Hey all,
So I kinda dropped off the vape radar about 7-8ish months ago. Essentially I started doing a bunch of woodwork last year, got pretty decent at it, but then kinda lost the energy/motivation due to job changes and me losing the enjoyment after selling some of my work and it suddenly feeling like it's a job. For context, at the time I was a postdoc in academic research and pretty unhappy with that, so oriented myself towards data science to get a corporate job. I managed to do that, super happy with my new job and team etc, but that definitely consumed a lot of my energy. Also, I have a chronic pain issue which means I've had a headache every day, all day, for about 2.5yrs now. So that definitely limits my capacity for dealing with life somewhat ha.
Anyway, I'm feeling a bit of a wind back in my woodwork sails but definitely want to avoid the same trap I ran into last time where it became a job not a hobby. At the same time I need to get rid of pieces otherwise my vape drawer just overflows and I also kinda like the input of people requesting customs etc, I like people enjoying my work etc etc. Also, I don't need the money. Like it'd be good to get my basic material costs covered, but beyond that, I don't care.
So here's my idea, which I'd like to get your input on through the poll, but also please feel free to leave comments with what you think. The basic idea is: I offer wooden accessories, like dynavap/vapman stems, WPAs, customs, "for free". The "for free" part looks as follows though: if someone wants something, I'd ask them to cover my postage fees, and maybe a flat rate wood fee so I can keep getting wood/materials (say, 5$/€ per order). Beyond that, I'd ask people to donate, however much they like/they value my work once they've received it, to a charity of their choice listed on givewell.org or thelifeyousave.org where they find the purpose meaningful/important/worth supporting. If you're not aware, these are organizations that collate charities that actually do something (as in, they have a meaningful, measurable impact and maximize the good done for the money spent). I generally donate about 10% of my income to charities listed there, and maybe this is a nice way for me and the people who want woodworkies from me to enjoy the pleasures of giving to charity. If you haven't tried it, it's the most guilt- and shame-free way to spend money, truly without even the slightest hint of buyer's remorse. But yeah, this way I get to do woodwork without feeling like I run a business, people get to enjoy my woodwork and as well as the pleasure of giving money to do something good rather than just spending it on their own VAS, and any money changing hands goes to a good purpose.
What's your vibe?
So I kinda dropped off the vape radar about 7-8ish months ago. Essentially I started doing a bunch of woodwork last year, got pretty decent at it, but then kinda lost the energy/motivation due to job changes and me losing the enjoyment after selling some of my work and it suddenly feeling like it's a job. For context, at the time I was a postdoc in academic research and pretty unhappy with that, so oriented myself towards data science to get a corporate job. I managed to do that, super happy with my new job and team etc, but that definitely consumed a lot of my energy. Also, I have a chronic pain issue which means I've had a headache every day, all day, for about 2.5yrs now. So that definitely limits my capacity for dealing with life somewhat ha.
Anyway, I'm feeling a bit of a wind back in my woodwork sails but definitely want to avoid the same trap I ran into last time where it became a job not a hobby. At the same time I need to get rid of pieces otherwise my vape drawer just overflows and I also kinda like the input of people requesting customs etc, I like people enjoying my work etc etc. Also, I don't need the money. Like it'd be good to get my basic material costs covered, but beyond that, I don't care.
So here's my idea, which I'd like to get your input on through the poll, but also please feel free to leave comments with what you think. The basic idea is: I offer wooden accessories, like dynavap/vapman stems, WPAs, customs, "for free". The "for free" part looks as follows though: if someone wants something, I'd ask them to cover my postage fees, and maybe a flat rate wood fee so I can keep getting wood/materials (say, 5$/€ per order). Beyond that, I'd ask people to donate, however much they like/they value my work once they've received it, to a charity of their choice listed on givewell.org or thelifeyousave.org where they find the purpose meaningful/important/worth supporting. If you're not aware, these are organizations that collate charities that actually do something (as in, they have a meaningful, measurable impact and maximize the good done for the money spent). I generally donate about 10% of my income to charities listed there, and maybe this is a nice way for me and the people who want woodworkies from me to enjoy the pleasures of giving to charity. If you haven't tried it, it's the most guilt- and shame-free way to spend money, truly without even the slightest hint of buyer's remorse. But yeah, this way I get to do woodwork without feeling like I run a business, people get to enjoy my woodwork and as well as the pleasure of giving money to do something good rather than just spending it on their own VAS, and any money changing hands goes to a good purpose.
What's your vibe?