NooraK
Gold Member
- 5,871
It has just been one of those days. I don't know if there's anything else that could make it any worse.
I was inactive in August due to just plain laziness on my part. I could say it's because of the baby, but I hadn't lined anything up (like catalog shows) in advance, and until yesterday, I hadn't picked up the phone since before the baby was born.
I decided to host a brunch at my house on Saturday so that I could pull together something to keep from losing my career sales. It took me until yesterday to pick up the phone and start calling people to invite them. I did post it on Facebook last week, but I know that's not sufficient. So far, I haven't gotten any positives from the phone calls, but I've only managed to get half way through page 2 of 9 (I printed a list of all customers since Jan 2009).
Last night I sent out an email to my customer list to invite them to come to the show or to order if they live too far away. Today, I got an email from MailChimp saying that I have been suspended from sending any more emails because my complaint percentage has risen to 1%. Since I have a list of barely over 400 addresses, that means four people have clicked "spam" on their email program. Four. And that doesn't include my Father-in-law, who for whatever reason unsubscribed from my list.
I sent MC the info they asked for, and they said that "As a strict permission based newsletter service, you must have physical/digital proof that someone opted in to receive your newsletter. If someone has provided you with their email on a form, there needs to be an option for them to check specifically to receive email correspondance. And verbal permission simply is not physical or digital." Since I said some of my addresses were obtained by verbal permission from CCCs, those don't have physical or digital confirmation. They said that in order to reactivate my account, I need to remove or re-confirm those contacts. As if I know who signed up how.
On top of that, we have guests this weekend. A cousin of mine had gone to visit my brother in CA last week, and had asked if he could visit us for a few days on his way home. After I had told him that was fine as long as he didn't mind a possibly crying baby at night, and telling DH he was coming, he told his sister and her daughter they could come visit at the same time. This means two trips to the airport 45 miles away, because the arrivals are hours a part, and even though the departures are only a few minutes apart, we don't have one car that can fit everyone at once.
I've been looking at my stats, and even though I've made $1600 in commission this year, I really don't have anything to show for it. I've put pretty much everything I've earned back into my business. I've signed up for two Fall Fests at local elementary schools next month, but I'm concerned about their potential success. I did these festivals last year, and have been able to get one online order from them.
My original goal with PC was to be able to make enough money to stay home when I had kids. I now have two, and I know I will have to go back to work once my maternity leave is over. I know that in order to replace my income (which I would have to do in order to stay home), I would have to build a team and promote to Director, but I just can't manage to recruit anyone. I'm having a hard time booking shows to begin with, and the shows I do have aren't that huge.
It just seems like everything is turning out to be more hassle than it's worth. I really do enjoy PC, but I can't do it just as a hobby. It's not worth the frustration if I have to keep feeling like I'm constantly starting over.
I still have to go pick up my cousin from the airport tonight, and figure out where I'm going to fit all of these people to sleep. Oh, and DH's sister's parents also decided they would be coming to visit for these same five days. Yes, they decided to come, they weren't invited by me or DH. At least they're staying in a hotel...
I was inactive in August due to just plain laziness on my part. I could say it's because of the baby, but I hadn't lined anything up (like catalog shows) in advance, and until yesterday, I hadn't picked up the phone since before the baby was born.
I decided to host a brunch at my house on Saturday so that I could pull together something to keep from losing my career sales. It took me until yesterday to pick up the phone and start calling people to invite them. I did post it on Facebook last week, but I know that's not sufficient. So far, I haven't gotten any positives from the phone calls, but I've only managed to get half way through page 2 of 9 (I printed a list of all customers since Jan 2009).
Last night I sent out an email to my customer list to invite them to come to the show or to order if they live too far away. Today, I got an email from MailChimp saying that I have been suspended from sending any more emails because my complaint percentage has risen to 1%. Since I have a list of barely over 400 addresses, that means four people have clicked "spam" on their email program. Four. And that doesn't include my Father-in-law, who for whatever reason unsubscribed from my list.
I sent MC the info they asked for, and they said that "As a strict permission based newsletter service, you must have physical/digital proof that someone opted in to receive your newsletter. If someone has provided you with their email on a form, there needs to be an option for them to check specifically to receive email correspondance. And verbal permission simply is not physical or digital." Since I said some of my addresses were obtained by verbal permission from CCCs, those don't have physical or digital confirmation. They said that in order to reactivate my account, I need to remove or re-confirm those contacts. As if I know who signed up how.
On top of that, we have guests this weekend. A cousin of mine had gone to visit my brother in CA last week, and had asked if he could visit us for a few days on his way home. After I had told him that was fine as long as he didn't mind a possibly crying baby at night, and telling DH he was coming, he told his sister and her daughter they could come visit at the same time. This means two trips to the airport 45 miles away, because the arrivals are hours a part, and even though the departures are only a few minutes apart, we don't have one car that can fit everyone at once.
I've been looking at my stats, and even though I've made $1600 in commission this year, I really don't have anything to show for it. I've put pretty much everything I've earned back into my business. I've signed up for two Fall Fests at local elementary schools next month, but I'm concerned about their potential success. I did these festivals last year, and have been able to get one online order from them.
My original goal with PC was to be able to make enough money to stay home when I had kids. I now have two, and I know I will have to go back to work once my maternity leave is over. I know that in order to replace my income (which I would have to do in order to stay home), I would have to build a team and promote to Director, but I just can't manage to recruit anyone. I'm having a hard time booking shows to begin with, and the shows I do have aren't that huge.
It just seems like everything is turning out to be more hassle than it's worth. I really do enjoy PC, but I can't do it just as a hobby. It's not worth the frustration if I have to keep feeling like I'm constantly starting over.
I still have to go pick up my cousin from the airport tonight, and figure out where I'm going to fit all of these people to sleep. Oh, and DH's sister's parents also decided they would be coming to visit for these same five days. Yes, they decided to come, they weren't invited by me or DH. At least they're staying in a hotel...