In 2002 my husband was injured while at work and we found ourselves thrown into a nightmare that would become our life for the next few years. The day he was injured he was sent from the jobsite to a redi-center for treatment, then was referred on to our family doctor, needed a specialist and surgeon, run thru a battery of tests and surgery was scheduled. We were naive, we had worked hard all of our lives, saved some money, were comfortable financially.
Pam Redman - Pam's Pantry - Business
We ended up in the fight of our lives. I cannot begin to put into words the fear and frustration that we experienced. I have to tell you, just writing this, I thought that I was past these feelings, but I'm tearing up as I try to write this. Even though he was hurt at work and sent from work directly for treatment, they fought the claim. We had to hire an attorney. I don't know how we kept our our sanity. We watched, month after month as every avenue we had financially drained away to nothing and then everything we had worked for go down the road as we sold off everything we had of value. Do you know how hard it is when your child looks at you and asks "when will things be normal again?". Every thing in our life changed drastically from how it had been. There was no money for anything. No more sports, no more dinners out, no going to the movie, or parks, no more snowmobiling, boating, camping, no more extras, vacations, birthday/christmas presents (or very few), nothing! Get r id of cable, internet, cell phones. . .I'm not even going to try to put into words the feelings of uselessness that my hubby was experiencing as he watched everything dwindle away as we went without things that we were accustomed to. Somehow we managed to hang on to our vehicles and home, but, was late on some bills and completely ruined what once was excellent credit.
About 14 months into this, I knew we had to do something, it is amazing the crazy thoughts that go thru your head as you lay awake at 3 am trying to figure out a way to get lots of money and fast. Good thing I ruled out all the risky things . . . I'll let your imagination go here.
What I decided to do was put my love of the kitchen to use. I was so scared, I could hardly function. What if it didn't work. What if I couldn't sell anything, what if I spent money we didn't have and we went further in the hole, I WAS TERRIFIED. I finally convinced myself that we were going to lose everything anyway, if something didn't happen and this was it, our one and only chance.
I had toyed with the thought for years of starting something, but, when things are good and life is comfortable, who takes on an extra job? I love to throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, cook it up and see what I come up with. So, I decided to start a line of gourmet mixes, dry mixes that customers could purchase and by adding only 1 or 2 ingredients, whip up fantastic, taste-temping creations in minutes at home. I quickly converted and came up with 4 recipes. I also had some candle/floral arrangements I had messed with and thought I could sell. Quickest way to start some sales that I could think of was to find a craft show. I loved going to them, now I was going to try to sell at one.
Pam Redman & Pam's Pantry - Starting a business from nothing, dwindling funds but a determination to succeeed
I found a show rather quickly and it worked out that friends of my mothers had a booth. When they heard what I was going to try to do, they said to get my fanny up there and they would give me some room in the booth. Low and behold, the morning of the show, a crafter across from them never showed up and the promoter, knowing my circumstances, gave me their booth!
I was so scared, I was shaking and thought I would be sick. My sister went with me to help. We stayed up until about 3 or 4 am, with our parents helping us to get stuff done and had to be at the show by 7:30 am. I can't even tell you the feeling of exhilaration that we felt when we made our first sale, and then another and before we knew it people were 3 and 4 deep at our booth. We didn't even have time to eat our lunch. It was crazy, people loved my mixes and we sold enough to almost make a house payment. I couldn't believe it. I made more money in 4 hours then I make in a week at work, and I have a pretty good job! I was on to something here.
I went right back to the kitchen to come up with as many new recipes as I could and quickly realized the money was in the food. I ditched the candle and floral arrangements and went straight into the gourmet food manufacturing business.
Today, almost 6 years into our nightmare, things are sure looking up. My hubby has had 5 surgeries, and we are told will never be 100% again. He will never be able to return to his line of work and after fighting with us for 5 years, we did win our case and did get a settlement.
My business has grown and flourished beyond our wildest imaginations. Not only was I able to save us financially, but one of the most rewarding things we have experienced is the fact that we have now been able to step in a save several others that have faced financial struggles. So out of the nightmare that we thought would be our ruination, we are now living a dream.
With the help of several valued employees, we are now running a pretty sound business. We have built a facility at our home and are licensed and inspected thru the state that we live in. We offer 3 avenues of sales: we are still doing craft and trade shows, we have a very active internet online order system, receiving orders daily, and, are in a host of retail shops in 6 states. We currently have 211 shows on our 2008 schedule. On average we do 6-8 shows a week, getting upwards of 12-13 per weekend. I have a service that handles all of our internet sales as this had become to much to manage on our own. They store inventory, handle and ship all incoming orders and supply me at the end of each month with a report on what and how much was sold and a check! What more could you ask for. Our retail stores list is growing and growing. We are branching out into some home parties and fundraising. I am working on the forms now as I write this.
I cannot explain how wonderful it feels to be back on our feet and to be doing something that we love! If anyone would have told me 6 years ago that this is where we'd be, I'd have laughed on the spot. To know that we are self-supporting and to have money flowing back into the bank with a nice savings, is fantastic. Being able to give back in return and being able to help others is the best.
My only regret is that I did not do this 20 years ago, holy cow, I wasted so much time, but, it may not have worked then. I am much older, wiser and a different person than I was 20 years ago. It is amazing what you can do when your back is to the wall and your family's well being is at stake. We will never forget what got us here. Every day I give thanks and look to the new day with wonder waiting to see what each new day will bring. Each day is a gift. I tell people all the time, if you can dream it, you can do it. We are certainly living the dream!
We knew this thing called workers comp existed, didn't know anything about it, but figured, workers comp would kick in and help. WRONG! Today I know more about workers comp and the games that are played than any person should have to know in a lifetime.
