One of the downfalls of being a work at home independent contractor is the money you make per month is unpredictable. This is why I have always made sure to have a source of steady income. Regardless of the money I've made through independent contracting, at least I have an exact amount that I know I will make every month. It's not a lot, but it's something. And, it's enough because Lisa makes good money. If I had no income, we'd still be doing okay.
In order to understand things a bit, I'll need to back up.
Over 10 years ago, my work at home life began. I was hired as an independent contractor for an online deal site company. About 6 months after being employed as an independent contractor, the owner sold the company to a large media company. Most of the independent contractors, including myself, were hired as remote employees. A few were not.
The headquarters of the deal site company was in Dallas, Texas. I traveled there on several occasions for business.
Long story short, during this time, I received 3 raises within a year, had full benefits, health insurance, paid vacation, sick time, etc. I was a salaried employee. I gained a tremendous amount of experience and went through a lot of training and courses. I worked close to and a little over 100 hours a week. I put my heart and soul into every aspect of the job. It all paid off. I made a name for myself and gained an honorable reputation.
In early 2012, after the deal site not having a great year and there being a shift in production, there was talk of the media company putting the deal site up for sale. I caught wind of this early on. At that point, and thanks to a dear friend, I was connected with another suitable employer located in Texas.
During the first week of April of that year, I had an interview with the owner of this company. He was impressed. He wanted to hire me immediately. However, I informed him that I had given my previous company a notice and wanted to honor that. He respected my notice.
The media company I worked for ended up selling the deal site back to the original owner before my notice was up. The people who worked at the headquarters in Dallas went to work that morning. Sadly, in the afternoon, after the signing of the papers, the employees were told to shut down, pack their belongings, and leave.
For me, this meant I wasn't bound to my old company. I was immediately hired on as a full-time employee at the new company.
The next couple of years were exceptionally trying. My boss was demanding and because of cultural differences, women are not treated the same. I was doing too much work for very little pay. I did not receive bonuses or weeks off during the holiday season.
After a couple of years, the company shifted a bit. My boss owns several companies based out of the U.S and India. My position became more about the "Omnichannel Personalization" company than the position I was originally hired for; which was the deal site, blogging, and content management.
I wasn't happy, but I trudged through it.
Then, shortly after, I got an offer from an entrepreneur who had recently launched a website that was geared towards great deals, really cools stuff, and was similar to Wanelo. The package deal appealed to me. I accepted the offer and went down to part-time at the other company. This worked out well because we had launched Bodacious Biscuit Love the year prior and our family was growing.
I dove in full force. I was promised a rose garden. However, the owner of the company decided to cave after 6 months. For the next 6 months, I got a meager amount to keep the site on life support. At the end of the year, that ended.
As in no more life support....
Since then, and up until earlier this year, I've been working part-time for the company I've been with since April of 2012. It has worked out quite well. I've kept the deal sites on life support, wrote for one of their marketing personalization sites, tutored college students, etc.
But, little by little, a portion of my positions and pay have fizzled out. I no longer write for the marketing site. The college program bottomed out. The guy in charge of all of that has all but disappeared.
However, the CEO of the company is still around. I'm still keeping a couple of sites on life support.
Until, recently. I noticed the deal site is no longer active. The other site hasn't been active for quite some time. Both have been brought to the attention of the tech staff and CEO. Nothing has been done.
At this point, I'm like, "Ummm...okay." I've done all I can do to notify the correct channels. No one has replied back. I'm not sure what's going on.
I can either view that as something good or something not-so-good.
Between Lisa's job, my part-time work, and contract work, we manage just fine. If I had none of the above, we'd still be okay. Lisa makes good money. In fact, Lisa has encouraged me to ditch my part-time employment so I'd have more time on building my own enterprise.
I've been wanting to build my own enterprise and publish some books for a long time now. Over the past couple of years, that has gotten pushed further and further down on my list because of this or that.
Lisa keeps reminding me, "I make good money now since being promoted. Do what you have to do in order to build your own enterprise...."
I want to, but I keep resisting.
So, maybe this is the Universe telling me, "Lisa, this is YOUR time. DO it. Do it now. You have the experience, motivation, and determination. I have eliminated all excuses. Do it..."
I think it is.
Right now, I am finishing up a 6-week project for a client. My plans were to embark on another 6-week project for them in January, however, I'll be tackling a 6-week project between then. By the end of February, I'll be done.
At that point, I'll be on my own. Between then and now, I'll need to have my enterprise built and fully functioning.
The Universe speaks in mysterious ways.
I've been putting this off for a LONG time.
The Universe knows that.
Fate knows that.
As with a few times over my life, both the Universe and Fate have stepped in, put their foot down, and said, "Enough is enough...your time is now. It's going to happen whether you like it or not."
Exhale....
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