Quitting PC? Tips for Managing Burnout and Balancing Family Life

[hperschnick]

I am thinking about quitting PC… I’m starting my 5th month and it has been going really well. I have shows booked for Nov and 2 more this month. My biz has pretty much worked itself so far (around 20 shows) and when I have shows consistently, I enjoy them once I’m there. I just hate getting my products ready, prepping food, doing my packets, host coaching. I do LOVE the money though.

Some background… I have a 17 mo old at home and I am 14 weeks pregnant and work full time. Most of my shows are about 40 minutes from my home. I just feel a little burned out. I know I’m going to continue until January I just don’t know if this is a passing phase or if this just isn’t my thing. I also miss spending the evening with my son when I have shows – he is asleep by the time I get home and it won’t be any easier when the baby gets here.

Anyone else out there feel this way in the beginning? Any way to make the things I hate to do more tolerable? I just keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to continue. I know I’ll feel better once I make a decision I just can’t seem to make it all work out in my head.

I haven't talked to anyone about this yet... it has just been swimming around my head. I knew you guys would have some encouragement or tips to help me out.

 

[jrstephens]

Some background… I have a 17 mo old at home and I am 14 weeks pregnant and work full time. Most of my shows are about 40 minutes from my home. I just feel a little burned out. I know I’m going to continue until January I just don’t know if this is a passing phase or if this just isn’t my thing. I also miss spending the evening with my son when I have shows – he is asleep by the time I get home and it won’t be any easier when the baby gets here.

I totally understand these feelings. I am having some of the same myself. I have a 3 year old son and am 10 weeks pregnant. I know I will continue for a while but I find myself questioning whether or not I will want to continue after my baby is born and leave 2 kids and my husband at home to do shows.

I am going to wait until after the baby to make my decision. I do not want to do anything I will regret right now. I am due in May. I plan to line catalog shows up for May and June and maybe July then go from there. And I think even if I do come close to quitting for a while I will do enough to stay active to keep my foot in the door in case I want to go back in the full swing of things I will not be out of the loop and I do not want to loose my career sales and 2% raise I have earned already either.

Not that I have helped but I know sometimes it helps to know others are going through the same things as you. PM me if you would like to talk one on one.

 

[pamperedgirl3]

I can sympathize! I have a 2 1/2 year old & a 2 week old. I only took October off & have at least 6 cooking shows next month. Right now I'm thinking I must be crazy going back so soon! Sometimes I just want to quit too--not because of the shows, but the extra stuff like you said. I don't have the time right now to do ccc, plan my shows, etc. When one is in bed, the other needs me & the evenings are not good right now either. My DH is great, but he works FT & can't do it all either!

I would say give it time. When I was pregnant, I had no desire for shows, etc. But it's getting better now--if I could just find TIME! I would suggest not to make any decisions while you are pregnant because your mind is not your own right now.

Good luck!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Heather,

I remember so well being pregnant, and not really caring about my business! I had a hard pregnancy, and a premature baby......and PC just had to take a back burner for a while. I didn't want to quit.....I'd just made my $15,000 in Career Sales when I found out I was pregnant, and I didn't want to lose it. I did however, lose my 5 recruits. I ended up doing just the bare minimum to stay active for several months, and I am so glad that I did!

Yes, there are a couple nights a week when I'm not there when my son goes to bed......but the upside is that, without PC, I would be working outside the home, and taking him to daycare.......so this actually gives me more time with him....and the assurance that when I'm not with him, he is with the person I trust most to take care of him (his daddy! ).

I would suggest making things easy on yourself for shows - only pack the bare minimum - just what you will need for your demo - and make up all your guest materials at one time, in advance. Don't do all the "fancy" stuff - just take catalogs and order forms. Explain to people that, being pregnant and having a toddler means you have to simplify. They will understand!

In Nov & Dec, when I was pregnant, all of my shows consisted of the host baking the Celebration Brownie (from the Homemade For Christmas theme) before guests got there, and then providing the ingredients, so I could layer another one as the demo. I then had the next brownie ready for my next show. After I did the layering, the guests would eat the brownie with ice cream, and we would sit around the table and talk about favorite products, and then I would take orders.
So, all I would take for shows was the products needed to layer the brownie, the layered brownie in the batter bowl, an ice cream scoop, a mini spatula, and the 9x9 Baker, a cooling rack, and silicone hot pads. I could carry it all in one trip, and then I would wash it, repack it, and have it ready for the next show.

 

[quiverfull7]

Make yourself a pro's and Con's list ... I KNOW ... corny but they help .. .it's SO great to put things down on paper... especially when you are pregnant. I've had 7 kids... I'm allowed to say that your brain doesn't function too well... all the blood is rushing to grow that precious life... so I always tried to NOT make any more huge decisions during pregnancy than I had to. If nothing else... hang on if you can by just doing the minimum until after the pregnancy hormones are all gone once the baby is born and setttled in. I LOVE Becky D's suggestions above... Do you see a point in the future where you won't have to work your full time job or is that not an option?

 

[hperschnick]

Thank you all for letting me know I'm not alone! That really helps! I have thought about just doing what I have to do to stay active. I have a show tonight and as I was packing last night I kept asking myself... do I really NEED this? So tonight I do have a lighter load and I'm happy about that. I do need to find some simple recipes, I think that will help also.

I don't think that I will be able to quit my FT, I enjoy it for one thing and I think that if i were a SAHM I would turn into a hermit. I need and enjoy the interaction. And we need the money. I started PC to get the prods but now I can really see how the money can help our family pay off some bills, etc. I just have this nagging that I don't want to do this anymore. I know my mind is not my own which makes this even more difficult. I will probably keep in it enough to stay active until I have the baby and I'm done nursing - that takes a lot out of me also but I'm committed to doing it for 6-9 mos. I would hate to quit and lose my career sales then decide I want to do it again. My DH is very supportive so that helps also.

I guess I'll let things continue as they are and just simplify, simplify, simplify. I'll stay active at least until the baby gets here and see how things go. I'll just really have to get some catty's booked for May, June and July because I'm going to take the time off from PC like my FT. I'm due the end of April.

Thank you ladies! I needed the support today!

 

[quiverfull7]

See... you've already been thinking things through... you just needed to see it in print I am not pg and don[t work away from home but I have been simplifying what I take to show too thanks to some fabulous advise from Cheffers ... and I LOVE my PC Job way more when I simplify it...

 

[stacywhitlow]

See... you've already been thinking things through... you just needed to see it in print I am not pg and don[t work away from home but I have been simplifying what I take to show too thanks to some fabulous advise from Cheffers ... and I LOVE my PC Job way more when I simplify it...

I have started doing the same. It is so much nicer now! I even have 2 recruits since changing.

 

[Chef Stacy Edwards]

See... you've already been thinking things through... you just needed to see it in print I am not pg and don[t work away from home but I have been simplifying what I take to show too thanks to some fabulous advise from Cheffers ... and I LOVE my PC Job way more when I simplify it...

I was wondering where you got the thread on that? (Simplifying your show).

I also was PG when I started and promoted to D then went on bed rest for 2 months and did all I could to stay active, lost my team in the process, I had decided that I wasn't going to let it get me down and keep going for me at my own pace. I am glad I stuck it out and I love that I can be home most of the time all day and still look forward to my show schedule to get out once or twice a week. Not to mention looking forward to conferences 2 times a year is a bonus to me. Make it your own and do what you can do.

 

[quiverfull7]

I think this thread may help but others may have different ones... I had posed this question because I've been SO guilty of taking too much...

http://www.chefsuccess.com/f3/help-me-decide-26426/

I know people want to get their hands on things but I've found that most of those things are the ones in my tool turn about which is easy to take ... the big things just don't matter that much

 

[Chef Stacy Edwards]

Thak you Diane appreciated.

 

[JAE]

I'm not even pregnant and I don't have toddlers at home, but I sometimes get overwhelmed with all the prep work for my shows. So, I'm not prepping food any more. If the host can't do all the food, then I don't pick that particular recipe. Sometimes I get too many ideas from other consultants. Then I try to implement things that others do because they are successful. But, I'm finding that what works for others doesn't always work for me. Sometimes that means the host doesn't have the correct food, but I improvise. I also have to call the day before and check to make sure the host has all the right ingredients even though I told her what to get. Remember, it's very easy to stay active. I had two babies 19.5 months apart while selling PC, and I never had to go inactive.
Hope this helps.

 

[hperschnick]

Well, I had a show tonight and got 5 (possibly 6) bookings. There were only 9 people there!! I don't know what I did or if they were just ready but they have booked 1 Nov, 2 Jan, 1 March and 2 that are checking their calendars and will date this weekend. I guess I'm in this until at least March now!!

Tonight was fun and after I started this earlier in the week I have still been back and forth. I think I'm just going to ride it out and see where we go. One of the ladies tonight was with Mary Kay and was talking about really "working my business" something she said she needed to work on also.

I am going to simplify and make this workable. I'm not sure how... but I'm going to!

Thanks everyone for your support.

 

[pregochef]

I am thinking about quitting PC… I’m starting my 5th month and it has been going really well. I have shows booked for Nov and 2 more this month...I have a 17 mo old at home and I am 14 weeks pregnant and work full time...Anyone else out there feel this way...QUOTE]

I completely understand how you feel. I am 9 months pregnant (due in about 2 weeks) and I have a 15 month old at home and I work part-time (30-32 hours/week). It kills me to think that in a little while I'll be going to do shows, leaving my husband with 2 babies to take care of after a long day of work himself.

I don't want to give up on PC though. So this is what I'm doing: I have decided that I am closing my last show on Nov. 1st (I already told the host that this order could be delayed if I go into labor early - which she completely understands). I am not committing to any shows until January (except for catalog shows). I have mentioned this at all my shows in the past month and have also tried to tell anyone interested in a December show that I would have to get back to them after I have the baby as to whether or not I will be able to do the show for them that month (that takes the pressure off of me - If I decide no December shows, that will be 2 months after I have baby before having to do a show).

I currently only have one booked in January - but I am probably going to fill up that month (now that we know what the host/guest benefits are). I'm not going crazy, just maybe one show a week and some catty shows. I figure if in Jan when I come back, it is too hard or I'm too drained, or my husband has a hard time having double baby duty, at that point I will make a decision. My strategy is to try not to commit to too much in Jan, and especially not in Feb and then play it that way. If I decide at the first couple shows that I can't do it anymore, I will just finish out the shows I have, and move on.

I think you should give it a shot after baby, so that you don't spend some of your future regretting or wondering if you would have been able to make PC work after the baby arrived.