I've only been back in the working world for a few months and it's already draining the life out of me. Sure, bartending is fun, (can be) fast paced and exciting, but the bottom line is this: I'm still making SOMEONE ELSE a lot of money. I've been thinking of business ideas a lot lately, and have had some good ones, but no real way to bring them to fruition. Jesse's parents joined a company a while back, and told us about it initially and wanted us to join, but I shot it down quite fast. It reeked of "pyramid scheme" at first glance. They continued to work hard, going to tons of meetings and gatherings, and it just broke my heart that they were throwing themselves into something mentally and financially that wasn't going to pay them back. I decided it was up to me to help them out- to make them realize that they had gotten into something they shouldn't have. So I did research. A LOT of research. If you know me personally, you know that I am extremely thorough and can back up my facts. I found legal documents, sifted through personal accounts with a heap of salt (not just a grain), I found a couple sticky rules and a whole lot of the word "scam" thrown around. However, what I actually ended up finding most was incredible success. Upon further delving and probing around, the naysayers were generally people looking for a "get rich quick" scheme, but the way this company is set up is a get rich slow. A get rich by hard work. In general, I found that the people that stayed in it and persevered for years were the ones suddenly hitting exponential growth. There were virtually no accounts of people "hitting it big and fast".
Finally, I had to admit to myself (and my husband, ouch) that I was wrong. This might be a good opportunity. For us? Probably not. I don't have marketing experience, I have people experience. I don't do sales, and I certainly don't think the company's flagship product, a videophone, is worth that much. I kept telling myself, "We could do it, but why push a videophone when there's Skype for free?" So I kept an occasional eye on things, but really went about my business of being a full time mom, as well as working nights babysitting drunk people.
I remember the day it all changed. It was only a few months ago. I was in my business brainstorming mode, and looked into energy deregulation. I started getting that little tingling of excitement. You know the feeling. You have to. It starts in your spine and suddenly your nerves are on fire. Every inch of you is itching for something, even if you don't know what it is. Somehow, the energy market was going to make me rich. But how the heck does someone with no money, a load of debt, a child and NO TIME get into something like selling private energy? So I shelved it. It hurt, but I put it into the back of my mind.
Not long after, I was seeing headlines about China and their exponential economic growth. Our economy is terrible, but they are booming. Again I had that feeling. It wasn't just China, it was the entire Asian market. I wanted in. I wanted in so badly, I started daydreaming about starting a consulting business, or pioneering some sort of online niche market. So I made flashcards. I started learning Chinese.
Fianlly Jesse tells me that there's a meeting for his parents' company 10 minutes away from our new place, and that his mom will come babysit Carter while we go. So we went. Why not? It's a morning off of mommy duty, with a promise of some good coffee and yummy breakfast. So I have to listen to a few presentations. Big deal. Turned out it was a big deal. It all just made so much sense. Not just the numbers, but the business ideas. The new products. I found out that not only was the company in the forefront of selling deregulated energy, but that they were in 21 countries and had JUST tapped into the Asian market. The South Korea location opened a month ago, and there were plans to expand in that area of the world. It was all there, everything I had been looking for. All of the growth and promise of the business I was trying in vain to start on my own: the opportunity was laid out before me like I had done it myself. Cable, internet, dish, HD VOIP, landlines, energy, and now high speed wireless. 4G hot spot devices at bottom prices. All from top companies that we and all of our friends and family already get these services from. Seriously everyone we know, I only know maybe 2 or 3 people that don't go through these companies. With the advent of wireless broadband over white space (do a quick Google search for "smartgrid", you will be thrilled), you better believe this company will be at the head of that too. Why shouldn't I?
I'm sure you've guessed it by now. After going home and doing even more massive late nights' amounts of research, my mind is made up. This is it. I'm in. I'm so in. Our journey starts here.
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