Thursday, October 27, 2005

Getting it together

I'm not keeping this up very well - sorry!
I have worked a couple of shifts. It's going fine. Work is actually satisfying. While I do miss my boys when I go to work, I need the time away. I also have the need to contribute to our family income. We need more income! It's kind of scary in a way. While I know we won't go bancrupt, we are living on a tight budget right now.

Do you ever feel like you're waiting for life to begin? Do you wait for such & such a thing to happen so that you can do something else? I hate feeling like this. I've pondered what to do with my life on & off. But you know what? My life is happening already. If we don't experience life to the fullest, before we know it, it has passed us by. Time is a non renewable resource. We do wake up with the same amount every day - but once it's gone, it's gone. I need to pull my head out of my hind end & get on with it.

I'm a Pampered Chef consultant. I've been one since 2001 & I've enjoyed it. I still do enjoy it to a certain extent. But there are also things about being my own boss that are not enjoyable. I don't like the part about having to get on the phone in the evening when I could be spending time with my family. I don't like having to deal with "issues" that come up with customer service. I don't like it when hosts don't invite many people & then end up having 2 people show up at their show that I've driven 45 minutes to get to all the while my family is at home - and maybe even with a sitter. However, I do enjoy putting on a good show. I do enjoy the income when my hosts follow through with my host coaching & people attend the show. I do enjoy teaching people how to cook with the tools & to make healthy choices. I do enjoy recognition when I have high sales on the team.

What it comes down to right now is money. I get paid well when I work a shift at the hospital or urgent care. I can be guaranteed to make over $120 when I work a shift as a nurse for 4 hours. Not the guarantee with doing a Pampered Chef show that in its entirety with host phone calls, driving, show time & closing comes to 4 hours. Sales jobs don't have guaranteed income when you're paid on commission only. And once I leave work as a nurse - I'm done. I don't have to follow up with phone calls or be accountable for anything. I punch out & I'm done.

PLUS, I'd rather be scrapping! Now there's another dilemma. I could pursue a scrapping business on my own. But again, don't want to pursue bookings in the evenings when I am not guaranteed wages.

I know, looks like I've kind of made up my mind. I just can't give this up. I need to make up my mind one way or the other. I can't linger or I'll stress myself out more. Yet, I can stay active with PC without pursuing a lot. I have a web site that I can get orders from. I have repeat hosts & customers who hold shows regularly. All I need is $200 in retail sales every 2 months to stay active. It's not at all difficult for me to do this.

OK, so now I've rambled on & on. Feel free to tell me what you think.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I think you're doing the right thing and you're headed in the right direction Jen.. you sound like you're thinking out loud..but you're not thinking in a way that makes no sense.. I really think you'll be ok. Springsteen has a line in a song that says I was sitting around waiting for my life to begin..while it was all just passing me by.. we all do it.. No point wasting today!

JAC said...

I completly agree with everything you said. I've been sort of feeling that way waiting to see if I got this Property Management job. Saying, if I get this job, then we can ....

As far as the sales ... I'm sort of in the same quandry(?) with wanting to start to sell CM to help me cut my cost, but if I do I don't want to just do things as a hobby I would love to make serious money, but that means being away from my family.

Either way, I think you should stick with the nursing for a bit longer for the guaranteed cash ...