Bare Naked Truth- My New Reality isn't Pretty

        

    Today is the first day of my new life… again. I closed my year-old business a few weeks ago, and finally got the office totally emptied out yesterday, more or less.  We still have time on the lease, and the people taking over the space wanted the furniture. No problem, take it, I don’t need a moving truck now. Unfortunately, rather than closing this chapter on my life, the last page is dog-eared.

            So now I am home. Sitting at my home office space figuring out next moves. My wife thought it would be cleansing for me to write my thoughts, so why not give it a shot. I wrote a book with great friends only three years ago, to kind of worldwide acclaim. It wasn’t on the New York Times bestseller list or anything- but thanks to e-Books, people have downloaded it to all over the world. (Alone in My Universe: Struggling with an Orphan Disease in an Unsympathetic World)

            Now, I am starting a blog; I guess. Next step is a fancy title. Basically, the point is going to focus on mid-life life changes. I have a few options for next path, and I want to share my thoughts. Maybe others will find my thoughts interesting, helpful, humorous, or cathartic. Please share your thoughts, life experiences, and ideas. Lets work together.

            So why the life change? I am going to go as quickly as possible, just so you know our starting For Profit business. What changed? I met the love of my life in 2012, and soon after we were married, I found out that I was about to have a family. The charity made me no personal income, and kids cost money. Need I say more? I needed to find an income stream. So we went to a business broker. We knew our budget, and went business shopping.
point on this sudden change. I was a city schoolteacher for
years, until the politics got the best of me, and I decided to work for myself. While I was teaching, I was running a Not-For-Profit charity that I started. I ran the charity from 2010 until 2013 before finding my successor to run the charity, in order to start a

            We told the broker that we wanted something within our budget. We had enough to buy a decently established business, but not a McDonald’s. It should also be family-friendly hours, because I want to be able to tuck my kid in at night. What did the broker show me? Businesses that tripled our budet, gin mills, and endless dinner establishments 40 minutes from home. Um… Fail.

            All the silliness got the best of me and I told my wife that I wanted to look at a franchise. I talked with companies that offered me the opportunity to do printing, to sell web pages, to do this, and do that. I always thought that you paid royalties to get support, but none had a system in place to help us to actually be successful. These franchisors seemed to be making their money from selling franchises, rather than offering a great product with an established system to bring it to market.

            Ultimately, we bought a franchise that did temporary staffing. I loved the idea of helping people find work. How cool is that?! I can work, make a living, and help my community! Touchdown! Plus, this company actually had national contracts to work with. So we signed on the

dotted line and we were in business.

            Office space, furniture, insurance, training… We are good to go. Opening day came with did grow, we never seemed to hit a profit line. Every time I talked with the national office, I was told how the system works, and it is all my fault. Anyway, before I lose you, within one year, we spent nearly double our budget and were still breaking even or losing ground every month. When I went to the national franchise meeting, they had an open forum for owners to discuss their issues. I begged for help because the system only works for a small percentage of owners. One of the most successful owners informed me that if I bought a Subway, they wouldn’t find the customers for me. She is right, but Subway would make damned sure I knew how to make their product perfectly. In exchange, they would run lots of ads. Anyway, all the details of this company are not important- and it will save me a deposition if anyone from the national office disapproves of what I wrote.
minimal fanfare. As the business grew, and we

So here I am. Our office is closed, and I am home while my wife works. Oooof! That sound you just heard was another body slam to my ego as a provider. The baby still has full time daycare for another week and a half, contractually, so I am taking advantage by starting to write. Eight month olds aren’t known for their offering flexible schedules.

Now I am 41-years old with tons of options, seasoned with tons of limitations, and a clock that ticks louder every day- the clock of employment relevance. I’m not retiring next month, but I would look very odd as a free intern. What do I do?

What are my skills? I am a great communicator and leader, I love to write, and I know how to motivate. No one runs ads for middle management in the paper anymore, and I am tired of Monster’s responses to my resume: sell life insurance or sell stock tips. Did you actually read my resume?! Ugh.. Adulthood can be such a bear.

What’s my next move? As I see it, there are a few options.

a.     Stay-Home Dad. This is my path for at least the next few months anyway, as we figure out where to go from here.

b.     Take any job to keep busy. My wife is betting I have any job in less than a month because I will go crazy being home. There is one problem here. If the job makes less money than daycare costs, that makes no sense.

c.      Go back to school. Sure, I have a bachelors degree, and a masters degree- in history. I couldn’t trade my degrees for a cup of coffee at Starbucks--- maybe at Dunkin’…

           I love having options, but you never know if you made the right choice until you’re five or ten miles down the road. Right now, I am dad, and that is the best job I have ever had. I love my family, and I want to get back to providing for the family.

           I know I am not the first person ever to be slapped in the face with life transitions at an inconvenient time on the lifespan. So what did you do? I would love feedback and ideas.

           I promise to post at least twice a week and share my progress, and I really hope people read this and contribute. What did you do when your chapter suddenly closed? How did you handle it? What did you do?