stop-dropnshop.com Blog

I never imagined that pursing a small business could be so time consuming or threatening! I think had I really taken a look into the future I may have reconsidered! But before I get too far ahead of myself, let me give you some insight into who we are….

Our small (we are far from small by today’s standards) family consists of 6 members, unless you really want me to include 4 dogs, a goat, 2 cats and 5 kittens (did I miss anyone?) First and foremost – my boyfriend Leon whom I broke my walls down for a year ago, myself (Tabitha) and of course four kids. Two boys (Chase (oldest) and Zen (youngest) and two girls (Kasey (second oldest), and Tegan (middle child), Yup, I lucked out on the 2 and 2. Since this site is about our businesses development and growth along with the challenges and current struggles, I won’t reminisce the past (and since we all know everyone has a past, well we’ll just leave it at that)!

Stop-dropNshop came about as an attempt to keep us all home! WOW, now a days no one wants to be home, let alone together – seems in today’s day and age the fast and further the family can go the better. Well, not this one! For the past 11 years I have always worked from home (not without an occasional outside job to make me appreciate being home), but home none the less. Im a medical transcriptionist and of course, a busy f/t mom! Leon is a truck driver by trade! Its where his heart and soul is – Though believe you me I’ve tried like hell to make him a family man -but I think I’ve finally come to realize
somehow you just can’t tame wild! However despite his passion he is an amazing partner and companion as well as an amazing common-law (is that right?) step-dad. We love him and pray the road doesn’t come too soon! Maybe by then he’ll OFFICIALLY make us his before he finds solace in the open road! (Hint, hint!) (Oops, I tend to think out load, but you wanted the realizim in the making of this site and it’s journey and with that come the feeling, hurdles, disappointments and celebrations!

Okay, enough about us for a minute. Four kids – I know, I know, what on EARTH was I thinking – apparently I wasn’t! So I’ve been told! However, if you ask I’ll be the first to tell you how much I love my kids but honestly I won’t lie and tell you being a mom is the hardest thing I’ll ever accomplish! It is so taboo for mom’s to state how they feel in regards to their job as mother’s! So shout out you mom’s – I’m hear to break that mold, life is tough and masking it doesn’t make it any better!

Four kids who have absolutely no idea what we are trying to do for them, nor do I really think they appreciate it! Since approx. April 29, 2009 Leon and I have been at this site for nearly 24 hours – oh, we do manage to get in a few hours of sleep and of course some US time, but other than that – work, work, work. About a year ago we decided to try out hand in another web business and what a flop, great idea, major competition and totally wrong category or niche if you will. so within 2 months that fizzled out. Here we are a year later, two months in and really Im suprised we haven’t killed each other off! Take a look at the site – we have no web design experience, no html coding experience or ANYTHING – and aside from what it looks like today, we’re still not satisfied. In two months we have completely redesigned the website 5 freakin times! Though, it has gotten better with each redesign, but it could be so much better. I think we are limited by our design program and of course our entry level programming! So here I am at 36 with four kids thinking now I need to go back to school, major in web design and really see where we could take our small business. Oh Lord, I hate school and the though of more hours on this computer – please shoot me now! I really am a glutton for punishment, in more ways than one!

We have finally managed to get Chase to participate in the site, however, we are leary about his computer skills, since starting this endeavor we have had two computers go down on us and lets just say we “baby” our last computer! Down time, is no time and a loss – so we can’t afford it. Chase was assigned the gaming section – ummm, its still needing work, maybe one day we’ll let our guard down and let him finish it – maybe! However, he tweets for us, posts ads and pulls sites. I think he finds it quite boring next to his new girlfriend. Oh, a mother of a 15 year old boy who just discovered puppy love – he’s useless and guys think girls are moody! So this journey might be interesting – in fact he woke up all grouchy this morning – and do you think he’d talk about his new, already problimatic relationship????? Nope – just grouch and go to his room or get online to see if she is online. Oh and did I mention the sneaking of my cell phone for late night hours of texting (do people talk anymore?). What next sneaking out??? Of course – we were teenagers once – if having kids isn’t challenging enough, having a teenage must be God’s joke to remind us that being parents isn’t quite challenging enough – Im not laughing!

Then there are three littlier ones – Zen is completely useless other than to remind us we don’t have “HIS” favorite games on our site and when are we going to put them there already. Tegan and Kasey are just as bad, but instead of telling me they post it on our shout it board. This board wasn’t suppose to be a family communication board, yet it seems to be the only communication going on in this house! How pathetic! Check it out – you’ll C what I mean! Kasey posts daily regarding a horse! Tegan posts nonessential comments like “I love the color green!” What the hell? So rather than yell at them, I’ve joined the family communication board and post back! It works, for us anyway!

So there it is in a nutshell – at least the beginning of it! A rollercoaster ride – of course, life usually is, but working from home is sooooo much harder than an outside job! I think when this site takes off – Leon and I will hit that open road together! Oh wait, reality check, the youngest is only 7 – how many years left til I can kick his little butt out? Til then we’ll all keep dreaming! Isn’t that what life is built on?

And so the journey goes ……..Monday 2:43 p.m. 6/22/09 – Leon was first one up about 9 am (you can sleep in when you work from home) – oh wait, Zen was first one up – he usually is and comes in with a “can I play x-box” – then Leon decided I needed to get up (since he has the same attitude I do, if I have to be up so the hell does everyone else!) Then I decided the rest of them needed to be up – ummmm, it’s one of those grouchy kid days! Coffee is on! Father’s day cake has already been broken in too – and the computer and website is up and being worked on. Do computers ever go away? For once I’d like to get up and punch it! Maybe then I’d feel better. Leon is working hard on revisions after some suggestions from viewers and well here I am posting and trying to tie our twitter, myspace and blog all into one giant link – I hate links! Kasey is mad, which is never new (since she chooses not to clean her room, but is banned to it til it is clean) and Chase is gone – like he usually is when site work needs to be done, Tegan is (probably eating – her pastime) and watching tv and it’s way too quite for Zen, so off to find him I go. Then back at this! Not happy with the webdesign just yet, so I’ll keep looking for more ideas and Leon and I are hitting the book store to brush up (tee hee – more like learn) more about html coding and how far we really can take this baby! Augh, our baby! Maybe if I look at it more like that – I won’t want to strangle it! Mind you – today the “baby” is whoopin my ass!