I have nothing to do…or do I?

I have spent this summer struggling with what I can do to make money, or at least feel like I am being productive. I know that when you run your own business there is always so much to do. However, you try to prioritize, and when that happens you end up procrastinating more than anything else.

This is very difficult for me because I have always lived my life staying busy. I set some goals this summer, but I did it with a naïve attitude, and they seem to be difficult to achieve. So what have I done this summer, and what do I plan on doing? I have started selling advertising, and it is going well. However, sales are very sporadic, and I find myself with too much time on my hands. In order to force myself into being productive, I have been going to the gym six days a week, and I have gotten one of my fraternity brothers to join me. Aside from that, I got a job at a bar checking ID’s and collecting a cover charge, but that is twice a week at best.

I immediately realized that this summer was going to be a far cry from the summers of my past. Prior to this year, I spent every summer in Connecticut. I had a steady girlfriend of three years, worked at a golf course, and spent time with my friends and family. I was used to going to sleep before 10:00 PM, and waking up at 5:30 AM. As of last year I was salaried, and my work week consisted of at least 48 hours (sometimes more like 60). Don’t get me wrong, I made a lot of money, and a lot of it was cash (making it much easier to spend). I would play golf, sometimes on the clock, and I would spend my entire day making wealthy people feel better about themselves. I hated it. The only positive thing I can say about that job was that it gave me the skills I need now with sales, and it taught me about hard work paying off. It just made me sick being talked down to everyday by people that had no idea who I was or what I was really doing with my life.

During my time as an “unlicensed assistant pro”, I had already owned a business for two years, I had gotten into the business school at Ohio State, and I had a 3 handicap. Throughout all of that I would be cleaning clubs and getting yelled at by people that were lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth, and a serious alcohol problem. So what motivated me to leave a well paying, steady job with benefits like free golf? I think that speaks for itself.

Now don’t get me wrong, a lot of the negativity I feel towards that job came out of the actions of a few certain individuals that really have no respect. I kept my head up for the four years that I worked there, I always worked hard, and I managed to gain respect from a lot of the “elite” members. I also made some great friendships, and I learned a good deal from my boss about how to manage difficult situations.

Now I have found myself in a difficult situation. I don’t have a schedule, I have some tasks I need to complete, and I have some tasks I want to complete. The trouble I really have is wondering, come September, what will make this summer a success?

I think it will be a mix of things. First, if I have enough money in the bank, and on its way in to make it through my senior year, and do everything I want to. Second, if my networking has led me to enough open doors, so that I can call in the favors that I know I will have to. Third, if I am in the best shape that I have ever been in (I have never worked out this much, mainly because I have never had the time). Last, and most importantly, if I can look back at this summer and feel that I didn’t waste any time or opportunity.

I guess it is my job to make sure that every day I accomplish something, and come the end of summer, if I haven’t done a great job, there is no one to blame but myself.

I’ll let you know in September.