Goals

It's been a long time since I've set a true goal for myself.  I'm talking about a goal that needs to be worked for.  One that takes planning, time, patience, hard work, determination, frustration, and then some more determination.  A goal that can be definitively measured, not one that is subjective.  It's been a very long time and now that I have actually set a goal for myself, I feel that it has been something that I have been missing in my life.  I am a person who is driven by purpose.  Don't get me wrong, I love to have fun but if given the choice... doing something for fun or doing something for a purpose, 8 out of 10 times, I'll choose purpose.

So as some of you know, I have this Lemongrass Spa "Business."   I joined and started it up in April of 2015 and in those 2.5 years, I have done very little with it.  I honestly love the products, I love learning about them (and "science" behind natural skincare products and essential oils) and I love sharing them with people the small group of people that that I have comfortably gathered as customers.

I didn't start up this business for the money.  I didn't start it because I knew someone else who was a consultant (I still have yet to personally meet a fellow LGS sister).  I started it with no goal or end game in mind other than I wanted to try something different, something out of my comfort zone.  Over the course of the past two and half years, I have stepped out of my comfort zone (a tiny bit), but because I am not driven by any purpose, I can pull back whenever I want too.  This lack of purpose has also turned my "business" into more of a hobby of mine, because I do it purely for fun.  However, I don't do fun well.  Wait... that didn't come out right, lol.

What I mean is that I have a lot of fun creating graphics, growing my knowledge about the company and our products, and sharing it all on Facebook... but that fun isn't leading to anything significant.  Spending the amount of time that I do to do all of that, even though it's completely by my choice and I do enjoy it, has an empty purpose.

I do have a very small group of loyal customers whom are fantastic!  I love that they love Lemongrass Spa products and that I introduced something healthy into their lives.  That is very rewarding.  I also love that the majority of products in my home are Lemongrass Spa and that very little out of pocket money goes into that.  But I want more.  It's time to step out of the comfort zone, in more ways that one, and give myself a goal to work towards besides funding my own personal skincare products.

So my goal {drum roll}... is to donate $1000 from money I earn from my Lemongrass Biz to various charities over the course of 1 year.  In order to do this, that means that I will need to sell atleast $4000 in products in 1 year.  Now if any of you readers are direct sales peeps, that may not sound like a whole lot to you, but just to put it into perspective for me, I only sold $2500 worth in volume last year.  So I need to step up my game and sell atleast (not yet taking into consideration discounts, supplies, etc. that I will need to pay for) 60% more.   So I feel that $1000 is a goal that I can reach, not easily, but it's doable, if I put extra effort and drive into making it happen.  That is something that I look forward to doing.

So many people that I have seen thrive in direct sales is because they are looking for freedom... career wise and money wise.  It has been very hard for me to sell the business side of Lemongrass to others (no recruits here) because I am not driven by either.  I am fortunate enough that (although I have complaints) I love being a teacher and although there are time restraints, I feel equally fortunate that I have been able to have the best of both worlds, a good paying job with benefits and time to spend with my son and not feel like I missed out of anything by being at work and not at home.  Now I am driven by money... money that I hope can make an impact for others and $1000 is a good amount of money to do just that.

So... does anyone have any charities to suggest?  National, local, personal... I have some of my own in mind, but I am open to any and all.  

Truth