The New Job

I've had a few requests over the last month to blog a bit about the new job I started a month ago today. Seeing as how this is the penultimate post of my first millennia of posts, I thought I'd take a few minutes to fill that request.

In my last job, I was the office manager/store manager/administrative assistant/accounts receivable and payable/sales manager/warehouse manager/HR manager and a few other hats also - all for approximately $21K/year. The person who owned the company was one of those people who believes in personal responsibility, so long as someone else is personally responsible. Needless to say, I got blamed for many problems, most of which I had absolutely nothing to do with (a fact which was finally admitted in the last week). The pressure at work was enormous and the pressure trying to make ends meet on that salary (about half of what I was making as a stockbroker) was even worse.

So, in May, after a particularly offensive episode (ok, not particularly, but extremely offensive) I began looking for another job. After several months of looking with no success, a friend, who just happened to also be a sales rep for some of the furniture lines we carried, came across another of his customers who just happened to be looking for a new salesman.

So we met. And I liked the store; liked the owner; and was satisfied with an effective boost in pay if I switched. After some hemming and hawing during which I almost blew the opportunity, I finally hired on to a job selling pool tables, a product about which I knew almost nothing (and still have a lot to learn).

Over the last month, I've been learning product and refreshing sales techniques. I was told that I could expect reasonably to sell three to five tables a week once I was established, I've sold, on average, 2½ per week since hiring on.

It's been a challenge. Trying to learn the product, while making sales, during the Christmas rush has actually been fun. Before I started, I had no idea that pool tables came in any form other than what you would see at bars. So my learning curve has been steep to say the least.

But I've had good support. The owner has been extremely supportive. He has helped with every stupid question I had. He has been a cheerleader and a critic.

And I've been able to relax. He runs the business much the same as I would, so we have a good understanding. He treats customers the way I would, so we have few misunderstandings. And most importantly, he believes that personal responsibility is personal. Each person, himself included, is responsible for his or her own actions.

Part of the reason my posting has been so light is because I've been trying so hard to learn the product so that I can do a good job. Life is much more relaxing now as I have goals to meet, but they are attainable and I don't have to feel like I am the final line of defense between the customer and a miserable experience.

Changing jobs when I did was one of the best moves I've made in a long time.