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!