elitefts™ Sunday edition

Success

What a week it was! The timing of taking the week off was impeccable. Everyone is sick here, so that's been a juggle.

We also got word on AWESOME news that we've been waiting for...the property we were looking at for the new Stoners Gym home was all cleared from the city and county without impact fees being assessed!

We got the news on Tuesday that everything was moving forward. We were approved for our lease. I broke down sobbing. The only other times I lost it like that was when my kids were born and when I got married. Opening a business is a huge life-changing event, so it makes sense that I reacted like that. This was a long time coming and we busted butt to work with the system and get our stuff done.

Lease Signing

I figured the lease signing process would be a one or two day deal. In my mind it should be when everyone works together, but it's not happening like that.

Once we started reading our lease, there were some concerns. Just when we thought everything was moving forward, we were in a holding pattern until these things get resolved. Apparently, realtors take a lot of vacations. In this economy, who knew? I don't even want to know how long it will take the lawyer to get back to us once things get submitted to him.

What I Learned

So what I learned this week...

  1. Dedication coupled with hard work makes things happen.
  2. Opening a business isn't always on your time table – not even close. If this process were like a train schedule, I would have left yesterday to Chicago. The other train leaves tomorrow to Tampa. You've got to sit back and hope those trains cross each other at some point.
  3. One day things are up and the next they are down.
  4. Opening a business is like assembling a swing set. Once you think you get a groove going, you realize you're missing a part. You get that resolved and realize the measurements don't add up. You resolve that issue and then...well, you get the idea. It's a ridiculous stream of gopher holes popping up. Sooner or later you have to grab the gopher and beat him to a bloody pulp so obstacles don't set you back.