This Way or That, Forward or Back - Episode 8

“Don’t worry about funding,  you don’t need it. Today it’s cheaper to start a business than ever.”- Noah Everett, founder Twitpic.

Just as well because this crazy newbie entrepreneur took it upon herself to try to turn $50 dollars into a successful business. That said at the end of our last installment our heroine had just about managed not to hit a man with a chair at a posh hotel in a bid to secure a job.

Strange way to go about securing a job you might say. But there were extenuating circumstances. If you have not read the last episode or have missed previous ones “CATCH UP HERE”. Otherwise scroll down for the latest installment.

July 2014

You’re too old. You’re too old. You’re too old. 

The words kept ringing in my ears.

You’re too old.

How could I be too old for goodness sake?

Yes it’s true I am over the age of 30 but how could I be too old? How could they be so stupid, unfair and unwise to turn away the best candidate for the job for the sake of a couple of years? I got home and flopped on my bed. I suddenly felt very old indeed.

What would I do if I didn’t get a job? How was I going to survive? I certainly couldn’t sell cookies for a living. Who ever heard of such a thing? There had to be someone willing to give me a job. After all I had plenty of great experience and I was qualified and I had great references. I just needed to apply somewhere that recognized quality when they saw it and would not be foolish enough to let that quality slip through their fingers.

So what to do next? Send out more applications? Go back to the coffee shops I had given samples too? Go back to my previous place of work and beg for my old job back? Those were all possibilities, well, all accept the last one. Wild horses could not drag me to back to working for “Pinky and the Brain.” Sending in applications would take some time, so while waiting for replies I could try to see if I could sell some cookies.

The next day I mailed my resume to 25 hotels and restaurants. I was determined to get a job. I knew there just had to be someone looking for an employee just like me and I was going to make sure that they found me.

That afternoon I set out to revisit all of the coffee shops I had left samples with. When I got to the first coffee shop I was informed that the supervisor had gone home for the day but I could call her the following day. At my second stop I was told that they make their own pastries and do not buy from outside sources. (Errrm, so why did you take the sample?). Greediness I’m thinking.

At coffee shop number three I was told that my cookies were too buttery. I was speechless. I truly did not know what to say. “They are too buttery.” That’s like complaining that your lasagne has too much pasta.  The whole delectable beauty of shortbread is that it is rich and buttery and delicious. The owner then proceeded to ask me if I could make them with margarine instead of butter.

Rapid blinking ensued. I could not quite comprehend. I told her that I could indeed make them with margarine but if I did I would not be making shortbread cookies. The owner said she did not mind. I told her I did mind. If I am to attach my name to something then it has to be the best quality that I can produce. I could already tell that this lady was not someone with whom I needed to do business.

All she wanted was a cheap cookie to sell. I was not the person for her and my shortbread cookies were definitely not the cookies for her. I left and went to coffee shop number 4.

For the first time that day I had an encouraging response. The lady I spoke too said she had shared the sample I left with the other folks in her office and they all agreed that they were fantastic and they definitely wanted my cookies for their coffee shops.

Note I said coffee SHOPsssssss!

I was ecstatic! Elated! Relieved beyond measure; the lady said she would need to get the final approval from the area manager and asked if I could bring another sample later in the week for said manager to taste on her return to the country. Of course that was not a problem for me and I hopped skipped and jumped happily through the door and onto coffee shop number 5.

I am continually amazed at how complex and how simple life can be from one moment to the next. I had spent 45 minutes earlier that day trying to get a woman to understand the purpose of sticking to an original recipe and it just wasn’t sinking in at all, and then a couple of hours later I walk into another coffee shop and am told yes we loved your cookies can we have three dozen for tomorrow.

Just like that!

Needless to say it was a good day! I travelled home happy in the knowledge that I had one definite yes and one probable yes. I just had one ity-bity problem; where was I going to get the money from to buy enough ingredients to make three dozen, 3 inch shortbread cookies?

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Join me next time to find out if I had to sell the family jewels to scrape together the money.

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Love

Carol xx