It's Official

Actually it became official Monday. I am no longer a Pampered Chef consultant. I feel relieved that I don't have to make phone calls and set up shows and all the other stuff that goes along with it. I was also feeling pressure to recruit new consultants to join my team, but I was never comfortable with that. I felt like I had to be pushy to do it, and I'm not that way. Granted, I did enjoy being a consultant in the beginning (except for the recruiting part) - and most of the first two years of it. Then I became apathetic. The last year was one of questioning: Do I keep this up? Should I keep this up? It just took some serious thought and talking things over with Billy for me to come to the decision that I needed to get out. If I wasn't enjoying it anymore, why keep doing it half-heartedly? I wasn't doing myself or my customers or the company any good that way.

I've cleaned out my bags, boxes, and drawers. I've thrown old things away, shredded old copies of receipts, and put business materials that are still usable into a box to take to my former director so she can use them or pass them on to someone else. My next step is closing that bank account before I incur a service charge.

Even though I'm officially not a consultant, I still get emails from the company and I can still access the consultant website. I don't care about the emails, but I'm glad I can still access the site for now. The new selling season starts in March, but on Monday, Feb. 8, they'll have the new spring products online for consultants to see. I just want to know what's coming. The last two seasons haven't really thrilled me, but you never know when they might introduce the next great thing. Maybe I'll still have access to the site by then. I don't know their timetable on deleting my consultant privileges.

So, what do I do now? What's my next step? I would like to take my jewelry from just a hobby to a small business. There are a lot of differences between that and my being a Pampered Chef consultant:

1. I don't have to maintain minimum monthly requirements to remain active.
2. I don't risk losing career sales, increased commissions, and bonuses if I don't sell a certain amount over a certain period of time.
3. I don't have to make phone calls every night to drum up business.
4. I don't have to have home parties if I don't want to, but I can if someone is interested. (Two friends have already offered.)
5. If I do choose to have a home party, I won't have all the prep work, clean-up work, or the load to carry that I did with Pampered Chef.
6. I can set my prices and whatever I make from it is mine.
7. I can truly work from home.
8. I get to express my creativity in various ways.
9. There's no pressure to recruit anyone to join my "team".

The list could go on.

I'm currently deciding on my business name. Once that is settled, I'll get a website for showcasing my jewelry and I'll set up a Facebook Fan Page. I get more exposure through FB than I did through my Etsy shop, which is like finding a needle in a haystack the size of Texas.

My goal is to have my website up by March 1, which is 3 1/2 short weeks away. I've got some work to do!

Update: Monday, February 8 - Today is the day they release the information on the new spring products. My website access has been canceled, so I'll find out when the general public does. Hopefully I won't get emails from the home office anymore.