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!

My adventure actually began October, 2014 when the idea for a business came to me overnight.  After a few false starts at finding a location, in about three weeks I will be moving into the future home of Feminine Mystique, a big old Victorian home built in 1894.

This was the first house I looked at after I decided the most inexpensive way to operate my business would be to use a large home for the business AND my residence.  I got scared after the inspection showed several things that might need improvement, even though I should have expected that outcome.  There are also challenges to overcome as zoning will have to be changed and the house will have to be made commercially feasible.  It all seemed to daunting!

I have decided to take the challenge with the first order of business  being the purchase of the home and moving in.  I will be physically setting up the business at the same time and working on the rezoning, etc. also.  It will be exciting!