Plausible Cautionary Tale.

In the last week or so, we've welcomed three new members to Team PJP...Andrew, Shelby, and Blake.  And this is all in effort to grow PJP in a thoughtful and meaningful way, starting with the ability to expand our hours starting this Saturday because of additional staffing (or better yet, just two people to work Saturday afternoon that aren't either of us).  The long term plan makes these past few days of change completely worth it (or, at least, it better, right?) but in the interim, it all just feels messy.  Can someone please cue the refrains of self-doubt? Someone mentioned to me today, after fully surveying a baking space full of employees, that he knew of a company that ended up losing everything because they tried to grow too fast.  And he probably meant the story as an interesting tidbit of information, but I teetered on the edge of considering it a parable for PJP.  Does he think that about PJP?  Am I oblivious to the cautionary tale he offers?  Or have I just not learned yet to stop taking everything I'm told to heart?  That's possible too.

I kept myself pretty in check all afternoon until I started to drive home and think about what we spent on payroll today comparative to what was a lower than average Tuesday in sales (though, the day immediately following a holiday is always painfully slow in sales).  And then I started to churn the plausible cautionary tale around in my mind and basically, well, FREAKED OUT.  I don't mean to brag, but I'm really the best at taking the small thing and making it A THING.  Isn't that essentially how fear works?

Without question, it would be 94% safer to staff PJP with only Jeanne and I.  (The only reason it isn't 100% safer is that I reserved 6% for the possibility one of us would kill the other one if we were the only two employees for the consistently long hours.)  It would definitely be cheaper if we were the only two employees.  And less stressful.  And making a schedule would be really easy because we would be the only two on the calendar...all day, every day, forever.

But all day, every day, forever isn't very interesting...and Jeanne and I are true fans of intrigue.  So we can stay the same and question ourselves or we can try change and question that as well...I'm pretty certain we will bother teeter on the edge of sanity in either scenario.  (I think that is the one thing that guy forgot about us...panic is always guaranteed.)

But here's the truth...payroll panic or not, everything is easier when the front of PJP is completely stocked with pies.  And I've answered emails with more regularity than "oh, every two weeks or so" because I'm not covered in flour 98% of my day.  And Jeanne is working on new recipes (like the new off-the-charts amazing S'mores Pie) because she isn't completely exhausted from baking 15 hours a day.

There is that to consider, right?