Week 8

If nothing else, this $100 project has made it clear that I do not want to run a business from my driveway, being subjected to whatever the weather may bring. It’s been really hard to keep going on this project. I’ve been very discouraged and second guessing my ability to do a business at all. I don’t want to have a business that I dread going to work in. I want to enjoy my work.

I’ve also been rethinking my “big idea”. I was realizing that I would rather not have to do a lot of traveling. My kids still need to have access to me even if I’m at work, so having me out of town very often would not be good. After looking over my list of ideas and talking to people around town, I have learned that there isn’t anything for the youth to do here. There are very few jobs available and very few activities besides school sports. With that in mind, I am looking into the viability of a roller-skating rink. Possibly a bowling alley, but I think a rink has less machine parts to worry about and would be more of a draw for the surrounding area. Lots of ideas.

Week 7

My $100 project isn’t going as well as planned, but I’m learning a lot from it. For instance, when having an outside stand, make sure you have some kind of covering for when it rains. And when it rains, most people are not going to stand out in it to buy something they will just hurry on. A store would actually be best, because it give people a place to get out of the rain and hopefully something to snack on while they wait for it to stop.

The readings for this week really made me think about what kind of atmosphere I want to have in my company. I want to have a diverse group, but also a happy group. I also realized that I would ultimately have to trust several people to do jobs that I would start off doing myself. Delegating isn’t a problem. It’s having trust in them to actually do it without constant supervision. That is going to be a struggle for me. Hopefully, by the time I need to do that, I will be ready and eager for the change. Bud Brigham pointed out that you really have to surround yourself with the right people; people that share your values and work hard. It doesn’t have to be left to chance, if I just hire good people.

B 283 Week 6

Week 6

This has been a really bad week for my $100 project. We have had the stomach bug going around our family and I wasn’t able to so sell because I was taking care of my kids. I feel really guilty about it, but my family needs to come first, which is why I haven’t gone out to work and wasn’t planning to until they were a little older. I also have learned that there are several people here that are selling similar items for Valentines Day. They have all hit the market this week, and in my absence, they have taken a lot of my customers. I’m thinking that if I do a yard sell with the treats, then I can bring in a different group to sell to.

On the flip side, my “Big Idea” has actually been coming together. I have been doing research this week on how other liquidators charge. Not all of the places that I researched sound like honest companies. Some of their reviews are really bad. I definitely don’t want to get that kind of reputation, but I’m also learning that I might need to have more helpers than just me. This would mean hiring people from the start, which I wasn’t planning to, but there doesn’t seem to be another way. The other option is to take out the realty part of it for a while and grow into it. So much to think about.

B283 week 5

This semester is going by much faster than I had expected it to. We are into the $100 challenge and it hasn’t been going as good as I had wanted, but I am hopeful that things will pick up. I’m also thinking of moving my stand to “The Corner” to sell to the tourists on Saturdays. The stand is still brand new, so it will take a few days to adjust people to the idea. I was expecting that, but it’s still hard to sit through it. My children think it’s great fun and have been helping. They get paid in treats, of course.

My “Big Idea” might actually happen, which I hadn’t expected to get the support that I have. A furniture store has offered to sell us their building with its inventory. This would be a great start since I wouldn’t have to wait to build my inventory. It is already zoned for it and I wouldn’t have to get any extra permit to function there. All that would be left would be for me to get a real estate license and advertising my estate liquidation and realty services. The problem is that it would mean putting my schooling on hold again (or at least slow it down quite a bit) while I get things up and running. It’s quite intimidating as well.  I keep debating if now is really the right time for it. It all seems a little crazy, but exciting.