An interview with Rhonda Muir, Orkneyology
Rhonda is from orkneyology.com and Orkneyology Press: creating a website and publishing house to preserve and promote the stories, folklore and social history of Orkney and beyond.
Where in rural Scotland are you based and what do you love about living and working there?
My husband and I are in the Orkney Islands. Tom is an Orcadian historian and folklorist and I'm an American transplant (and a writer). While we have different ways of experiencing Orkney, we both love living here. Along with the natural beauty of the place, I think what I love most are the stories of people who have lived here through millennia, some of which are still visible in stone. These tales seem to inhabit the landscape itself. I'm especially grateful for the sense of close community that we enjoy here.
When did you set up your rural business, and what inspired you to start it?
When I left America, I promised my (adult) children that I would visit regularly and that I'd come to them any time they needed me. To keep this promise I needed a portable business. This led me to create a website which we would eventually monetise. The form that the web-based business took was purely down to our mutual interest in Orkney and its stories, as well as in books and folklore around the world.
What is the biggest challenge you face or have faced running your business in rural Scotland?
Our location in Orkney defines and enhances what we do and isn't a problem since our business is online. I think our biggest challenge has been from within. It's hard to value our work fairly and to learn to feel comfortable charging for things and not just giving everything away. I've noticed the same difficulty in a lot of other self-employed folk, this tendency to undervalue what we do.
What’s been your biggest achievement so far?
Orkneyology.com is a resource that Tom and I are very proud of. It continues to develop organically. It seems to be growing into a kind of social history archive, among other things - not exactly what we'd originally planned, but better.
The thing we're most excited about is our newest venture. We'll soon begin publishing extraordinary stories of ordinary people through Orkneyology Press. This part of the business is set to begin this year.
How do you look after your own health and wellbeing while running your business, and why do you think this is so important?
Coming from a culture where work is given too much importance and from circumstances making necessary to work multiple jobs for most of my adult life, the hardest thing to learn is to NOT work all the time. As I get older it becomes more obvious that I have natural limits. Also, it would be nice to give myself permission to enjoy life.
I'm learning to work and enjoy in a more wholesome balance, trying to become less achievement-oriented and simply let myself be happy. To that end, I spend as much time as I can in my garden or walking or reading, and being thankful that I can do these things now.
What support have you received?
I have been astonished at the level of support for small businesses here in Scotland. There was nothing like this where I came from. It's wonderful to have so many (free!) resources for training and advice as we build our business. Having help and support makes it less frightening to do a new thing.
Find out more about this business here.