At one time I had promised to talk about the business. I want to talk about life behind NRGS. I have a little – not as much as I wanted. I hit a big goal this week. Unexpectedly.
I wish this were all GIS. It’s not. If I divide up my 40 hour week it ends up being about 10 hours marketing, 10 hours book-keeping, and 40 hours of work. Yes. You read that correctly. I am now forcing myself to spend 24 hours away from GIS. Away from the business. Away from work and into whatever life I decide to have for that brief period. If you get a piece of me for that 24 hours – well – you should be happy…or not. It’s a sobering thing in some ways – I have 24 hours. What do I do? I don’t want to waste it. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. Anyway….sorry – rambling again.
When you start a business there’s this pesky problem of funding. Mine took two forms: a loan and a credit card. Most businesses fail because of lack of funding. It was a problem starting out. It was a dance of how to not go in debt, go in debt, pay the debt, and get the business to a better spot. I went on a bit of a spending spree when the business started. I felt like I had to in some ways…in other ways I didn’t want to. So I applied and got a credit card seeing this as being the best way to build up a credit rating of some sort. It got out of hand quickly. Not that I was buying frivolous things – to quote a bumper sticker “Sh*t Happens”. Travel. Equipment. The Unexpected. I quickly hit the credit limit and almost stopped using the card. I carried it with me anyway just in case. I used it sparingly. In the middle of not using it we had this lovely financial meltdown in the economy. Suddenly the CC company became very strict. I made a late payment and they froze my account. I had to call, get scolded, and make a payment over the phone. I made another late payment two months ago and they froze my ability to pay online.
Attach this to some thoughts I was having last year with regards of continuing this venture or not and I made some decisions. I’ve worked hard to have a more prosperous 2011. I could say it was have a more prosperous year or else. It has been more prosperous. I have made more money. I have more clients. There have been costs. People have commented on my work habits as being out of control. People have complained about the “way I’ve been”. I have had people turn away shaking their heads. I’ve been more stressed and made some poor choices. I’ve been more honest with people and that has been good and bad.
So I found myself looking at my Credit Card Bill this week. I pulled out the checkbook and paid it off. It didn’t hit me until I walked to the post office with the letter and mailed it. No more Credit Card bill. With that one act I’m closer to being what I would describe as normal. As I still stressed? Yes. Am I still busy? Yes. Will I be switching credit card companies? Yes. No Credit Card payment though. That is weird.
I did it though – one thing down. Three more to go.