Hey, this is my personal blog, and it seems people here like reading about the real life story of my experiences….so here goes…hope it doesnt seem too much like complaining…
Obviously being a small business owner, boot strapped and always under cash flow pressure – I am faced with daily pressure to deliver. Guess overall I like the pressure, even though I maybe lose my temper and show my emotions. It gets my blood “boiling”, and is much more exciting then sitting behind a corporate desk collecting salary.
But seems too many changes, too much short term pressure….writing it down helps me out:
1) Many customers pushing – with Chinese New Years approaching, everyone wants to get their projects fixed . Need to get things under control, keep people happy, and not go insane in the meantime….
2) Newyorkbarstore transition – still so many issues there….dissolution of NJ company, asset and liability transfers, bank loan refinancing, training people for customer service, IT rebuilds, banking / merchant accounts re-applying. Supply chain re-organization….
3) UK newyorkbarstore collapse – seems the bank, credit card, and paypal are frozen – claims from warehouse, ebay negatives piling up. Just overextended too rapidly into UK / Europe market, and with the financial crisis, buyers slowed and bills didnt….
4) China address change, phone number transfer – moving out of Hai Wang, Tiley will be the corporate address. Have to move apartments, shifting things, things breaking in the move…phone can’t be transferred, people calling saying the number doesn’t work, etc etc…aiya.
5) Closing 98products (China bar products), Huizhou warehouse ending – seems its not as bad as UK, but I learned I sell best in the US market….so I’m closing the warehouse in Huizhou factory and shipping all the goods to California, USA warehouse for US market sales
6) Warehouse changes – More supply chain issues as per the above….but customs clearance, new contracts, splitting shipments, trucking, logistics,
7) Employee disputes – as part of the reorganization, I’m moving to have more freelancer and part time workers. Have some in USA, some in China, Singapore, Philippines, Europe. So sadly, while there are new faces, some old faces have to leave. some handle it differently then others, some are threatening to sue me, take me to the labor bureau, report me for tax evasion, blah blah. Lets see…..
8) Business partner / Alliances changing – similar to #7 above, I am cooperating with new people, and discontinuing with others….of course, I am still emotional, mix business and personal friends, and it just hurts me. I am learning better to separate business and friends – but its a learning curve and a process
But just writing it down has helped me feel a bit better…….
Comments
hey dude,
had to catch up on a few posts. Its good you are organized and not afraid to change. It seems you are not afraid to pull the trigger, to make changes. That is good and it takes balls. keep goin mike. really enjoyed the posts.
Piotr
PS I always assumed the shampoo and conditioner and soap are given to the customer. its not like they reuse them.
Id guess towels would be the most stolen things, I laughed when i saw batteries out of the TV remote. i wonder if people take the remote, the phone or even the TV
seems I need to plan it better though….going with my gut too much.
the hard part is….you don’t have all the pieces of the puzzle in front of you, they come out as you go along….
thats what makes it so tricky.