Earlier this year my daughter and a few of my Girl Scouts asked me why I work? This was brought on by their career teacher to do research about why people work. Well, I am sure if you ask people why they work at least over 50% of the population is going to say for the money! This teacher was ahead of the game on that answer and told the kids they had to find out other reasons why we work. So stop and think for a moment, besides the money, why do you work?
To tell you the answer of why I work, I have to share my last few weeks at work.
Just after my one year anniversary celebration, I received a phone call from the author I had wanted to join in my celebration. She had some things that had been going on and it was the soonest she was able to chat with me. She was sad to have missed my event but was still interested in doing a book signing at my store. I was very excited to meet and talk with her so I welcomed to my store Alice McFeely Meloy author of the series "One Small Valley" on November 9th. Over my lifetime, I have had so many wonderful teachers about etiquette for entertaining guests and prepared to do so. I also have been making some tweaks to my store over the last couple months so I have had some additional expenses to my monthly budget. As I am preparing I decided to make some changes to my marketing for events. Just wanted to try something new and see if I could gain some new customers. So I am calling around for some additional prices and laying out what I can and can not afford. After I see the expenses, I decided to take the safe route and go with my normal plan since it was in my budget. As I went to sleep that night I kept replaying in my head the contact potential with my secondary choice in marketing. Their coverage area was much larger than any I have used in the past and they deal with social media which could help even more in the long run. When I got to work the next day I decided to take the large risk and go with the expensive marketing. To be able to afford it, I had to cancel service with the company I usually use. My original hope was to do both but when it came down to it, I chose only one. I was excited each time I saw my advertisement with the larger firm, but it did not seem to bring in the response I was hoping for. As for the day of my event, I think my free advertising brought me as much business as my advertisement did. We had a wonderful evening and I enjoyed some great conversations with Alice and her family.
Business is all about taking risks, I go through ups and downs when I can jump in without looking back and then times of fear and worry. The key is to not let the fear and worry keep you from playing the game. Each business is unique and some types of marketing work better for some than others. I am learning what works for me and continue to tweak things to fit my needs. This week I have been kinda down. We have had a lot of family things going on right now and work seems to be taking a back burner and I was down that my marketing plan did not turn out the way I wanted it to. This is one of those weeks I sometimes question if I am on the path I should be on. Most of this business adventure has fallen into place for me. The items I need, arrive almost from out of the blue sometimes. I know that I am a growing as a business and not sure I can keep up at times either but I guess they are all just steps to where you are going.
To answer my question above about why I work. When I answered this question to the girls at school, I shared that I work to help other people and it is something I enjoy doing. My husband works to prepare for retirement and the health care benefits we receive. But thanks to my mother who often picks me up when I am down I remember why I work. I work each day to make the world a better place because that is who I am. Even if it is for 10 minutes while someone is shopping in my store, if I can make them smile they can pass it on to the next person and so on. For some it is that special piece they remember as a kid, or that item their daughter or son needs, or simply wishing them good luck on their scratch off ticket. I offer hopes and dreams with each purchase for the people who shop in my store and that brightens their day as well as mine. One of my business goals is to be able to provide for my family in a comfortable fashion and to have enough to give to others. I am still trying to achieve this goal one step at a time.
"If you think you are too small to make an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito"
Anita Roddick
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