What follows is a description of my work, as it is right now, both for my own processing and truth telling and also for the sake of transparency in all things. I have been working very little as of late, not sure how best to use the time that I have and sort of spinning my wheels in terms of what is next for me. I am also trying to take a step back and see what structures are in place with some clarity. As most of y’all in this space know, I essentially work two gigs. Two gigs that pay that is. Ahem. Ah, mothering and educating…
Those two are Beautycounter, which is sales; and Yoga, which is mostly also sales with some breathing and stretching and shape shifting on the side. Yoga barely has a pulse for me these days and most certainly is something that asks me to give it near-constant mouth-to-mouth to keep it running. Beautycounter is something I give a little attention to a couple of hours a week, here and there when I feel like it. And yet, in the last 4 years, I have yet to get a paycheck under $500 any given month. In fact, eight days into this month I have already made $226 in commission not including anything I earn from what the rest of the people on my team have going. Granted, it is November and this will no doubt be my biggest month of the year and I intend to do my very best (focus, meg. F O C U S.) to make it big.
I think about this layout a lot because I said yes to Beautycounter on a whim and there have been many times over the course of the last 4.5 years that I wouldn’t have said yes again, if this gig weren’t already rolling. But good grief am I grateful, over and over, that I did and that I’ve gone ahead and poured energy into it when I have had it to give. Even sometimes when I haven’t had it too. And while I am not working it so much right now, I do go through seasons in which I do quite a lot and I continue to, month to month, see the fruits of that. It ebbs and flows no doubt. $500 a month is a far cry from what I have made many months and yet, it is nice to have that be more or less my do-nothing baseline.
Yoga, since moving to VT, has been a lonely pursuit for me and in the day-to-day is break-even at best. My most joyful moments teaching have been during the summer weeks in Islesford and in the small near-annual retreats. I do make more cash during these times but it is not without a massive output. Whereas Beautycounter is something I have worked while waiting for a kid’s activity to wrap up or when waiting in the car with a sleeping child. I have tucked it into my life, whether that is showing up on social media or messaging a new or existing client and building relationships of care and connection that in turn support me in the contributions I make to my family economy.
It is so interesting to me. And yes, I really do hope to teach more in person and I haven’t given up hope that something about the local yoga community will eventually click for me.
In the meantime and throughout I am so grateful for this other income, that ebbs and flows, but also stays relatively steady in my life. Anyhow, just a consideration. I know that the idea of direct sales can be confusing for folks at first. I get that, I really do. And yet, I also believe that most everything at the end of the day is sales of one sort or another and we might as well support each other and those we love as they endeavor to make ends meet. I didn’t really think this was for me, some days I am still disoriented to find myself here. But it is working and I am so relieved by that and also really believe that it isn’t unique to me, not by a long shot. It could be for anyone interested in sharing nice things with the people in their lives, who value honesty, integrity, and connection. And isn’t that almost everyone?