1.03.2008

snags.bumps.kinks

The business world is rough. We have officially come up against some challenges in our path, but we are not giving up. What's a little bump in the road? The past week has been one "adventure" after another, with requests from officials - only to be changed last minute - and new requests made with little time to spare. Justin has missed 2 days of class to run all over town fulfilling his duties to successfully launch this business and meet requirements. Today he spent 7 hours walking all over the downtown area (almost got frostbite!) to find a new location.

There are lots of requirements (that tend to change often) regarding the location, the investment amount, name of the business, size of our company, etc. We are often having to scurry around in attempts to adjust our plans to clear each hurdle. Keeping on schedule with this will save us time & money, so we are pressing on.

Justin put together a nifty Business Plan, and even created his own Break Even Analysis. Finally - his high school algebra skills being put to use!! He's been crunching numbers, looking at every angle to see how it would work in each circumstance. We have so many options, but the most critical factor is that we FIRST get approved by the Officials.

We are realizing (again) that many of the things that might seem simple or straight-forward, can be 100 times more complicated or labor-intensive, because the system is so different. There is a definite learning-curve, and a go-with-the-flow mentality that is quite challenging to maintain. Everything requires such patience and perseverance. The entire system is not so friendly to new start-ups, especially foreign ones. If anything, this has given us greater resolve to stand strong in our convictions and find ways to display character. We are excited to see what will come.

If only they would TRY our ice cream, I think we'd have instant fans...and approval.