Welcome to the inaugural post of the blog Chief Cook and Bottle Washer: Sharing the Adventure of Small Business Ownership.\u00a0 I have a Small Business that I started eleven years ago with a partner.\u00a0 I love learning about\u00a0business.\u00a0 I love running my business.\u00a0 I love talking about business.\u00a0 In fact, a great deal of my time is spent doing these three things, which I find\u00a0exciting, invigorating, and interesting.\u00a0\u00a0I take pride in my business and\u00a0how\u00a0it has positively affected my community.<\/p>\n
The problem is, as those of you with a Small Business of your own know, that the reality of it is not always as wonderful as all that.\u00a0 In fact, it can be downright disheartening, exhausting, and just plain hard.\u00a0\u00a0Bottle Washer and I have an on-going joke between us whenever\u00a0something happens, which seems like\u00a0a lot\u00a0 (like\u00a0this past Easter weekend when we had a flood in our building),\u00a0and no one else is there to help out, handle the situation, or just do it – we look at each other and laugh and say, “It’s just you and me, right?”\u00a0 (Yes, I know it should be “just you and I,” but, well…)\u00a0 In other words, when you own a mom & pop shop, and it\u00a0comes right down to it, its just you.<\/p>\n
Business ownership really is\u00a0just a series of problems that present themselves to you for solution.\u00a0 Everyday.\u00a0 Relentlessly.\u00a0 An entrepreneur’s learning curve is pretty much vertical and never ends.\u00a0 This makes business ownership an ongoing adventure, but it can be frustrating, making you feel like you are never getting anywhere.\u00a0 However, in the past year or so I have noticed that more and more people have asked me <\/em>for advice on how to grow, start, or manage their business.\u00a0 Hmmmmmm.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This has caused me to look back and realize how much I have learned in the past decade, and wonder if maybe the support system I enjoy locally could be expanded on the web.\u00a0 Since I am generally focused on what I don’t <\/em>know, I hadn’t taken much stock of everything I have <\/em>learned.\u00a0 Maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes (there have been many) and my successes (which are soooo sweet), and I’m looking forward to learning from all of you how you have tackled various issues you’ve encountered.\u00a0 It is my vision that Chief Cook and Bottle Washer will become a\u00a0forum for Small Business owners to share ideas and solutions and be a resource for those contemplating\u00a0starting a business.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just so we are clear here, when I say Small Business, I mean small.\u00a0 The United States government defines a Small Business as one having less than 500 employees, but I’m talking about those of us by ourselves or\u00a0with a partner, maybe with a few employees, maybe not.\u00a0 But, basically the classic Main Street outfit with less than 10 employees.<\/p>\n I live in a rural area with no large employers nearby.\u00a0 Pretty much everyone, if they are not retired or sitting on a cushy trust fund, owns a Small Business.\u00a0 Some people have retail shops – the hardware store, an art gallery, others are professionals – physicians, attorneys, architects, many have service businesses, like landscapers, and some have invented jobs – generally Internet stuff that baffles me.\u00a0 This has created a great support system for business owners to share ideas and help each other solve problems.\u00a0 What about you?\u00a0 Whom do you go to when you need help?<\/p>\n In the meantime,\u00a0sit back, hold on, and share the adventure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to the inaugural post of the blog Chief Cook and Bottle Washer: Sharing the Adventure of Small Business Ownership.\u00a0 I have a Small Business that I started eleven years ago with a partner.\u00a0 I love learning about\u00a0business.\u00a0 I love … Continue reading