Week 8 of Unemployment - Starting a Business

This week has been crazy. A bit of a roller coaster of feelings about the business. 

The week started strong getting a lot done and almost ready to make the first order with the manufacturer. Then I ran into some road blocks when it came to shipping options. Should everything be included or should I charge for shipping? What would my customers expect and be happy with? This began to make me feel like I might give up a lot of my margin to cover this cost. I had never purchased supplements online so I was unaware how consumers felt about it. I signed up for a shipping club FLAGSHIP where bulk discounts are passed on to the small business through group purchasing. This could end up saving me a lot.

I had a great talk with my wife, which helped to get me back on track. I had mentioned this before and I will say it again having a support group or person to speak with when making changes in your routine is important because you will always have second thoughts and wonder if you are making the right choice. Always think back to the purpose of the change and why you are doing what you are doing. This will help to get your head straight as it can get cloudy along the long journey.

Through out the week I took some time to develop the label for the products. The manufacturer does offer a template and for $50 per product I could use and have aligned with the colours of my logo and company. At first I thought this was a great option but I soon realized I would be happier designing my own and utilizing my own skills with creative suite yet again. Who would have thought these skills would come in so handy.

So it looks like things are still moving forward and I have requested some samples from the manufacturer. Nothing like making the big purchase and realizing the product which I spent so long developing doesn't taste good.

Next week I will be going hard at the business plan, which I received a 2 week extension on. I didn't want to rush the completion to meet the initial deadline and potentially miss out on funding. 

Until next week!

Unemployment Week 7 - Starting a Business

Well week 7 has come and gone, where did the time go?

I have been really busy this week getting the business plan packed full of all the little details one does require. It has been nice to do market research and see the documented results which show my original assumptions were correct. Market research should be done at the get go but I Was content speaking with a group of friends about their needs and wants and realizing there was potential. I guess this is the very bare minimum of primary research but I will say it counts.

My business plan is due for review with the board where I may get a grant by the end of next week. I have been thinking about getting an extension (which is allowed) as I want to be sure I can edit and review the document more than once. If this could potentially get me grant money it needs to be perfect or at least close. This whole process does feel like being in school again. Writing the business plan and then submitting it for a grade. The major difference is once I get the grade I dont get a chance to make corrections and resubmit it. Ahhh the pressure!!

I have still been working with the manufacturers to be sure that I am getting what I want and not what they want to give me. The trouble I was having last week was cleared up as my account manager was sick and away from the office. An out of office notice would have been great and would have made my life easier. So the business remains in Canada completely for now.

Well its pretty much winter here as it was snowing when I woke up this morning so I will keep it short as I have to go and change my tires.

Thanks and take care.

Unemployment Week 6 - Business Start Up

I cant believe it has been 6 whole weeks since I worked a traditional day in the office. It really feels like it was yesterday when I was laid off. Taking a moment to look back, I have accomplished quite a bit with my start up and having the time to do what I want and when I want has been great. I know that if I neglect the business during the day while I am utilizing the daylight to its fullest, I can always make it up in the evening.

As I mentioned last week, this week had to be a big week for me as I was sick. I did not let myself down. I got up showered and got to work each day like I wanted. I got a huge chunk of the business plan done, that doesn't mean there isn't still a lot to go. I set up many social media profiles which is a daunting task when it is all at once. This was taken for granted as setting up all my personal accounts was completed gradually as I needed or wanted them. I also got the webpage nearly ready to launch. This was a lot of work and brought me back to my programming days in high school and college. Sure the template looks good stand alone on Shopify.com but adding my own touch made me much happier with the outcome. At the end of the day I have an official webpage with a .com that reflects the business, www.empowersupplements.com. The site isn't live yet but keep that address for your records.

A major issue that I have continued to run into throughout the past few weeks and this past week especially was getting a response from the manufacturers. I wanted to stay as Canadian as possible but for some reason the Canadian manufacturers don't want to return my calls and emails. On the other hand I have spoken with a great team just south of the border and they are more than willing to take my business so we will see where that goes over the next week.

I have had a few people ask me about the process of starting a business and what it took to get going. Well getting laid off was a huge push but I had always wanted to start something and be my own boss. If you are at this stage you owe it to yourself to at least take some time away from work, TV, social media or any other distraction you might have to really think about the possibilities. Do you know something that people want and have trouble getting or a service that you can provide that they are looking for? I mentioned previously make a list of what you love or like to do and then have a long hard look at it. Is there something on that list that someone would pay you for? If you don't know ask your friends and colleagues around you, chances are if you want something or are interested in something you are not alone. I heard once that only 20% of the people in the world have ever had an original thought. That blows my mind and I guess it has blown other peoples minds before me too.

Anyway that's what is going on with me this week. I will hope to have some good news on the manufacturing front next week and maybe I can get the business plan inches from being complete.

Until next week,
Brian

Unemployment Week 5 - Starting a Business

After setting up the official email for the company it really begins to feel real as suppliers and manufacturers email me at that address. This week I have been working with several manufacturers some for the supplement products and some for bottles I will be getting shipped from China. I never knew it would be so complicated to get  shipment from China. There are so many acronyms associated with shipping it has been interesting learning what everything means. I have learned that DDU means the shipper is responsible for the products until it reaches the destination port. So if you are ever worried about the product not arriving or these days pirates can be a concern, look for DDU terms or Delivered Duty Unpaid.

It has been a busy week and I was sick to boot. This made focusing on the business plan very difficult. I am nearly over the cold now so this week coming will be another busy week as I need to make up for the lack of focus. I put a lot of pressure on myself due to the lack of output this week but I need to realize that I cant control the fact that I was sick and I should have spent more time resting and been a little easier on myself.

This week coming I am really going to get down to business and get the website very close to launching and get as much of the business plan done as I can. I feel like the week of being sick has slowed the forward momentum I had going for me after last weeks post and I need to get that back.

I have found that the more I get up as usual and shower and shave like I would when I was working before I get a little boost. I guess it kinda tricks your mind into thinking alright time to get to work. If I just lounge on the couch I find I get bored easily and I lack the required focus.

Thanks for reading.

Fourth Week of Unemployment - A Business Start-up

Four Weeks, wow where has the time gone. The nice summer weather we were having a few weeks back is long gone and fall is truly here. For some reason this places more pressure on me to get this business going already. The temperature is colder so I have more time spent inside in front of the computer.  I am realizing that I need to get out of the house and take breaks here and there as to not get cabin fever. Make sure you plan to get out as well.

This week started slowly as I was still waiting on the business license to be processed. I couldn't really do forecasts as the manufacturers wouldn't allow me to even see the pricing of the products without a business number and a GST/HST number. This is not always the case, some manufacturers don't require this, it really depends on your industry. So do some research and talk to the manufactures to figure out what you do and don't need to gain access to the information you require.

While I was waiting on the license, I thought I would tackle the major issue that I had found in the second week, which was funding. I know I had mentioned that I was working with crowdfunding which is still on the back burner but I couldn't really complete the campaign without having product shots or pricing, all of which I needed to the business license for. I applied for a grant for starting a small business. This process was easy at first, by simply letting them know what you want to do and how much money you need. I thought sure, what's to lose? I was approved to move to the next stage which is of course much more applied. I have to write an in depth business plan outlining the start-up through all the fine details. I have written them before in school so I wasn't intimidated but when I saw the template was 45 pages in length I figured I better get to it and eliminate procrastination. I have been given a date of Nov. 10th to submit the plan to the board for review. A month seems like a decent amount of time but I won't discount the amount of hard work that will have to go into this. I also spent some time this week playing with the logo and beginning the design of my business cards. Thankfully I took some design classes in college so I can save some money here. Unlimited revisions included and it only costs me time.

So I got the business license yesterday and it was pretty exciting.

I have a registered business! 

I think it's something to celebrate because it's really a step in the right direction. I printed it right away so I could hold the official document in my hand. I felt empowered.

At this point as I mentioned previously I can share with you what my business is. I am sure some of my sharp friends on social media have guessed it already, I am building a supplement company. I know from personal experience that it's difficult to decide what to take and what's really necessary when starting to supplement. I will sell a premium product, not disguised by a gimmicky logo and a flexing bodybuilder in the background. The products will be tried and true and a product you can trust. That's all I will say for now, rest assured more info will come and maybe I'll include a special offer for those of you who have followed me along this journey.

That's all for this week, happy Thanksgiving weekend to those reading from Canada.

Brian

Starting a Business - 3rd Week of Unemployment

This week has been tough. Everything had been going pretty smoothly up until this week, with the exception of the rotating excitement, anxiety and uncertainty which I explained in previous posts. This week I hit some road bumps and they of course happened all at once.

First was a message from a manufacturer which told me the initial purchase to get the ball rolling was a huge capital investment of $50,000+ which was to be paid upfront. This was a shock but it wasn't the end of the world, I began to look for ways to solve this problem. Crowdfunding is a great resource and very easy to develop a campaign. Building this will also help you to develop content that you will need for your website later on.

Second was the manufacturer telling me that the industry was very strict and I required a license for each product in my product line. I don't know how I missed this with all of my initial research. This process is quite extensive and it was not easy finding all the proper forms required to begin the licensing. Maybe this is an opportunity for someone else out there to organize all the government documents and forms for easy access.

Third bump was when I reached out to the manufacturer once more and I was then told that they were over capacity and could not take on anymore private label business. They suggested I try the trade business they offer and sell their products instead. I thought for a while and had decided this might be the best option considering the hoops I was going to have to jump through to move forward any other way.

I thought about this for a while, trying to rework my expectations to see if I could still end up at the same place down the road. I had heard from a mentor of mine, a professor from college and I think that writing to him about the issues helped me to organize them and make things seem clearer. This was aided by a talk with my wife where she reinforced "If it were easy everyone would do it." This got me back on track and I am going to stick it out through the licensing process and sell my own product rather than someone else's

Keep this in mind. If it was easy everyone would do it and The path to success isn't straight and clear of bumps and detours. You need to take some time to talk with your support system whether it is a mentor, a girlfriend or wife, or a close friend or family member. These people will look out for your best interest and sometimes give you some tough love at just the right time. Stay true to yourself and don't make sacrifices for happiness and achieving your goals.

It is 8:30pm and I just finished doing another nearly 4 hours of work for my new business. It really goes back to the comment I made back in the first week, the time is getting put in, it just happens to be different each day including weekends. Tonight my wife is out for the night and I am home hanging out with my dog and working away. I have some music playing in the background and the TV is off. I always knew watching TV was a waste of time.

It has been fun joking with my friends after a late hockey game ending at 11:15pm before hitting the showers. They would say it is past their bedtime and needed to rush home as they have a long day of work ahead of them and they don't want to get up so early. I always say "I don't wanna wake up so early either" To which I get a response of "Shut up" or "We get it, you're funemployed" What they don't see is that I am up around 8am most days and getting to work. I do eat breakfast without rushing and I take the dog for a walk before I open my computer but then it is down to business. This week I have put in more hours than the average fully employed person, putting in 12+ hours on more than one occasion. As I mentioned before it just doesn't feel like work when it is for yourself. I get to spend everyday working on MY goals and that is amazing. I spend less time in front of the TV or on Facebook and it feels great.

The best part so far is I'm enjoying it. I don't hate my life when I step into my office which has been my living room or lately my back deck. So many jobs that people have these days could be done at home. Not only saving time and money but increasing the enjoyment level in peoples lives. I know if I was doing data entry all day in an office (and I have) I would hate it. More people should push to work jobs like this from home. Spend some time with your wife, kids or family pet rather than commuting between 1 and 2 hours per day each way.

OR get off your butt and start a company of your own.

As of today I have sent the application for a business license and I have registered the name of my company. I don't want to jump the gun here so I will fill you guys in a little more about the company next week.

Take Care,
Brian

Second Week of Unemployment

What a gorgeous week to be unemployed, the weather has started to feel like summer and the sun was out every day. This doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Time really does seem to fly when you are off work, not quite the same as when you are on vacation though.

 As I come up to the end of my second week of unemployment it still doesn't feel right not going to work in the morning. On Monday I woke at the same time as my wife and jolted up realizing that I was going to be late. Then I thought about it for a second, "Wait, late for what?" It isn't all bad as I get up and get to work on my business ideas and continue the forward movement. More on that in a minute.

For anyone who is unemployed and receiving EI in Canada. Did you know that under the rules of a new project which is running until mid 2015 you can still work and get paid while receiving EI? You will get some deductions of course from the EI cheque but only $0.50 on the dollar. Essentially you can earn 1.5 times your weekly allowance before the deductions reach dollar for dollar. At this point any extra helps, so keep that in mind. 

I find the most important thing about building a business while being unemployed is to be sure that you're making a forward motion every day. There is always something that could be done, even if it's tweaking the content which has already been written for the website. It's a huge task to build a business up to the point where it is ready to launch. It's like the saying "When eating an elephant take one bite at a time" Just get started and keep the ball rolling and you will get there. Get a list going and try and cross one thing off each day. It will ease your mind knowing that progress is being made and you aren't just sitting around being a bum.

Have a look at yourself. Make a list of things you love or even like to do and things that you are good at. Read over the list, is there something on this list that someone would pay to have you do for them? Can you slightly modify the list so that someone would pay you for your services? This is the first step to starting a business that you will enjoy. Sometimes all it takes is this first step and you might never look back to your previous way of working ever again.

This week I have been writing website content, working on which products are people most interested in purchasing and how much will they pay. I want a product line that is simple yet effective and an image that is based around the information and education about the products. There is a lot of competition in my market, so I have focused a lot of my time on finding where I can fit and how I can capture my slice of the pie. In my case I am working on an information gap and an opportunity to capitalize a portion of the market. I like to think of it as not only finding my slice, but baking a new pie.  I also started putting together some sales projections, which are not the easiest considering I have never sold anything to this market before. Time for assumptions.

Im my free time I have been reading The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. A book I had purchased over a year ago but never made the time to read it. It has been great to not only assure me that I have been on the right track with research, but there are great points about really finding your target and realizing if there is even a market to sell to. Do this by speaking with the people who are in your direct network. Social media is a great way to get answers to questions you have and realize potential customers within it. The creation of Facebook has provided a huge network which is very easy for anyone to reach. That being said I would like to thank my friends and family for unknowingly helping me with my new business venture in the past two weeks.

For anyone who read my post last week the feeling of excitement is really starting to take over and the uncertainty and anxiety are beginning to take the back seat. I am at the point now where I want to get product on the shelves already and really see what this baby has got.

I am still working out a name for the company so stay tuned and I will let you know as soon as I can get it registered.

Brian