I have been in a car sales job for the past 13 months (7 months with the current one). Like all the sales job they tell you: "you're going to be a billionaire in 3 months!", if you put in the effort, the time, blah, blah, blah ... Well, I don't consider myself a quitter. I grew up playing sports and I am really competitive on everything I do. And the main focus I refuse to quit. That is why quitting a job, even if it is not generating money, it is so hard for me. I am not the guy who puts in his 2 week notice and thank the employer for the opportunity ... I usually just stop going to work, they have the right to fire me for no reason so I have the right to quit without reason.
For the last 4 months I have been receiving $340 checks (for 2 weeks: working at least 100+ hours), I spend all my life savings (it wasn't much but at least I had a cushion I can fall on) investing in this "career". Now I have accumulated a lot of credit card debt an no financial plan to pay it off. At the end of the month I was offered a promotion to get internet leads IF I clean up my act and start acting more "professional", that would mean don't be late (even if you work late last night - sometimes I would work until 9,10,11 and even midnight, they know you work hard and put in the extra hours but don't be 5 minutes late because you would get written up), answering every phone call even it was my day off and no matter what time it is. SO I said OK, I'll work my ass off so I can make a decent living (get some money on the bank account, start some kind of business part time and quit this job). Working 12-14 hours on a 4 day weekend sale (sold some cars but not much profit: all mini deals that is around $150). Beginning this month I was put on a written notice that I was going to be fired if I don't sell at least 7 cars ( because I did not sell 21 cars in the last 3 months), so now I am not working hard for a promotion, I am working hard to save my job.
Now at this time a couple of things have been going on. As all of you should know only 3 things matter in your life and must be always balanced: Love, Health and Wealth. I am working too many hours, too tired to go out and not enough energy: neglected friends and family. Stopped going to the gym because of the insane amount of time I have to be at the job and start eating out of the dollar menu because of my income. And of course I am not making enough money. Another thing to add to the occasion is my lease expires on 10/20/2014. So last month I was thinking of renting a house (live on an apartment right now), I need a House for various reasons. Primarily because of the garage: I can work on my motorcycles and cars, the whole idea is to fix them up, do a little custom work and make some money: feed my need to work with my hands and being creative. And also have 1 bedroom as a recording studio: I like to have loud meditations with my instruments, invite some friends, it is the most gratifying thing you can do, kinda like freeing your soul. Maybe even paint some canvas and see how rusty I am at drawing, I always enjoyed it, it's just a practice you don't need or use in customer service or sales. And also a home office: setup as a library with a desk and computer where I can manage my online business (don't have one now but will soon) or a place to sit down and think about how to build a microbusiness or muse business.
So now I was fighting to save a job I don't really liked (I was just doing it for the money and was suckered in the advertising of "make as much as $100K". The only reason I started working in car sales was to make money, save some of it or invest it and get the hell out of it before I lose my soul). But then I realized I am not making any money! Why the hell would I want to save it? And really feel bad for the good people in that industry that tried to help me, managers all of the sudden are trying to give me house deals to stay a little longer (I only needed 3 sales to stay at the same store otherwise I would be fired or transferred to another store) but in the long run this would not have helped me. I would have to stay in the same slow store.
Sales is really easy! It is just a numbers game! The average closing ratio is 20%. You are a little better maybe you close 25%. So it's really easy to predict the future once you know the numbers game. I was seeing roughly around 20-30 people a month. That is why I was only selling 4, 5, 6 cars a month. In this particular area I think the company let me down. It was their responsibility to provide the sales leads. If I work an average of 10 hours a day 5-6 times a week, when would I have time to go "prospecting' new customers? (now you must understand that by this time I already have sold everybody I know who was looking for a car: friends and family, talked to as many customer service people I could, and tried to get referrals from sold customers plus orphan customers).
At the end I decided to stopped going to work. Maybe it was unethical, unprofessional, but I was going to get fired and just beat them to it. There was no real benefit of me staying there and saving myself to work there. No money, not healthy, not happy. All areas failed. Might have gotten depressed but I learn from experience and I don't do that anymore, it is unhealthy and unproductive. Suicide? I'm not that type, like Henry Rollins says.
So, Now What?
Well, I'm in the point in my life where I tried very hard to fit in. Fit in where I don't belong. Sales and customer service are not my strongest qualities. I think my greatest assets are along the lines of Art. Being creative always has left me feeling good. The sensation of a job well done. Many times I finish a project, whatever that is: music, painting, motorcycle or cars, astonished of how it turned out, kinda like not believing you were the mastermind behind it. That is the birth of this blog. The creative journey towards experimentation. Instead of trying to adapt in the: work to get paid universe. I will do the opposite: I will work to feel good, doing the things I love and then get rewarded.
I would like to thank the following people for inspiring and helping me make this difficult decision:
Friends and Family: In summary they all said Do what you makes you happy!
Alan Watts: What if money was no object?
Jesse James: buttpee.tumblr.com
Live Unbound
Infinity List
Tim Ferris: 4 Hour Workweek
Chase Jarvis: Creative Live
Robert Greene: Mastery
Chris Guillebeau: The $100 Startup
Billabong: Free Channel from Sony Blu-ray DVD Player
Red Bull: Be Adventurous
Rockstar energy drink: Lifestyle
Fender Guitars: They are just amazing instruments: Love my Jazz Bass.
George Carlin: Tells the Truth
Bill Hicks: Life is just a ride
XX Lager: The most interesting man in the world.
Pink Floyd
Jimi Hendrix
Them Crooked vultures
...and many more.
The other side of it is just sell all my shit and go mobile. Move to a different town and start all over again or visit friends and family around the world. But for that you need money and right now I need to build a base. A place I can call my own. A place where I can come back to after long travels. Plant a money tree. Luck Favors the Bold! Godspeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment