That First Tack: Getting TGU Started
Updated: Aug 23, 2017
It's hard to believe from the birth of my business idea to today has been of the length of nine months, and I've still so far to go. I mean, all I want to do is sew and tack fabrics to old furniture pieces, right? You would think, but not quite. For some DIYers, there's no reason to get any more involved than scoring that $4 yard sale treasure, taking a trip to the hardware store and JoAnn Fabrics, and voila! But for my serious business venture, I am nine months down the road and have still haven't hammered that first tack. In a nutshell, since the end of December 2016 I have:
1) Stocked up on reading materials to learn the trade
2) Worked a few trial pieces to learn "proper" technique
3) Researched the local and state requirements (Licenses! And Permits! And Regs! Oh my!)
4) Filed for a fictitious business name and set up a business bank account
5) Researched local competition; determined my labor rates
6) Designed my logo (That was one of the first things I did!)
7) Changed my phone number to a local number
8) Started my webpage and its content; writing the Terms and Conditions took a long time
9) Stocked up on materials
10) Designed and ordered business cards
11) On and on and on...
My intent was for TGU to be official on July 1 with a sweet business plan in my back pocket, but at that time I was barely ready. Not even. I truly wanted at least to have all licensing in hand and all knowledge in head, but I didn't meet my goal. (A two week vacation to Japan to visit our new grandbaby, followed by a two week certification program for my "real" job, and Ray's back surgery and recovery... Normal life stuff all jammed into two to three months.) Well, as Ray - my wonderfully supportive husband - pointed out as I moped about not meeting my July 1 goal: "No one is pushing you except you..." OK, so I take a deep breath, assess and set new goals.
