Working from the time I was 13 years old I decided when my husband and I were ready to have kids it was time for me to stay home with them. We had our two little girls, Kristi and Katie two years apart. I stayed home with them and watched my friend’s kids who still worked. This was a great way to get to raise my girls and make a little extra money. It also helped out our friends who couldn’t afford to stop working. Then when Katie was three and in preschool I was ready to do something that got me out of the house for a few hours a week.
I was lucky that my husband’s job was working for family and afforded us the flexibility for him to be with the girls so I could do this.
So my husband and I sat down to ponder what that would be I knew I did not want to go back to working for a company that was in control of my time. We decided to start me in my own business which was exciting but a bit scary.
I decided to take classes for accounting, business law, and starting a business at a local community college. I took only classes I needed to succeed in business and nothing more. I was in a hurry to get something going and be productive.
What we decided on was a mowing service. We had some friends who had elderly parents that were in need of this service. And the plus side of was I enjoyed mowing.
So this began my first sole proprietor business adventure. This job was a great one to start because the cost to start it was minimal.
We only had to buy a trailer to tote around the equipment we already used for our own yard. I started in the spring and in a month I had more jobs than I could handle. We decided I would work only two half days because it was pretty physical work. I would hook up my trailer and take off early in the morning, mow 6-8 lawns, and come home by late afternoon tired, hot, and smelly. I really enjoyed it and I was in top shape from all the walking.
This job started in early March and with leaf clean up went into early November. That gave me four months vacation time! I was making more than some of my other friends who worked year round. This business lasted for three years and would have lasted longer if I had not broken my wrist. It was a very bad break that kept me in a cast for almost a year.
During this time a friend of ours husband died and she asked if we would be interested in taking over his antique and collectible business. My husband had learned many things about this business from spending time with him so she thought he was the best person to continue it. We made her an offer for all his inventory and she agreed. We still have the antique and collectible business going today. My husband buys, I mark, it take it to our booth at a co-op, and go back at the end of the month to collect a check. But I never knew how much I would make and that made budgeting hard and it didn’t take a lot of time so I got bored fast.
So again we put our heads together and decided to buy a soda vending machine to put at my husbands work to replace one that had been removed. It was a fun and easy job so I decided to find a few other places to place vending machines. This began a new business adventure for our whole family with the girls, who are now teenagers, helping out during vacation time. Now we have over 50 machines placed all over the metro area. I now work about 25 hours a week between buying product, stocking the truck, and filling the machines. It is a great job and I enjoy all the people I get to know in the locations where we have our machines.
I feel fortunate to have found such a great and fun way to make some extra money while still being able to have the flexibility to be in control over my time. This made it so nice when I am not feeling well, want to attend my girls school events, or when the weather is bad like it was last week! I just turned fifty and have no desire to stop what I do. This job keeps me in shape, affords us extras, and is so much fun.
