Updates

One of these days I'm going to go back and count all the entries that begin with "Sorry I'm such a terrible blogger," or some similar phrase. (We know I really won't, don't we?) But I AM sorry, you happy few readers. I know you spend at least 30 seconds per day checking out the blog, and that's 30 seconds I'm STEALING from you. I bring shame to my family because if there's one thing Dad always told me, it was "Don't be a non-blogging time bandit." Considering that he first uttered those words in 1981, you can see how forward-thinking he is, and why people should listen to him.

[/A.D.D.]

Anyway, remember the big office move I had a month ago? Well, it was canceled a total of three times, but the fourth attempt actually stuck. I had to scramble after the last cancellation because I didn't bother to line up the guys--I figured the business owner and building owner were flaking off and didn't care how bad they kept sticking it to the poor, low-rate moving guy. Turns out it had less to do with their personal flakiness and more to do with them getting the lease to the new office. So, when they finally called with a firm, non-negotiable date two days hence, I had to get in gear.

Three of the guys from my first crew either couldn't or wouldn't make it. (Can't blame them--getting canceled on twice tends to erode confidence). But one committed. Then I got him to find a new buddy. Eventually I mined my day job for big, extra guys, finally securing our IT guy and an intern.

The problem was that I personally couldn't make it to the gig on Saturday. I was out of town attending a wedding the night before, and apologizing to everyone for my behavior the next morning. It was also a three-hour drive back to town. As it happens, I learned a valuable lesson. Or rather, I got real-world experience of a lesson I already knew--hire good people and things will go smoothly. By the time I got to the job, it was 3/4 completed, and the business' employees were raving about how good and efficient they were.

That was a ginormous relief because on the three-hour drive back, I had insane traffic, terrible AC on one of the hottest days of the year, and my son was about to scream his head off. By hour two I was positive that the guys had run into some snag they couldn't fix without me, and they'd quit and gone home. Turns out all the stress was in vain--it went off without a hitch.

So, I'm going to collect a check today for three hours of "work" on my part (minus the time it took to line up all the guys four times), and that check will be about as much as what I'll pay the guys combined. They will be paid well, but hey, I'm the boss and that's how entrepreneurship works. ;-)

This gig was unusual--I don't do a lot of (or any) office moves, or big moves that require multiple dudes. In fact, I've wanted to stay out of that market because I've got a good system going here. However, after seeing how easy it is to do what I just did, I'm going to add "Commercial Services" or something like that to what I do. There's a lot of money out there, and a few gigs like this per month could put piles of it in my pockets.

In other news, our condo is on the market. We've got it listed significantly above where the market's at right now, but just a little more than what we owe on it, and we're working with an attorney to prepare for the inevitable short sale. We held and open house on Saturday, and a few people seemed somewhat interested, so we'll see. I don't hope for a second that we'll sell the place in the near future at a price that bails us out, though.