retail was the first, whole month of september i was very busy processing the food cart busines, registration and coordination with the franchise and the lessor was taxing but a very good learning experience for me. i never thought that 15centimeters will make or break an enterprising idea. well, we were hoping to coincide our opening with the lessors retaurant, however in the foodcart business measurement is important. cart's have standard size usually 6feet or 1.85 meters, unfortunately the lessor is trying to maximize the front space to cater to 4 tenant at 1.7meters front space each. we were very lucky that we were able to establish good relationship with the lessor and got feedbacks from them that the other tenants are not willing to let go of the 15centimeters which means we had to have our cart customize to 1.7meters which will delay the release of the cart. for me this is better than arguing perpetually with other tenants. i learned a lot of lessons just starting the foodcart, 1st you have to be vigilant and as much as possible create a good rapport with the lessor. i was able to convinced the owner to give the us the space that is beside the entrance, something which is an advantage, this means more space for direct contact with customers, at first the lessor plan was to raffle the location but because i made it a point to directly coordinate with the lessor and visit the site as often as i can they awarded to me the prime location. when you really want something to work, one should be observant and inquisitive we were the first tenant to know the exact location of the entrance cause i took the time to ask detailed questions and did not just focus on getting a space. yes i did made mistake, i assumed that the 15centimeters will not make a difference because of this the customized cart will not make it on our target opening and it might cost us extra.
third, the salon project is really taking so much of my time since i am the financer which is really easy since it only involves sourcing and releasing funds, this is easier if you have the money. the difficult part is the design, especially the interior, it took me the whole day today just figuring out the right color actually not figuring its more of choosing. i have a lot of ideas in mind that i am having trouble deciding the best color for both massage area and the barbers area. designing the furniture is a challenging task every furniture in the salon is customize, though not all are original ideas but everything is personal since i choose the size, the lenght, the color, the hinge, the lock, the handle and even the location where each piece will be positioned. this what makes the salon project more personal for me, aside from designing, i also act as the errand boy, imagine the owner buying supplies on his own. well i did love it, it takes me away from the routine, i really enjoyed roaming in sta.cruz and binondo. i learned so many lessons in starting the salon business which i will be discussing in future blogs, i guess right now i have written so much and if i will not curve my excitement i might finish a novel.
that's how busy i am for the month of september, primary reason why i was not able to create an entry for september. i am only hoping that business will be busier than me, once they all started.
"success usually comes to those who are too busy looking for it." ~ henry david
