Farming

I used to be a homemaker.  Sort of.

I loved being a homemaker.  Loved being able to care for my family, help my kids discover their potential and reach for the top, help my husband with the details of his life so he could focus on his work and the tasks before him.  Be available for my friends when they were hurting, able to drop everything just to listen.

But I wasn't really a homemaker.  My husband was always self employed and I have always done his bookkeeping, we have owned rental property that fell to me to manage and I have sat on the board at our church as well as starting and leading various ministries.  I was very much working during those years I wasn't making any money.

One of the ideas that continually motivated me during those years is what I refer to as "the new family farm".  I am intrigued by the idea of the family farm.  Kids and parents working together to care for animals and produce a harvest.  Work together, play together, live and love together.  Creating a strong healthy family.  That is what I felt like we were doing during those years I was at home.  Our kids were part of our lives, our son helped us clean our commercial building each week emptying trash and vacuuming, we discussed business plans over dinner, I collected rent with a baby carrier under my arm and delivered drawings between grocery shopping and piano lessons.

With the industrial revolution came a separation in family life.  Now we all have our own thing, parents and kids, and then we come back together in the evenings to compare notes and take care of the family details.  Having done it this past year I can say that while I continue to feel involved in my families life it isn't the same as shared experiences and frankly, it is exhausting.  There are good and bad in everything but given the choice I would rather work with my family.

So my number one motivation as I go forward is to bring my family back together.  This is what drives me.

What drives you?

If the family were a boat, it would be a canoe that makes no progress unless everyone paddles.

LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN, Family and Politics

The Next Big Step

A man should never neglect his family for business. – Walt Disney

Well, I did it.  I quit my job.  Now to find another one...

Actually this is something my husband and I have been discussing for a few months.  He is in school full time but still makes more than double what I make working part time.  And as we have talked over the winter we have found that while there have been several good things about my transition back to full time work, there has been a lot that really hasn't worked.  After talking about what we needed and what our goals were we realized that what I really need is a part time job.  The long term goal is still to be fully self employed but for now I still need to work a little.

What we have decided is that I need more schedule flexibility.  I  need to be able to get our daughter off the bus in the afternoons.  John is leaving work sometimes 2 hours earlier than he would need to so I can stay at my job and make less than half his hourly rate.  And although he is also taking a full load of classes he ends up making dinner every night and doing a fair number of household chores.  While I have re-taken some of the housework in recent months as the transition back to work has become more comfortable, the bottom line is that with lunch and commute I am out of the house nearly 10 hours a day and the last thing I want to do when I get home is clean the bathroom.  In my tiny amount of free time between work and spending time with my family I am trying and failing to start a business.  With all that it was clear we needed to try something else.

Last fall I had been listening to a series on internet marketing that I stopped as my life has gotten too full but, one of  the interesting things he suggested had to do with when to quit your job.  He basically said that while it might make sense to wait until you can replace your income plus to quit your job, he actually suggests you quit when you have replaced maybe 2/3 of your income or less.  He argues you will make more when you can fully commit to the business.  I sure hope he is right.

I had hoped to be able to stay at my current job on a part time basis but they didn't want to do that.  It is a little scary to realize I am going to have to job search but exciting as well.  And we timed this for when John was finished with classes and his summer construction schedule has already started filling up.  So if I do nothing but the business all summer long we will be fine.  No need to panic until about mid August.  And who knows, maybe by mid August I will be humming along enough to not need a part time job.

I did briefly email with a friend who is a very successful entrepreneur.  One of the things he said was that this is not a "get rich quick" scheme.  It could take a year or more before I can take money out of a business.  While I am aware that building a business takes time it was a good reminder of why I am pursuing the things I am in the order I am.  I need to make money now and I want to build a business for later.  So I am starting by pursuing things like writing or Stella & Dot that put money in my pocket today while researching and considering ideas that will set me up to make money in the future as well.  Active and passive income.  In the classic "Rich Dad" series he talks about the difference between a business owner and a self employed person.  One makes money even when you aren't working and one is dependent upon you to make money.  I guess for now I am self employed but long term I want to be a business owner.

We all have to start somewhere.  And June 1st I launch into this business world with a new level of commitment.  In the mean time I am going to just try to make May a little better than April.

• I do have 3 Stella and Dot shows on my calendar that I am hoping will all be successful and earn me that prize they are offering again this month as well as putting a few hundred dollars in my pocket.  
• I am going to try to do a little reading.  Education needs to be a key going forward.  I picked up a book called "Selling 101" by Zig Ziglar.  It is a small condensed book, quick read.  Just what I can handle these days.  And since Zig is a well established authority on the subject I thought he would be a good place to start.  My friend also recommended several other books that I will hit the library for and let you know if I find any gems.
• My writing project has gone off to the business partners for review and I expect lots of slashes and re-writes in my future.

In the mean time I am encouraged that although April wasn't the successful month I had hoped for I did actually make $125 in commission on my sales during about 3-1/2 hours of work.  More than I am making in 3-1/2 hours at my current job and a lot more fun and family friendly.

If it really was a no-brainer to make it on your own in business there’d be millions of no-brained, harebrained, and otherwise dubiously brained individuals quitting their day jobs and hanging out their own shingles. Nobody would be left to round out the workforce and execute the business plan. – Bill Rancic