I’m not so great at the whole work nonstop thing. Checklists
and to-do lists keep me productive when I don’t have solid deadlines—sometimes.
This is problematic, turns out, when working from home. It is also problematic
when I should be working on pro-formas for the business. Pro-formas are the
basic finances for the business. Costs, expenses, and revenue. Blech. Boring.
I’d much rather pin stuff to my Pinterest board for the café (check it out! https://pinterest.com/kalynmc/trade-cafe-in-pictures/).
See? Isn’t that cool and fun and exciting?! You can actually visualize the
business! Unlike the numbers, which are
the business. Or the heart of it anyway.
But I have been doing research. Real research. The kind
involving numbers and talking to people who are older and smarter. My brother
and I have had a two-hour meeting with a CPA, a four-hour meeting with the
OKSBDC (Oklahoma Small Business Development Center), and a two-hour meeting with
a host of lawyers. We’re getting their counsel for free in exchange for every
intern in the building sitting in on our meeting. There were eight people in on
the meeting, only one of whom will be our lawyer. It was similar, I think, to
be operated on in a medical school by a doctor with a host of med students
watching on in the amphitheatre classroom.
The only new information
we got from the meeting was that we needed to slow down and adjust our
expectations. My brother and I were thinking we’d have the café up and running
by October. That’s so far away. An entire season.
Well, not long enough apparently. Our legal counsel suggested we begin changing
our business plan to reflect a January start date—at the absolute soonest.
That deflated my balloon. Motivation crashed. The reason why
it affected me so negatively, I think, is because I’m unemployed. I really,
truly thought I would be employed sooner than that. So now I have to get a
part-time job on top of my other pursuits: freelance editing, crafting, gift
wrapping, and baking. I’m also doing some handiwork for the ‘rents. How am I
supposed to get anything done on my non-paying (boring) business planning when I’m doing all
that?
My father, God bless him, gave my brother and me what I’m
sure he would consider a pep talk or paternal advice. It came out more of a
browbeating on—you guessed it—diligence.
Grant and I have been hearing it a lot lately. Our CPA
mentioned the bankers will check for due diligence on our financial
projections. Did we take every possible expense, even the unexpected ones, into
consideration? Are our numbers conservative enough? And then again, the SBDC
said to look at every piece of the plan and pro-forma in 360 degrees, doing our
due diligence to ensure a complete and sound business plan.
Diligence was again brought up by our lawyer. “Be diligent
with your numbers.” Hearing that was super annoying because we’d made sure they
knew before we came in that our numbers were nowhere near complete. We only had
a preliminary business plan that focused on concept. Of course the plan needed
more research and numbers. Thanks for repeating that over and over again for
two hours. (But I’m not complaining because it’s free advice!) And really, what
advice can they give us until the business plan is complete, even if
incorrectly complete? They have to have something
before they can make corrections.
So all that to say, diligence has been on the tip of
everyone’s tongue. And I have gotten an earful about it. Which my father added
to this afternoon. His message, in a nutshell, was to be diligent in every
single thing…otherwise, why would we think that we would be diligent with the
business? If I am going to Tulsa or watching
movies rather than being diligent about…other undetermined things…then I’ll
obviously just leave work all the time once the café is open to go see movies
or go to Tulsa .
Because that’s how life is. And then we’ll fail.
My parents are the most supportive people in the world while
simultaneously saying everything they can to discourage us from starting up a
business. It’s pretty frustrating. I can’t be angry with them, because through
their connections and help, we’re getting much further along in the business
plan more quickly than we ever could on our own. They do have really good
advice. But mixed in is all these backhanded comments that convey to us
(whether my parents believe it to convey this message or not) that we’re
incompetent idiots destined to fail.
Is it any wonder that I’m feeling unmotivated? Up until now,
I’ve been sending my brother action items, with a to-do list for both of us,
pretty much every other day. Now he’s the one calling me and making sure I’m
doing my end of things. An unhappy reversal. I’m supposed to be the annoying
one in this relationship!
The number of things I need to do is overwhelming. I have a
set of three edits to complete as soon as possible because I need money in a
bad, desperate sort of way. Slides to edit for a relative (Powerpoint
presentation). A paper to edit for a friend. Call OG&E for utility
information for our pro-forma. Call two suppliers for pricing. Talk to the
potential baker about equipment so we can price it—again for the pro-formas. A
baby shower I’m hosting at the end of the month. Apply to coffee houses/cafes
so I can learn on someone else’s dime and get some industry experience. Decide
on a theme for the indie crafters thing in Tulsa in August. Get with the two friends who
are renting the booth with me to do the crafts. Populate Etsy page so that it can
generate money. Complete pro-formas, meet with cpa and lawyers and SBDC again,
pitch to banks until get one that bites, find a private investor(s), find
suppliers for more than just coffee beans (furniture, cups, to-go cups,
equipment, kitchen supplies, etc.,), find a place to lease/buy, and on and on
and on.
There’s a lot to be diligent about. Of that my father is
correct. It’s hard to stay motivated, though, when the payoff is so far away.
Patience has never been my virtue. And the payoff is uncertain. It feels as if
the further away we are from starting the business, the more unlikely it is it
will actually start. And that’s what is terrifying me and sapping my
motivation. Suck. I’m trying to rally this weekend, and tomorrow is the
beginning of a new, productive week!
P.S. If you’re super good friends with an architect or a
contractor that would talk to me for free as a kind of favor or for a lark,
that would be super duper awesome. Because somehow I graduated OSU without
knowing one. Or if you have good friends that graduated from OSU’s HRAD program
and know the ins and outs of suppliers, that would also be helpful.
I am still ridiculously impressed with where you've gotten thus far. I have no connections of the sort you need, but if, further down the line, you need someone to test the ambiance, the food, or the furniture, I am happy to do so. Not the coffee, though. I hate coffee, so I'll just tell you it's disgusting. :)
ReplyDeleteKeep going, you're doing great! And just try to remember that, even though January feels far away, if you don't keep up your diligence, it'll be even later than that!
And, if you have as much to do as you say you have right now, when your goal open date is January, then just imagine how magnified it would be if you tried to stick to October!
You can do it. Patience, diligence, persistence. I'm in your corner!
-A
Ha. Thanks, Audra! You can test out our baked goods. Hopefully that won't be disgusting. I'm baking.
DeleteThanks for all the encouragement. It is very needed and helpful.
Way to be patient! This is not one of my strong suits either. I know Jordan knows some contractors and architects. I can see if he can ask if they'd be willing to share their knowledge for you!
ReplyDeleteYes, please! That would be awesome.
DeleteI love you. That's all I can say right now.
ReplyDeleteYou've said enough. <3
Delete