Assessing the Business

As a new business owner with a little more than 6 months working full-time with no other visible means of support, I get to review the company a lot - mostly when a bill is due and I need to look at my financial position. I'm the first to admit that I have always been a little uptight about money, so not having a paycheck is very stressful to me.

Last year, I was put through the trauma of a 6 hour polygraph examination for a government security clearance (which I never got, because the company I was working for shed all employees except the owner - thus the decision to work for myself). Of course the examiner tries to focus on your weak spots to make sure you aren't a risk, so she found my weak spot - talking about my finances. (Yes, I also see the irony in a bookkeeper being exceedingly uptight about finances, but I don't mind dealing with OTHER people's money.) When I got home, I was talking to my father about the whole unpleasant experience and especially the grilling I got about being ostentatious and he said, "You? You're the tightest person I've ever met." Some people would be insulted, I replied, "I know!"

Truth about polygraphs - they are the most horrible things ever and now I understand how people can confess to anything while strapped into one of those things. I almost failed in the first hour, because I couldn't control my breathing. By the end, I would have confessed to almost anything - and they weren't even looking for a confession of wrong-doing.

DO NOT EVER AGREE TO TAKING A POLYGRAPH!

Back to the point of the post.

With all of the bad economic news that I hear everyday and the stress I see in some friends and family members, I feel very grateful that I have the resources and abilities needed to keep my business going and I'm extremely grateful that I am not at an employer's mercy for my well-being. I'm still in business through January, probably even February. Two months ago, I was doubtful about November. Every month, Walker Administrative Solutions' imminent demise is delayed a little longer. I wonder if this is how Henry Ford felt.

I'm beginning to see the fruit coming from months of diligent networking, talking, and meeting business people. I look ahead and wonder how to schedule all of my potential work if the jobs come in. (That would be a great problem to have in my business.) I've also been very blessed with small jobs coming in to beef up the regular revenue. I just count all of my work as blessings from paying tithing and a lot of prayer and yes, I pray that this business will l work out I'll be able to support myself, and I'll be able to bless a few people along the way.

SIX MONTHS DOWN - MANY MORE TO GO!