This is the story of how I left an incredible job to work for myself.
People used to ask me, so what do you do for a living? You are probably thinking that this is a normal question. Don't we all get to know someone by asking them about their job? I loved that question. I loved telling people about my job. In fact, according to me, I had the best job on the planet. I was the Youth Director at my Church and I was paid to play games and hang out with some of my favourite people in the world. But, this question didn't just come from people who have just met me, I'm talking about people in my own congregation . By whom I was employed. As in, you should know this, I work for you! You know when you see me up front at the pulpit giving an announcement? I get paid to do that. I also get paid to build a relationship with your kid/grandkid/neice/nephew/cousin/that crazy teen/rabid squirrel.
When I had my kids, I continued to get these kinds of questions. I would tell people that my children were in preschool and that my parents would watch them for me every single Tuesday & Thursday (I know, right? Best grandparents ever!). And these same people would say to me "that must be such a nice break for you". Sometimes I would just smile and nod and walk away. It's definitely not a break to find childcare to go to work. It's a necessity. Sure, a change of pace from always being a mama was a welcome change, no denying that. But there always had to be someone who had no idea why the Church even employed someone to make the "young people" play games, do a youth retreat and a mission trip once a year. That's all we do at youth, isn't it?
Silly questions aside, I was quite familiar with the concept that I never really had a "real job". Even my husband and I struggled with me working while he was off as he unintentionally expected me to be taking care of the kids. Usually a gentle reminder that I had work to do would give him the hint that he was on duty for a little while. Not only that, but you also deal with the 24/7 on-call nature of the job. Teens & parents text/e-mail/message you around the clock. Crisis happens and duty calls. And every Friday night for the last nine years was not going out or on a date with my handsome hubs, it was trying to harness the energy of a group of (mostly) teenage boys into positive, character-building, faith-growing activities. That's the way of youth ministry. I loved it, but it isn't always easy to balance with a young family.
Working at home is hard. Working for yourself is even harder. As a youth director, I didn't have to worry about if, when or how much I was going to be paid. Admittedly, I had very little stress/pressure as a Youth Director. I had it good. Really good. Like, I couldn't wait to tell people what I did for a living. I bragged about my job, my students and the beautiful thing that is a calling into Ministry. My faith was challenged and strengthen by watching kids give their lives to Jesus. I got to take them on Mission Trips and serve alongside of them and really feel like you were a part of some massive good in the world for the sake of Christ.
So why would I throw all of that away?
In my eyes, I was never really giving something up to get into something new. It just kinda happened. It was a slow fade, but a strong realization that I had something bigger to do in the world. For me, the real drive to become an essential oil educator is that I felt like I was giving other women the same confidence & empowerment that I felt. That essential oils, something so simple, could be used to make my kids feel better, boost my mood, give my energy a pick-me-up, clean my house (if only it would do that without me having to put in the hours!), and reduce our toxic load. This was just the tip of the Iceberg. The more things that I tried using essential oils for, the more I discovered that they worked. They were so effective in most circumstances that I completely changed the way that I looked at health & self care in my home. I overhauled my cupboards, my bathroom, my medicine cabinet, my laundry room, my diaper bag, the gym bag and more. I could feel my confidence as a caregiver and as a woman increasing. I felt like I had options. I had something that my kids could use when they need extra support and my personal healthy habits were also improving greatly. My first year using doTERRA products, I lost 30 lbs, my skin improved greatly and I had more energy than I've ever had as a young mama. There was definitely something amazing going on. I wanted other people to know about it. I wanted other women to also know that this was a business they could jump into no matter what stage of life they found themselves. And, once I realized that I could be myself and share my beliefs while doing it, I was ready to dive in.
For a long time, I thought that I could do both. I would slowly build a "little doTERRA business" while continuing on with my life as I had before. It would give me a bit of a challenge and a bit of extra pocket money. That's all I wanted. For those of you who read my first blog post, you know that having our fourth baby was an unexpected blessing and part of the reason I decided to build my own business.
For a long time I struggled with changing my employment identity. I was proud to be in Minsitry and always thrilled to tell people what I did for a living. But now, I wasn't even sure what to say! I hadn't yet build my confidence to say boldly "I'm going to tell you what I do for a living so I can sell something to you". Or, that's what I thought everyone must be thinking when I give them some long script about my life-changing experience. It had to be more simple than that. The idea of a "pitch" just never sat well with me. I don't like sales. For that matter, I don't really like sales people...that instant sense of annoyance when you walk into a store and are just waiting for that person to pounce on you. The feeling of fight or flight seems to wash over you as they approach. Should I quickly walk away, or angrily brush them off? That was, until I a beautiful encounter with someone who genuinely wanted to help me. And it suddenly dawned on me - sales isn't about selling, it's about helping. It was that day the I changed my perspective on how I would run my business. I look for ways to serve people by giving them advice, samples to try, information, access to resources and experienced guidance. I don't call around every month asking for order (that always feels so icky to me), but simply pass on information and allow people to choose if they want to implement the products/uses into their own health & home. And, you know what? It works. Helping people in a genuine way will lead to WAY more sales than any sales pitch ever would.
It had this beautiful realization that being a servant leader, a calm yet experienced source of information, a loving guide & coach and really caring about the health & success of others was going to drive my business forward. I remember thinking to myself - I can do that. I can really make a difference, help people and grow this business. And, I want to do that. It showed me the path towards doing something bigger with my life. Sharing such an important and incredible message with a larger audience and following God's call on my simple life. And, knowing that it was the perfect fit for my young family, I embraced it wholeheartedly.
Maybe you're looking for a change. Maybe you hate your job or maybe you actually really enjoy what you're doing...but you are feeling that tiny pull towards something different. Bigger. More Fulfilling. With opportunity to create real, residual income. Something that can steer your family towards debt freedom, time flexibility, financial abundance and the ability to give back (with both time & finances) on a larger scale. If you feel like you can reach out to people with the incredible, life-changing tools of essential oils from a genuine place of helping, this could be a perfect life-designing business model for you.
Now that I'm an experienced oil educator and business coach, I love coaching women into finding their own personal brand/vibe and designing their own thriving business. My passion is finding out what your passion is and helping you use it to create a business that is uniquely YOU. I will work hard for you and give you all of the tools that you need to launch and run your own doTERRA business. All you need to do today is say yes.
