Snow Business

Monday February 8th, 2010 - Chicago, IL

There’s supposed to be a foot of snow coming in the next day or two and everyone is in the pre snow panic mode. The grocery stores are getting cleaned out of everything and it’s like the world is ending. Usually, the ones hyped the most are the biggest disappointment, and I’m hoping this one is too. Still, everyone seems to be preparing for the apocalypse.

I just want to prepare for my future and not live hand to mouth. I’m making progress on all my projects, and even though it’s not anything spectacular, it is progress and it’s a very satisfying feeling to see things move in the right direction, even if the movement is slow.

My piles around the house are shrinking and that’s been WAY overdue. I’m making the time to sift through paperwork and books and mail and tax receipts and all the things I’ve been letting get out of hand. Nobody else knows or cares how clutter can slow everything else down, but I do and I’m taking care of it. It’s going to make the rest of my life better.

I knocked down the email pile today and I got my voice mail box down from almost full to almost empty. That was a big deal also, and at least I’m connecting and reconnecting to people I need and want to who can help move what I’m doing forward. It all takes time.

I made some progress with Uranus Factory Outlet today too. My trademark lawyer sent me a form to reapply for my trademark since I haven’t been using it to sell anything. It’s a dead expense right now, but I hope to change that very soon. I am now back in the mix to have Uranus Factory Outlet trademarked when I start the website officially on March 13th.

I also ordered a batch of t-shirts from a store in Antioch I keep seeing as I drive past it on Highway 83. It’s a custom printed shirt and hat shop and I decided to stop and see if it could be somewhere I can get products. The guy running it was very nice, and I ended up ordering a batch of two dozen of my ‘T E I A M’ shirts. Those sold pretty well in the past.

For those that don’t get it, ‘T E I A M’ is a play on the no ‘I’ in team saying most of us heard at some point in our lives. It’s not necessarily a Uranus product, but I think I’ll have a good shot to sell them, and it lets me test this guy’s ability to get shirts finished quickly.

A huge part of the business will be product procurement and I need to have more than a single source for any one item I want to sell. Backing myself up is key, and this guy could be either my number one go to shirt maker, or he could be my plan ‘Z’ last resort source.

The biggest part of the mail order business is testing, testing, testing. That’s a common theme from a lot of people who’ve written about the subject, and I guess I have to follow those instructions. I may think I know better, but I don’t. Nobody does. It’s all a big test.

I’m putting in my time on the hamster wheel and knocking out a few things I’ve needed to do for a long time. It doesn’t shake the world, but it gives encouragement to mine that I have some hope to live my dreams after all. It can snow all it wants now, I’m ready for it.