A dream job is still a job.

We here at #TeamFlea have pretty dreamy jobs.

We write articles (like this one) and work with creative business owners and make fun, joy-filled events happen.

But they are still jobs. Jobs that require that we grow personally, experience discomfort, deal with conflict and risk our hearts.

They also sometimes (most times) require heavy lifting, late nights, exhausting days, customers yelling at us, and failure- so much failure.

Again, jobs (even the dreamy ones) will have tough moments that require we have emotional resilience and exercise self care.

We also help a lot of creative people build the businesses that they dream about. And we can attest to the fact that it’s not a cakewalk. Our small business owners are usually working 2 jobs and managing families and full lives. They’re learning every single day and on most days they (along with us) feel new at things.

Feeling like a beginner is usually a reason people use to not follow their dreams. It’s scary and uncomfortable but do you know what’s amazing? Getting better at something.

So, here on #TeamFlea we realize that not all jobs are dreamy. We realize that even ours sometimes suck. But we also work together on stuff we care about, stuff we’re interested in AND we essentially control our own futures. And that’s the super dreamy stuff.

We set goals and then get to achieve them. We believe in our mission and get to support it. We work hard and get to enjoy the rewards of that effort (and the risk). And that’s true for all our vendors at Cleveland Flea.

We are here for the Dreamers. The Doers. The Workers. The Hustlers. The ones who want to live out their purpose.

Doing your own thing isn’t all rainbows + daisies. But it’s pretty darn fun to be doing it with a tight-knit team in a pretty amazing city.