I have now been a full-time reseller for five months and what a journey it has been! There are so many things that I have experienced and felt, and realizations about things that I had no idea even existed. If you’re a reseller that has recently gone from a toxic work environment to full-time reselling and you feel “lost,” that is completely normal.
Even though I felt at peace, I felt like I didn’t know which direction to go in first. Mentally and emotionally, I was still in that “old workplace” mindset and it took me three months to get to the point where I didn’t wake up with a horrible feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.
Deprogramming mentally and emotionally
The last seven years at my previous corporate job was a gradual downhill slide, and that’s why it has taken me a few months to deprogram mentally and emotionally. At the time when I left, I didn’t know how to process the feelings I was having. Looking back though, I now understand those feelings. The adjustment period can be hard to decipher. Just ride it out and don’t analyze it and know that it irons itself out over time. It will pass and things will become clear as time goes on.
When you are in a situation for a certain amount of time and then you are completely out of that situation, the mental and emotional adjustment is NOT overnight. Being in any toxic situation, your mind and body adjust accordingly. It takes a while of being away from that situation to readjust and not have the anxiety, old sleep patterns, depression, being on edge, headaches, or whatever it is you may have been experiencing before.
You may not even realize that these things have become part of you and they actually don’t have to be part of your everyday life. These things
slowly peel away. Just don’t panic. You are trying to do a completely new thing with completely new situations and new routines but your mind and body still have that OLD programming. It’s a completely odd, frustrating, emotional, and confusing time that, for me, lasted those three months. If you’re in the same situation, it won’t last forever, and just know that it’s a time of transition that is necessary and normal. Just let it run its course.
Focusing on time management and consistency
As a “sort of ” new full-time reseller, I try to focus on my time management and consistency but I am left wondering if this is something I will always be working on. I see seasoned sellers mention these two factors as well, so I try to work on these but I allow myself a bit of grace now and then.
Since I went full time, I have added a seventh platform called Thrilling and my sales have shifted to where my top three selling platforms are 1) eBay, 2) Etsy, and 3) Poshmark. POSHMARK!! My third platform was always Mercari and if someone had told me a few months ago that Poshmark would be my third highest, I would have just laughed. It’s still hard for me to compute! Poshmark is definitely not my favorite platform, and never has been, so this is why I am shocked. Nothing against the platform, it’s just never been my cup of tea. At this rate, I am thinking I’d better get to where I drink more tea! So, this has been a fun switch-a-roo since I went full-time.
A new way to do taxes
Another new experience for me since going full time was having a Certified Public Accountant and having my taxes done instead of me doing them myself. This went so smoothly and was so much easier than I thought it would be. I have been doing my own taxes ever since my parents stopped claiming me on theirs, so this was very strange to have someone else doing them. However, it turned out to be amazing and went so smoothly, and was so much easier than I thought it would be.
Also, having a professional (especially a professional that knows the reseller world and how it relates to taxes) to take care of it gets you the most bang for your buck. It was so worth the fee I paid because my refund ended up being way more than I expected and way more than I would have been able to squeeze out of it myself.
Evolve and “let go”
As a new reseller, you will evolve and learn to “let go.” This is something that is difficult, but necessary, if you want to grow and not go insane and/or drive yourself into the ground. If you get to the point where you can delegate, do it. For instance, with my taxes. Having a pro do my taxes actually ended up getting me a larger refund that covered the tax preparation fee and I ended up with more leftover from that than I would have ever been able to get by doing taxes myself. I am not trained on the ins-and-outs of tax prep for a reseller and it’s worth it for me to delegate and pay a professional to do it.
I know over time I will have more milestones and realizations and continue to grow, and this is so exciting! To think that a couple of years ago, I would look at things and say to myself, “Well, I guess this is all there is” and then I will shrug. I look back now and think, “No, Kim, that wasn’t all there was. Look at this whole new life that has started for you!”
I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be where I am today. It literally feels like a whole new life!
Kim Rose can be found at:
KoalaTradingCo Instagram
KoalaTradingCo eBay
KoalaTradingCo etsy
KoalaTradingCo Poshmark
KoalaTradingCo Mercari
KoalaTradingCo Grailed
Listen to Kim on The Seller Community Podcast: Season 2: Episode 7: Turning Your Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Business with Kim Rose
