How I know I'm doing the right thing

Any new entrepreneur goes through frequent highs and lows. Doubts are part of the process. But today is one of the NO-DOUBT days.

At the lunch meeting on that two-networking-event-day a couple of weeks ago, I met Eden, an actress, acting coach and workshop leader. She's a creative person, very intelligent, and very talented, but she does not have a great deal of experience with computers. She was not feeling particularly confident about using her computer to manage the administration of her business, so she asked me to help her migrate her business from a paper-based system to electronic files.

We spent a couple of hours together this morning creating a customized system so Eden can stay in touch with her students, track their workshop activities and homework, and manage her books.

In the first hour, we built her contact database - very simply, in Excel, so it would be useful on its own, or as a data repository to be used in concert with Word for merged letters, or in concert with Outlook for email correspondence.

In the second hour, we built the accounting workbook, again in Excel. In the first worksheet, we created a list of standard accounts as suggested by SimplyAccounting for a business like Eden's (exported directly, and then customized for Eden). Then we created one Worksheet to track her expenses and another to track her revenues. We labeled each of the worksheets and formatted the cells, and then explored the various functions like hiding columns, freezing panes, summing, sorting, and filtering.

By the time I left, Eden had not only a workable accounting system and contacts database, but also a very good understanding of a handful of Excel's best features and exactly how they benefited her in managing her business.

Eden thanked me, wrote me a cheque, and sent me on my way. But as I closed the door and turned to walk down the hall, I could hear her squealing with delight. (I'm pretty sure she said "YIPPEE!" Too cute! But I was saying exactly the same thing - in my head!)

The thanks was nice and the cheque was really nice, but that squeal will stay with me forever!

Hey! I didn't sign on to become a collection agent!

It's becoming clear that I'm going to have to change my business model. I've been invoicing my clients, and then monitoring the mailbox. And checking the mailbox. And checking the mailbox. And sending reminders. And re-reminders... And now I have to make collection calls?!?!

Today, I have less than a dollar in my wallet, and sitting out there somewhere is about $1500 in receivables that are overdue by 2 and 3 months, from clients who have the money - I know, because I've been doing their books!

The only client who's paid me this month is the lady who opened the doors to her business two weeks ago. Here's a plug for Sam, proprietor of Cabbages and Kings, children's consignment and other interesting goodies - art, jewellery, handmade toys and furniture - on Dunbar at 17th. Great lady, Great stuff, Great store.

(Update Dec 14: I finally picked up a cheque from another client today. Whew! What a relief!)

After a Two-Networking-Event Day

Networking is, for O2S2, a very important aspect of marketing. Virtual Assistance is a highly personal business, and face-to-face chemistry is key even for a virtual working relationship.

For me, however, networking is quite difficult. I'm a deeply shy person. Over the years, I have developed a certain skill level in meeting new people, but I still haven't managed to develop any level of comfort.

Another challenge is the fact that so many of these networking events are scheduled very early in the day so business people can participate without taking too large a chunk out of their business hours. I'm not very good at mornings. Once I'm up and have some coffee in me, I'm mostly functional, but the humour has some cobwebby stuff it needs to shake off and, truth be told, I'm probably not looking all that spiffy.

Today was a two network event day. The first was a Bitron Rewards early breakfast meeting at the Sylvia Hotel. The second was a BNI lunch meeting at The Rugby Club. Two great organizations, two great venues.

That infernal alarm went off at 6:00 but I didn't even hear it until 6:17, and I was supposed to be on the road by 6:45, for a 7:00 meeting. (Or that's what I thought.) Okay - up, into the shower, into some clothes, slap on some makeup, and fly out the door. The clothes matched. The shoes matched. The purse didn't. The makeup was mostly in the right places. I got a great parking spot.

As it turns out, I was the first to arrive and so I sat all by myself for 20 minutes enjoying daybreak over English Bay. 20 minutes. That would have given me time to finish that dream, whatever it was... On the other hand, English Bay was navy blue at 7:05 this morning. Navy Blue. My very favorite colour.

And I met several new, very interesting people, and reconnected with several old contacts, and resurrected an opportunity that's been hanging out there for a few months now. Maybe one day it'll actually blossom into a healthy sized contract.

Next was the lunch meeting. Got there on time, found a bunch of people I'd already met, and a bunch of others who have something or other that I may need. It was nice to see some who were already O2S2 customers and another who is planning to become an O2S2 customer, and a handful of others who really needed to know about O2S2. And wasn't it nice when some of my current customers recommended me to some of the prospects, right there and then. Cool. I love this networking stuff. And besides, lunch was great.

But now I'm too pooped to pop.

Tomorrow is going to be a quiet morning in my home office. No makeup. My outfit probably won't match, and shoes won't get anywhere near my feet. I'll be on the phone, working on building my business, building my relationships with all these new people, and getting their work done.

Yee haw... yawn.

Well, so far, the BP's successful

I'm very proud to announce that my anguish-causing, months-in-the-works opus, the O2S2 Business Plan, was accepted with high praise by its reviewers. I can pat myself on the back, and hold it up and admire it.

Or I can make it work. Because a plan is just a plan. It's not success yet.

In fact, the Actual sales figure for Month 1 was a dismal disappointment when compared to the ambitious O2S2 Plan. All that really means is that the plan was unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky, and now it's time to start making adjustments. Actually, O2S2 had a great month, despite a ton of external issues. I found some new business and made some new friends (Hi, FINCAD; Hi, Karona; Hi, Sam!), reconnected with some old friends and past clients (Hi, Rondi; Hi, Grace; Hi, Hans!)

So, this is a buckle down and make it happen month for O2S2. I want to make the plan a reality.

What Gets In The Way of Big Business, or Small...

Mom's hip replacement surgery was a week ago last Thursday, preceded by a day's review appointments on Wednesday, so she and Dad arrived at Tsawwassen for me to fetch on the 22nd. (Gawd - that's two weeks ago!) From that point until Sunday at 3:00, my life was all about them. They needed my help, so they got it, but whoa, this has been a huge two weeks. For all of us, I suppose. The surgery went well, I'm happy to report. Unfortunately, the rest didn't go so well.

Last week on Thursday afternoon, the transfer ambulance that was supposed to take Mom and Dad home to their mountain eyrie on Salt Spring Island picked them up 5 hours late, while I sat (literally cooling my heels, and assorted other bits) waiting to meet them in Lane 35 at the ferry terminal.

By the time we got to Salt Spring Island all the slush that had melted during the course of the day had refrozen and become black ice for the entire winding road - on which I had to keep up with that speed-demon ambulance driver - all the way into the lovely town of Ganges, which we shouldn't have reached, as the aforesaid mountain eyrie is about a mile BEFORE the lovely town of Ganges. It turned out the ambulance could manage the winding road of black ice, but couldn't make it up the hill, so they tried to deliver Mom to the local hospital. Surprise! And another surprise - there was no room there. They'd already populated all the beds in the wards as well as in the Emergency Room.

So we all slid and slud all the way back through the lovely town of Ganges to the not-exactly-home, but mercifully convenient and well-equipped (they actually had a toilet seat riser - mandatory for hip-replacement patients) Seabreeze Inne. [The Seabreeze Inne is a nice, moderately priced roadside inn with very kind and helpful staff, and I am happy to recommend the Seabreeze anytime to anyone.]

The next day, the chains I ordered in the morning were in fact there for me to pick up at 2:30, and so, even with my new manicure, I (picture it!) installed chains on my car all by myself, and drove on up the hill to suss out the situation while my parents visited with the friendly village GP. When I got to the top, I found the snowplow had plowed snow into a 4 foot ridge in front of my Dad's driveway, and then two trees - one on each side! - had dropped massive branches into that same 4 foot ridge. And the concierge, who had promised to arrange for a couple of high school brutes to clear all this snow by 3:00, had apparently forgotten her promise.

So, wearing my favorite little ankle boots and kid leather gloves, I (picture it!) shoveled an opening through the snowplow's generous, and very dirty, deposit - just wide enough for my now chain-equipped Golf to scrape, literally, between the fallen tree branches, and then I shoveled a path just wide enough for my Mom to toddle the twenty feet, with her walker, from the car to the front door of the house. But toddle she did, and so did Dad, and now they're home, happy, and back to their life.

And now I'm so stiff I can barely raise my arms, and my back, my stomach, and my butt are still sore. What do the stomach and butt have to do with shoveling? I ask you! But I’m home, happy, and back to my life.