It is interesting to look back on where we were a few months ago compared to today. My ghostwriting business continues to keep me extremely busy. Brenda’s JamBusters! specialty food home-based business keeps her extremely busy. I think we are at least as busy as we were when we still had our newspaper business. Of course, the main difference here is that what we are doing now are things we get a great deal of enjoyment from.
That is not to say we didn’t feel the same way about the weekly grind of a small town community newspaper. It’s just that the busy days we have now are manageable and far more profitable if a measuring method had to be used to determine the actual difference. Plus, when we add on to our workload, it’s now because we can handle the extra and shuffle other priorities around if needed to completely accommodate the additional work.
I think that’s sort of the train of thought I had when I encouraged Brenda to participate in a third weekly vending date for JamBusters! What I didn’t expect was how it was going to impact my writing schedule. The additional vending dates are Tuesday afternoons from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. The bonus here is that the venue is the local Chamber of Commerce building grounds which is just about exactly a whole kilometre from the entrance of our driveway at home.
From the very first Tuesday I had a plan of attack for JamBusters! I would transport the canopy, tables, chairs and all other related ‘set up’ gear to the site and leave Brenda there to start putting the vending booth together. I would then go back home and load the car with her products for sale. The opposite routine would be followed at the end of a vending date. So far, it has worked out fine and if I forget something, it’s just two minutes away.
I also take control of the inventory on Tuesdays selecting around 25 of the over 50 different products currently marketed under the JamBusters! banner. It makes transportation much easier as well as tracking so I am able to pack and move far less than we used to do at other outdoor markets. Naturally, that will change with the handful of large outdoor events we have booked for the balance of the year. Our ‘home base’ remains at the Oliver Indoor Flea Market.
When this has bitten into my writing schedule is that typically on a Tuesday now I can’t get into any projects because of the midday vending. I am working on juggling my schedule around so that I don’t lose any more Tuesdays. I guess all I’m saying here is that we had a fairly tight routine that now needs some fine tuning in order to fit in the additional vending date. It’ll work out as each Tuesday since the start I feel I’m getting closer to finding that balance.
As for the extra market date…JamBusters! does well anywhere we vend so we never worry about the outcome. The first Tuesday we vended JamBusters! was very encouraging and we see some great potential with the mid-week markets. Besides, with them taking place so close to our home, we can’t NOT be involved in some way. So even if the traffic numbers are less than stellar, we enjoy being able to vend in our home town.
It also gives me something different to write about. As funny as that may sound, I’m enjoying working on the promotion and marketing of the markets for JamBusters! I’m also doing some of it to give the Chamber of Commerce a bit of assistance with digital marketing. So, in a way, although I may not be writing as much on Tuesdays as I was, I’m still heavily involved in using the time to support Brenda’s home-based business in the best way I can.
That is not to say we didn’t feel the same way about the weekly grind of a small town community newspaper. It’s just that the busy days we have now are manageable and far more profitable if a measuring method had to be used to determine the actual difference. Plus, when we add on to our workload, it’s now because we can handle the extra and shuffle other priorities around if needed to completely accommodate the additional work.
I think that’s sort of the train of thought I had when I encouraged Brenda to participate in a third weekly vending date for JamBusters! What I didn’t expect was how it was going to impact my writing schedule. The additional vending dates are Tuesday afternoons from 3:00 to 7:00 PM. The bonus here is that the venue is the local Chamber of Commerce building grounds which is just about exactly a whole kilometre from the entrance of our driveway at home.
From the very first Tuesday I had a plan of attack for JamBusters! I would transport the canopy, tables, chairs and all other related ‘set up’ gear to the site and leave Brenda there to start putting the vending booth together. I would then go back home and load the car with her products for sale. The opposite routine would be followed at the end of a vending date. So far, it has worked out fine and if I forget something, it’s just two minutes away.
I also take control of the inventory on Tuesdays selecting around 25 of the over 50 different products currently marketed under the JamBusters! banner. It makes transportation much easier as well as tracking so I am able to pack and move far less than we used to do at other outdoor markets. Naturally, that will change with the handful of large outdoor events we have booked for the balance of the year. Our ‘home base’ remains at the Oliver Indoor Flea Market.
When this has bitten into my writing schedule is that typically on a Tuesday now I can’t get into any projects because of the midday vending. I am working on juggling my schedule around so that I don’t lose any more Tuesdays. I guess all I’m saying here is that we had a fairly tight routine that now needs some fine tuning in order to fit in the additional vending date. It’ll work out as each Tuesday since the start I feel I’m getting closer to finding that balance.
As for the extra market date…JamBusters! does well anywhere we vend so we never worry about the outcome. The first Tuesday we vended JamBusters! was very encouraging and we see some great potential with the mid-week markets. Besides, with them taking place so close to our home, we can’t NOT be involved in some way. So even if the traffic numbers are less than stellar, we enjoy being able to vend in our home town.
It also gives me something different to write about. As funny as that may sound, I’m enjoying working on the promotion and marketing of the markets for JamBusters! I’m also doing some of it to give the Chamber of Commerce a bit of assistance with digital marketing. So, in a way, although I may not be writing as much on Tuesdays as I was, I’m still heavily involved in using the time to support Brenda’s home-based business in the best way I can.
RSS Feed
