[poorlittlefish]

<p>**I just reread this and saw that I put on HER instead of HERE and now I can't figure out how to change it.  Maybe that is why I can't find the ideal job </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am currenly a National Sales Rep and I call on large retail headquarters (Kohls, WM, Target etc).  I have been doing some form of sales for about 10 years but this form of sales for the past 7.  I like my current job enough but my commute is 1 hour on a good day, 2.5 on a bad. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I cannot do this much longer, it is making me totally crazy. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have a toddler and a baby at home and if I could just find something working from home, I think that would take a huge load off.   Unfortunatly, most of the WFH sales jobs are $10 or less an hour or something like that.   I currently make about $70k but would take a salary hit of up to $15k if I could work from home but it just doesn't seem like those jobs exist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Does anyone here work a sales job from home?  Does anyone have any tips on how to find these jobs?  It is totally out of the question at my current job and I am at my boiling point in terms of being able to handle this commute....any help or direction woudl be appreciated.</p>

 

[madskye]

<p>I was a national account manager, as well, with a 90 minute commute into NYC every day.  I loved my job but the commute burnt me out and in my industry, even though it was sales, the expectation was that I'd be in the office A LOT so I didn't have that much flexibility.  I ended up banking my bonus and starting my own consulting company.  I used to work for a very large, well known corporation.  Now I consult with much smaller companies in my field (book publishing) and serve as a sales and marketing director.  I set sales targets for rep groups, set budgets, create catalogs and marketing materials, and step in and troubleshoot with accounts when necessary since I still have those relationships. (Actually, keeping them up to date is the most important thing.)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once I decided to go out on my own, I started to put the word out on the "down-low" that I was interested in consulting, did people know any smaller companies, start-ups, etc that I could talk to? I also talked to other people in my industry who consulted and that's how I got my first job--helping another consultant who had a big job and was interested in some specific industry experience that I had.  It all came just from picking up the phone and talking to people.  I did a business plan, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's been three years now, and last year I made more money than I did when working in the city.  I work from home 95% of the time, go into NYC once or twice per month, and travel for sales conferences or trade shows every 2-3 months.   I work 30 hours per week, and that gives me time to take my daughter to ballet once per week, and when she was still in daycare, it gave me a really livable schedule (9-3 for her, as opposed to 7am to 6:30pm).  Now's she's in kindergarten and I still appreciate the flexibility.  I volunteer in her library every other week at lunch time, and yesterday I popped over to school for an activity that I couldn't have done with my old job and schedule.  Things worked out better for me than I ever would have imagined--I thought I would give it a whirl for a year and try to keep my hand in the business, but instead this really took off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The key for me was going from the biggest and best company and bringing that knowledge of best practices to smaller companies or companies that are launching.  I also ended up working with rep groups that represent those smaller companies, and they ended up being a great source of new business.  I think being in sales is a big advantage as you really need to sell yourself first!  Feel free to pm me if you have any specific questions.</p>

 

[poorlittlefish]

<p>Thanks for the thoughtful reply.  I have been reading and re-reading it since you posted.  Letting in marinate   I am very inspired by what you have done but honestly feel that I lack the confidence to do this-I need to work on that!.  I also need a solid income as my DH doesn't make enough to pay all the bills.  I am going to think about this and talk to some friends in the industry to get their thoughts as well because today it took me 1hr and 40mins to get here and I am going nuts  </p>

 

[dawningmama]

I went ahead and fixed the title for you. You should see "(change title)" at the top of the thread next to the title. PM me if you don't, please.<br><br>
Ugh, that commute is rough. I have not worked in sales, so I'm not much help but it sounds like madskye has a lot of info and inspiration for you!