Well, nothing is easy about starting a new business in an old historical house.  I finally got an estimate from a local construction company this week -- $10,400.  Wow!!  That's not going to happen.

The issue now is whether I must absolutely have an ADA compliant entrance.  From looking at information the Department of Justice has for small businesses, you may not have to make changes to old buildings.  The statement is, "In some instances, especially in older buildings, it may not be readily achievable to remove some architectural barreirs.  For example, a restaurant with several steps leading to its entrance may determine that it cannot afford to install a ramp or a lift.  In this situation, the restaurant must provide its services in another way if that is readily achievable, such as providing takeout service."  We are looking into whether having a website for the business would not achieve this standard.

It is certainly NOT that I don't want disabled people to visit my business, but it may be too expensive, and something that will never be approved by the Historic Landmarks Society.  My attorney is looking into this by asking questions of the city's area planning group.

We have now set up an Etsy account and a gal by the name of Taylor Sisson is working at creating a web page for the business.  Our domain name is femininemystiquellc.com.  I'm going to start by selling my aprons on Etsy and see how that goes.  I can always add merchandise as I get more used to using the site.  Hopefully, some money will start coming in instead of only flowing out!

The official business name is now Feminine Mystique, LLC.  That is one thing that my attorney has managed to fix for me.  As far as re-zoning goes, all signs now look good.  We just have to figure out what we're going to do with parking and the ADA entrance.  I called a contractor that the attorney knows and he is so busy right now he doesn't have time to come and give an estimate.  He told me he works on student housing, so with school getting ready to start back up he's really backed up.  We're not talking a long time, however, as he asked me to call him again next week.  Wonder why my attorney didn't suggest him back in March when we first started working together?!

Double Bee Fence Company took out the old privacy fence as well as the small garden fence, and have set the poles for the new privacy fence.  I am going to look at Menard's for fencing for the garden.  Anything will be cheaper that the $1700 quoted by the Fence Company and the landscaper!  I may have to put it up a section at a time, but evidently we'll get things looking good.

I first met with the attorney at the end of March and to date, he has not done a lot.  After speaking with a couple of Farrington's Grove people, he feels that the neighborhood association will not oppose my new business.  That is good news because when I met with them before I actually purchased the house, one man became so incensed that he walked out of the meeting.

The city does not seem to have opposition to a "mixed zoning" for the property according to the attorney.  So that means now we have to come up with a plan for off-street parking and, of course, a plan for creating an ADA entrance.  I have found that the remodeled entrance will be difficult to do and may certainly cost more than I can afford.  One man that I asked to give me an estimate gave up and said he wasn't comfortable in taking on the work.  The historic landmarks society will have final say on whether the entrance change is acceptable, so it's not just me in this.  It's all very complicated right now.

Ketner Electric came today and put in a ceiling fan/light in the red room.  It looks great -- I picked a nice fan and the company's employees did very good work.  That room is now done and we can begin placing fixtures and merchandise as soon as we want.

Since moving into the Miller-Caplow house in November 2015, I have been kept busy organizing my upstairs home and trying to clean up the yard.  With the help of Ferris Landscaping, I am about to call the major cleanup outside done, so that I can focus more energy on getting the business up and running.

I have been working with an attorney since the end of March on getting the zoning changed so that I can begin a business.  He is working slowly, but effectively.  He told me last week that he is quite optimistic that both the city and the people of Farrington's Grove will go along with the idea.  If that is true, there will be some forms to complete and, I believe, we'll have to go before the City Council and then all the legal hurdles will be complete. (Well, at least the ones connected with this particular property!)

I have found a music system to use in the business that will allow me to play different music in each of the three rooms if I want.  The company, Sonos, was suggested by my friend and work colleague, Pat Boggs.  I am now investigating the costs associated with Square, for use as a POS.

There are a million details associated with starting a new business!

It's been a while since I posted.  Things have been pretty busy with the move, upkeep of my old house, and the semester at school coming to a close.  Stress!!

The new house is great, even though I won't have things in their appropriate place for a long while yet.  I found an old mirror in the basement that is still in good shape -- it just needs a good cleaning and then it will be a nice addition to the store.  Also in the basement is a built in unit of some kind.  A workman that I had at the house thinks it might have been an early clothes dryer.  I'm not sure of that, but it is so large that it had to have been built into the house in 1894.  That is going to take some research.

The man that was the first owner of the house was Henry Miller of Miller-Parrott Baking Company in Terre Haute.  I'm going to write up some of that history as I learn more so that I will be able to display that information for my future customers, along with a black and white photo of the original house.  I truly think that part of the allure of my business will be the house itself (and it's history).  Yes, location IS very important to the success of a business!

It's been a nerve-wracking day!  I had to have a wire transfer of funds performed in order to get ready for the closing on the house next Tuesday.  I'm not used to paying those kinds of amounts all at once! Wow!

I was thinking about the future of my business idea this week and realized how easy it is to think too small.  I have been purchasing inventory items this last year and have a wholesaler lined up for many of the true Victorian items, but it's necessary to think bigger and long-term.  What if we have a lot of business at opening?  We could blow through inventory quickly.  Another thought occurred to me and that involves the cost of having some employees.  This is not planned to ever big a "big" business, but it will be very heavy on customer service.  I believe at this point that I cannot NOT have good help in the form of at least one employee.  Again, what if we open big and attract many customers?  It's very difficult to give quality customer service when you don't have enough help! I've always taught my students that employees should not be a secondary decision for any business manager.  It may be difficult to think of paying out more money in the form of payroll, particularly when you're just beginning, but you could easily sabotage your new business if you cannot provide the service that is needed.

I met with the movers today in order to get an estimate, and heard from the mortgage company that they are now awaiting the appraisal and we will be at closing around November 10.  I may keep the date of the 24th as the actual  moving date as I will be off work that day through the Thanksgiving weekend.  It is important for me to get out of this house as soon as possible so that the flooring company can install new carpeting through the three bedrooms.  Hopefully, that new look will help sell the house FAST.  The thought of two house payments per month can get me close to panic!

As we move belongings, pieces that I want to use in my future store will go in the downstairs rooms and my actually living pieces will be placed upstairs.  The good part of this will be that from the beginning I will be able to put things in place so that I will have a better idea of what and how much I will need to acquire to ultimately display my beautiful merchandise in the best manner possible.

One of the first orders of business will be to fill out the appropriate forms and get on the zoning commission's agenda to see if the city will consider my request for rezoning of the property to a commercial status.  If we can get that done early, that will be a big load off my mind!