Joys of Business

Sometimes I enjoy the freedom of owning my own business but lately I have to admit that it has been more trouble than it is worth. Most of the time it always comes down to employees. They can make your life very easy or make it a nightmare. To explain this fully let me give you an example of our lives from Friday to Sunday.
After working all day Friday in Alpine I had to drive to the Sports Arena to help Chad set up for his big weekend. There was a cheerleading competition scheduled which always seem to be very busy for us. Anyway I started receiving the phone calls early evening Friday from one of my Yogurt Mill employees trying to get out of his shift the next night. I gave him several people to try knowing he wouldn't succeed because none of them will ever fill in for each other. He must have called me 5 times with the final one asking me if I could work it. His reasoning was that he had dinner reservations. I told him "no".
Then comes Saturday. Half the day in Alpine. Busiest day of the week. Have my two girls with me as well as two brand new employees I was supposed to be training. What was I thinking? One of the new people I could easily have fired within 5 minutes of hiring her. I don't think I have ever in all my years had a more difficult person to train. Scowl on her face, arms crossed, leaning against the back counter and completely ignoring everything I say. Thank goodness I only had her come for 2 hours. During all of this I get a call from the same Yogurt Mill employee explaining that he is on his way to the hospital because he is dizzy and collapsing and he won't be able to come to work. I wonder if he was still going to make dinner reservations? This left me to work his shift that night but the day was still young so I had to keep moving on. The next call I received was from Chad. He was swamped and needed me to come straight to the Sports Arena because the employee he had got to work, lasted about 15 minutes, called Chad over told him he had to leave because he was having suicidal thoughts. At first I thought this might have just been from the line of cheerleaders he was helping but it turns out as he then explained to Chad was that he needed to go into detox because he had a major substance abuse problem. This part we had already known but to give the guy credit he was one of our best cart employees. Too bad for us detox needed to come in the middle of a busy weekend. As I arrive (still with Haley and Ella) to the mass of people and a van full of apples I start to feel the gravity of my day and also some major cramping. Chad tells me the event is lasting 3 hours longer than scheduled. I still from there have to go work another whole shift at another store. Which would make it a 12 hour day for this 6 1/2 month pregnant mother of two with a house still to clean and errands still to run and a body that just doesn't want to do it anymore. I started crying. This of course did not help the situation at all.
After my small crying jag I make a pleading call to one last hope of an employee for that night. I got 1/2 a shift out of him. Better than nothing. This meant I could still take Ella to Denny's like I promised, go to the grocery store, Costco and Henry's and make it back to the Yogurt Mill by 8pm to close it. To make it even better, Lauren bless her heart came and helped me which believe me when I say made the night not only bearable but quite pleasant. I even got enough energy up to go home at 10pm and sort of clean my house for the party.
Then comes Sunday. You think the worst of it would be over. For me it was. I didn't make it to church like I wanted and I had to drive to Alpine for another load but other than that I got to enjoy a fun day with friends. Chad on the other hand got a call Sunday morning from the girl scheduled for the whole day saying she had food poisoning and couldn't come to work. This meant a whole day mobbed by cheerleaders by himself and no relief in site. And again the event went late and he missed the whole party.
Sooooooo the moral of this very long, stressful story is that you should enjoy the job you have, the boss you have, the money you make and know that at least for this last weekend it was far better than our crazy life.