complaining…

I’m looking forward to some big gusts of Atlantic wind blowing the straws off my back after lunch. Once the white-bearded sleigh drifter is out of the way and we’re back on track, we can crack on with what we do best, making and doing stuff to keep your chin up.

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