LaToya M. Davidson-Perez

What I thought would be a quick post to my business’s newly created blog turned into a much longer epistle. I started a business blog yesterday and hope to chronicle my experiences being a small business owner there. While I’d like to ambitiously say that I’ll update it daily, I know that that will likely not occur as I become more busy and more involved in my startup. Wow, that’s so strange to say. Startup. Sure, it’s usually a term used in the tech world but my administrative services business is definitely a startup in a number of ways. I’ve had it for years but just didn’t invest the time and energy I could’ve and maybe should’ve. Now, now that I’ve decided to forego actively looking for another office job, I’m going to do all that I can to cultivate it. After all, since I’ll be choosing my own clients I don’t suppose I can really complain.

I do like the idea and now the reality of rolling out of my bed and walking the few steps into my home office. Since we have a two-room bedroom suite with billowing curtains separating the two rooms, when I’m in here, I’m at work. I must admit that I still have a pile of items junking up the floor below the office window that have been there since the hubby and I moved in with my brother. With my sister-in-law and the kids returning at the end of the month the house will be a little bustling metropolis. What it means is that we’ll be shifting some furniture around and I must clear the cluttered space in order to put our sofa in. Continue reading “Before I Lay My Head” →

I currently have the tune to Rihanna’s song Disturbia stuck in my head. The thing is, I keep hearing the word “insomnia.” I’m still really bad about pushing through the effects of my nightly sleeping medication. I should be a lot better about it but I’m not. I’ve already played a few games on my iPad Mini and have done some reading. However, rather than being able to drift off to sleep like my husband did hours ago, I’m still awake. But of course, now that I’m in front of my computer my eyes become droopy and the bed is more alluring.

The past few days have been relatively pleasant. Outside of the spats that the hubby and I have, I’ve been feeling very productive and happy with life. I’ve even decided to use an app to track my moods. Having had a hysterectomy it’s not as easy to tell when to expect my week of productivity each month. I also hope to more accurately be able to tell when my mood is off and make note of what may put me in a certain mood. It’s important for someone like me who often struggles with depression. And now that I’m trying to work from home full-time it’s even more important for me to remain focused and productive. Once I get in front of the computer I’m fine. However, it’s the seemingly long journey it seems to take for me to get there. I love sleeping in. Thus, the earliest I usually hop on is around 11am. I’d like to change that.

So, about my day job. The last time I made a post I mentioned that I decided that Dollar General was not the right fit for me. It still isn’t. But what is becoming more and more appealing is something that I’ve had since 2011, my administrative services business. In the past week I’ve become more interested and motivated in making it my “day job.” The thing is, I’m very particular. I have very exacting standards of work and I can occasionally be a bit set in my ways. Thus I find that I’ve always most enjoyed being responsible for my work output. I know me and I know that because I tend to be a bit of an Alpha, I really enjoy working alone. Don’t get me wrong, there are things that I enjoyed working on in a team but I relish my opportunity to show just what I’m made of. I’ve completed a few jobs just in the past month or so and am hoping to be able to find a more permanent position as someone’s virtual assistant so that the additional jobs and projects I pick up can simply become more of supplemental income than anything else. Continue reading “Insomnia” →

On this beautiful Sunday afternoon in Georgia I relax in our hotel room and contemplate where today’s post will take me. A lot has happened since my last post. I was working as an Assistant Store Manager at a Dollar General for several weeks. It was a job that my husband didn’t think I should have taken but I tried very hard to make the most out of the situation. I saw it as a new challenge. A challenge was exactly what it was. In the absence of a store manager it was difficult to adapt to the new setting. Working in that environment was just not good for me at all. I tried but I knew that it wasn’t the right fit. So when I got sick with a severe sore throat on Monday it was just icing on the already chaotic and unfulfilling cake. I took it as the final push that I needed. I worked on Wednesday after taking only a day off to nurse my sore throat. I thought that since I’d begin taking antibiotics from Monday that I would be able to work my entire shift on Wednesday. I even went in early. Sadly, my body just wasn’t ready to be back and my head and heart simply didn’t plan on returning to the game. Sure, I was at times reluctant about the job even while putting forth 100% of my effort, but I tried to ignore the persistent negative aspects of the experience until I couldn’t take it any more. Wednesday, as my sore throat became more severe, I threw in the towel. I couldn’t continue to work for an employer who was absent. I had done everything I could to learn all that I could without there being onsite guidance. However, when it’s clear that you’re a part of something that is disinterested providing support to their own employees, then it’s like any relationship, if only one person is interested in making it work, it’s not going to work. Continue reading “Lazy Days” →