Gone for 1 Year, 6 Months, and 29 Days

Happy Wednesday Hivers! For a long time, I had been dreaming of opening a small snack house. Cooking native snacks has always brought me joy, so I wanted to turn that passion into a business. Going back to being employed never crossed my mind, I just wanted to run a small business and do some blogging on the side. That was my focus at the time. ##  ## By September 2023, my mind was fully set on starting a business. I began looking for a place, working on costing, finalizing the menu, and planning everything. Since it was a new venture, I only hired one person, someone who could deliver and assist in the store. I personally did all the cooking. ##  ## One day, my father advised me to hire someone to help with cooking because he could see how exhausting it was for me to do everything alone. But because the business was new, I was very cautious about spending money. I wanted to keep my expenses low, so I only hired one store crew/delivery boy. I didn’t mind doing all the work myself because I truly enjoyed cooking native snacks. ##  ## The business did well during the first two months. Eventually, I hired a second person. But after a few months, things started to slow down. Expenses began to outweigh income. I was constantly stressed, and my health began to suffer, I lost a lot of weight from exhaustion. That’s when I made the painful decision to close the business. I had poured in my time, effort, and money, but I still ended up with losses. Business is a gamble—that’s a mindset you really need to have. Otherwise, the losses will crush you. Of course, it hurts to lose the money you worked so hard for. But I had to move forward and accept the reality that failure is normal in the business world. ##  ## Although I don't have plan on going back to employment, I realized it was the only way I could recover financially. Even the money I earned on Hive—I ended up withdrawing just to stay afloat. Before I started my business, I had approximately 1,500 HP in my Hive wallet. Unfortunately, I withdrew my Hive earnings, and I only have around 200 HIVE remaining. I lost the drive to blog again—it felt like I was starting from zero. I wanted to fund my Hive account to get motivated again, but I simply didn’t have the means because of the business losses. I’m grateful that now, I’ve been able to add funds back into my Hive account. And the excitement I felt after doing that—pure joy. Finally, I can go back to posting again. I set aside travel, blogging, and even employment because I wanted to build my own business. But unfortunately, it didn’t succeed. While running the business, I had to sacrifice so much—my happiness from traveling, my love for writing, and a lot of money—because I truly believed it would work out. But it didn’t. Still, I believe God has a different plan for me. Even though I didn’t succeed in the business I dreamed of, and even though I lost money, at least I tried. I have no regrets. Because when I look back, I know I didn’t let my dream pass me by without giving it a shot. That’s the reason I’ve been away for over a year, Hivers. How have you all been? It’s been a while. ##

Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!

---

Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

---