What's your number?

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In 2013, I started my first home based business. I started it fort he tax benefits only. I really wasn't looking to
be a full on entrepreneur. Let's face it. I have a cushy job as a supervisor. That comes easy to me. I re-direct, delegate, and solve problems. I get paid for what I know, not what I do. I take that back. I get paid to accomplish goals and meet deadlines, not to cover a work area for an allotted time. Which was all fine and dandy to me until I started hanging around people who were making monthly what I make yearly. I say, in the most humble way possible, I do well for myself. So, to see that kind of money in someone's income statements really got me thinking about my real "worth".

Most home based businesses are considered "direct sales". What is direct sales? The principal behind it is, the individual markets a product or service for an established company. As an individual, you get paid a commission for the sales you make and then you build a team to do the same thing. The company compensates you for adding member to your team. You help the people on your team sell the product and/or services and receive a portion of the commissions from your team's efforts as well. The great thing about this model is that it encourages team work. As a team leader, I want to sell and make money and I want my team to sell.

Not only do you get to help a gang of people earn the kind of income they dream of, you also open your mind. Prior to opening my mind to direct sales, I thought I would be set with a salary anywhere between $80,000-$100,000 per year. I'd earn that going into an office, working about 40-50 hours per week. I'd have to be on call, since I'm in the healthcare field, which meant my phone may ring in the evenings after I already left the office for the day, on the weekend, in the middle of the night, or even while I'm on vacation. I was fine with that until I saw that there were other ways to earn money, help people, like I enjoy doing in healthcare, and feel like I'm being compensated properly for the time that I spend "working".

I LOVE the technical aspect of my healthcare profession. The patient testing. Process improvement. Buying new equipment. Validating a new test method that will save my staff time and frustration. It's awesome. I don't like the managerial aspect of it. Personal issues. Disciplining staff. Terminating staff who don't correct their mistakes. It can be really stressful at times. Late nights. Coming in early to catch up with night shift staff. Staying late to be prepared for an early morning meeting. The thought often passed through my mind..."I don't get paid enough for this." I know I am not the only one who has had these thoughts.

What is enough though? Like, if they suggested they'd double your salary, would you still feel like you didn't get paid enough? Maybe I would take double to deal with the same stress. Maybe. But eventually, the feeling would come back. "I don't get paid enough for this crap."

What's your number? How much money will it take for you to deal with the "crap" of your job on a daily basis where you would feel like you get paid enough to deal with it? Everyone has a number. I'm curious. Being around entrepreneurs in all fields, not just direct sales, I've become more comfortable in naming my number with confidence. I am fine with walking away from the table if the numbers and conditions aren't satisfactory to me. Why? Because I know my number. I know what I bring to the table and the value I add. Truth is, the people I end up negotiating with know it too.

Remember, know your worth. When negotiating a salary, a recording contract, or a distribution deal, you have to know your worth and stand behind it. Otherwise, the person whom you're negotiating with is going to try to  low ball you. Nothing personal, it's just in their best interest to get the most value for the least amount of money.

Although I wholeheartedly believe in the power of direct sales and the benefits of a home based business, but I love my career. Direct sales has given me the confidence to venture out in to some other things while I build my team. It also gave me the confidence to negotiate terms with my employer that give me the flexibility to grow my own businesses and also continue to grow in my career. Those negotiations took over 3 months but I knew my number and I knew what I had to offer so I could advocate for myself.

If you don't know your number, figure it out. If you don't love your situation at work or in life, fight for change. You add value. It's highly likely that the people you are working with know that and will give you everything you want. That's how you live the "Fancy Life".