This Woman's Business Start-Up Journey

So close and yet so far

Yes, it has been a long time since I last posted on this blog.  That is both the good news and the bad news. 

The good news being that things truly are moving forward and there are so many balls in the air that I just haven't stopped to write.

The bad news is that I need/want to learn to post to my blog regularly, especially so that I can utilize my new blog as a business marketing tool.

So the update on the business is that I hired and fired my first AD (assistant director).  I realized after 3 days that she just didn't have the social skills to do the job properly.  The position is too important for me to have the wrong person in it, so I made the decision quickly and started looking again.  I have some good resumes since my last posting on Craigslist, and am very hopeful I'll find someone who can start in 1-2 weeks.

My SBA loan still hasn't closed.  The date was supposed to be 7/25, then 7/31, but both those dates have come and gone.  The woman who is the closer is just not on top of things, and has caused things to be delayed as a result.  I was finally able to speak to her supervisor late yesterday, and she is competent (thank god) and I now feel confident that things will be fine.  The new close date is Wed. 

In the meantime, things are shipping to my temporary space starting tomorrow.  I'll get four of the study carrels and 4 tables delivered.  Then Monday, the computer and printer/copier/fax will arrive.  Followed later in the week by window banners and graphics and some of the furniture from Staples.  The only other thing I'll need is the curriculum, which I am hoping will ship out Wed and arrive the following Wed (8/13).  Then I can start taking DT's (the inital evaluation testing appointments) and can start enrolling students!  Yeah!

I visited 3 other Huntington Learning Centers last week here in So Cal, and it was great to see them buzzing with students and tutors.  It was very encouraging.  I am so looking forward to seeing my center alive and working. 

Changing the world, one kindness at a time

I worked in Customer Service for years before I was taught anything about it.  Most of the skills needed to provide good service came naturally to me and seemed like common sense. 

I was unconsciously competent.

As I took classes and heard speakers talk about Customer Service, I certainly learned more and was better able to perform as a consciously competent Customer Service manager. 

As I work with new people all through this business start-up, I am reminded how valuable good service is, and how good Customer Service literally makes the world a better place.  No really.  It does.

I think of the joy that wells up when a live human answers a phone call, or the smile that comes across my face when my phone or e-mail message is returned the same day.  I truly appreciate those things, and they truly make my day/life better.

I also think of the great help it is when someone shares with me a suggestion or idea to help me on my journey or gives me information regarding what the next steps of the process will be so that I feel informed, if not in control.  These tidbits are so small, they would seem insignificant. But in a world hell-bent on accomplishing the things they need to do without regard for their customer, these tidbits are all that are needed to make the world a better place.  

Small steps today.  Hopefully someday we will be taking giant steps.

Appreciating the little things

I am reading a book entitled One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer, Ph.D.  It is a methodology that we can use to circumvent our brain's fear mechanism----which shuts down the part of our brain that controls creativity and problem-solving----so that we can achieve our goals.  I highly recommend it.

I am in a situation which is forcing me to take very small steps.  Although the situation is frustrating, I am grateful to experience the satisfaction that comes with small accomplishments.  In a corporate job, where things are continuously hectic and there are always mountains of work to be done, I didn't get to enjoy a feeling of satisfaction very often.  Now, making one phone call or finalizing one item feels good. 

I intend to utilize the method described in One Small Step Can Change Your Life in other ways and other areas of my life.  I am all for circumventing fear and allowing creativity to rule my life!

Compelling Quote v4

Confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task by a series of small acts.

Tao Te Ching

Handling disappointment

 

Often when I am disappointed by something or someone, it is hard to tell what I am disappointed with more...myself or them.  Usually, I am more disappointed in myself because I am responsible for my own life and I generally can identify something I did or failed to do that contributed to my disappointment.

I am certainly getting plenty of opportunities lately to workout my "handling disappointment" muscle. I am extremely disappointed that the process from signing an LOI (letter of intent) to opening my business is painfully long.  I am already at 5 1/2 months, and still looking at 3-4 months longer before I am open in my permanent space.  On this issue, I am not disappointed in myself.  I think I have pushed as hard as I can to keep things moving along. 

I am also disappointed with the person I hired to help me set up my new blog.  I really made a mistake by letting the fact that she sounded just like someone who'd be a friend of mine as we talked on the phone get in the way of making a sound business decision.  Had we not had such a comfortable conversation, I am sure I would have been more diligent in asking good questions and setting up the expectations before I paid her to do the project.  Now, here I am, almost 4 weeks into the project, and I have nothing except a template and a color scheme I am only moderately happy with (although it is much better than anything she showed me initially).  I don't think she is a dishonest business person.  I just think she is an inexperienced business person who is trying to do the work-at-home-mom thing and is not being very successful at it.  Honestly, I don't know how anyone thinks they can work and take care of a young child at the same time.  Young children are just too demanding of our time and energy.

I have to say that, amid all this disappointment, I am proud of myself.  There have been times in my life when disappointment has really thrown me.  The word disappointment sounds like a fairly mild affliction, but it packs quite a punch.  Disappointment can give birth to depression.  Knowing that helps me keep from succumbing to that cycle.  I'm beginning to feel a little like Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea. And like him, I intend to be a survivor.

Walking a fine line

I find that one of the most challenging things I do during this business start-up is to walk the fine line called "how much should I ride people in order to get things done without annoying them so much they want to shoot me". 

Of course, what do I care, really, if they do want to shoot me?  I need things to get done, and I am paying them to do those things.  As long as I am keeping up my end of the bargain and giving them the information (and money) they need when they ask me for it, then aren't I entitled to get what I need when I ask for it?  And if they aren't giving it to me, then am I entitled to be a pest?  Maybe even a demanding pest?

This has always been an issue for me.  There are times when the "I want to be liked" part of me prevents me from pushing hard enough.  I try humor instead.  I try to elicite sympathy.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  The stretch for me today is to push past wanting to be liked towards getting something accomplished.

Superhero

I've never aspired to be Wonder Woman.  I have aspired to be Dona Wilson. Those who know her will understand the similarities right away.

As a girl, Dona dreamed of being an actress and moving to Hollywood from Washington state.  Unfortunately, life got in the way and she found herself responsible for providing for her mother and younger sister. She got a job at the local sheriff's office, and thus began her career in law enforcement. 

Dona did eventually move to California.  Not to Hollywood as she'd once dreamed, but to Northern California.  She became an officer with the Berkeley police department.  Today, it is not common to find a woman police officer; then it was almost unheard of. After 25 years with the Berkeley police department, it was time to "retire".  Dona's idea of retirement was to take a job with BART as a security officer.  When it was time to "retire" again, Dona became a paralegal at a major law firm in San Francisco.  While there, she got her pilot's license.  She spent as much time as possible flying a plane, and when she wasn't flying one, she was a passenger in one on her way to some far-off land.  While travelling the world, Dona became an amatuer photographer.  You can see some of her photos here.

When a serious eye condition grounded her, Dona continued travelling and taking pictures and entering photo contests and exhibits.  It took a bad fall at the age of 76 down a flight of stairs in Italy to slow her down at all.  She was down, but not out.  As she has done many times in her life, she reinvents herself.  In an e-mail I received today, she "has a sassy straw hat and some cute new shoes, so I'll go to a movie or something".

My superhero.

6 Things I've Learned After Quitting my Job

Things I wasn't expecting (in no particular order):

1. Running from meeting to meeting and phone call to phone call all day long keeps one from eating at one's whim
2. Working from home causes one to gain weight
3. There is more to learn on the internet than one can possibly imagine
4. You can get lost on the information superhighway
5. You don't keep in contact with old work friends nearly as well as you thought you would
6. Even junk e-mail can be a welcome sight

You Give Love a Bad Name

An angel's smile is what you sell
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell
Chains of love got a hold on me
When passion's a prison, you can't break free

You're a loaded gun
There's nowhere to run
No one can save me
The damage is done

[Chorus:]
Shot through the heart
And you're to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
You give love a bad name

No, this blog has not turned into a vehicle to spill my guts about my personal life.  It's just that this is the song that is running through my head this afternoon because I feel like I've been "shot through the heart".

So, I was merrily pursuing Plan B by preparing to open in my temporary space.  I had all the approvals I needed...I thought. The franchisor approved the space, the landlord was on board, and I had a voicemail message from the closing officer that the underwriter was fine with closing my SBA loan on the temporary space as of Friday afternoon.  I was desperately trying to speak to the bank, though, just to be sure, but having no luck, until this afternoon.

Now the word is that the bank manager won't approve closing my loan until the building permit has been issued on the permanent space.  "Shot through the heart..."  That's when the lyrics started playing in my head.

I'm speaking on a panel to potential franchisees at a franchise showcase in Newport Beach on Friday.  My message will surely be that this is not for the faint of heart. And buy a bullet-proof vest before you start.

Always have a Plan B

One of the pieces of advice you get over and over again when reading books, articles and blogs about starting a business is to build your team of professionals.  Every bit of advice ends with the disclaimer "ask your accountant" or "check with your attorney", etc.  I fully understand why this is necessary.

What I have found, however, is that the professionals that you turn to can only help you to the degree that YOU can ask the right questions of them.  Which puts you and I in a Catch-22 subplot.  When we are embarking on a new journey and doing things for the first time, we don't know what we don't know.  And therefore, don't always know  how to formulate questions to get the vital information we need. 

Here is my current version of this paradox.  I chose an architect based on the fact that he had worked in the City of Torrance for many years, and knew the players in the planning and building departments well.  I assumed that having been through the process many times, on many different projects with these people, that he could avoid some of the delays and pitfalls that may plague an outsider.  It remains to be seen whether my theory will prove true.

I also assumed that this architect could give me clear information on the process he has participated in so many times and that I am new to.  That part of the assumption has by no means played out thus far.  I felt like I was pulling teeth to get information from him every step of the way.

For anyone in Torrance, CA who may be thinking of opening a retail business, here is some information which may help you form a realistic expectation and help you ask the right questions of the "professionals".

There are two distinct pieces of the process. 

• getting your use approved by the city
• getting your building permit (assuming you will need to do tenant improvements at the location).

In my situation, I needed to apply for an Administrative Action first.  This appears to be the simplest of two options for this stage.  The filing fee was $521 compared with $2434 for a Conditional Use Permit.  My architect had to submit 5 copies of the plot plan and floor plan at this stage.  My expense so far to my architect is $1500.  This was done on April 10, 2008.

According to the planning department, we should have comments from them by May 1.  Apparently, each city department (Building & Safety, Fire Regulations, Planning, and ?) will review the submission and make notes or comments.  I still don't have a clear understanding of what these comments will entail, but I am guessing they will note if special exit doors will be necessary, whether they feel there is sufficient parking available, whether they have concerns about additional traffic in the area, whether the building is currently up to code, etc.  Assuming no major issues, the planning department will then write their official report and I would have approval for my use by mid-May. 

Once the use is approved, then the architect submits plans for plan check.  Again, I am not clear all that happens in this stage, I just know I've been told to allow 6-8 weeks for this process.  At the end of this process, I would be issued the building permit and be able to start with the TI's.  Since that puts us to mid-July, I realistically won't be open in the permanent space until mid to end of August.  That's a far cry from what I originally thought I understood, which was that the city approval process takes 4-6 weeks.

So, I am pursuing a temporary space.  Luckily, there is an empty space two doors down from my permanent space.  It is 1005 sq ft, but would suffice as a temporary space from June through August, and allow me to get started before school gets out, which is critical to me.

Through it all, I remain confident that I made a good decision and that all will be worth it in the end.  That is if I don't strangle my architect in the process!