So those of you who are familiar with me on here know that we have a 24 year old daughter who receives disability, who has several debilitating medical diagnoses, and spends most of her time sleeping or in pain.
In learning about our new home (dh got transferred here to Hawaii and we've been here almost a year), we discovered a farmers' market that is held each Saturday morning, just a few minutes from our house. Dh and I have been enjoying all the different new foods (dragon fruit, sugar cane juice, volcanic salts, etc) but there's some food trucks too. Our daughter discovered a crepe food truck and we bring her each Saturday am, where she gets the same exact crepe every time: Nutella with strawberries.
I have been trying to think of something dd could do with her time, her life, that wouldn't be physically demanding and wouldn't require showing up to work every day on time, because her conditions don't lend themselves to that.
Anyway, the crepe chef is extremely friendly, and dd has gotten to know her. She checked out the facebook page of the crepe stand and found it terribly lacking. One old photo, one post from 2015, that sort of thing.
So I had an idea: I have heard that some people manage the facebook pages for small businesses. Aha! Lightbulb went off! Dd is technically savvy and writes/spells extremely well (none of her conditions affect her intelligence or cognition), crepe chef has no time/patience for social media. You can update a FB page in the middle of the night in your pajamas, in bed! So I approached both, and dd was receptive and the crepe chef was excited! It's not for money, it's for experience, and for hopefully having a satisfied client, if dd got another chance to do this sort of thing. The page looks nice, it's got new photos, and new posts, and new "likes" and friends! And one of the chef's complaints was that many people who are perhaps tourists who don't speak English (a huge part of the population here) aren't familiar with things like "bechamel sauce", "macadamia nut pesto", and they shy away from ordering savory crepes with those ingredients. That's where I help dd out - I cook pretty well and have done some catering, and love food, so I help her explain the ingredients in a very approachable way, with photos. That way people aren't so hesitant to try them!
Anyway, it's been going on for three weeks now. It's a great way for dd to get some experience, and to have something productive and useful to do! She has a little job for the first time in her life, and it's perfect for her! And now the chef has asked dd if she could come on Saturday mornings and take money/orders (just sitting on a stool, writing down the next crepe order, and either putting cash in the box, and handling that little credit card/smart phone slidey thing!! Dd thinks she can handle 4 hours. Thankfully there would be no walking, since it's such a small space - she would be right next to the chef, so no problem for her sore feet and painful muscles.
Anyway, thought I'd share something positive! Isn't it wonderful when people like that crepe chef are receptive to helping someone out?
Thank you all for the very kind words. I appreciate the encouragement.
That's lovely to hear, E.! Thanks for sharing that. I think many of us need good news right now, so it's sweet to hear. :)
Fantastic! Thank you for making my morning. Bravo for thinking outside the box. What a great fit for all!
this is wonderful, E.!
what a nice thing to read about. i'm so glad you shared it.
:) khairete
S.
How wonderful for the both of you!
What a great story to hear. Thank you for sharing it!
Congrats! That is wonderful news to hear. I hope your daughter is enjoying the work and that feeling productive is good for her emotionally, too.
Hopefully this will lead to more. Eventually, maybe she can have a couple of clients paying her to manage their social media. If she's truly savvy, I would recommend having her link up to Instagram and Twitter, too. Those can be great ways for letting people know where the truck is going to be on a given day. Your daughter's generation is using those sites even more than Facebook these days. Have her look into programs like Hootsuite and Buffer that allow her to write a post one time and have it go live on several different sites.
What a lovely story!!!!!
Great and uplifting news! Makes me hungry for a crepe!
That's wonderful for your daughter!!!
People do hire people to manage social media. Many small businesses just don't have the extra funds but if social media is managed, it can easily generate funds.
My daughter's first internship (non paid) was managing and tracking social media for a start up. For giving day, students in her sales/marketing class were told to pick a project to manage social media and see who raised the most funds. Most students worked with non profits or small businesses like the Crepe maker.
This is a great opportunity for your daughter and a win win for everyone!!! Congratulations!!
Thanks for sharing, how wonderful! The crepe chef is helping you daughter, yes, but your daughter is providing valuable services in return! What a great idea you had to help them both.
And getting out even 4 hours a week, communicating with others, feeling appreciated by others (who are not family members) will be wonderful for your dear daughter.
This is lovely. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the update and bright spot in your family. Your daughter sounds perfect for this. May she do well and flourish.
the other S.
How wonderful for her and you! :-)
Oh E. - what a wonderful story! I'm so happy for your daughter, that she can provide a service and feel good about her ability to contribute.
And kudos to you for being the kind of mother who never gives up, who's always thinking creatively, and who makes this type of connection between daughter and chef!
You are a wonder! Keep us posted on how things go!!!
Updated
Oh E. - what a wonderful story! I'm so happy for your daughter, that she can provide a service and feel good about her ability to contribute.
And kudos to you for being the kind of mother who never gives up, who's always thinking creatively, and who makes this type of connection between daughter and chef!
You are a wonder! Keep us posted on how things go!!!
Thanks so much for this post. Awesome news about your daughter and this new venture. Congrats to you both.
Wonderful news! A win win situation all around :) Thanks for the positive update this morning
I am sure this will also boost her spirits!
Thank you for sharing it, and I think all three parties (you, the crepe chef, and your daughter) deserve credit for bringing this opportunity to fruition. May it be the start of something really good for all of you.
Great news! I hope everything works out well for your daughter. Maybe a change of location was the perfect thing to help her along.
This is great! thank you for sharing. Sounds like a great opportunity for your daughter and a great way to benefit the crepe chef. And you never know what other doors this may open in the future for her. Best of luck to all of you!
That is great news. I'm so happy for everyone involved!
This is exciting and wonderful. I'm glad you posted this.
I am so very happy for you and your DD. There is nothing better than to feel like you are contributing to the world. A new outlook on life could very well help her physical condition as well. Again, I can't express how truly happy I am for her (and you)!
I love hearing news like this! I hope it works out for both of them!!!
YOU GO MAMA!!!
Thank you for sharing, the world needs more positive things to read about. Glad this has been a win-win situation for both the chef and your daughter, and that she is getting to perform more duties. It's great that the chef is happy to accommodate her schedule and illness, and is giving her more responsibility like handling the orders and payments, she probably is ecstatic about all the extra work and how good of an impression she has made on her new boss!
I manage 4 business pages, admin 3 school pages, have several of my own pages for private things that I want to have access to so I can keep track...it's for performances and things like that. Not anything naughty or anything. My husband is allowed on it and a close friend that also uses my lists and information to keep track of performances too. But it's completely hidden for anyone else.
I spend a couple of hours per week on my FB responsibilities. There are classes she can take at the Vo-Tech where she can get a certification. It's just a one day class so it's not too demanding. The first level is in fact for those who don't even have a FB page themselves yet so she could probably be a great help to the others in the class.
She can make some money doing this. I hope she finds some clients that she can do a great job for.
SO AWESOME!! Great story. Thanks for sharing. You're a wonderful mom!! Happy holidays.
That is so wonderful!!!oh my goodness I had tears in my eyes.
I work with children who have disabilities of some kind of another and it always thrills me to hear things like that. Congratulations to your daughter and you for coming up with that! WOW
