work, jobs, ideas...

I am currently working as a waitress at a local pub type establishment. I really enjoy it for the most part. The people I work with are great. Right away I felt like I was part of a fun nutty family. Our pizza is amazing and I have been trying to avoid an all pizza diet, but it's hard, I crave it all the time. I love walking through the restaurant and seeing friends and families having fun together, it was one of my favorite things at my old job too. There are a lot of things that make me crazy though. Like telling customers we don't have any straws. Or coca cola. Or getting fussed at by a cook when I asked for an appetizer before an entree. All of this balances out pretty evenly. Which leaves one key variable, the money.
Even when we are "really busy" and I have been assigned the busiest sections I have not made as much as $100. Last night got close...but didn't quite make it. And this puts me at a bit of a crossroads. I need to make more money than I am now, but I don't want to fill my whole week with a bunch of low paying jobs and have no time left to paint (or blog, haha).

I went and applied at a bakery that needs full time help. I asked for $10 and hour. I have a feeling this is asking too much, even though I made $10 an hour baking almost a decade ago elsewhere, when minimum wage was still under six bucks. Also? The place smelled a little odd, not all fresh-baked good but sort middle school cafeteria. I left thinking "I could run a bakery." I don't want to sound like a snot but what I actually thought was "I could run a nicer, cuter, better smelling bakery." As I drove home I couldn't help but notice a few empty retail spaces and indulge in some serious daydreams.

I have also been trying to finagle my way in to the regional library system, into any position available. Frandz has been at the central branch doing some contracting on their renovation and also networking for me. I'm told I should go to our local branch, schmooze the library ladies and try to land a part time position to get my foot in the door.

I've also been working on landing a part time baby-sitting job, because kids make me happy.

I have also been considering going back to school. Sort of. Not really. But maybe?

And then there is the dream of owning my own business. There are some empty retail spaces in my little downtown area. I have been dreaming of a yarn store. Or a bakery. Or a toy store. The same thing happens anytime I consider grad school. Ceramics. Or Horticulture. Or Art Therapy. Or... I can never pick something and I figure if I can't commit to a subject I will probably burn out pretty fast and waste time and money.

But this time I am trying to take the business thing seriously. It seems like I can keep piecing together work I only semi enjoy, keep being frustrated with the crazy ways people run their businesses or run my own and only be frustrated with myself. Is it odd that this seems appealing?

I have started reading business plans. I am going to try and write one.