happy Wine Wednesday! hope you’re swirling and sipping something delicious this evening! filed under things i’ve been doing instead of writing, is a little story i’m finally ready to share here about me coming out of my comfort zone and trying something totally new . . . and what i’ve learned. pop open a bottle and indulge me.
back in February, i went up to Virginia for a bachelorette weekend winery trip. two days with some of my best girlfriends, two great wineries, some amazing wines and food, and a lot of good stories and laughs ensued. on the drive back to Richmond from Charlottesville, one of them mentioned that she’d been to a really fun wine tasting at another friend’s house recently. she said it was like one of the jewelry parties everyone does now, where there was a wine consultant who brought the wine. they did the tasting and then enjoyed the leftovers while everyone placed orders. she said the wine was really good and well priced, and she bought a few bottles. and she finished with you’d be great at that. i was intrigued.
i was on the cusp of taking a new job, expecting it was going to be another unsatisfying way to pass the time until i could figure out how to escape 9-to-5 life all together. but had been interested in doing one of these home selling businesses for a while. i have friends who do Stella & Dot, Chloe & Isabel, Rodan & Fields . . . i wondered was having an & in your brand name a prerequisite for this type of company . . . but every time i thought about venturing into one of these businesses, all i could think was how much jewelry does anyone really need? or how much overpriced face cream does anyone really need? i’m a drugstore girl who pretty much wears one of the same 3 pairs of earrings every single day. i just couldn’t see how it could ever be profitable. but wine. oh yes, wine. everyone always wants to try new wine and speaking from experience, it’s definitely something you pretty much are always needing to buy. this one seemed like a winner.
so long story short, i got in touch with WineShop at Home pretty much the minute i got back to Atlanta and started my journey as an independent wine consultant. what that means is that i conduct wine tastings in people’s homes, tell their guests a bit about the wines from a cheatsheet i’m given and create a fun informative atmosphere for a unique girls’ night, guys’ night or date night. people love the shit out of it. and the wine is really good. so i always sell some of it at the end. everyone has a great time and i make bank. what’s not to love?
well, that’s the thing. after only 4 months, i think i’m kind of over it. here’s what i’ve learned:
i like the parts i thought i’d like.
it is totally fun to actually do the tastings. i’m not great at ad-libbing about the different wines yet and pretty much go by the notes i’m given, but i do okay. and i’m having fun with social posts and making graphics for emails and certificates and such. i was pretty sure going in that i would love doing those things. and getting even a small commission check every month certainly doesn’t suck.
i hate the parts i thought i’d hate.
mainly the whole selling thing. and constantly self-promoting and pestering to get the next tasting set up. and those are some pretty damn important parts of being successful in this business.
i have some super-supportive friends.
seriously, i’ve had so many people show interest, host and purchase without much effort on my part, just because they knew i was doing this and wanted to help my small business succeed. pretty awesome.
i don’t love people that much.
honestly. i’m kind of a a high-functioning introvert. don’t get me wrong, anyone who knows me knows i have my moments of being the social butterfly, but it is draining for me to be “on” with people i don’t know . . . especially as a means to an end other than just having a good time. people can also be a pain in the ass. i have enough terrible clients in my day job. i don’t have time or energy for people who won’t commit or don’t know what they want (or want to be difficult). and please. if i have to chase you down for your credit card info, i just can’t.
i’m a homebody at heart.
when it comes down to it, i don’t want to spend as many weekend hours away from my family as it would take to really run with this, book the tastings and build a team. i’ve typically only done 2 tastings a month. i should be doing triple that at least to start building a business with this. and i’ve started getting stressed out about people wanting to schedule in late August and September, when all i want to do is watch football, simmer soup, bake apple cake and continue my push to spend more time writing. and i always try to listen to my gut.
so that last revelation is really the big one. the WSAH team is so supportive and provides so many tips, tricks and trainings to help you become successful — my current hesitations have absolutely nothing to do with any of that! this is a really easy and fun business to succeed at if you can commit to putting in the time and effort. i’m just not sure it’s where i want to put my energy right now. i’m not set on quitting just yet, but for now, i will settle for thinking it over . . . over a glass of our amazing Grand Cadeau Rosé Sparkling. cheers, y’all!