Mini Me

Last Friday, I landed myself an interview to Nick Alexander Mini, for a sales position. I kid you not. I was looking on Craigslist and saw an ad "What Recession? Mini Coopers Are HOT HOT HOT!!!" Yep, they are hiring 1 sales person. This happens to be the same dealership I bought my Mini at. So not only do I know at least two of the other salesmen then, plus the service manager, but I know the company and can testify first hand.

The interview went really well. I felt very comfortable, and seemed to keep the sales manager interested and talking with me for over an hour and half! It went well enough that he had me do a second interview with the general manager. This gentleman is a big guy, kind of like the owner of the company at my last job. And by big, I mean large stature. I admit, I was a little intimidated. But I think it went okay. We talked about boats a little bit, and leasing climates. I think I held my own okay, but he is clearly a numbers oriented guy. Makes for a great GM.

Anyway they're supposed to get back to me hopefully by the end of this week. Here's hoping!

This would be a pretty ideal place for me. I mean, I love doing sales, and what better product to sell than something I am already so passionate about?! And it's a car that really does create a community.

This week I also started reading, Now Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton. When you buy the book, you get an access code to their online test called "Strengths Finder". I bought the upgraded version, and so this is what the results came out to be:

How well do you think these themes describe me?

Connectedness
People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

Empathy
People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.

Individualization
People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.

Achiever
People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

Arranger
People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Feeling the pinch

So I'm flossing my teeth, like every dentist I've ever had has told me to do, and I get to the spot just between my top two front teeth... and my floss gets stuck. I pull it out, and suddenly I realize that I had a filling there. On the backside, right between my two front teeth (now you have that song in your head).

We don't have dental insurance. And it started to hit me how much this is going to run. I haven't been to a dentist since I moved to LA. That means they're going to want to run X-rays, do a cleaning, fix my filling, and of course discover every horrible thing that's wrong with my teeth. This is where I DO believe in insurance. Too bad, huh?

Recently Cindy's car needed new front brakes. Rotors and pads. $350.
I needed new clothes. Still not quite done yet. So far... $230.
IRS and CA Franchise Office took income tax from us this week... $5600.
Cordy almost had to go to the animal hospital. whew. avoided that.

Our savings is depleting fast, and I have only my second real prospect interview tomorrow. It's a cellular company. They need an inside sales rep. Doesn't look too great though. The website isn't very good, and I have a feeling I'm WAY over qualified. But we'll see tomorrow.

The chocolate thing would be fun, and would be rewarding to help the company grow and to directly affect that... and feeling the dire straits is no better motivator. But the practical side of me craves some kind of stability, and that means someone else giving me a paycheck, paying my income taxes, and preferably paying for my insurances.

I have a fancy resume ready to go, if anyone in the LA area is interested.

gah... why couldn't I have been born with great teeth?

Should I be The Chocolate Guy?

So I had my second interview with The Chocolate Traveler (click the image above to go to their website). Very interesting company and they definitely could use my help. The drawbacks are steep though.

• I'm not an employee. I'm an independent contractor, much like a Mary Kay rep or Tupperware. The upside to this company though is that I don't have to buy my inventory; it's all on consignment.
  
• Being an independent contractor, I'm responsible for all of my own expenses, including insurance, cell phone, fuel, income taxes, etc. So that's a lot of chocolate to sell before you start turning a profit.
• So this is all to say that they pretty much won't/can't pay for anything for liability reasons. Just commission. Which is also interesting, because the inventory you're keeping for them, they technically still own.

These types of sales jobs, if you're ambitious and really driven, can be fun and profitable if you stick to it. But, I don't know many people who do it as a full time job. It seems like a good part time job. This could be good for me since I'm trying to also pursue producing/directing professionally.

The company itself is pretty great. I really like the people, the product is high quality, and I definitely see how I could have a direct impact on the company. That itself is pretty exciting. I also like that I'm basically my own boss.

The products are reasonably priced, and the margins are certainly doable.

So now... I guess the question is, how much chocolate makes it worth it?