Taking the plunge, having a leap of faith....

Whatever you want to call it, I'm in it now!

I was laid off from my regular 9 - 5 job about 4 months ago.  I hated the place, hated my immediate coworker and wasn't too fond of my superior.  Even though they were all good people, it wasn't a fit for me and in actuality made me sick in terms of anxiety, stress and panic attacks.

Since I've been doing the same style job for more than 20 years, and it's really the only thing I've done, besides being a firefighter for the same length of time, I needed a change.  Sitting behind those desks for the past two decades taught me that I wanted more out of life than sitting there was going to give me, I wanted some sense of freedom.  I wanted something new and exciting and totally different than anything I've ever done.  So my wife and I decided that we were going to buy a franchise.

One day while I was getting my thirty minute sanity break (called a lunch break) I ran into a guy in a branded vehicle at the local convenience store and we talked a little.  He was a home inspector and was swamped with work.  I immediately went home and began researching the business.  My wife then began researching the business.  The decision was soon made after I got laid off, a fancy phrase for being fired, and needed work and a change of careers.

After several months of researching, talking to different franchises and contemplating, we made the plunge.  After four months, we're in the thick of it, in terms of the franchise and debt at the moment.  Every day I am trying to sell myself and the company.  The days of getting a weekly check for a set amount and annual bonuses are gone.  Now what I earn will be solely based on what I put into the company.  It's on me...  I'm the man I'm working for and I'm going to do everything in my power to get this thing running right.

So far, it's painfully slow.  I've had one presentation, scheduled a second and have been pounding on doors and the pavement to try to get business.  It's not easy.  I never thought it would be.  I thought I'd have something by this time, but have yet to get anywhere.  I'm assured it'll come.  I'm banking on it.

Sometimes taking the leap isn't as easy as an outsider might thing.  It's hard, nothing is given to you and you work your ass off for sometimes nothing.  My only hope is that all my hard work will pay off and the sooner the better.

Out with the New in with the Old

I'm a huge Jeep Wrangler fan.  Always have been.  Something about being able to cruise around with the top and doors off on a warm summer day is extremely appealing to me, almost spiritual.  That being said, it is what it is, a Jeep.  It's a rough ride, basic interior finish with some luxuries if you buy the Sahara model or up, but it still leaks on occasion, is loud on the highway and basically as aerodynamic as a brick.  But I still love them.

There's an ongoing joke in my family about how many jobs and cars I've had in my life so far, and we're adding another car to the mix.  I traded in my long sought after, two year old, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited for a five year old Toyota 4Runner.  I've always been a huge fan of the 4Runner and Toyota's in general.  I've had a standard cab Tacoma with no frills and it was a beast.  Fun to drive, great in the snow, peppy for a small truck and for the most part economical.  I bought it used and it lasted forever.

So when it came time for me to look for a vehicle to trade my Jeep in for, since it wasn't white and had to be for the business, I looked at both Jeeps and 4Runners.  Since Jeeps hold their value so well, it just wasn't worth it to try to find a Wrangler for the right price with the right options.  I'd be paying more for a vehicle with higher mileage and not nearly as every day road comfortable as the 4Runner.  So it went.  I'm sad to see it go, but I vow that in two years time I'll be looking to get back into a Wrangler, I'll buy used with the things I want and it will be what it is meant to be, a fun vehicle to take to the beach, through the snow and on the backroads of where ever I can find with the top and doors off racing towards an adventure.