First Week Over~ How Much Longer To Go?

The spans of time between my posts these days are a pretty good indication of what this first week in business has been like. I can't even believe I pulled myself to the computer tonight to make it happen. It's getting on midnight and I'm bone tired and I've run my course with the five cds in the player closing up shop, sweeping, mopping, counting the drawer and doing inventory. Now the place is quiet and the sky is dark and the bushes outside are blowing around in the wind.... tap tap tapping on the old windows in front of me here.

The first few nights of this first week in business were full of anxiety about the financial end of things. Would my nightly deposits add up to enough to pay all the distributors? Would I have enough for payroll? Oh shit, I didn't take out any working capital... looks like all the pretties I wanted to get for the shop will have to wait... some of them, anyway. What if... what if... what if...

Now, though, after seven days of making sure that orders are placed, pastries are on the shelves, chai is brewed, the drawer is balanced and the floor is mopped.... my hands are dry and crusty from bleach water and I'm way too fucking exhausted at the end of the night to lay awake worrying about my numbers. I have no choice but to save that anxiety for my waking hours.

People ask me how it's going and I smile. I remember asking a friend that question years ago when she was going through a tough time. Her response was "Do you want the honest answer or the polite answer?" I could respond similarly now.

"Precisely how much detail are you looking for exactly?"

I meet tomorrow with the previous owner's bookkeeper... the one who usually makes me see stars from absolute confusion. We're getting together so she could walk me through doing my own payroll. I spent time with my dear Annette the other night, loading Quickbooks Payroll into my computer and plugging my invoices, deposits and written checks into the program. I feel a little more on top of my game now and I might actually be able to follow the bookkeeper when we sit down together tomorrow. Maybe.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll have some dinero left over after my pay my girls.