Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Time Flies When You are Having Fun

.....or Does It?

Okay, so another month has passed (and another post without pics, sorry! Next time, I promise!) Where does the time go? It’s supposed to be the slow season, yet things aren’t slow!

I have had more orders this year than last year at this time, so that’s good at least. I’ve also hit many speed bumps along the way. This has been a rough year!!! My husband took a job out of town and commuted for 6 months while I stayed here with the kids and the business. Left all alone to juggle 3 kids in school, sports and a full time job. Not an easy task and my business definitely suffered as a result.

It’s not just me, alone, running this business. I have partners and good painters, excellent shippers and a very supportive family. But as a manager of all things company related, I sucked! I was on overload and couldn’t get through one day without a crisis. I always felt like I was drowning. It was kind of like a domino effect. I couldn’t quite keep my head above water. I hated it! I’m a major control freak, so you can imagine.

Limbo! How low can you go?

We have been in limbo around here for what seems like forever. It’s killing me. I’m not a sit-still kind of gal, so not knowing and not doing something to plan for it is just aggravating to me. After deciding we didn’t want to relocate to another state, my husband is looking to go back to school. He is really wanting to get into another field and needs the training for it. It’s been quite a year with his job(s).

So what happens to the business if he goes back to school? Well, good question! Either he runs it while he goes to school (not so easy!) and I go back to work full time for someone else, where I can bring home the dependable paycheck and the benefits. OR, I sell it. Kind of a bummer since I was ready to launch a new product this month and have a gazillion designs floating in my head! Decisions……decisions. For right now, it’s not a tough one. I can’t even get an interview in this job market with the troubled economy.

What to do…..What to do….Close Shop or Partner Up?

I really hate to close shop. This is my baby! I love my work and my customers and everything that I get to do on a daily basis. It’s nice having a flexible schedule too. Although anyone out there running their own successful business will tell you, it’s not as flexible as you might think. It’s not just a hobby; it’s like every other job out there. It’s more than a full time job. I may get to go to my son’s valentine’s day party, but I’ll have to make up for it later that night, when everyone’s in bed, or at least when homework is done.

I have a huge list of retailers waiting to carry my products wholesale, orders coming in strong and employees to schedule. It’s really hard being in limbo and sitting still. Maybe I don’t need to close shop! Maybe I need a partner to help me run this business!!

Oooohhh, that sounds very tempting! If only I worked outside of the house and actually met people in Nashville. My only friends are cyber friends. Women who own businesses already and who happen to live in another far away state! If you happen to know anyone............