The Cat's Meow

Head on over to The Flaming Vegan to read my latest post on Organic Gardening. http://www.theflamingvegan.com/view-post/Compost-Happens

I’m preparing to make yet another change in my life. One that I hope will bring me to my truth. I’ve enjoyed my job for the most part, up till now. I am just having more and more ethical issues with what I’m selling. The short of it is that I believe unless the daily deal industry makes some pretty big changes, it won’t survive. I know we are seeing it in the number of merchants willing to run with us as well as the performance of the offers we do run. I think it’s just too expensive for most merchants, especially those with tight margins. This marketing model asks them to discount their products and services by at least half, and then give the deal site anywhere from 10 to 50% of that already discounted revenue. Thankfully many merchants are more savvy, now that the industry has been around a while. The smart merchants know to request a cap on the number of certificates sold. They know they should push hard for low revenue shares. They know they should be as clear and concise as possible in the construction of the terms of the offers. But still, are they really benefiting from this form of marketing?

My company, as well as others out there, are trying to generate member loyalty. The problem is that in order to do so, the incentive basically has to be as good as the next deal, and there are no deal sites out there who can afford that. Merchants tell me all the time that people just don’t come back. While my companies stats on return full price business are better than most, it’s still true, people don’t want to pay full price for certain services so they just shop around for the best deal on a mani/pedi, or a massage or facial, or yoga class. I think it begs the question of what really drives customer loyalty? I am loyal to my yoga studio, even though it’s 10 miles away and there’s one closer to me and cheaper too. Why? Because I love the teachers. I feel comfortable there. I’m also loyal to my nail salon. Why? I can walk there from my house. They always do a great job. And I like supporting a local shop. A 10% reward on a $30 manicure is not incentive for me to drive into San Francisco and deal with parking hassles to return to a place I had a daily deal certificate for.

There need to be some changes in the this marketing platform or there will be no merchants left who wish to subject their businesses to the cost, both monetary and in potential damage to their brand via association and negative yelp reviews.

My four year old has lately been asking me as I pry him loose from my leg on my way out the door, “Why Mommy? Why do you have to run?”

Good question kiddo.

Because running hurts and because running feels great. Because running means just me in my head, or Ira Glass or Jad Abumrod if I’m tuning to a podcast. Because when I’m running, I’m not cleaning, or doing laundry or cooking or listening to whining. Because when I run, I think, I get ideas, I write in my head. Because when I run, I feel some of the grumpy slide away. Because running is natural prozac for me.

I run because I can’t not.

Please understand little one, it’s not to escape you, it’s to clear out the angst, the frustrations of parenthood, the troubles of life, just for a little while, so as to make more space for the happy, so that I can enjoy you better.

I run to keep me sane.

So I have a great little picture book manuscript and I’m really not sure what to do with it. Trying to get it out there is not going to be easy. If I had multiple PB manuscripts, MAYBE an agent out there might consider looking at them. But I don’t. Just the one and a half written YA novel.

I’ve thought about self publishing but all the literature makes it sound like doing so will doom me to never get a contract on any book I write. Plus, my manuscript really needs art.

I’ve thought about asking my artist brother-in-law to do artwork for it and we could publish it and get it out there. But again, is that relegating me to the slush pile forever when I do submit to agents and publishers?

I’m just not sure about what my next steps should be. I guess it’s time to jump on the forums for advice.

My life is split into many different segments. This has been sort of working for a year now but I feel things are beginning to unravel.

Segment 1: Family life. I’m a wife and a mom to two little boys, 2 and 4. This is my primary “job” and the one I’d like to give my all to.

Segment 2: President of preschool board. This is the second year I’ve been on the board and I’m finishing my first year as prez. Enjoy it for the most part but really wish I could be more “present” and active. Just running meetings doesn’t really feel like much of a contribution.

Segment 3: Co-prez and now interim coordinator of the Master Gardners in my county. This is something that could easily consume 80+ hours a week. Obviously I can’t allow that and so just as with my other volunteer position, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Segment 4: My Avon business. I have so much fun doing this but again, wish I had more time to dedicate to just this.

Segment 5: Writing. I’m in the middle of my first YA novel and have a few PB manuscripts under my belt. Would LOVE to have a few mornings a week to do nothing but write.

Segment 6: part-time job at yoga studio. Just checking in classes and managing staff schedule. Nothing too difficult but eats up time.

Segment 7: Social media/blogging. This happens at night after I’ve addressed all the other segments and soon, it’s midnight and my kids get up at 5:30.

So something’s gotta give. Now I’m doing some hard looking at what I’ve committed to and trying to figure out what’s going to have to go. I know where my true passions lie, writing and my Avon business. So I suppose I should just eliminate everything else, except my family of course. Especially since most of the other segments actually COST me money.

Now I just need to wrestle with my lifelong demon, Mr. Fear of Disappointing Others.

I have a commitment problem.

It’s not what you think. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

It’s not that I can’t say yes, it’s that I can’t say no.

So now I’ve committed to a part time job that will pay me nothing, and I really mean nothing. That’s literal folks, zero dollars. And accepting said part time job, really an interim position, will actually COST me money, in babysitting fees.

So why do it? Because I believe in the organization I’m doing it for. I’m going from co-president to Interim Coordinator, in the hopes of helping to secure a sense of continuity and security for the membership and also, selfishly, in the hopes of securing the actual paid position of Interim Coordinator when that position is eventually hired.

There are some things that are worth over extending yourself for. I think this is one of them.

You may or may not know that sustainable landscaping is becoming a VERY hot topic. More and more people are wanting to move away from harmful pesticides, away from too much turf, towards composting and Integrated Pest Management. This is a tough sell for landscaping companies and their employees but apparently some are seeing the light. Below is a total word for word reprint of a wonderful post from a local professional landscaping yahoo group. It is really heartening and hopefully infectious. My gratitude to the author and if he somehow finds this post and would like me to include his name I’ll be happy to, just didn’t want to do so without his express permission.

“My experience tells me that no one is going to believe it if I don’t. The paradigm has to shift with me first before I can ever expect to convince a client to move away from what has become a really bad habit. To quit using Roundup and Turf Supreme and all the other stuff that is still heavily encouraged by suppliers I liken to quitting smoking. It’s something we all know we need to do but it’s so #x*@ hard to stop. It’s not like these products are illegal and so many people are still using them. You can’t really blame the vendors for selling what moves; it’s pretty basic marketing. So the shift has to start with me (same for you…and you…and you too!). If I stop offering to spray Roundup and instead explain that I intend to direct my guys to bend down and actually pull weeds and rake up leaves instead of spending an hour or so a week in la-la land while blowing leaves into piles. And maybe explain that I refuse to throw away your wonderful compost materials and will use the time instead to tend the compost pile and every couple months we’ll spread the compost to enrich the mulch. And all the other really cool things that are possible. If I tell people that’s what I do because I refuse to keep piling up stuff on the mountaintop and poisoning our watershed. Well then maybe some of them will stick with me and some won’t. But those who do will have a much safer place for their kids (and ours) to play.

And when enough of the me and you’s follow suit then maybe we’ll begin to see more and more that vendors are selling stuff that doesn’t hurt and maybe even helps the environment. Think about it. In a very short number of years the “garbage man” has given way to the “sanitation worker” who has  now come to be regarded as the “waste management technician”. I’m sure that change will continue evolving and we’ll come to know the “re-resource manager” (or something like that). If enough people begin to think about the concept of “Zero Waste” and actually begin to take steps toward that ideal, the garbage man will be a thing of the past. Maybe our Hispanic workers will stop snickering at us wasteful Americanos. Man, the more I get into this, the more it feels like the blind have been leading the blind for so long. It’s kind of like waking up after being caught it a bad nightmare that lasted far too long. All of you who have been working so hard all these years and saying enough is enough and flatly refusing to follow the pack while all of us “professionals” dismissed your ideas as eccentric should feel proud that some of us are finally getting it. I can only speak for myself but it takes a lot of commitment to make the change. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. Hopefully all of you will keep sharing your knowledge with us as more and more people make the change. The slow economy is no fun but it’s allowed me time to take stock and really look at what we’ve been doing and where we want to go moving forward. There’s no doubt our market has changed due to financial realities. There’s never been a better time to begin offering new and innovative services to the public. They’re ready and we need to be also.

So it’s not just about getting my clients to believe in something I’m trying to do. It’s more about changing what I do and making the decision not to return to those nasty old habits…period! We have to draw a line in the sand and just do it. There’s never been a better time.”