They say necessity is the mother of invention and in my case I believe it. 5 years ago I left my job as a bookkeeper to work with my husband in his custom cabinet business. We had high hopes of doing lots of work and being together all the time and having the freedom to take time off when we wanted. At that point we had been married 20 years and I thought I could handle his strong personality. It almost ended our marriage and sent me on a drinking spree. 2 years of that and I began to ask myself, what do I want anyway?. He is the best provider, the most loving man, but not a very good boss.(or I am not a very good employee) I felt I was in crisis to determine just what I loved and what I could make money at.
In true Michelle Renee fashion, I began doing 3 things at once.
Selling handmade cards,doing wedding flowers and taking care of a neighbors vacation home. It took a year of this, and my accountants advice to make me really look at which one was just a hobby and which one could turn into a career.
I know manage 3 vacation rentals on my road, and clean and take care of 3 more that are second homes. I live in a beautiful resort area in Northern California and we have lots of rental agencies doing what I do only on a larger scale.
I get so much joy out of making these homes beautiful and knowing people can come here and relax and take in the surroundings.
My thoughts now are; do I go big? Do I peruse more homes, hire employees? Get liability Insurance?
I am now making what I did when I left my bookkeeping job and wonder if that is enough?
Can my passion really blossom into a thriving business?
Time will tell and I believe I was presented with an opportunity and took it and it is paying off. I feel empowered by my income and want more of that. More choices, More opportunities, More growth both professionally and personally. Bring it On! By the Way my husband and I just celebrated our 26th year together!