Valuable lessons

I decided that this evening I had to write, again. My son went out and took his dog with him, so i had some free time. I need to do something good with it, instead of focusing on the boob tube. I came to the garden to write.

The past 6 months have been HARD. I found out I messed up the non-profit application with the IRS. Fixable, but expensive. My son tire his Achilles tendon and missed a lot of work, no paid time off. Lots of stuff went on high interest credit cards, that i was thankful to have available. Expensive. Then i had two rounds of covid. Not expensive, thank you government, but hard on my already damaged body. Then my son couldn’t find a full-time position after completing his teaching position. Expensive, once again.

So, this weekend I threw myself a pity party. I cried and cried. Then I reached out to several people who I had to explain what was going on. One resulted in a consulting job and the other cleared up a misunderstanding on a job I completed and I will get some compensation.

Lessons learned. When times get rough, cry and move on. Sometimes the universe wants to help.

Learning, learning, learning

Taking an online course on advertising small businesses by video. Trying to remind myself to run my non-profit like a for-profit while maintaining a conscious and using the funds appropriately. Money is a tool which allows the work to be done. Working with nothing in the bank isn’t all its wrote up to be, lol.

First community event!

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Kids dreaming about their “piece of the peace”.

Finally occurred. First community event. Join Me had a table at a regional Peace Festival. The project was blank puzzle pieces and attendees were asked to document, by drawing or words, what they are willing to do to create more peace. Oh the experience was phenomenal!

Our youngest was 2. Scribbled saying “heart”. Took it. One young man said peace was “a roof over his head”. He’s been homeless for several months. It was a varied group, Muslim, LGBTQ, military, Black businesses, families, teens… Exciting and the puzzle pieces were as varied.

Lots of people came over after seeing the lines. Success. I learned a long time ago that activities drive your message home. I was asked to participate in two other festivals, will wait for the email information to decide. People who I used to work with in the community came by for hugs and updates. Business cards and Join Me mission paperwork exchanged.

Two volunteers helped make the day workable, an issue I have to maneuver since I’m now dealing with working with a disability. There were more successes than problems. Yay!!!

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Starting to schedule events

October is right around the corner. Amazingly. Time goes so quickly. I’d say it snuck up on me but that would be giving myself an excuse for not just getting the work done in a timely fashion.

Events scheduled, at least.

https://fb.me/e/ESNxpUDv

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Spotlight on Survivors project advertisement

I also have 6 personal stories of help from those who have lived through victimization and community members who have helped spread the word. A little more to get done!

Keeping myself accountable

I have reached the end of the first 100 days of Join Me being an official non-profit. The goals were grand, lol. And missed. Not all, but definitely not completed as I had hoped.

So, a run down. The book didn’t get submitted to Amazon for sake because of the site’s formatting requirements. I have tried over and over, again, to no avail. Major fail because I really wanted it up for sale for October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Dang it, anyway. I did reached out to 116 past contacts, goal was 100, to announce the opening. I had 15 follow-up in-depth conversations, which I am told is very good. I’ll take that. I got 9 puzzle pieces completed, an event I was supposed to be at didn’t happen so it was a missed opportunity. I have 2 more events scheduled within the next 3 weeks (does it count if it was scheduled during the first 100 days?) where the puzzle is the focus. I was on a week long online program on narcissistic behavior and had good responses from it, and am scheduled for another videocast in 2.5 weeks. I held meetings with 6 people. I have interviewed 7 people for the upcoming Spotlight on Survivors project throughout October and had to develop the Microsoft form for distribution. Not as easy as I imagined. I did hold 3 men’s domestic violence intervention groups, attended over 6 hours by 18 men total. I trained 19 hairstylists for their state CEU requirement.

I did partner with a grant researcher for a little while, but it ended up not working out because she didn’t have an operating computer. We will try again soon.

It didn’t work out completely as I planned, but, now after writing it out, I’m not disappointed. Keep on keeping on is what the goal needs to be!

Out of my reach

When you are where I am: with a new business, with a significant disability, with a monetary crunch, with a few other issues that I haven’t even identified, yet… it feels normal to have a bunch of things right out of my reach. Success, the next project, my old “go to” fun activities, that dang ripe tomato in the garden. It is the new norm.

Adaptation is also the new approach and today that is what I have to work on. I am ready to publish the workbook, but the formatting requirement has overwhelmed my brain. I farmed it out to a friend. Now I have to find some money to compensate her. I found a friend to write some grants. Now I have to find some money to compensate her. I have some designs in my head for handouts. Now I have to get my head to believe I can design them.

Out of my reach.

I came to the garden to relax, alone. Someone just joined me. Time to go home and get these things in my reach.

Comfort zones

We all have them, don’t we? My comfort zones are being challenged now, constantly. In business? Reaching out to those I used to work with. Asking for money. For volunteers for the Board.

Why my walls have to come down is because, without it, Join Me will cease to exist.

Off to beat down some walls.

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The work

I’ve done “the work” forever. Or, at least, it feels like forever. Now I’m getting a reminder that I have been out of it for a while. I’m also learning that I have a reputation to build again.

Ideas?