From Sales Manager to Laundry Lady?

Laundry Lady
Life has been a whirlwind since I lost my job in January. I started off looking for traditional jobs, but after the last one did not come together (at the end of April), despite being told that I was a perfect fit both personally and professionally, Clint and I both felt it was time to try a different approach. It was becoming clear that it would be very difficult for me to get hired for a standard job with less than three months out from my due date.

I was also beginning to believe that the traditional job path must not be what God has in mind for me at this time because there were some many opportunities that should have come together and just didn’t. As I continued to pursue these jobs to no avail, I couldn’t help but notice that my new job as a homemaker sure seemed to fit well. Of course, it wasn’t a good fit financially, but it got me to thinking there had to be a way to bring in an income and take care of my family. I don’t mean to suggest that I wasn’t taking care of my family when I was working outside the home, but I was of course more limited in the ways that I could serve them.

So now that we were finally ready to purse alternative jobs, I thought back to all the possibilities that had danced through my head over the past few months, but I wasn’t really sure if any of them were right or where to start. Then one afternoon I was reading an e-book called How to Be a Work-at-Home Mom, and as the author was running through various skills that could be turned into a career opportunity, an idea popped into my head. Perhaps God inspired it because it was never specifically listed in the book. I found myself thinking about how I don’t actually mind doing laundry, am pretty good at it, and can do it while home with my boys. It seemed to me that there could be a lot of people who would benefit from a laundry service, such as someone in a busy season of life, like a new mom.

A quick Google search showed me that I wasn’t the first one to come up with this idea. In fact, there was a company nearby that consisted of a group of women that would pick up laundry, take it back their home to wash/dry/fold it, and then would return it to the customer the next day. As I searched their website, I discovered that they didn’t have anyone in my area yet. I reached out to the company, and after a few days I received a call from their Hiring Manager, which was almost immediately followed by a call from the owner and founder of the company. She and I hit it off so well that we talked for over an hour and a half. Before I knew it I was signing on the dotted line and officially becoming a Laundry Lady.

It is definitely odd, even to me, to go from a National Sales Manager to a Laundry Lady, so I can only imagine how it must seem to other people. There is no fancy title and no big paycheck… just a lot of laundry. 🙂 The thing is that typical sales jobs generally involve calls, emails, in person meetings, etc. that cannot easily be done with kids underfoot. I considered part-time jobs, but the challenge there is finding one that pays well enough to have a reasonable amount of income leftover after the high costs of child care (unfortunately part time care is not much cheaper than full-time care). I also looked into jobs that had some degree of flexibility, but none of those came together. When you are feeling like what you are really meant to do is to spend the majority of your time caring for your precious little people, your husband and your home, yet you know that you need to bring in an income, you start to think about jobs that you can do while at home with your kids. Suddenly doing laundry for a living starts to make a lot of sense.

Interestingly enough, being a Laundry Lady does tap into my sales skills because I am responsible for building the business in this area. There will be some leads that will come in through the company’s website and Facebook page, but with a little effort on my part, I hope to be able to grow the business more quickly. Some of those things can be done with kids around, and some will involve doing a bit of work during nap time. Of course the main part of the job, laundry, can be done while I’m spending time with my kids. If this job will really allow me to be home with my kids full time and bring in income for my family, that would be amazing! I’m not in a phase in my life where making some sort of status statement with my job is something that is important to me. My ideal job would not require me to downplay the importance of my role as mom and wife, and so far with this job, being a wife and mother is an asset, not a potential liability.

Although I’m really excited about this opportunity, it doesn’t mean that everything is smooth sailing from here. It will be hard to get enough laundry business going to create a solid source of income for my family, especially as I don’t have a lot of time before baby girl arrives. Even then, we will most likely need to find other sources of income to cover the remaining financial needs of our family (we have some ideas about this, but it is all very up in the air at the moment). Under the circumstances though, we don’t have a lot to lose. I figure that even if this job is not a good fit for me, I will have learned more about what will or will not work for us, which will provide us with guidance for our journey. Right now I’m just trying to take it as it comes and do my best to embrace this phase without dwelling too much on the many unknowns of the future.

So wish me luck, and if you happen to know of a person or company who might be interested in a little laundry assistance, feel free to send them my way. 🙂

20 thoughts on “From Sales Manager to Laundry Lady?

  1. What an innovative idea! Looking forward to hear more. Also congratulations on the new baby and have a safe delivery.
    Maria@SewTravelInspired recently posted…4th of July Disaster TablecoveringMy Profile

  2. How exciting about your new business! I live in the Northern VA/DC area and I know something like that would benefit a LOT of people around here. When you have to commute so much , who has time for laundry?! Best of luck to you!
    Ashley recently posted…{thrive goals} May Review // June GoalsMy Profile

  3. What a great idea! I hope you are enjoying your work and finding a good balance. Hope all goes well as your new little one joins your family!

  4. Good for you, Jennifer!! Sometimes life just hands you curveballs, and you have to figure out a way to make it work. Proud of you, girl!
    Heather @RealCatholicMom recently posted…How to Keep the Spirit of the Visitation AliveMy Profile

  5. This is genius! And it could be amazing what doors this could open for you down the road with all of your business experience. Guess we’ll see what God has in store for you, if anything it sounds like just what you need when you need it! Best of luck on this new venture!

    • Thanks for the encouragement Theresa! The owner actually volunteered that she would be interested in having me be a Regional Sales Manager for her down the road, so that could be a great opportunity. We’ll see how it plays itself out.

  6. That is what I call resilience! If you haven’t yet, maybe you could share a post w/tips for doing laundry! My mom & SIL are both great w/laundry as well. They can remove any stain, to the point I’m left in awe. 🙂 Thank you for sharing and congratulations on the impending birth of your little girl!

  7. I was a working in an office job that I loved, and had no intention of changing that until my son was born and I realized that I wanted to be the one to raise him rather than babysitters, and that I wanted to teach, train, and be there for his milestones. I made the decision to quit my job and find a stay at home profession…..and I have never….not even once…..regretted that decision. I gave my mom a set of acrylic nails for Mother’s Day that year, and went with her to watch. As I sat there, I thought….”this is something I could do”, so I checked into the rules and regulations about doing it in home, and went to the 3 months of schooling, and for the next 19 years worked out of my home, had a great clientele, and got to be with my 3 kids everyday. I loved every moment of it…..even when it was hard some days to juggle both……but I look back and am so grateful for the time I got to spend with my kids. I always had a stray clientele, had as much work as I wanted, never really advertised because word of mouth and referrals kept me busy enough, and when friends were buying big expensive houses and things that they never really got to enjoy because they were always working, my hubs, kids, and I just kept walking our course, lived within our financial means, and now have a different family business that both of our sons are employed in and soon our daughter. I hope this serves to encourage you in your business, and renews your spirit as you tackle the hardest, but most rewarding job on earth……being a stay at home mom…..and best of luck in your business.

    • Hi Jolyn. It means so much to me that you took the time to share your story, thank you! My kids were generally happy at their preschool, but it was hard on me to have someone else enjoying what should have been my moments with my kids. It was especially hard at one point when I felt like the one size fits all teaching style was not a good fit for my son, and I longed to be able to offer my kids educational opportunities that catered to their specific needs. My family counted on me to bring in an income, so I knew I couldn’t just quit, and fortunately I had a job that gave me one day a week (besides weekends, of course) to be home with my kids. It has certainly been challenging at times being home with my kids full time, but there is no challenge I would rather tackle. I certainly hope that I will find the same success with the laundry business that you found with your nail business.

  8. Hi Jennifer. Wishing you then best for your new venture I know you will make it a success. And who knows where it will lead. Go girl. Love to you and the family!!!!

  9. Pingback: Online Daybook (6/8/15) & 7 Quick Takes: Birthdays, Books & Movie Reviews | Revolution of Love

  10. Wow, you are so clever. I’m doing a little catching up tonight. This is a wonderful idea, praying that it works out well. It seems to be a perfect fit. Best of luck and may God bless.
    Crisi recently posted…Actions Speak LouderMy Profile

    • I need to do some blog catching up too. At the moment I’m doing my last minute nesting (less than 2 weeks to my due date… yikes!). Hopefully I can get back in touch with the blog world soon.

      Thanks for your support. I am enjoying my new laundry job so far. Hopefully things will continue to work themselves out.

  11. Nest away sweet lady 🙂 try not to do the unplanned home delivery this time lol. Can’t wait to see your daughter 🙂
    Crisi recently posted…Actions Speak LouderMy Profile

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Help

CommentLuv badge

WordPress theme: Kippis 1.15