Tammi's World

Not bad....not bad at all

Yesterday was a pretty damned good day.  Despite the rain, no incidents.  Very good news, considering the new trucks are HUGE and this is the first the guys have had to drive them in the rain.

Add to that the fact that we got the news that we actually contributed REAL profit to the bottom line - Wow. That's huge. Other than getting the guys on board, that has been my main focus. Figuring out how to reduce my cost to do business and bring in profit. Well, I'm not sure how - and I"ll be looking into that carefully - but we did it. In  a big way.

THEN....I had to laugh.  I got an email from one of my old Juice company friends saying he saw on facebook that I had been promoted. Congratulations and where was I going.

WTF?  Then I realized - I had made the comment I'd miss one of the local fast food joints that has really great tamales.  I said, what is typical for me, that I'd miss them when I was gone.

I say that sort of thing all the time, because it seems like I'm always leaving. 

He misunderstood. But the last thing I needed was some rumor going round that I posted that on my facebook. So I immediately told my boss about the misunderstanding and then made every thing clear to my friend.

But for cryin' out loud. Anyone that knows me knows I'd be making phone calls before I posted it.

And besides, I can't go anywhere for at least another year. I'm just looking to the future.  lol

So - we had a pretty darned good day out here. No accidents, no issues, we showed a real profit and we had great numbers for last week.

Throw in that little misunderstanding, and if that's the worst I have to deal with, I'm doing pretty darn good.

Never Forget

December 7, 1941

A day that lives in infamy.

p

I needed reminding

We finally heard that the tour went well.  I gotta tell you, that is such an understatement, and I'm not surprised, but still.....for cryin' out loud.  It really shouldn't be a big deal to actually HEAR how something turned out.......

Anyway, I have something to share.......almost exactly 1 year ago, I was in Florida and out of hope. Seriously, 862 resumes sent out, couldn't even get an interview for a cashier's job.  On the verge of losing the car and what few belongings I had.  It didn't get much darker than that. 

One night I sat up on the patio, crying and praying. Praying for some kind of a miracle.  The next morning.....a call from a friend telling me about this job. 

A miracle.

Well, this week I had a little reminder of the power of prayer.  See, I had to present my plans for next year. Specific plans.  And there was one area that I was at a complete loss. Nothin'. Nada. No ideas what so ever.

So, after one particularly long day I was here at home and out of ideas. I needed something. Not just for that plan but for the year. My plans were pretty good but I needed something to pull it all together. Something to make it fun. To focus the guys.

So, I said a prayer.

And the next day I went to a lunch where I ended up sharing a table with 2 ladies who asked me to join a council that gave me exactly what I needed for that one area of business that I was confused on. I wish I could go into more detail, so you could understand how HUGE this is, but trust me....it's an opportunity that is HUGE. For my business and for me personally.

Wow.  Not even 24 hours later.....

THEN, like that's not enough, a friend and I were talking about themes......and all of a sudden I saw what I want to lay out for next year.  Completely. Totally. Clearly.

So, when I got back to the office, I pulled everything together for my presentation and I have to tell you......it was good.  I have details to iron out, but....it's was good.  It was really good.

Let's recap.....I actually heard back that the tour went alright....unheard of.  Then, when I was just out of ideas - not to mention time - I get seated at a luncheon with two women who invite me to join a group that will pretty much bring in almost $750,000 in business just because.  AND a friend I haven't talked with in a while calls and plants a seed that becomes my theme for next year.

24 hours after I said a prayer.

A year after I had another miraculous opportunity.

I guess I needed the reminder.

The Sounds of Silence

I shared with you a few weeks ago that I had failed a market tour.  It may sound silly to someone outside the business, but it really is a big deal.  To make it worse, we've been doing a great job here, so the expectations were set pretty high. I disappointed "them". Not a good thing. Not a good thing at all.

Now, two weeks later we had another tour. Bigger wigs were involved. And the pressure has been......incredible. And that's putting it mildly.

So, we had to prep for the 2nd tour. Fix the issues from the first tour. Plus...it's end of the year. There is a boat load of stuff to do to close out '09. Oh, and get ready for the push of 2010. 

And we can't forget about business as usual.  We still gotta keep plugging along. Can't take our eye off of the ball.

So it's been really busy.

And yesterday was the big tour. The Monday after Thanksgiving weekend.  The day we are the most vulnerable in the entire year. Lovely.

My guys rocked.  Our sales have been amazing.  We were well above last year not just for a week, but for the entire period.  First time all year.  I'm so glad for them. They are paid on commission, and with the holidays coming up, well let's just say it's perfect timing.

And they've been hitting their other goals.  Number of stops, service expectations, new account openings.  Yeah....my guys rock.

And...my leadership team has been working their asses off. Tearing sets apart, deep cleaning, resetting.  It takes 2-3 hours to do that, and we have 348 to do by the end of the year.

Oh, and we can't forget about those new accounts. We've been making calls and opening new business every week.

Now, back to yesterday.  I was at the office about 2:45am.  Mondays are my busy days. Reports, conference calls, more reports, more conference calls.  And just because it's tour day doesn't mean those things get ignored, So I went in early to get it all pulled together.  And to see my guys. I seriously believe that helped get me through the day, just getting to spend a little time with them in the morning.  It reminded me of what we were trying to do.

At 4:00am my one manager and I hit the stores.  We had to make one more sweep to make sure everything was perfect.

Although can I just say right now, that's insane.  Who expects to find a set in any store perfect? Ever. Especially on a Monday. Especially after a holiday weekend. For cryin' out loud....

Anyway, despite having worked over the weekend, we found stores blown out. Empty shelves.  We couldn't believe it.  We crammed those shelves on Friday and Saturday. So...a few phone calls and Voila! Full sets.  I fixed displays, put out coupons, talked to store managers.  I felt like I was running for office. But every store we left looked......perfect.

By 9:30 we were back in the office.  I was late for the first conference call. But my mind was at ease. And I was able to enjoy the rest of my Monday.

Until around 2:30. By that time, most of the guys were back and gone for the day.  I was officially exhausted. And we'd heard nothing.

Not a call, not a text, nothing.  The tour started at 11:30 and 3 hours into it, nothing.

I left around 4:30. I knew after I had a meeting with someone that duplicated a meeting we'd had that morning and didn't realize it, even after they pointed it out, that I was finished.

Plus, I'm sure someone will let me know how it went.  I have my cell.

Nothing. My boss called early in the evening to let me know he hadn't heard anything yet.  And then, I went to sleep.

I woke up this morning to no new messages. Nothing.

And the sound of silence is the best I can hope for.  No news is truly good news. That means everything looked just like they expected to find it. Nothing was wrong.

It was perfect.

Thank heavens.

I warned the guys that this was the best we could hope for.  As I explained to one of my sales guys, this just means that the black cloud over us from that first tour has stopped raining. The cloud is still there, but at least we're not out in the cold. We've earned a bit of break.

There are still stores to reset. Still end of the year to close out. The new year to plan for. Business to conduct.

But we can get through all of that with a little less pressure.  A little less heat.

No news is good news....indeed.

A Day of Thanks

Today I say Thank You. Thank you for my family, my past, my future.

Thank you for the best Daddy a little girl could ever hope for.

Thank you for a Mama who loves me, believes in me.

Thank you for a little sister who has become a woman I love and admire.

Thank you for my nieces and nephew - who love me, and whom I adore.

Thank you for a family so amazing I cannot believe my luck.

Thank you for a life where I've been cherished and loved. A life that has been full of challenges and laughter.

Thank you for all of the opportunities I've been given.

I look around and realize how very lucky I have been and just how differently things could have been and I am grateful. 

Today is the day we celebrate when we first became a family, and all that means in the grand scheme of things.

Today is my contract renewal day. My adoption birthday.

And I am grateful.

Walk a mile.....

I am fully aware of the fact that I have become a one dimensional person.  Not something that I had planned. Ever.  So, as is typical for me,  I try to figure out how I got in this situation and what I can do to fix it....

Let's look back for a moment, shall we.  The past 5 years have been horrific employment wise. In fact, since being one of the hundreds cut from the juice company in 2002 it's just been a roller coaster ride of working, not working, working, not working. Opportunities presented themselves only to be unveiled as really bad ideas.

Then....the last cut.  1 1/2 years ago. Holy Moly....has it been that long?!  Anyway, cut....alone. Single.  Only unemployment to help me stay on my feet.  Thank GOODNESS for family.

So, I pack everything up and head back to Florida.  Only this time there was a little hope. An opportunity to maybe get back with the one company I did really well in. The one company I truly enjoyed working for.

And just about the time I was going to lose everything, a phone call.  A chance.  One hell of a chance.  Not just back with that company, but a position as a manager. AND a chance to fix something that was broken. A chance to make a real difference.

Except....it was in the one place I have NEVER wanted to go. Never even wanted to visit.  Ever. Now...I live here. Ok...not really live. I sleep here, and work here. That's what I do. But that's not the point. The point is....I'm HERE.

And for the most part it was what I expected.  See, I fix things. I fix situations. I don't know how I came by this gift. Maybe it was God's sense of humor. I'm worthless with tools and such, but I can fix issues....guess everyone has the ability to fix something.

So I've recentered my focus. It's on getting everything on track here. So well on track that when the opportunity presents itself I can leave.  I want to leave. I need to leave. 

The money sounded great when I was living off of unemployment and on the verge of losing everything. Now? Living in SoCal? Not so much. It's expensive to travel.....and if you only knew what I pay for rent. And I do that because to commute with the type of hours I work is just an accident waiting to happen.  Not to mention I've never been a "house snob".  Oh, I have standards. And a wish list.  But at this stage in my life, I'm all about practicality.

Believe it or not, this is a very high stress business.  It seems so simple, but it's not. And with the position I have now, it's even worse. There is no room for selfishness. For ego. There are 26 people who need me to do my job and do it very well so that they can support their families.  Every decision I make is critical. And criticized. Everyone thinks they know better. And if it's not a homerun immediately then they tear me apart.  I even heard that there are quite a few folks, not my immediate team, but others I work closely with, that think I'm an "idiot".  It's so bad that folks above me have had to talk with them about it.

Gotta tell you - that's a first for me. I've never been thought of like that. And I don't like it. One little bit.

So I work harder. I need to get everything running perfectly so they'll leave me alone.  And the added bonus is then, maybe just maybe, they'll let me move to someplace....easier. Some place I'm not so physically alone. Oh, I'll still put in a mountain of hours. And still be very focused on the job. But I'll also have obligations outside of the job. And that's good.

But I put up with all of this, every issue, crisis, back stab. All of it. For one reason. I have a job. With a company that, despite everything, I love to work for. I can support myself. And outside of SoCal I can support myself very well.  That's important to me. I need to work. And I need to do something that gives me a sense of accomplishment.

All of this is costing me more than most people realize. It's cost me friendships. And I can't do anything about it.  I work a LOT of hours. I can't travel much at all, because of time and money.  I don't have the energy to be witty or even offer much sympathy. I have too many people depending on me, and no where *I* can gain strength back.  So in my off hours I just sleep. And try not to talk. I need all my energy to just get through the days anymore.

So I guess what I'm saying is, this is the new me. At least the new NOW me. I hope that once this "project" is over I can move on and get back to myself again.  Until then....well, it is what it is. It's not just about me anymore.  And I can't let these folks down. If anyone realizes how important it is to have a job, and what you'll do to keep it, it's me.