I promised readers that I would post regular updates about my new adventure in the world of small business and opening a child care center, and there is much to update you on, so here goes...
First, let me just say that the reaction to my last post, Jump Into Your Purpose, has been INTENSE. I'm going to push pause right now, so that I may say THANK YOU to everyone who has responded. There has been ZERO negative feedback, and TOTAL support with enthusiasm for this chapter in my family's life. (All of the buzz has really cut down on my projected advertising expenses, as well - so to my local readers - keep up the good work! Haha)
Also, I want to acknowledge the INCREDIBLE amount of work that my predecessor put into this particular project before me. (The building's previous owner completely renovated it with the intentions of opening it as a daycare.) A lot of the battles that I have been prepared to fight - he already did; and I have been able to fit my footsteps neatly into his. Certain zoning issues, almost all of the building's renovations, and even certain permits/public notices had already been taken care of. I've never met this person, but every time I discover an item he inadvertently has checked off of MY to-list... Well, I am beyond grateful for all of his hard work. At times, it almost makes me feel guilty to benefit from someone else's hard work. Then, I look at the mountains I have yet to climb...and I go back to just feeling grateful.
I have kept my pace of "full steam ahead" for the most part since my last post, and didn't waste much of the past five days. I kicked my Friday night off with a visit to the Town Hall, and by the end of the weekend, I had met with the town's Mayor, Vice-Mayor, Treasurer, and a Councilwoman (twice). I learned a lot about the history of the building, and finagled as much information out of the treasurer as possible. (She threatened to quit her job at one point... so I only asked for like, three or four more things after that.) I tracked the county's Building Inspector down at home (luckily, he's someone I've known since I was a child), and I only harassed him about half of a dozen times between Friday and Monday. I left a message with the county's Director of Planning...and then three or four other people did too - Whoops! (He probably threw his phone out of the window after he heard my name the fourth time.)
Monday, I met with the county's Building Official and Building Inspector on-site and discussed any items that still needed to be done in order for the building to meet code (which the bank was already well on top of). We also talked about the big "mysterious mystery" that plagues me still: CAN we live in the upstairs and run the business downstairs? I was told that "zoning is it's own kind of animal" and that we needed to be very sure about the answer to that question before proceeding on an assumption. Which, I think we all know, means that I will be leaving a lot more messages and making a lot more people sick of my name until we find out. (I blame the 5-year-old inside of me saying, "Are we there yet?! Are we there yet?!")
The Loan Portfolio Manager from the bank that was kind enough to make the offer of personally walking me through the business budget and financials, had the pleasure of being tracked down by myself today, as well. He had e-mailed a financial worksheet and a list of documents that he needed in order to start putting together some pre-qualifications for me, and I did my best to oblige, but... Phew. I don't consider myself to be a stupid person, but after spending an hour digging through files and scrounging through my tax returns, then squinting at the teeny, ant-sized boxes on the "worksheet," I called it quits. I stuffed everything that I thought looked important into a pretty envelope (that counts for something, right?), flipped the worksheet over, scrawled out MY version of my finances, and tacked a note at the top that read, "FYI - your worksheet made me feel like an idiot. :) M" I hand-delivered it to his office and introduced myself as the woman that he would probably wish his wife had never made friends with. Luckily, he seemed to have both a sense of humor AND the patience of Job, so he may survive working with me after all.
The biggest, most exciting meeting to date, however, was the one I had today at the local Small Business Development Center. The bank President and Vice-President set up a meeting for me with themselves and the center's Director to get things started with my official business plan. I was a nervous wreck. I tried to look the part and wore my big-girl business clothes, grown-up jewelry, and even a pair of heels. I also spent ten minutes on my hair instead of five. I'm not entirely sure that any of that was necessary, but I was operating on the belief that if I looked like an adult, it would encourage me to act like one.
I called my brother-in-law, who's a Certified Public Accountant, before the meeting; and I demanded that he answer 101 annoying questions that I thought knowing the answers to could potentially make me sound smarter when discussing business structure. I still tapped my feet, drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, and chomped on gum the whole drive there.
I managed to survive the meeting without saying anything too incredibly stupid. They were kind enough to act impressed by the meager amount of homework I have done, so that puffed me up a bit. (I say "meager" because when you put the pile of stuff I HAVE done next to pile of stuff I NEED to do...it makes me cringe a little.) When asked about a timeline for completing the business plan (a.k.a. 25-page research paper), the Director indicated that it would mostly depend on how quickly I got it written. The V.P. laughed, and told her not to be surprised if it was in her e-mail by Monday.
I know she was joking, but...
don't be too upset, dear readers, if you don't hear from me for a couple of days. ;)
♥M
P.S. Guess what came up during my business meeting? THE BLOG! WAY TO GO! readers, on spreading the word! Y'all rock!
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