Jump

I’ve been buckling down on expenses lately. I’ve been more frugal with food. I’ve turned down or postponed several invitations to visit friends because I can’t afford the gas, airfare, time off from work, etc. It’s a good thing I’ve done that. I just found out that one of my homecare clients is moving so I’m losing 16 hours of work per week.

I’m very sad to lose this client. We’ve become very close over the past 3 ½ years. I will be able to visit her occasionally, but it won’t be the same. It’s also a financial issue.

My knee-jerk reaction was to feel panic about how I’m going to make up the income, but the panic subsided pretty quickly. I can probably get more clients from the agency I work for. I could get a part-time job at a nursing home or assisted living facility or another homecare agency. Or I could try to ramp up my business to make up the difference in income. Gulp.

I am excited and terrified in equal measure at the thought of trying to make my business support me. I’ve had enough success that I think it may be possible. I have enough experience to know that I’ll have to be much more dedicated and productive. All in all, it seems like a good opportunity to find out if I can generate enough regular income to live on. Yikes!

I have about two weeks to figure this out. That’s when my client is moving. It will be a melancholy two weeks as we say goodbye. It will also be exciting as I ramp up my business. My plan is to streamline my production to make larger quantities of my products. I’m timing myself as I do business tasks to see how long everything really takes. And I’ll be putting a lot more up for sale on my web site. Whether or not I make sales and how many sales I make, will tell me a lot. Wish me luck. I’m going to jump into the pool.