I'm Dragging!

No, not that kind of "drag"!

I can't believe it-- I pulled it off! I've spent lots of sleepless nights this week trying to figure out how I was going to make the catering of the ING VIP tent a success. But I did it! I even catered a job for a nearby tent who's caterer failed to show, bringing in an unexpected extra $700. I did almost $4000 in catering sales today! And the cool part is that I did all of the prep work and cooking myself! I'm really starting to think that maybe I could open my own catering business one day. I've got lots of devoted customers that use my services every week-- they even refer me to their friends and then they become loyal weekly customers. I really think that my customers would support me if I decided to give it a try. I'll have to think about that one! For now, I'm just hoping that my meeting with the parent company goes well tomorrow. It'd be great if they offered me the position that I've been eyeing since last Summer. If not, I may really try to do this on my own.

I hate to admit it, but I'm getting older now. It took every ounce of strength I had at 3am this morning to load the van. I filled a cart with 10 cases of water, 10 cases of soft drinks and 10 cases of fruit juices. I pushed the cart up from the basement to the curb, along a driveway that slants at least 45 degrees. I lost one shoe in the process. How long can I go on doing this kind of stuff? I'm not trying to pat myself on the back-- but I am good at sales. I'm good at pleasing people. But I can do all of that on the phone. I could hire quality people to do the rest. I worked over 80 hours this week, I sold almost $10,000 in catering and I only brought home about $200 extra, above my salary. That equates to working a 40 hour week at $5 an hour. I'm not trying to be a martyr, but something's gotta give! We pay the bussers and dishwashers more than that, and they don't produce any sales!

As I sit here feeling every muscle in my body ache, I realize that I've got to make some changes. And I will. My catering sales have increased this year by 329% over last year, and 2006 was a record-breaking year in catering sales. That tells me that I'm doing a good job. It tells me that I have increased my customer base, and that they are satisfied. I've learned a lot over the past few years and it would be so nice if my savings account could somehow reflect what I've accomplished. I wish I could be compinsated for the life that I gave up when I opted to take on this catering business. I used to enjoy hanging out with my friends at the Corner Tavern a couple of times a week. That all changed when the catering took off. I've only been to the Tavern one time since Christmas. I'm sure that many of my friends don't understand. I'm sure they feel abandoned. Hopefully they understand that it's hard to hold down the equivilent of two full time jobs and have any kind of social life.

OK- enough whining and complaining. Time to make changes. My first option is to get this promotion. If that doesn't come through, my second option is to start my own catering business. I guess the third option is to ask for a raise, or at least a percentage of the catering income. I vow that I will follow through with one of these choices in the next few months. Something's gotta give, right?