Business Struggles and Burnout: A Personal Update from Becky

[Becky0216]

Hello cheffers. I was wondering if anyone here can read this email I sent to my Director and see if you think it sounds bad. My Director always calls me and emails me and responds to my emails super fast even if there is nothing to respond to. Since I sent this email out 2 weeks ago I have not heard a thing from her. I am in a group that are all mainly hobbyists other than my D and one other member. My D had high hopes for me and I know that. I am just worried my wording made her mad?
As a side note, I have been selling for 10 months and most of those months my DH has been out of town for a good portion of them. I have 2 kids 4 and 18mo and a whole slew of family issues (parents and inlaws have cancer and heart failure). My D knows I have been frustrated and we have talked alot about how I am burnt out. I just don't seem to have the time anymore.

Hi Toni,
Sorry I took so long to get back to you. Thanks again for the offering the extra space in your room to me. I still am sticking by my decision to not go. If I would have accepted the Free registration, things may have been different. Thanks again. I know we have been talking alot about how I feel about the business.
I have just been having such a rough time. I also feel like I just don't have time in my life for it. There is so much going on in my family that we need to focus on. I know that stinks seeing that I am building my team and all (I have 4 recruits), but I am not going away all together. I don't know if I am burnt out or what but I hope to figure that out. I decided to take a small step back. All this means is I am not going out of my way to get business. I am going to still do the shows I have on the books (I have 6 shows and 4 vendor events through Feb.) and will continue to take shows that people say they want. Of course I am going to try to stay active by all means and still will try to make some meetings. But I will not longer be bummed when someone doesn't t book and I will not be doing follow up calls and emails to see if I can get those bookings and recruits ( I will still do ccc). I guess I am just tired of the effort and although I love PC, I just am not excited about it right now. Maybe I just need to step back for a while and that will come back. I don't know. I am sick of the let downs and lately there seem to be a lot of them: shows not qualifying, recruits not selling, customers & recruits ignoring my calls, no bookings from shows etc. I only have one recruit who is actively selling and she just told me yesterday she isn't sure this is her thing. She keeps getting crappy hosts and she doesn't want to deal with it anymore. She just doesn't like what she is doing. So my one active recruit may quit herself. Then I work so hard to obtain my 3k SAT goal and I will make it because of a show I recently submitted. The problem? The one guest may be pulling her order because she feels it was too expensive after shopping around. She doesn't care about the lifetime warranty ( She bought the 7 piece Stainless set at full price). So if she chooses to do that when she gets the set, I will be $450 short of my 3k goal.
Sorry for the bad news to you. You never know, I may pick things back up in the new year.

Becky

 

[leftymac]

I don't think there's anything wrong with it. If she's upset by it, she'll get over it. In the end you make the decision that's best for you.Just remember -- you said in your email you've got a lot going on in your life. Maybe she's got a lot going on in hers and that's why she hasn't responded. She could have read it at a moment when she didn't have time to respond, then she just eventually forgot to.BTW, I'm with you -- that's why I'm burnt out too.

 

[wadesgirl]

I honestly don't think you owed her an explination. It's your business, you can run it like you want to. If like if busy and PC needs to be put towards the back burner, it will still be there for you when you come back to it. It sounds like you are doing what you need to do. Your director should understand and shouldn't take it personally. She's not your "boss", she cannot decide how to run your business.

 

[susanr613]

This is a lot of heavy stuff to put in an e-mail...would you feel comfortable talking with her instead? It sounds like you have several issues:
- Family/life concerns that are weighing on you and taking priority
- Rough spot with the business
- Your recruit is not happy either

I'm sure your Director will be able to help you manage through this tough time so that when you're ready to gear up again, you have a good foundation. She may also be able to help you coach/motivate your recruit.

If you do decide to send the e-mail, one typo: I still am stinking by my decision to not...stinking should be sticking.

If your Director does have high hopes for you, hopefully she will support you. Don't worry about making her mad - this is your life and your business. The beauty of direct sales is that we don't have a reporting/boss relationship with our directors.

Good luck getting through these times -

 

[Becky0216]

Oops, spelling error but not. Wish that spell check picked up on sentances that don't make sense.

I did speak with her many times about how I feel etc. This is nothing new. I sent it in the email because it was so late and we have already been through it all.

My worry is she isn't going through anything right now. She just didn't reply. She never forgets to email and always calls. 2 other Clustermates said they just spoke with her. I just don't want her to be upset with me. I know she isn't my boss but she is always there for us.

Keith- It is nice to hear someone else is feeling this way so I don't sound loony I am grateful for the PC business and all I got out of it, I am just so tired.
I don't know how you veterans do it so long.

 

[susanr613]

I understand how you feel - perhaps she is thinking about how to reply and support you. If I had received your e-mail, I would take it very seriously and think about the best way to respond and be supportive.

Let us know if/when/how she responds.

 

[wadesgirl]

I would call her, she if she got your email.

 

[gailz2]

I would probably resend it with a note at the top indicating you hope she received your email so she knew you weren't coming. You could also ask her to give you a call when she gets a chance. There is always a chance she never received it the first time for some reason or another. Don't worry about being a hobbyist. I've been one from the getgo and my director understood that. Now my business is really picking up after 2 years. I think we all have our ups and downs about feeling we need a break. Perhaps after the holidays you were be super-energized again to work your business as much as you want. Where else can you earn extra money, lots of free PC, make your own hours, etc.? I've found it is the right thing for me. Don't give up entirely. Play it day-by-day for awhile.

 

[legacypc46]

Keith- It is nice to hear someone else is feeling this way so I don't sound loony I am grateful for the PC business and all I got out of it, I am just so tired.
I don't know how you veterans do it so long.

Going thru periods of burn-out is normal...no matter what your sales pace is. I have yet to meet a PC-er who doesn't sometimes feel the way you're feeling right now. On the one hand, it's great to be our own boss; on the other hand, it's also tough being solely responsible for all aspects of our business. I think the veterans experience this as much as the rest of us; they've just learned to recognize it as a periodic passing phase.

Only you can decide if stepping back is the best long-term solution for you. However, if going to Leadership is an option for you, my vote (for what it's worth) is that you go....especially if you didn't get to go to NC this year. It is a business-empowering experience (and fun). If you decide not to go, you'll never truly understand what this business has to offer (whether as a consultant or higher).

just my two cents

 

[Becky0216]

I did go to NC this year. I won't be able to go to next year. I would love to go to leadership, but I don't really have the money and I turned down the offer for free registration. We are also going on vacation right after the leadership dates.
I am not walking away from PC. I gave it alot of thought and just realize it is not right for me to give it my all for now. I don't intend to lose my recruits or career sales and I still plan on doing shows, just not all that extra effort and frustration.
I do agree PC is an awesome company and I have enjoyed my time so far selling. I really think I will pick it back up full force when I have had a chance to just get life in order and in perspective. I lost my excitement and my why. So I will be working on figuring that out.
Hey, you never know. Now that I feel less pressure to get those bookings, I just may get more Maybe thats what I need, to just not care so much.

BTW- Kris, thanks for the show. It was not at all what I expected, but was still nice and I got 3 bookings off it.

 

[baychef]

I hope your director is not mad at you. She shouldn't be. Business will be slowing soon after the holidays.

I have spoken to 2 of my downline this weekend. One is burnt to a crisp and was in tears (she had a host cancel a party with her after the host got mad at her. The consultant's word choices were not the best and I think everyone over reacted...but the fact is, it sent her over the edge.)

She is literally on the brink of qualifying for directorship and in all honesty, the calendar year is in her favor. She needs a break. She has been doing 3 parties a week for at least 6 months and even though she does not work outside the home or have children, she needs a break.

Another consultant is working extra hours. She has worked for her company for 20 years and there have been several rounds of layoffs. A normal day is 10 hours. Her health insurance it the better policy between her and her hubby. Also, she is trying to work as much OT as she can. She said that she just can't devote the time to PC as she did. I spoke to her about the option of going inactive and having a year to start back up if things changed. Unfortunatly, she would lose her career sales which are well over $15,000.

Your director may be very busy recruiting and doing holiday parties and orders right now too.

Good luck to you and you will know when the time is right to jazz it up again!:thumbup:

 

[legacypc46]

I really think I will pick it back up full force when I have had a chance to just get life in order and in perspective. I lost my excitement and my why. So I will be working on figuring that out.
Hey, you never know. Now that I feel less pressure to get those bookings, I just may get more Maybe thats what I need, to just not care so much.

BTW- Kris, thanks for the show. It was not at all what I expected, but was still nice and I got 3 bookings off it.

Thanks for the extra clarification; sounds like you have a healthy perspective on it. (And I do understand...having been there a couple times too.)

Of course your last comment has me wondering...I'd love a PM on it. And I'm thrilled you got 3 bookings! Woo-hoo!