I'm into my 17th hour of my 20+ hour day... I'm starting my 11th week of these 20+ hour days. If you find yourself facing a challenge or anything difficult, then read on...
Christian Larson:
Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
The heights of great men reached and kept,
Were not obtained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept
Were toiling upward in the night.
Lowell Thomas:
Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.
William James:
Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.
Leonardo Da Vinci:
Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it.
Liane Cordes:
Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.
Author unknown:
Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it.
William Penn:
To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals - this alone is worth the struggle.
Aristotle:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Elbert Green Hubbard:
When on the brink of complete discouragement, success is discerning that... the line between failure and success is so fine that often a single extra effort is all that is needed to bring victory out of defeat.
Helen Keller:
When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
Marcus Aurelius:
Do every act of your life as if it were your last.
Joe Namath:
You learn you can do your best even when its hard, even when you're tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage.
Marvin Phillips:
The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!
Zig Ziglar:
Where you start is not as important as where you finish.
Jim Rohn:
You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.
Aesop:
Little by little does the trick.
Herbert N. Casson:
The men who succeed are the efficient few. They are the few who have the ambition and will power to develop themselves.
Oliver Wendell Holmes:
The mode in which the inevitable comes to pass is through effort.
Gail Devers:
Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.
Ann Frank:
Laziness may appear attractive but work gives satisfaction.
H. Jackson Brown:
Life doesn't require that we be the best, only that we try our best.
Linda Brakeall:
Life is like riding a bike. It is impossible to maintain your balance while standing still.
Edwin H. Stuart:
Men who do things without being told draw the most wages.
Dale Carnegie:
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Jim Ryan:
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
Paul Coffey:
Nobody's a natural. You work hard to get good and then work hard to get better.
Roger Staubach:
There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.
Audrey Hepburn:
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm... As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
Mahatma Gandhi:
Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.
Sandra Day O'Connor:
Slaying the dragon of delay is no sport for the short-winded.
Laurence J. Peter:
Slump, and the world slumps with you. Push, and you push alone.
Orison Swett Marden:
Achievement is not always success while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances.
Lee Iacocca:
Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.
Napoleon Hill:
Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.
Doug Firebaugh:
Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
Unknown Author:
Every job is a self portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence.
Napoleon Hill:
Do not wait; the time will never be "just right'. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
Thomas Alva Edison:
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Walter Linn
It is surprising what a man can do when he has to, and how little most men will do when they don't have to.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Another Starbucks detail in the news...
News Headline Today:
"Starbucks serving up free Wi-Fi with AT&T"
Apparently, Starbucks has been reading my blog to get ideas… They have decided to copy Nemo’s and offer free wi-fi internet service… Here is a quote:
“We're very excited about what we're doing together to align ourselves with what consumers want," said Rick Welday, a chief marketing officer for AT&T's consumer business.”
Well, sort of…
If you pay with a Starbucks card, then you get two hours free. Otherwise, or if you want more time, it will cost $3.99 for two hours. If you are thinking that will really add up, it will. They are also offering a monthly membership for $19.95.
…or, you can come to Nemo’s and have free Wi-Fi service all the time, no matter how you pay, or even if you don’t buy anything! Who wants to pay $20 bucks a month on top of what you already pay for cable or DSL at home?
If you want to call $3.99 for two hours of internet service “aligning themselves with what consumers want” then they really should go and think about it some more. While they are thinking about that, they should try to think of where to get some decent coffee to serve, too!
"Starbucks serving up free Wi-Fi with AT&T"
Apparently, Starbucks has been reading my blog to get ideas… They have decided to copy Nemo’s and offer free wi-fi internet service… Here is a quote:
“We're very excited about what we're doing together to align ourselves with what consumers want," said Rick Welday, a chief marketing officer for AT&T's consumer business.”
Well, sort of…
If you pay with a Starbucks card, then you get two hours free. Otherwise, or if you want more time, it will cost $3.99 for two hours. If you are thinking that will really add up, it will. They are also offering a monthly membership for $19.95.
…or, you can come to Nemo’s and have free Wi-Fi service all the time, no matter how you pay, or even if you don’t buy anything! Who wants to pay $20 bucks a month on top of what you already pay for cable or DSL at home?
If you want to call $3.99 for two hours of internet service “aligning themselves with what consumers want” then they really should go and think about it some more. While they are thinking about that, they should try to think of where to get some decent coffee to serve, too!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Brochure posted, finally...
I know I mentioned this awhile back, but this is the first chance I have had to post web versions of the brochures I made. We had 5000 of them printed at www.gotprint.net and they are amazing! They came pre-folded and have a beautiful glossy appearance.
Here is one side(click to see a larger version):
...and the other(click to see a larger version):
I did a little more Photoshop work today for Jonah's birthday party invitations. He wanted Zelda images for his invitation. I found five or six hires versions online and then merged them into one image in Photoshop.
Here is the front (click to see a larger version):
If you have a child that likes Zelda, let me know and I'll send you a hires version of this... This is Nemo's related, because Jonah is going to have his party and sleep over at the shop. They will be playing Wii video games in the studio on a 12 foot wide big screen, followed by a movie. I will be setting up our 10 man tent in the studio for them to sleep in! It should be lots of fun.
We had a good week and we reached our breakeven sales for the week. Lets hope things keep going in the same direction.
Gotta run,
JD
Here is one side(click to see a larger version):
...and the other(click to see a larger version):
I did a little more Photoshop work today for Jonah's birthday party invitations. He wanted Zelda images for his invitation. I found five or six hires versions online and then merged them into one image in Photoshop.
Here is the front (click to see a larger version):
If you have a child that likes Zelda, let me know and I'll send you a hires version of this... This is Nemo's related, because Jonah is going to have his party and sleep over at the shop. They will be playing Wii video games in the studio on a 12 foot wide big screen, followed by a movie. I will be setting up our 10 man tent in the studio for them to sleep in! It should be lots of fun.
We had a good week and we reached our breakeven sales for the week. Lets hope things keep going in the same direction.
Gotta run,
JD
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Sales are coming back...
Yesterday we did over $600 and today we did $725...
I'm glad to see the trend continuing for sales to return to the levels we were at last Fall!
I'm glad to see the trend continuing for sales to return to the levels we were at last Fall!
Expectations vs. Reality
Way back in the summer of 2006, Tracy and I were putting together our business plan for Nemo’s Coffee. Tracy had been a manager for Starbucks, and as a result, had access to the budget and P&L information for all 14 Starbucks stores in her district. The store with the lowest sales was the Citadel Mall food court, which was doing about $8000 per week. The busiest stores were the drive through stores in town, which were doing $25,000+ per week. Knowing that we were a new startup with no brand name and no market recognition, we set our business plan to be operating at approximately 75% sales of the slowest Starbucks store in town after one year. That would put us at about $6000 per week. Those seemed like realistic expectations, considering our superior product quality, environment, and customer service.
Well, we are a little over 9 months into this and we are operating at a little over $3000 per week in sales. Now that is very encouraging, considering many startups do not perform so well so fast. But compared to our projections, we are way behind schedule. Welcome to reality! We thought we would not only be profitable by now, but that we would also be paying ourselves an income.
If you are thinking of starting a business, or are in the early stages of starting a business, I hope our numbers can help you set some initial projections. We thought it would be no problem whatsoever to get a stable 300 daily regulars in the first year, just by word of mouth. We are finding out that it is much more difficult than that.
Don’t look at this as complaints or us being discouraged, because we are not. We are thrilled with how things have gone, and the feedback we have received from other shop owners locally, and around the country, is that we are doing great. We are just looking forward to achieving $6000 in sales per week! Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!
We have not formally hired a bookkeeper or accountant yet. We have utilized an accountant to complete our quarterly reporting for Q2 and Q3, and I did our Q4 reporting. I also researched processing W-2 forms for our employees, and I was able to complete that task myself. I think I’m ready to send the white flag up the pole, though, and hire a bookkeeper and accountant. There are some bookkeeping tasks that still need to be completed for 2007 records before we can proceed with taxes. I’m ready to punt… I feel confident in my abilities to research these required tasks and get them done correctly, but I just don’t have the time. I have an allotment in our budget for professional services to cover accounting/lawyer needs, and I think it is time go in that direction.
The Photography Group is having a meeting at the shop/studio tonight. I will be providing coverage from 6:30pm until 9:00pm, and then I will go to Intel to complete my water testing. Today will be another long day…
We signed a contract with our realtor yesterday and the rental house is officially on the market. They have already put up their signs. I have gone over there twice to move my tools out of the house/garage and into the shop. I have approximately $30,000 in woodworking equipment and tools. I don’t have room for them at our residence, but I’m going to have to figure out something soon. I may have to put them in storage until I can get a shop built at our house. To have a 26 x 26 shop built by contractors would cost approx $45,000 to $50,000, based on estimates provided by the previous owners who had looked into it. I can build it myself for about $18,000. I’d rather wait and do it myself when I have more time. It is going to be weird to not have access to wood shop for awhile….
Gotta run,
Everybody take care.
JD
Well, we are a little over 9 months into this and we are operating at a little over $3000 per week in sales. Now that is very encouraging, considering many startups do not perform so well so fast. But compared to our projections, we are way behind schedule. Welcome to reality! We thought we would not only be profitable by now, but that we would also be paying ourselves an income.
If you are thinking of starting a business, or are in the early stages of starting a business, I hope our numbers can help you set some initial projections. We thought it would be no problem whatsoever to get a stable 300 daily regulars in the first year, just by word of mouth. We are finding out that it is much more difficult than that.
Don’t look at this as complaints or us being discouraged, because we are not. We are thrilled with how things have gone, and the feedback we have received from other shop owners locally, and around the country, is that we are doing great. We are just looking forward to achieving $6000 in sales per week! Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!
We have not formally hired a bookkeeper or accountant yet. We have utilized an accountant to complete our quarterly reporting for Q2 and Q3, and I did our Q4 reporting. I also researched processing W-2 forms for our employees, and I was able to complete that task myself. I think I’m ready to send the white flag up the pole, though, and hire a bookkeeper and accountant. There are some bookkeeping tasks that still need to be completed for 2007 records before we can proceed with taxes. I’m ready to punt… I feel confident in my abilities to research these required tasks and get them done correctly, but I just don’t have the time. I have an allotment in our budget for professional services to cover accounting/lawyer needs, and I think it is time go in that direction.
The Photography Group is having a meeting at the shop/studio tonight. I will be providing coverage from 6:30pm until 9:00pm, and then I will go to Intel to complete my water testing. Today will be another long day…
We signed a contract with our realtor yesterday and the rental house is officially on the market. They have already put up their signs. I have gone over there twice to move my tools out of the house/garage and into the shop. I have approximately $30,000 in woodworking equipment and tools. I don’t have room for them at our residence, but I’m going to have to figure out something soon. I may have to put them in storage until I can get a shop built at our house. To have a 26 x 26 shop built by contractors would cost approx $45,000 to $50,000, based on estimates provided by the previous owners who had looked into it. I can build it myself for about $18,000. I’d rather wait and do it myself when I have more time. It is going to be weird to not have access to wood shop for awhile….
Gotta run,
Everybody take care.
JD
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Customers do not like modified hours
One thing we have learned since we have been open is that customers do not like it when you modify your hours. We started staying open on Sunday mornings from 9:00am to 1:00pm about a month ago. We started building sales, and saw an increase in the number of customers from week to week. We had plans to go to Walking With Dinosaurs at the World Arena last Sunday. We closed the shop at 11:00am in order to get to the show on time. I have been here today for a little over two hours and we have had one customer. I noticed the same thing last summer when we modified our weekend hours to support a camping trip, or other family events we had going on. Anytime we modify our normal hours for any reason, business dies off for a few weeks. There are times that we can't avoid doing so right now, but it seems to hurt for a week or two...
I did a series of formal portraits yesterday for the staff of a local church. They are going to use the shots for their website. It felt good to take some photos, as I have not had time to do so lately. I have a meeting next Saturday to go over my wedding package plans and pricing with a couple. That wedding is scheduled for August. Once my Intel scope is complete, I will go back to actively marketing my photography. I don't think it will be difficult at all to add $2000 to $4000 per month in revenues through the spring and summer. Wedding season is coming! I just have to be patient for now, though. Guaranteed income is more important right now than 'potential' income from the studio. I know I can market the photography and grow that business, but I like getting two paychecks a week right now...
Gotta run...
JD
I did a series of formal portraits yesterday for the staff of a local church. They are going to use the shots for their website. It felt good to take some photos, as I have not had time to do so lately. I have a meeting next Saturday to go over my wedding package plans and pricing with a couple. That wedding is scheduled for August. Once my Intel scope is complete, I will go back to actively marketing my photography. I don't think it will be difficult at all to add $2000 to $4000 per month in revenues through the spring and summer. Wedding season is coming! I just have to be patient for now, though. Guaranteed income is more important right now than 'potential' income from the studio. I know I can market the photography and grow that business, but I like getting two paychecks a week right now...
Gotta run...
JD
The Rental House
OK, I made several posts last fall about one of our rental houses, and our desire to sell one of them. I made some significant progress on remodel work, but then stalled out when the shop sales grew significantly. I ended up spending more time here at Nemo's helping than I was spending at the rental house getting it finished. When I went back to work at Intel, I had even less time to spend at the rental house. When I went to work at Ft Carson, and Intel at night, I effectively had no time for the rental house. It has been sitting in the same state I left it in around November 2007. This is not a good thing for our personal finances! Starting a new business is difficult enough without an added drain on your finances. It costs about $1000 a month for the mortgage and escrow payment and to pay all of the utilities. I have thought about hiring a contractor to finish the projects I started and then sell it, but I wanted to get advice from an industry professional first. I met with a realtor yesterday, and her advice is to offer it for sale as is, at a reduced price. I have already purchased the materials for the remodel work and they are on site. We just need to find someone willing to buy into some sweat equity (reduced cost for the house and they finish the work). Our realtor believes that will not be difficult to accomplish, and we will still be able to walk away with some of our equity. To be honest, I am willing to sell it at a break-even discount, just to get rid of the payments!
Another option I considered was to hire someone to finish the biggest priority projects, and then rent it out again. I have had a number of people contact me over the last six months wanting to rent it. We have found that two bedroom properties make the best rental units. You tend to get singles or no-kid couples into a small place. This home is 2000 sq ft, four bedrooms, two baths, with 3 car garages, and a large yard. A home this big attracts families with kids, or immigrants who want to sign a lease with several people, and then they have 20-30 additional 'cousins' move in over the next month or so (sounds silly, but I am being serious... it really does happen). The families with kids tend to do a great deal of damage to houses. The carpet absolutely gets destroyed, and everything ends up very dirty. We have little holes everywhere from bb guns being shot inside. All of the glass globes for the light fixtures are broken and gone. The landscaping was let go and weeds took over everywhere. The fence is all broken and damaged. I could go on and on, but these are the reasons we no longer want large rental houses. We'll stick with the little two bedroom ones instead, thank you.
So anyway, we are going to try to sell this thing as is. We have enough equity in it to make it attractive to investors, and still walk away with some cash. I hate to give that equity to someone else with more time than I have, but it is the easiest solution for this problem. Let's hope it sells quickly...
Speaking of financial matters, this business startup forced us to be more frugal about things than we had ever been. We have plenty of surplus income right now with me working two jobs, but I have learned a few things from the last year.
First lesson in frugality: Children, especially boys, are hard on pants. Cheap brand pants don't last, but name brands like Levi's, Wrangler, Gap, Gymboree, Dockers, etc do fine. The problem is, name brand pants cost $30+ per pair, and are still in the $20's when on sale. I have found that Goodwill stores have name brand pants, in nearly new condition, for $3.99. And, if you go on the right day, the colored tags may be 50% off, making name brand pants $1.50 to $2.00. I still have a military ID, and with that discount, I hauled away a treasure trove yesterday for less than $14. I got Levi's carpenter style jeans for Josh and Ethan, a pair of Lee Jeans in 8 Slim for Jonah, a pair of Gap school uniform khakis for Jonah, a Docker's white button down dress shirt for Jonah, a pair of Gap carpenter khakis for me, and a pair of US Polo Assn jeans for Ethan all for less than $14. All are in perfect condition, with no stains or wear. I think that is a great deal...
One word of advice for parents out there... If your kids want to rent a really stupid movie and they ask you to watch it with them, do so without making any comments about it being stupid! Some of my favorite movies of all time are shows we have watched with the kids. A Bug's Life, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc are all just plain fantastic movies, regardless of your age. On the other hand, the new movie that came out called Game Plan is geared towards kids, but it is really lame. Tracy and I made a couple of comments to each other about how cheesy and stupid it was, and we then realized that it really hurt the kids' feelings. They were enjoying the movie, and our comments didn't sit well... If you are watching a show with your kids, just have fun with them and if you hate the movie, just laugh when the kids laugh and enjoy hanging out with them. There will come a time when they are too busy with their friends to hang out with us and watch a movie... We should enjoy this time with them and not ruin the experience by commenting on the movie, no matter how lame it might be!
I just did a spell check on this post in Word, and it told me that it is written at the 8th grade reading level. If you read at less than the 8th grade level, go get your Mom to help you out.
Gotta do payroll now...
Take care,
JD
Another option I considered was to hire someone to finish the biggest priority projects, and then rent it out again. I have had a number of people contact me over the last six months wanting to rent it. We have found that two bedroom properties make the best rental units. You tend to get singles or no-kid couples into a small place. This home is 2000 sq ft, four bedrooms, two baths, with 3 car garages, and a large yard. A home this big attracts families with kids, or immigrants who want to sign a lease with several people, and then they have 20-30 additional 'cousins' move in over the next month or so (sounds silly, but I am being serious... it really does happen). The families with kids tend to do a great deal of damage to houses. The carpet absolutely gets destroyed, and everything ends up very dirty. We have little holes everywhere from bb guns being shot inside. All of the glass globes for the light fixtures are broken and gone. The landscaping was let go and weeds took over everywhere. The fence is all broken and damaged. I could go on and on, but these are the reasons we no longer want large rental houses. We'll stick with the little two bedroom ones instead, thank you.
So anyway, we are going to try to sell this thing as is. We have enough equity in it to make it attractive to investors, and still walk away with some cash. I hate to give that equity to someone else with more time than I have, but it is the easiest solution for this problem. Let's hope it sells quickly...
Speaking of financial matters, this business startup forced us to be more frugal about things than we had ever been. We have plenty of surplus income right now with me working two jobs, but I have learned a few things from the last year.
First lesson in frugality: Children, especially boys, are hard on pants. Cheap brand pants don't last, but name brands like Levi's, Wrangler, Gap, Gymboree, Dockers, etc do fine. The problem is, name brand pants cost $30+ per pair, and are still in the $20's when on sale. I have found that Goodwill stores have name brand pants, in nearly new condition, for $3.99. And, if you go on the right day, the colored tags may be 50% off, making name brand pants $1.50 to $2.00. I still have a military ID, and with that discount, I hauled away a treasure trove yesterday for less than $14. I got Levi's carpenter style jeans for Josh and Ethan, a pair of Lee Jeans in 8 Slim for Jonah, a pair of Gap school uniform khakis for Jonah, a Docker's white button down dress shirt for Jonah, a pair of Gap carpenter khakis for me, and a pair of US Polo Assn jeans for Ethan all for less than $14. All are in perfect condition, with no stains or wear. I think that is a great deal...
One word of advice for parents out there... If your kids want to rent a really stupid movie and they ask you to watch it with them, do so without making any comments about it being stupid! Some of my favorite movies of all time are shows we have watched with the kids. A Bug's Life, Toy Story, and Monsters Inc are all just plain fantastic movies, regardless of your age. On the other hand, the new movie that came out called Game Plan is geared towards kids, but it is really lame. Tracy and I made a couple of comments to each other about how cheesy and stupid it was, and we then realized that it really hurt the kids' feelings. They were enjoying the movie, and our comments didn't sit well... If you are watching a show with your kids, just have fun with them and if you hate the movie, just laugh when the kids laugh and enjoy hanging out with them. There will come a time when they are too busy with their friends to hang out with us and watch a movie... We should enjoy this time with them and not ruin the experience by commenting on the movie, no matter how lame it might be!
I just did a spell check on this post in Word, and it told me that it is written at the 8th grade reading level. If you read at less than the 8th grade level, go get your Mom to help you out.
Gotta do payroll now...
Take care,
JD
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