"That'll be $600 thank you very much"

At some point in the last year I'm convinced that all of the tradeshow freight companies got together and decided that they were going to double their prices while simultaniously dropping any sort of concept about customer service.

In my first year of doing trade shows - five years ago now! - I basically either carried all my tradeshow material with me or shipped it in advance to a friend. After that I got smart and started using tradeshow freight companies to get my products and setup to the various shows. It wasn't cheap but it was a worthwhile expense. Until this year...all of the sudden what last year cost me $300 is now looking like it will cost me upwards of $600. I say "looking like" because I seriously cannot get one tradeshow company to call me back without me first contacting them again and again to hassle them for a quote. And these are the people I'm counting on to get my stuff safe and sound to Las Vegas? They sure aren't exhibiting a whole lot of concern for me at this point!

After getting what to me is a series of obscenely high quotes and since I'm only going to one show this year I'm seriously thinking of just shipping the booth material directly to the show site. I did some rough calculations yesterday and I think with the help of my friends at Fedex, some careful packing (my booth theme might be "minimalist" this year), and the good folks at TheHotel business serivces office, I think I can make this entire thing work for less then $300. The one piece I'm worried about is making sure the business office is open late enough for me to pack up the booth and get it back to the business office before I scurry to the airport for my flight the evening the show closes. I'm still trying to work out the final details but if doing it myself can save me $300+ then it's worth the extra work in my mind.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Why did I allow myself to be finagled into being the main contact person for a group ad that a bunch of manufacturers are doing for the big tradeshow this Fall? Perhaps because I stupidly believed that working with other entreprenuers would be easy and painless. Instead, it's like herding cats (my favorite phrase and it so aptly describes the situation).

Long story short, I'm helping to coordinate a group ad that essentially allows 10 of us smaller manufacturers to band together for a large one-page ad that will be make it significantly cheaper for each of us then if we were to do smaller ads on our own. I've been trying to get everyone's logo and booth information so I can get it to the graphic artist and then into the ad and I'm honestly having to pull teeth. The best was yesterday when some guy FINALLY sent me his info (after I essentially threatened that he wouldn't be included) and in the email he asks me to explain the whole process to him and what exactly do I need his logo for? It's a pity the internet does not allow you to slap people upside the head. He has been part of a discussion that has been going on for three weeks now about the ad, how it's all going to work, what the benefits are, etc and he still doesn't know what's going on? Listen, I understand that entreprenuers are busy folks and are typically trying to juggle a ton of things at once. I get it...I'm doing it! But c'mon now. For that level of stupidity I should charge him for his portion of the ad and my own portion of the ad for the time I had to take out of my life to explain - once again - the entire process to him.

What to do...what to do...

The answer to the above question is that I'd like to buy my ranch and move to Wyoming. I don't mean that in a fleeting way either - "my" ranch, the one when I saw it for the first time 10 years ago I stated publically would one day be mine, is for sale for a rather reasonable price as far as ranches go. Unfortunately it's still well outside my price range.

My ranch being for sale and some time home in Wyoming last week gave me some space and time to think about how I want to proceed with my business. Truth be told, the whole aspect of my workspace basically closing at the end of the year or, on the outside, the end of next year, throws a wrench into things. Not a wrench that can't be worked around, but a wrench nonetheless. But I'm trying to take a positive view that it forces me into an uncomfortable area and sometimes that's where the best ideas come from.

At the root of it all, I'm exhausted. Unlike other "manufacturers" in my industry, I not only do all the marketing, sales, graphic design, product innovation, and bookkeeping but I also literally handmake every single product that I sell. Other manufacturers buy their products from third parties (at greater upfront costs then I incur so at greater risk to them) but that means they are solely responsible for all the selling, marketing, bookkeeping etc and that's more then enough to keep them busy. Then you throw in this new part-time gig that I have and I'm feeling a bit...well...tired.

The problem is though that I love my part-time gig. I get to dress up in the morning and stay clean (a massive difference from my workspace), I get to help an organization I believe in and I feel valued for the work I'm doing both in an emotional and financial way. Just the fact that I am happy to create an excel spreadsheet while the rest of my team cowers in fear of excel has made me somewhat of a legend already. Seriously, the CEO already knows my name. I never knew a working knowledge of excel could make me so popular (thank you business school for that one and my better half for making me take as many finance and accounting courses as possible).

The other problem is that I'm not ready to give up my business. I still believe in it, I still love it, and I still think it has a place in the market. If I could just figure out a way to do all the administrative side of it and not have to literally do every single piece of production that would be ideal but, at this point, not realistically financially.

The idea I'm toying with is turning our backyard shed into something of a workspace. It can be done and my husband is totally supportive of the idea once we realized that in the long run it is far cheaper to do that then to keep renting space from others - but the idea of turning that shed into a workspace makes me feel even more tired. Not only the sheer amount of work that would have to go into it but also I fear that if in two or three years I'm still this tired will I just want to be done with the business totally in which case I've wasted money on the shed (though it could be marketed as "artists studio" when we go to sell the house which is what others in the neighborhood have done). I wonder though that if the shed were a workspace would I still feel as tired about making the product by hand or, since I'd have the freedom to do the work whenever it best suited me (I'm currently tied into a schedule that doesn't allow for much flexibility) perhaps I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed.

Ideally I'd like one of two things to happen:
1. I win the lottery and can buy my ranch later this summer. Probably not the most strategic plan but it's one way to look at the situation.
2. My company get picked up by two catalogue companies I'm courting and do good business with them. If I could work out a sustainable dropship business with those guys it would eliminate a lot of my expenses and it would be totally feasible to do business from my somewhat converted shed. I'd likely break even a lot earlier every year and possibly even throw off some cash for myself and I wouldn't necessarily have to be "on" year-round. More just around the major holidays and I'd be ok with that. It would mean though that the business, while still legally and in the eyes of the IRS would still be a business, but in my head it might shift into more of a hobby for the next few years and I wouldn't necessarily be actively looking to increase revenue X% every year so much as keep a happy healthy status-quo until I'm ready to invest further time, money, and energy into building it further.

Do you have any thoughts or ideas? Or any thoughts on what the winning lottery numbers will be would also be appreciated. I'd let you keep a horse or two on my ranch free of charge if I won. I'd even let you visit whenever you wanted and I'd whip you up a mean ranch breakfast (after you help out with morning chores though).

Score!!!

I happened to check out the business section today of the NYTimes after getting off my zoo job and read about the fact that Southwest was having a 1day mega sale on flights. Turns out that it's for travel during when I have to get to a tradeshow and, since Southwest flies out of my airport and directly into tradeshow city airport, I was able to get roundtrip tickets for direct flights that leave at exactly the time I want for $180 including all taxes. That makes me happy.

Now if only I could get all the tradeshow booth crap there that cheaply!.

Where Things Stand

I don't even know what to say other than to take a big deep sigh. It's just been one of those months around here what with my better half traveling basically every weekend and at least once a week, the fact that we've had a number of contractors in for work around the house, my company, and then toss in a new part-time job on top of that and it's really just been hectic around here. I've constantly felt like I haven't known whether I've been coming or going what with trying to coordinate everyone's schedules (the dogs and contractors are not a good mix so I've had the dogs in a daycare a bunch which adds to the convoluted schedules). Sadly, the one thing that typically helps keep my and my better half sane, working out, has fallen by the wayside dramatically and we're both hoping to put in a somewhat respectable showing at our races this weekend. Though we've also tossed around the idea of just bagging the entire weekend and hiding out at home since next week ain't looking any easier.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving the new part-time gig. It makes me realize how shell-shocked I was coming out of my last HIGHLY dysfunctional company and makes me wonder that if I had worked for a normal company before perhaps I wouldn't have been so gunho to start my own company. Working with normal people and for a boss who doesn't suddenly take off your head for no reason other then the fact she had a fight with her husband that morning actually makes for a pleasant work environment. And when I don't feel like I have to walk around on eggshells all day I actually feel like I'm able to get things accomplished. It's a nice feeling. Though I do find myself holding my breath sometimes just waiting to hear someone yell or someone tell me how stupid I am...yeah, almost makes me miss my old company.

And, ironically, since I've been so busy with the new job and the contractors I've have put l had ittle energy to put into my company and yet I've had a small spike in sales and an even bigger spike in interest from retailers. Don't exactly know where that's coming from but it's making me believe I can actually handle all of this. (another big sigh).

Lastly, and this is the big thing this week, the workspace meeting I mentioned in another post did happen yesterday and we were told that the current workspace owners are looking to sell the place. Now I don't consider myself a financial wizard but the sum they're asking is absolutely ridiculous in my mind. And my better half - who is a financial genius and who basically does business valuations for a living agrees that the price they're asking is outrageous. Oh, but here's the good news - they're eager to see if any of the companies currently in the workspace want to "buy in" along the lines of a co-op system so we can all be part owners in the building. Keep in mind that the building is leased so you're not even really getting the building, just the equipment and the remaining time on the lease. And you're not even really getting that - only a portion ownership of it. Needless to say, I'm weighing my options right now and trying to figure out what my next step will be. Thankfully it doesn't seem like anything is going to happen one way or another before the end of the year so I'm hoping I can get through my busy period in my current space and then figure out where to go from there.

(another big sigh)

Repeat After Me...

Starting a business takes more time, energy, and money then you originally anticipate to become successful. Hell, starting a business takes more time, energy, and money then you originally anticipate to simply become breakeven.

Listen, I'm just as guilty and points 1 and 3 (time and money) but even though I do get burnt out from time to time I think I had a pretty good idea about how much energy was involved. But to be honest, my thinking about how long it would take and how much money it would not only take but also yield seems to have been much closer to the mark then almost all the entreprenuers in my immediate circle. Just a few examples:

1. A dear friend who is incredibly smart and far more business savvy then me thought that her business would be kicking off $50K in profit that she could take as a salary. This is with next-to-nothing invested in marketing and only two years in business. Needless to say, she's highly demotivated right now realizing that it's going to take far far longer to reach those goals.

2. Someone in my workspace who started up one business and then bought a second business a few months later can't understand why she's so burnt out. She's running both businesses simultaniously and told me today "I thought it'd be so much easier to make money." My guess is that if it were that easy the previous owner likely wouldn't have sold.

3. I heard a rumor today that is decently substantiated that the couple who owns my workspace (I lease time from them) are tired of owning/running the space and they want out. Apparently we're to learn this at the Workspace Meeting next week. That should be interesting! They've done a pretty lousy job of hiding the fact that owning/running the workspace has taken more time and yielded less money then they expected and they're tired of working so hard. I guess an idea is floating around that they want to try and turn it into a co-op situation which just sounds like an utter disaster to me (what happens if, for example the person I highlighted in #2 just gets so tired of her business that she quits which would leave all remaining partners to split her share of expenses in addition to one's own expenses).

So repeat after me folks - starting a small business is going to take far more money, far more time, and far more energy then you expect. Do yourself a favor and when you write out your business plan include a plan for the worst-case scenario. One in which the business loses money and nobody likes what you make/do/offer. If you can stomach that scenario then you might be ready to jump in. But if you think you're going to be making $100K right off the bat (with no venture funding) then I wish you luck. And if you do manage to make $100K right off the bat then please please please drop me an email and let me know how the heck you managed to pull it off!

Winging It

There are times where I seriously feel like I'm just winging it with this business and wonder how things would be done in a real corporate environment. My latest example is that yesterday I received a new products questionaire from a catalog company that might be interested in carrying a new product. There were stock questions on there that I didn't know how to answer and I had to do things like pull out the measuring tape and start taking down dimensions to give them the information they needed. Certainly not so hard it couldn't be done, but sometimes I realize how a$$-backwards I do things. Corporations I'm sure already know all of that information so they can quickly fill out the questionaire when they get it. Then again, in big corporations there's so much red tape the questionaire - even if quickly answered - probably has to be ok'd by 101 managers and, of course, Legal so perhaps I'm actually getting back to them quicker?

And while I'm here - let's chat for a minute about selling yourself short. One of the questions on the questionaire was regarding minimum quantity amounts. Since this is a new product I wasn't sure what I should tell them so based it off of what fits nicely and securely in my shipping boxes. However the amount was 60 units and I fretted (and continue to fret) that it's too high a number for them since the product is untested in their marketplace. My better half kept telling me to put down 60 and if they didn't like that number they'd come back and tell me so. But I hestitated nonetheless. Then he rightly told me to stop selling myself short. And oh man am I guilty of that. I'm probably my own worst enemy in that regard and consistently undersell myself. This happens especially with new accounts where I want so badly to get the business I may undervalue what I bring to the table. It's something I need to work on. So I did put down 60 units - though my heart clenched slightly when I emailed that number back to them.