Running around like a maniac, seriously. If I didn’t have data on my mobile to chat and check email I would be so screwed, at least my business would be, so I am fortunate to have “bitten the bullet” and gotten an unlimited data plan a couple weeks ago.
Being that its Friday, and I’m stuck sitting on a PATH train to World Trade Center, I would blog + reflect on this week and think of how to learn from it….
a) It started end of middle of last week, with the delivery of bar products goods from upstate NY down to NJ at my friends’ garage. Turned out the number of pallets weren’t 5, but actually 8 pallets…..miscommunication between the upstate NY warehouse and customer service….so he couldn’t fit them all there…and rejected them. This happened to be while I was in florida…and booked an earlier flight on Wednesday to take care of it. Ended up renting a storage unit on 2nd st and 2nd ave for more than I was budgeting, and begging people to help me receive it last Friday.
b) Fulfilling all the backorders, as it was in transit for a couple weeks, we were still collecting orders to ship, and there was a decent backlog to ship….I had to get boxes, tape, and haul it all to a post office to ship on Saturday
c) Trip to Connecticut – Andrew was driving me up to Connecticut Saturday afternoon, so after scrambling all morning to ship out the backorders, I raced uptown to the queensborough bridge to meet Andrew and catch a ride up to Connecticut.
d) Partied up in the woods of Willimantic, sleeping a few hours on a couch, and then exploring in the woods, I went back Sunday night to the “city” of New Britain, CT to crash at Andrew’s. Monday I met up with merchant solutions in Springfield, Massachusetts and spent the day on-site about web marketing and credit card processing deals.
e) Call center staff thought Columbus day was a holiday for them – there was a miscommunication on Monday at the call center in Philippines about working or not, and NO ONE showed up at the office….leaving calls and emails flying around unattended.
f) Bus ride back from Hartford to NYC – yes, this was a nightmare bus I blogged about, you can read all about It from a post a couple days ago.
g) Mobile Expo – after only a couple hours sleep at Josh’s place I raced to the Mobile cross media conference to learn about the evolving and growing mobile internet space as well as network with people there.
h) Speaking at Stevens in Hoboken, NJ – Carl Pavarini invited me to speak for a bit at his class on Thursday, and then I had to race to a sales meeting in Sky Bar in Times square NYC, then to hustle to an art gallery opening event in the east village, to then go back to Hoboken that night.
i) Today met again with Stevens admins about web marketing and opportunities, also been exploring the idea of speaking more often at the university. Then hustled back to New York, Wall Street to meet some contacts who wanted to buy from China or Asia for a new business startup and sell in their home country of Columbia – I used to work with them – Richard Munoz. On the train to that now, and then going to the mini storage to ship some orders (I have a part time guy, Josh from the bronx, helping me out, but today he can’t make it, so I gotta get over there) also some tax returns my NJ accountant, Joe Rosenberg, has overnighted to me there, I have to sign and postmark today. (follow up, its 10pm now and I am just back from the 24 hour post office on 34th street Penn station new york, made it just in time).
So yea, that’s about how my week has been…..in a short summary. Hoping things can get smoother now….I am basically screaming to people all over the world I NEED MORE HELP! And I think I have some good friends / contacts / relationships and I am learning who is going to be there when I most need it. Also I guess its adapting to my being in USA, business evolving, the warehouse blowup, and my trying to be “mobile” all the time rarely in front of a laptop…..and changing locations and places I sleep almost every day.
Guess I love the hustle, but this is un-sustainable. Even for me….”superman”, I am about to crash! Hope to have a relaxing weekend.
While I may think this was one of the craziest weeks for me, I also have to remember that it will only get crazier if I want to build my own business. A couple years ago I thought it was difficult, and I have to remember it will keep getting harder, not easier! The path is not clear, and no one knows the answers until its too obvious (ie too late) so I have to keep on trailblazing.