I have the POWAH!

Wow, if I'd known how easy it was to actually MAKE money a decade ago, you'd all be buying my systems right now. All you have to do is...take a step. Fascinating.

My wrists are Jell-O from typing dry-as-dust proposals all day long, so I'll have to keep this short.

Things have been moving along on the moving business, which will henceforth be abbreviated as "MTB." As mentioned, I've got my LLC, and I'm slowly putting all the other administrative necessities in place. One of my customers now hands out flyers for me, and I had the thrilling experience of finding one in an out-of-the-way antique shop I'd never been to before last week. That one location has already paid for her services twice over. Another has quadrupled the amount I pay her. Now nearly half of my business is through referrals or repeat customers, and last weekend I even helped someone who can help me help a religiously persecuted buddy of mine in Pakistan. Other bennies have included bottles of wine and stereo speakers.

Now, I'm not in it for wine and speakers, but it's nice from time to time. ;-)

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I got a call from a guy who needed to move his office oen block away. It was easily a five-man job, and even if you account for my manliness and count me twice, it still would have taken me a week to do it by myself. I originally tried to turn it down, but he wouldn't let me. (Heh--he's a very persuasive fellow). I ended up finding some guys on Craigslist, but in the interim he had to go with different guys.

Fast-forward to today. The guy calls me back with a new gig: instead of moving his office a block away, he's moving it to the office next door. Literally through a door 20 feet away. No stairs. Granted, I'll still have to disassemble and reassemble about ten desks, heft 20 file cabinets, shlep a dozen or so wall-mounted wood bookshelves, and hoist some of the biggest Xerox machines and plotters I've ever seen, but still, it's an easy gig. Time-consuming, but easy.

But I needed guys. At least four of them. Long story short, a friend of a friend got me four beefy rugby players, one of whom may be a Navy SEAL. I'm going to pay them by the hour, but the rate the client is paying me will more than cover it, leaving me a tidy little profit. While in the great scheme of things it's not much money (not Tampa Steph money, anyway ;-))it's about 500% more than I usually make on a weekend.

This could get addicting. If I can get these guys--or any reliable guys--to commit to a few hours a week, I may start taking some bigger jobs.

More later. Life is good despite the J.O.B. Business is rockin' and rollin'.