Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Whoa! Dream Big!

Being a single mom, I have learned to accept that there are somethings I won't be able to do, at least for awhile. No cross-country road trips with girl friends, no back-packing across Europe, no living in Italy for months with immersion as the only way to learn the language. It's just not possible for me at this point in my life. But I do still have dreams. I dream of having my own home in Orange County so that I'm close to my family and my church. I dream of going to Hawaii for a honeymoon (that goes along with my dream of marrying a fantastically well-read, educated, kid-friendly man). I dream of taking a cruise to the Caribbean. And I also dream of being able to work from home so that I'm able to spend more time with my daughter.

A few weeks after I learned that my now-ex-husband and I were pregnant with our daughter, I joined a well-known direct sales company (per company rules, I cannot promote my business by name on any website) that sells cooking utensils. I did it to earn money while not working during my pregnancy. 5+ years later I'm still selling for them, mostly to earn what I call "Disneyland money;" My daughter and I both have annual passes and this second job helps pay for them. And it would be very nice if this could be my full-time job, but seeing as how being self-employed means paying high premiums for healthcare, I feel tied to my "real" job in the health insurance industry. But, my direct sales job does have it's perks: I decide how much to work, when to work, plus I get a discount on the things I sell (great for stocking up for my future kitchen). And, every year they have an incentive trip; sell enough for the company and you get to go somewhere for free! This year the incentive is a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Early entry into one of the parks, dinner at another park, travel allowance, breakfast with favorite characters, the works! I've never earned a trip in the 5 years that I've been selling, but that's because I consider myself a "casual consultant." In it for the extra cash, not for life. And the goal for the best option for the trip is very high; do-able, but high. My average yearly sales are about $6000, only 5% of what I need to earn the best option for the trip! But every year consultants across the country make this goal and have the time of their life courtesy of this company.

So, even though I've never sold enough to earn even the first level of the incentives, I'm going to quote Juno (though out of context) and "Dream Big!" They say that if you aim for the moon and miss, at least you'll land among the stars (I never really agreed with this saying because it was said before people knew that stars are even farther out of reach than the moon). If I don't make it to the best option for this incentive, at least I will have earned a lot more money than I have in the past, and I may even make it to Florida on the company, but just not stay as long as I would with the top option.

So here's to dreaming big and working hard! Perhaps my New Year's Resolution should be to make more phone calls for my business and put more shows on my calendar. I may not go to Walt Disney World on my company's dime, but I might just make it that much easier to reach next year's goal.

(P.S. If you're interested in helping me reach my goal of going to Walt Disney World and would like to host a party for the above un-named direct sales company, you can reach me by clicking on my profile and sending me an e-mail. Sorry, doesn't hurt to ask for business.)

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My fearless child, friends and I on Tower of Terror at DCA
 

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