Day #7 My Mentor told me to do this difficult exercise...

2/6 Sunday-- I did the super bowl thing for an hour and then got back to work.

And, here I am. I replied to all of my business and personal e-mails. The hardest e-mail of the evening was the one I had been putting off for about a week to our mentor. I expressed to him my doubts and fears about the business and he asked me to sit down and really think about what I want, where I want to be, and what I want to be doing when I am 50. He said not to worry about if I thought my wants were possible or not, just to write them down anyway…

I responded with the following:

Ideally, I would live in a house with my husband in a mid-large town (not small town) where it is warm most the year. My house would have a room with built-in bookshelves and I would have an office space to myself. I would have a pool, but I would be able to afford to hire people to take care of it. I would do the domestic duties along with my husband, so I wouldn’t hire anyone to clean, cook, etc. My house is not enormous, but I have a walk in closet and a big tub. My house would include an in-laws quarters that would be fully functional so my parents could be there without even coming into my house.

My husband and I would be able to take vacations at least 4-6 weeks out of the year and it would not be a struggle for us to go to dinner 1-2 a week. We would have the disposable income to go on weekend getaways if we want maybe 1 every 2 months. We would have 3-4 kids and we have the money to let them each do 1-2 sports/activities each year and we are also able to afford me staying home with them and having some babysitting help at least 15 hours a week. We can pay our bills and credit cards in full every month without having to worry about it. We still have money left over to save and to spend on things we want to do.

Ideally, I would have passive income from this company or something else, so I had the opportunity to get involved in other projects that I am really interested in. I want to be a writer and a teacher and a businessperson. I want to be a mom who can stay home and work around the kids’ schedules instead of being bound to a 9-5 job. I want to buy investment properties and hope to have a few by the time I am 50.

I hope this doesn’t sound too crazy. I am willing to work really hard and live meagerly as I have been doing to get all of this. I don’t expect it to be easy and I don’t expect anything to just be given to me.

This is probably way too much detail, but I am a writer, so I get carried away! Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about me.

I look forward to hearing your response.

AA

Day #6 Credit Cards are the Bane of my Existence

$400.00 down for my 90,000 mile check up on a car I don’t really want, but have to keep for now. $276.14 on Citi Business credit card—29% interest hike up because the last payment was late. ALL of my work last week as a tutor went to pay these bills. C forgot to pay the bills last month, two other ones (in addition to the Citi cards) were late. Their interest rate was hiked up to 22%. I freaked out on C about not remembering to pay the bills and then he was able to do the same thing to me today when I forgot to pick up the check on Friday that was going to get us out of this mess. We have one big account. When this restaurant is busy, they buy a lot of product and their one account pays all of our monthly minimum balances. This was a huge feat for us when it first happened. Now, it’s old hat and it’s not good enough and it is taking too long for us to dig ourselves out of this crazy business hole we got ourselves into.

(Obvious) Lesson of the Day: Pay your bills on time every time. Don't leave it to someone else to take care of ever, especially not someone who you don't completely trust to do things on time. Track all of your money and APR interest rates and keep it in mind at all times. I think it is too easy for people to just keep swiping their cards without realized that the shoes they just bought "on sale" are going to end up costing them tons more when bought with a credit card that has a balance and a high interest rate. Don't let this get out of control ever. It is very easy to get in the credit card hole and very hard to find your way out.

Finally, Citi Business is actually a great company to have a business card with. They hiked up the interest rate this particular time, but I called and explained the situation and they put it back down to 6% and refunded me money back for the fees. Plus, they were really nice and helpful on the phone.

Day#4 and 5--cars, condos, and cookies

2/3 at 12:24 AM

I did very little for the business today. I woke up at 10:50, went to my lawyers for my auto accident, and nannied (I think I made up this word...) from 1:30-9:30. ugh...

2/4/11 10:06

I dropped off my car for my 90,000 mile check up and since the “check engine” light has been coming on sporadically and more recently for the past two months, I decided I should really do something about it. They still haven't figured it out and I managed to leave there $400.00 poorer just for the check up--what the hell did they do to it?

I went to lunch at CS (should have been a "business lunch" and should have been billed to our "business account," but since that account has only enough money in it to pay our manufacturers for our next order, I paid for this very expensive lunch at this very ritzy beach-overlooking restaurant myself). This is our second account that our friends who work there were able to get us. I try to go to each of our accounts (I mean our 2 accounts) weekly so I can check out how things are going. Really, I just want to make nice with them so they feel bad about dropping us and never do so.

Then, I came home and talked to my long distance boyfriend about a condo for sale that is only $129.000 which is the lowest price I have ever seen for any piece of property in this West Coast town I live in and then I got a headache. I made a salad and a TJ pizza out of the box, watched a lot of t.v. on the couch and then I moved into my room to do the same.

My head really hurt and I realized that migraines are the only thing that force me to sit down and catch up on my t.v. shows.

I wish I had more money coming in so I could actually consider buying this super cheap, awesome condo—I am so sick of being broke and not knowing when this business will pick up… ugh.

Going back to watching Grey’s and stuffing my face with cookies...

Day 3 as a Business Owner– Debt, credit cards, and credit scores

Day #3 (2/3 at 12:24 AM):

I am actually tired tonight. I haven’t been tired till like 3 AM the last few nights. I think I am letting my brain relax a bit today. I was actually able to sit and watch 20 minutes of Ellen, 5 minutes of Oprah, and like 15 minutes of American Idol tonight without doing anything else! That is a big step for me…

Anyway, today, I had to get my credit score info. so we can see if there is any chance in hell that any bank or credit card will loan us money. I have been putting this moment off for a few months. I used to have a great credit score until I started a business, took out a loan we couldn’t afford, charged cards we should have never charged, and then only got paid 25,000.00 income for the whole year. I used to be able to pay my credit cards off every month, but those days have been gone for awhile. Anyway, after paying 15.99 for a monthly credit report and all of the bells and whistles through Wells Fargo, I found out that between the 3 agencies, I have a 704 as my highest and 683 as the lowest. I have ONE discrepancy and it has to do with my bank loan and I don’t even think it’s all my fault. Yes, it’s the bank’s fault. I have decided.

Lesson from today: Don’t be afraid to check your credit score. Most people at some point have had a low score and there are many resources–books and websites to teach you how to increase your score. There is a lot of support out there and it is better to just find out what you are up against and deal with it. Don’t live in the dark regarding money or you will never find your way out to the light. I also realized today that it is worth it to spend $12.99 a month through a reputable agency and track your spending and credit score. You can stay on top of your financial situation, and you deserve that. Uh oh…I sound like an ad right now. It’s true though. That is advice I wish I would have heard earlier and I wish my parents would have showed me how to check my credit score and keep checking it at a much younger age. I would have been more aware and made wiser choices.

Starting a Business- the Good, the Bad, & the Dysfunctional

Day #2 (2/2 at 12:04 AM)

We tried to conduct a business meeting last night at 7, but it was after a long day of work for all of us and we were all exhausted. Usually, we can rally, but tonight, there was no cheerleader in the bunch. We got very little accomplished. As usual, I got a bug up my ass around 9 and stayed up till about 3 AM.

I woke up this morning at 8, then 9, and then I finally dragged myself out of bed at 11:11. I had two missed calls from H, our most dedicated salesman (and also friend) at the moment. The only problem is he lives in NYC. Perfect. He knows about the product, he is passionate, largely because he is shamefacedly broke, but nonetheless, he was born to sell and I know he would kick ass if the product was readily available to him in NYC. I don’t know how we will make that happen while he is still interested, but hopefully we will.

Anyway, he coached me on how to conduct a cold call for about a half hour last night and wanted to see how my progress was coming along. I had just woken up, really? I hadn’t made any progress yet. I still had to wash my face, guzzle some coffee, call my grandmother since I hadn’t picked up her most recent calls, make my appointments for physical therapy, eat some semblance of a normal meal, oh and actually go to my job that pays. I had to fit that in somewhere too.

So, no I hadn’t picked up the phone and started any cold calls yet. I know most of you are saying, “well get to it” and “why didn’t you wake up earlier?” I hate when I am asked the latter—everyone always wants to ask that. Part of the reason I started a bloody business was to sleep in; it’s the only bonus I get from this meager existence and I am NOT giving it up, so don’t ask anymore.

Lesson from today: Try to avoid calling business meetings when you know everyone is going to be exhausted. It is never that productive (as we did last night). Plan out your day, no matter how many hours you have or don’t have to dedicate to business, and make sure that in those hours, you only do business. Leave all the personal annoyances out of the equation. Make your appointments, pay your bills etc. any other time except that time you allotted solely for business stuff.

What if I Am a BIG FAT Failure?

Day #1 (2/1 at 1:43 AM):

This is probably somewhere in the 800th day of my business if you count when we officially started back in the spring of 2008, but as far as my daily writings, this is my first. I couldn’t have started on a worst week. I have had 3 ugly cold sores for all to see, one ulcer on my tongue, one face rash on one side of my cheek, and an issue called Interstitial Cystitis which basically makes you feel like you have a UTI all of the time, but this particular issue “down there” actually has nothing to actually do with sex—according to my doctor, it has everything to do with stress… and so do all of my other ailments. I am taking in his advice and trying to relax—it is difficult, as most new business owners can imagine.
In the last 48 hours, I have gotten in two huge fights with my business partner over the phone, have vehemently threatened to leave the business behind and start life over on the East Coast, and have also been told by our first and only mentor that the feat we have taken on is probably insurmountable with no money and neither one of us having the time to do it 24/7 (since we work other jobs to make a living).
He surmised that we do not have the foggiest idea of what it takes to create, brand, sell, and make profit off of a new product that has a vast amount of competition (5,000 was the number he chose when stating about how many competitors we probably have). Of course, I tried to take this all in like an adult and calmly rethink our plan. I reasoned that he was of an older generation and probably not as much of a risk taker as many of my peers today are. I made myself feel better at first saying things like, “He doesn’t know what he is talking about. His own business probably stinks.” But, the harsh reality came about 4 hours later when I was trying to go to sleep and I had done my last e-mail check for the night. All of a sudden, I started to panic and wonder if all he said was true. Would we be able to do this with no money? Would we be able to get investors of any merit? What if we never get this product off the ground and we are in debt to this company again? What if we never get out of debt? What if I have to go back to doing a 9-5 job and succumb to a miserable existence (in my eyes)?
What if…what if…what if…all night long. It was a restless night to say the least.

Starting a Business- the Good, the Bad, & the Dysfunctional

2/2011
Well, I should be honest. I have technically been in business for about 3 years. I hate to say that because I feel like we don't have much to show for the 3 years we have put in except for a whole lot of debt, old equipment, and aggravation, but some would say we have learned a lot and have come a long way. Before I start to write a daily synopsis on what it's like to run a business, I will at least give you some background on the last 3 years. I will try to be brief.

I went into my first business like many other people--unaware, unafraid, unknowing, basically stupid and naive to the work that it would entail. I had no money, no business schooling, and no experience. I had no business plan, and a business partner who I thought I got along with because we had never had one significant fight in all ten years that we knew each other. I had a good idea and I was sure that it would take off. I could not have been more wrong on everything I thought I knew.