Saturday, May 23, 2015

WHAT DON'T I KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS...A LOT!



I guess the one thing that really stood out to me this week is how much I DON’T know about running a business! I really am starting at the bottom and learning my way. I mean, I’m not an idiot about business, but I certainly don’t know all the ins and outs of it. I’m grateful for all the readings and videos and especially for the HMM information. Those assessments at the end sure remind me how much information there is to learn. 

One of the other things I learned is I don’t want to be a “one man operation.” I want to have a good team around me, full of people who are smarter than I am, who can help me to run a successful business. I really like the idea of surrounding myself with people who are more knowledgeable than me, as well as people of character. I want to make sure that I surround myself with people who lift me up and help me to be a better person, a better disciple of Christ, a better mom, sister, aunt, cousin, and a better business woman. I think it is imperative to always strive to improve who you are. Surrounding yourself with people who have integrity, moral character, and grit with determination will only help to make you a better person. I would like to think I would rise up to their levels by learning from them.

I’ve never been very good with money because, to be honest, I was never taught how to be. So, at almost 50 years of age I am learning now. I want to run my life and my business as if I don’t have money to spend. I’ve learned that rich people stay rich because they are cheap! Well, some of them are. They buy when things are on sale and save wherever they can so they can splurge when they really want to. My boss is one of those people. While I do not believe she is rich, per se, I know she isn’t really hurting. However, she won’t even buy toilet paper unless it’s on sale. Thankfully, she doesn’t by the sandpaper type on sale, she does buy the good stuff, but only when it’s on sale. Then she buys in bulk. She is that way with everything. She wears a fur coat that I have a REAL problem with, but that is not the point. The point is, it was a $10,000 coat that she purchased for $650, on sale. Now, to me, $650 is still too much money to spend on a coat you only wear once in a while, but that is a steal of a deal. 

One thing I do have in my favor is that I don’t care about shopping “name-brand.” If I can’t get it at Wal-Mart or The Dollar Store, then I don’t need it. I don’t go to malls, not even outlet malls, because I think it is a waste of money. I don’t need the best of the best. One pair of jeans wears out the same as another. Actually, the cheaper ones seem to last me longer than the expensive ones. Not the point. The point is being frugal is the best way to run a business. HAVING SAID THAT, there is a time to spend money. You do have to spend money to make money, on occasion. Even then though, you can be frugal in what and how you spend it. 

I still hate the $100 challenge. I just do. I don’t know why. It doesn’t make sense. I just hate it. However, it will all work out. I’ve raised my capital and Monday will begin pulling the clothes needed to sell on consignment. It will be nice to have some cleaned out closet space because when I’m done losing my weight, I’m going to need that space for my new, inexpensive clothes. Heck, I will probably purchase them at the same consignment store I’m selling my stuff at. If I didn’t need the money to donate to KIVA, they would pay me two or three times the amount in store credit that they will give me in cash. Maybe when the challenge is done, I will still have some clothes to sell for that store credit! We will see.

No comments:

Post a Comment