My New Job

I have a new job. I alluded to it in an earlier post, but now I've actually started. I'm an independent consultant for a company called Thirty-One Gifts. That's a fancy way of saying I do home parties. (I've been reading a little too much Fancy Nancy in my spare time.) So far it's going GREAT. I've met my first 30-day goal (to have 3 "qualifying parties"). I have 7 more booked in the next 90 days, and 3 more who have said they will do parties in later October or November. I feel so blessed! I think it will take all those parties to break even on what I've spent in supplies and items to show, but I should be making some money by next year. :)

Here's what I love about my work:

1) I get to still be a stay-at-home mom. My kids barely notice I'm gone because they get to hang out with Daddy, and that is a big treat for them.

2) I love the products, so I'm excited to talk about them.

3) It's a faith-based company, so I feel free to be honest about who I am and what my values are.

4) I get to meet lots of fun new women.

5) It has caused me to think more about how I can use this job as an opportunity to celebrate and encourage other women. One exciting thing is that I get to do a fundraiser in November for Arms of Love, a pregnancy resource center in Godfrey, IL. It's one of my favorite charities, and I can't wait to do it.

6) I get to help contribute to the family fund. That just feels good. My husband is a wonderful provider, but everyone can always use "extras" now and then, right?

7) Last, but not least, I get to pull a black rolling luggage bag to work. I feel very cool when I do that. I secretly wanted to be a pharmaceutical sales rep. or a court reporter so I could do that. It's the little things that make me happy.

What I don't love about my job:

1) I don't know everything yet, and the perfectionist in me wants to hide in a cave until I can memorize prices, catalog page numbers, embroidery fonts, etc. This is not realistic, so I just show up and have to be honest about the fact that I don't know everything about it yet.

2) I miss my dear blog friends. I haven't logged into Google Reader for a month. I can't imagine the number of CNN news updates that are waiting for me. Hopefully I'll be back into a rhythm once I figure out what I'm doing.

So far that's about it. I think I was REALLY ready to start getting out a little more. I was trying to think of ways to make money writing, but I wasn't getting anywhere. This opportunity came along at just the right time. I never thought I would be doing this. As my Arbonne friend says, I crossed over to the dark side of direct sales. But somehow it seems like God is in it. At least for now. I'm kind of excited to be in the working moms club!