Saturday, August 25, 2007

Good News/Bad News

Sometimes, it's the same news. In spite of keeping me quite busy last spring, my computer classes have dried up recently. I was hoping that they'd pick back up again next month. When I talked to my friend at the office yesterday (she'd been in training all week and couldn't call me back sooner), she told me that she'd gotten a phone call from the owner. When she paused, I knew it was bad news. They're planning to sell all the equipment. Essentially, they'll no longer be in the computer class business. This is no big surprise to me--they haven't been actively advertising classes in quite some time, and have let things slide a lot. They're taking their time and resources in a different direction, so I knew this was possible.

So the bad news is that my income potential has now been razored. I'm not devastated by this, though--note I said income potential. Classes from them have always been somewhat spotty & unreliable.

As it stands now, I have a couple ongoing classes I think I can count on for about four to six hours a week (a pre-existing computer class that I hope will continue, and a couple ESL students). That isn't enough, though. I've been thinking about selling last year's dance costumes on Ebay, and maybe starting an Etsy store to use up some of my fabric stash ideas (taggie blankets, tooth fairy pillows). It's also hopefully the kick in the ass I need in order to really get German classes going. My goal is to get something posted somewhere for an 8 week session starting October 2nd. Any amount will be a big help, but my goal is to get at least eight students, distributed over three classes.

I've complained a lot about my computer class company. I've gotten frustrated enough to want to leave, and looked at other options more than once. But I never did anything concrete, because it was too easy, too convenient, to stay. Now, I don't have a choice, and I'm hoping this ends up being good news instead of bad.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know what they say: one door closes, another one opens. I truly think that's what is going to happen for you here. I see this as a sign that it's time for you to branch out. Sometimes that kick in the pants is EXACTLY what we need.

Good luck with everything, and be sure to post a link to your Etsy stuff!

Paula said...

Maybe this is the push you needed to branch out and do your own thing. I do hope this turns out to be good for you. Good luck!