Monday, September 28, 2009

Go Big for Potential, or Stay Small and Conserve?

Considering options for expanding in the new business venture, partnering with Jason with Computer Express, we are looking at two spaces on St. Thomas. One offers 7 times (!) the space, 875 sq. ft, a divided office space on the second floor of a popular business/shopping complex in the Red Hook area. The space has its own bathroom, a reception area, and multiple rooms where we could stock inventory, shoot videos, and a large space for the repairs. It's ideal for what we anticipate--about 4 times growth in our customer base. With the potential we see ahead, this space fits our goals and would be perfect. It's also double what we wanted to pay in rent.

The second space is next door, at 475 sq ft it's still 3 times larger than our space on St. John. It also would require build-out, as it's just an empty, worn space right now with a main area and a closet. It would suit our needs now, because it is larger than what we have and we could make it work. The rent is what we were hoping to find. But...meh.

So the question becomes, do you venture forward with a big leap, anticipating the potential growth and reorganizing finances to make it work? Or stick to the smaller space, build it up (which would also delay our opening date...) and stay conservative?

I say go for the gold. If you're not going to aim high, why are you trying?

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posted by chelsea @ 8:16 PM 0 Comments

Friday, September 25, 2009

Thrills and Tills of Starting a New Business

And ACTION! I returned from the Italian holiday to launch into a new direction: partnering with Jason Monigold to buy into Computer Express, a PC and Mac repair/networking/IT consulting business. Based on St. John for 6 years, he's drummed enough business to expand to St. Thomas. That's where I jump in: to partner with him for the expansion, making computers and my web design my full-time gig. Which is very exciting!

Hard to leave the day job with the steady paycheck, though, definitely. Working as a project manager for Stone Masonry Inc. for the past year was a perfect opportunity to understand business management and bookkeeping. It definitely helps me prepare for understanding running Computer Express. But again...leaving that steady paycheck....

Today Jason and I ventured to St. Thomas to look at 2 prospective locations for the business and consider the lease details. One space is smaller but half the rent and a generator; one space larger but more money and space for possibly subleasing. Now we're breaking down our numbers and getting into the nitty gritty to feel what's realistic and what we're aiming for.

Starting new ventures in a "bad economy" can be seen as smart or silly--it all depends on if you have balls or not! One thing I know for sure is that staying stagnant, not growing or challenging myself, would only cause me to wither. So it's not really a choice; it's only a matter of deciding HOW to proceed, not IF.

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posted by chelsea @ 2:46 PM 0 Comments