Not Everyone Can Clock In. Work That Fits Real Lives.

There is an assumption built into most job descriptions: that a person’s life is stable enough to be ignored.

That they will arrive on time, every time.

That their body will cooperate.

That their mind will be clear.

That their housing, transport, health, paperwork, and relationships will hold steady in the background.

For many people, that assumption simply isn’t true.

Some live with chronic illness or disability.

Some carry trauma that flares unpredictably.

Some are caring for others.

Some are rebuilding after homelessness, incarceration, or long periods of exclusion.

This is not a failure of character.

It is a mismatch of design.

Microenterprises work because they bend. They allow work to fit around life, rather than demanding life collapse around work. Hours can change. Output can pause. Pace can slow. Ownership stays close.

This flexibility is often misunderstood as weakness. In reality, it is what makes the work possible at all.

When people say, “Why don’t they just get a job?”, the better question is:

What kind of work would actually fit the life they are living right now?

If you’re exploring microenterprise—personally, organisationally, or practically—I write and consult at human scale. Start with a conversation, not a business plan.

Microenterprises often begin quietly—with what someone can do, where they are, with what they have. These reflections sit with that kind of work: small, adaptive, and deeply human.

• Chapter 5: Priscilla’s Woodcraft Adventures
• Chapter 4: Cognitive Factory
• Chapter 1: Picking Up Wood
• Chapter 11: When Loyalty Becomes a Limit
• Chapter 8: Strong Hands, New Beginnings.