Monday, October 20, 2008

Work Work Work

I have finally finished school, after a year and a half, and I am now working in my profession as a cosmetologist. As I was going through school and nearing the end, I could not wait to start working and doing hair. Well here I am... working at doing hair. I have only had my job for about a month and already it seems to be getting old, NOT because I don't like doing hair, but becuase I feel that I made a poor scheduling choice.... I feel like I am not at home enough and I am scared that my husband and kids are suffering because of it... :(

I find myself questioning the fact that I do not stay at home with them and play with them and take care of them and our house...(which definaly could stand for a bit more time spent on it). I have been contemplating some ideas for a couple of days now, probably a week, wether to tell the owner of the salon that I am working at that I am going to have a schedule change, or if I should stick it out for oh.. maybe about a year or so and build somewhat of a cilentele before I make the schedule change. But a year?!?! That is a long time and a lot of childhood memeories that I feel that I will be missing out on...

As of now I work Tues. - Fri. 10 am - 7pm and Sat. 9-2
Another thing that is holding me back from just telling her that I won't be there as much, I have already made business cards stating my hours.... :( Also if I wait it out and build somewhat of a clientele, then when I do make a schedule change, I can schedule my clients all on the days that I will be working and be busy all day. But like most things, it takes time to build a clientele. I also think I am a little scared to face my boss and tell her... I think that she will be dissapointed

I just can't help but think all the things that I am missing out on while my children are growing up...

Advice, comments, questions, words of wisdom... ALL WELCOME!!!!

5 comments:

Heath and Lindsey said...

Jill,
Let me start by saying I know exactly what you are feeling. Since I was a teenager, my life's ambition was to be a stay at home mom. I had no desire for a big career. I just kind of stumbled upon doing hair.
I have been a stylist now for 5 years. I worked full time for two years. In that time I grew so much as a stylist. There was so much that I didn't know in school, that just took time and experience. I built a full clientle within 4-8 months. Evenings and Saturdays were my $$$ times. Then I had Mia. I would have quit right then, but Heath had just finished undergrad and we were not financially able for me to stop.
My heart is with my kids. The first few years are so vitally important. So, I talked with Heath, and we decided that I cut my hours gradually and pack my people in. I have always been faithful to really work hard at getting every client to rebook for every 4-6 weeks. So I was able to do that since I knew, "every four weeks I could expect to see So and So, and make roughly X amount of dollars." I was able to rest in the fact that I was in the will of God for this season of my life, and I knew He could care for my children better than I could anyway.
Now with two kids, I have cut back even more and I only work 2 long days every other week. I don't make near as much $ as working full time, but I would not want to trade the time I have with the children for any amount of $ in the world.
My advice,
Be diligent to keep your relationship with the Lord and your family before your job. He will guide you to do the right thing. Also, talk, talk, talk to your husband. Get on the same page. God will use him to bring you direction and wisdom.
If you're not able to be home all the time, then make every moment you have with your family count. Let the laundry and the cleaning wait, because your kids will change from one day to the next and you don't want to miss that because you are busy doing chores. Drink lots of coffee and stay up late! It's a great time to get things done. AND, always be open with your boss. Tell her your concerns and let him or her help you through this.

Hope this helped.

Stephanie and Mark said...

Hey there Jill - I'll give my perspective here as well... I do come from a childhood of my parents being gone a lot for business traveling. Many families have it much better as you are home every night with your kids. I honestly have to say that I turned out great (I hope! haha!) and in turn have a great respect for my parents and what they have accomplished in their careers and of course our family. They taught me that when you have a goal, you should go for it and never let Satan get in the way of accomplishing that goal. There were many trips that my sister and I went on with my parents which allowed us to see much of the US as well as Europe. Those times that we were unable to go, Jen and I were spending time with our grandparents or a family friend that stayed with us at night. I would never trade those times for anything. My relationship with my grandparents is a strong one and filled with so many wonderful memories. We had a nanny that would do the cooking, cleaning, and of course watching us after school - she is like another grandparent to my sister and I as well as Gavin and Ainsley and soon to be Chase!

So, I of course want to spend as much time as I can home with my children in the future. But, I do know that kids turn out beautifully when they are raised in Christian homes. God has been so good to our family and I have a deep respect for my parents for accomplishing so much while raising my sister and I. He will never disappoint you! :-)

So...all in all...do what you need to do for your family and always know God has a massive plan! :-)

The Yenchko's said...

jill,
i can see your pain. ive gone through the same thing with in the past few years. being a stylist for almost five years i also know how demanding the hours are in this business if you want to make any $. But at the same time i love what i do and even though i tell jeff i would like to retire i think a part of me would be missing if i didn't have my hands in hair. When jeff and i moved back to the area we had to decide what would be best for our family. Thats when i went part time. i now work ten days a month (i call it semi retired) and i fell like i have the best of both worlds. But in order to keep my clientel i decided to work 2 12 hour days and every other sat so i could try to meet everyones hour needs. it works for us and i feel blessed that i have the time with max at home.
But to give you a few tips. if you wait a year it could be harder for you to take the pay cut.(that was so hard on me) Also if you do go part time, make sure that you don't give into the few people who beg u to come in on your day off. once that starts it doesent stop. ( i know from experence! before max i worked up to 4 days a week) My boss actually loves the fact that when she has to be off i can fill in. I know God will show you what is perfact for your family! i will be praying for you, but for now just enjoy all the time you can while your at home and everything else will fall into order.
kate

Brandijo said...

I'm not a beautician so I can't give any advice as far as your job goes. But, as your sister-in-law I personally think that for your family to get along and have family time, your going to have to talk to your boss. I know that it might be scary but pray about it with Zac and next time that your at work just explain to her that you need to lessen your hours to make time for your family. I mean even if your did two days 10-7pm and two days 10-2 or 10-4 and saturday 9-2 you could still make money and have the nights with the family. I know how hard it can get when both parents are working, getting off around 5 pm and then trying to cram supper and family time in, in three to four hours. I hope that everything works out okay for you all.

Smileyface said...

Hi Jill....

I'm not a beautician but I'm a mama so I hear your heart well ;)

I work part-time and have had the struggle of knowing how much or how little to work and all that hibity. I just want to echo what Lindsey said....Stay close to God and to yer hubby and be open with him and your boss.

Our little ones are only little once and I'm a firm believer that God will provide a way for us to be at home if we want to. I'm always amazed how fast time goes and how quickly our babies grow...there's always the future to work and make money but our babies are only small once.

I will be praying for you! Sounds like you are surrounded by some pretty awesome Godly women to encourage you....blessings! Laura