I actually ended up getting selected from the 350 applicants for the waitress position for this upcoming Grand Prix Weekend! I am excited as well as a bit nervous. We had training on Wednesday and it was going well … until I spilled and broke 3 champagne glasses. It was so embarassing. About 50 people ended up getting selected to work this wekeend and I was the ONLY one who screwed up. The trainer said it was okay but why me of all people! There were three trays; one full of wine glasses, one full of water glasses and one full of champagne glasses. I just had to take the latter! Well, I guess I didn’t really have much of a choice since the girl handed it to me. Anyway, no point stressing over that one mistake. What I really need to worry about is not breaking or spilling anything this weekend.
I hope I get to see celebrities though I probably wouldn’t even recognize anyone if I saw them in person unless it’s someone very famous (like Obama who is supposed to be in town at the moment). I don’t really follow the Grand Prix so I don’t know any drivers. This job doesn’t pay very well simply $14/hour plus tips though I feel as if tips will be rare since everything is already prepaid in advance. I don`t mind since it is simply a 2 day gig for a little extra money. Though I did have to spend money to buy proper shoes just to be able to work there for 2 days (they are so strict on uniform!).
Apart from that, this year so far is not going very well financially for us since we just lost $600 trying to start this quick gig in order to make more money but it didn’t work out. We were desperate, we learned our lesson, time to move on. In addition, my boyfriend just lost his phone Wednesday so things are not really going well as planned at all. Times are getting desperate for us to make ends meet. For the most part, I am starting up slowly with my side gig taking on little projects from my friends who need help in graphic design. Two project requests to design their logos and a business card so far … not bad! I hope I get more clients after that. Time will tell. I don’t charge much at the moment for these projects since I am still new (my mom, brother and bf keep telling me I am giving them a super huge discount compared to industry standards). I figured since I was not a professional that I shouldn’t be charging too high however that is all based on my own judgements. What do you guys think? I know logo design should be around $50 a pop depending on complexity. My brother told me that normally people charge $60/hour! I am still starting out so I am slow which is why I don’t charge by the hour since I am still learning the ropes. I am merely charging $20 to $25 a pop at the moment. Thinking whether or not I should charge another $10 or $20 for my friend’s business card design since it’s taking a lot longer than expected to finish. Maybe I am too nice? I don’t know. My boyfriend also told me that his teacher suggested to create about 2 or 3 logos to start off and allow only up to 3 edits. Additional charges will apply to more edits as a way to force clients to think harder about what they want to make changes to before wasting the designer’s time doing countless edits. It makes sense.
I will try my best to make things work and will always continue to learn. I had not yet started learning WordPress since I’ve been so busy but I will probably start sometime next week. I started really using the Shapr app to speak to different people and I actually like it. I am meeting a really down to earth girl next week, that will be interesting. Speaking to strangers online on this app who have the same interests and who live near you really help to bring in lots of insight. It’s an awesome app to expand your network and meet other like-minded people! Highly recommended!
Times are quite difficult for us at the moment but we are forever staying strong. I refuse to give up and I continuously feel blessed to have my boyfriend and my mother support me in my ventures.
Stay strong!
X.O.X.O.
-Fifster
