I moved to Maple Ridge from Calgary 3 years ago with my husband and two daughters and endured some tough times (reality perhaps?) after living it up in the oil rich province. His job became less than desirable in comparison and we had to re-evaluate our situation and really buckle down.
With a diploma in Business Management, my options to supplement the family income was not much to jump up and down about but we were prepared to do what we had to do to keep the roof over our head. And oh what a roof we had gotten ourselves into. We were a bit panic stricken to say the least. What could I do and still support the lifestyle of commitment we had created for our children? Daycare all day? Would I be working to pay for daycare? It all suddenly felt suffocating as any mother will tell you! Do you relate?
I have looked at a few statistics here and there (I'm no journalist of course so my seeking methods are not likely dialed) have indicated that during the recession women were more likely to pick up their knee highs and employ themselves' in any position possible.
We ourselves' have heard more than one anecdotal story from Calgary friends, where previously stay-at-home mothers have found jobs after their engineer husbands have lost their job or became underemployed. In many households, women have gone back to work as the men have either lost their job, or had their hours cut back.
On that note, many women may have taken part time work to supplement their household income. I'm not entirely sure how the unemployment rate treats part-time employed, but it might be informative to look at hours worked by gender and of course the pay equality would be interesting.
For myself, I began exploring options and long story short fell into a direct sales business, albeit a very stylish one called Stella & Dot. Having never attended 'parties' before I couldn't imagine being the next pink car driving Mary Kay lady (even MK has gotten more modern) and resigned my thoughts to going back to the Gap for work, a job I held in college.
That was until my girlfriend asked me if I had heard of Stella & Dot before and encouraged me to seek out more information. Direct Sales isn't for everyone, I see it all the time and gently steer many women per day away from the thought in all honesty but I see so many stay at home moms from Tupperware to Pampered Chef to sssshhh those sexy parties that all the husbands so generously support, and I see a revolution.
There is a story here of empowerment, solid friendships, gratefulness, and a way to show our children how to be role models/entrepreneurs and find success like our grandparents did, through hard work and determination.
We're mommies who want to walk our growing babies to school, feed our families, feel important outside of laundry day, and have some happiness that we can healthily share with our husbands. I am also getting older so a facial once in awhile is a really nice treat! ;)
Women work and network in a way that is so foreign to men. I work with ladies who are dealing with aging parents, so much Cancer lately, sick children and husbands, etc, etc. I listen to them, cry with them, and celebrate their joys and successess too. The flexibility and earning income is incredible and allows us to deal with curveballs here and there.
So, I've rambled likely but hopefully you see my passion for my unlikely business and see something within these words that you can identify with. xoxo Stacy
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