When Life Hands You SOUR Lemons… Add a Shit Load of Sugar and Start Squeezing!

With all of the happy going on in my life these days, one could say I was a little bit, well… kicked on my ass… when my boss took my colleague and I out for drinks (non-alcoholic for me, of course) on Friday and suggested that we start looking for new jobs. To say the least, the company’s outlook is not ideal, and, being in marketing… AKA 100% overhead… we would be the first on the chopping block. So, having just read in my pregnancy update that I would begin showing soon, all I could think was, “SHIT!” I mean, when people think of the ideal time to go job hunting, they must imagine waddling into an interview, baby bump front and center, and face in full swell… that really gets employers ready to negotiate.

Okay, enough wallowing. Since hearing this news on Friday, I’ve been trying to figure out my next step. Prior to this, my hope was to begin working for my parents once the baby came, while staying on at my existing job on a part-time basis to help supplement the pay cut I’d be taking by working for my parents’ company. Now that the part-time job portion of the plan is no longer an option, I’m faced with losing my insurance and taking a pretty significant pay cut, oh, and adding a mini person (and mouth to feed and butt to diaper and so on) to our family. On the positive, working for my parents will allow some great flexibility… ie: every day will be ‘bring your baby (and dog) to work day’. Can we say, hello dream world??

So, I’ve been trying to figure out some other options to supplement the lost income, while still allowing me flexibility and ample time to dedicate to growing my parents business. So far, the best option I’ve come up with is trying to secure some contract work. This could add a flexible 10-15 hours of work per week and would be a great supplement. Of course, this isn’t as easy as I originally thought. Because of course, on top of figuring out what to charge… which apparently isn’t as simple as dividing my current compensation by 2,000 (number of hours worked / year) – think social security taxes and fun stuff like that – but it also takes CLIENTS. DUH, right?

I’ve never been a big sales kind of person, so already this is not ideal. But, I bit the bullet and sent my first solicitation email this morning. What I’m offering specifically is a little TBD, but I guess the only way to start figuring it out is by gauging demand, right?

Anyway, wish me luck as I attempt to navigate Entrepreneurship 101.

Symptoms

The theme for the week is to make amends. With friends who I’ve been arguing with. With myself… it’s time to allow myself to forget, forgive and focus on being jolly. With my job situation… make lemonade, right? My week and a half of emotional crabbiness has taken too much out of me. It’s exhausting and frankly, just not much fun. While I’m sure I’m still going to have my little meltdowns, I’m really going to focus on letting go, smiling, and appreciating everything I have around me. Life is good.

Oh, and by the way, my boobs still hurt 🙂