154 Days.
Today is a PJP Buttonwood month-aversary...we ushered in our fifth month of existence this morning with a nod to the milestone and two large mochas from Caribou. And in our tradition, here are our thoughts about five months in...
- Our space is finally starting to feel like it belongs to us. While writing a check for $1560 a month to The Kroenke Group for rent and triple nets is a harsh reminder that we will only be at home for the next 54 months with an option to renew, the addition of the wooden display unit, the bench, and a few other touches make us love our 1,000 square feet like we built it ourselves.
- Speaking of building, we've learned that going through the construction process on our own space was overwhelming. Working in our space while construction is in full swing on the units next door, well, that is enough to make us crazy. Our new neighbors are required to install a firewall between our spaces. I don't know what a firewall looks like or what it is made out of, but I do know that installing one requires hammering, sawing, and drilling incessantly. If a chunk of our wall fell out and a construction worker rolled onto our floor, we likely wouldn't even notice.
- If Jeanne is in the back of PJP Buttonwood and I'm in the front and we are trying to have a conversation, she will ask me to repeat myself after every word. I've suggested her first official Tweet be to Beltone about some informational brochures.
- At least twice a week, the phone company people call and try to convince us to pay a hefty sum to be listed in the yellow pages. Apparently, they are suckering some people into believing that this is still 1987 and that people actually still use the yellow pages.
- Being a new business in a town that is home to the number one ranked journalism school in the country will mean that dozens of young and inspired hopeful journalists will ask to interview us, record us, photograph us...or a combination of all three. We pretty much say yes to them all, even if it means we have two or three in PJP Buttonwood at one time. A few weeks ago, we had seven different students from the same class interviewing us. We didn't mind, but I would guess the professor of that class probably rolls his or her eyes at the mere mention of PJP.
- I struggle with saying no to telemarketers, advertisers, donation seekers, and all the like. But I'm making true progress with sorting out what works for PJP in terms of our growth and budget and what doesn't. When I finally took the big plunge and said "no" to a particular person, I felt guilty for the next 12 hours and apologized profusely. But by the time the fourth person rolled in that week and I had to say "no, thanks" for various reasons, I only felt guilty for about seven hours. Progress.
- The Missouri Department of Revenue collects sales tax on different days depending on the month. I'm sure there is some legislative logic behind it like: "If a month has 30 days, then collect it on the 22nd. But if it has 31 days, then collect it on the 29th. But if it has 28 days, collect it on the 21st. But if it is a leap year, then collect it on the 15th. But if you want a 2% discount for filing early, then e-file the week before." Do we think that the committee who made those rules was really that oblivious to how annoying it is to collect it on different days each month? Or do we think the committee knew just how dumb it was and they just wanted to see if they could get a legislative majority to think it sounded like a solid plan?
- Our accountant completed our partnership tax return this week (we needed an extension from the April deadline because it didn't occur to me to consult someone about our taxes until April 13th-ish). One brief glance through the return left me scarred and shaking in the corner. I am so very thankful we have someone who is qualified to do that sort of thing for us because I could only have answered "maybe" to most of the questions on the return.
- I didn't even know we had anything gas powered in our space until The Kroenke Group called two weeks ago and wanted to know if I was ever going to put the gas from Ameren UE into PJP's name. My response was "uhhhh...we have gas here?". Once I got the service switched to our name, I immediately received a bill for a $300 deposit on the service. Apparently, Ameren UE keeps the $300 for 24 months and then if you've been paying on time, you get it back. And I guess I begrudgingly get that some people just leave their gas bill and never pay, but I can assure Ameren UE that we won't do that. Therefore, I would be super happy to not loan them $300 for the next 720 days or so.
- We still believe in world pie domination. Even after 152 days of early mornings, late nights, epic throwdowns spurred by complete exhaustion, and feeling like we don't know what we are doing. I have no idea who said this, but the whole "the dream is free, the hustle is sold separately" thing? Completely legit.