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Putzing In a Rut

I used to look forward to Friday at 5:00 because (woohoo!) the workweek was over!


When you own your own business, Friday at 5:00 is just another day and time because the work is never done. That's not a bad thing, just different.


If your work is done, and you're all caught up, you really need to revamp your services or marketing or something. Eek.


Speaking of revamping, there's a point every business reaches where it's in a rut and stuck:

  • I've done it this way for the past 50 years. (That's okay when it has been reevaluated and deemed to be the best way still.)

  • I'm scared to go into that territory. (So were lots of other people who did it and lived.)

  • Nobody else does it like my new idea; maybe I shouldn't either. (Innovation comes from those ideas.)

  • Maybe I need permission (or approval from a panel of friends) to implement my idea. (They don't run your ship, you do. You don't need anybody's permission but your own when you've thought out your idea and have a way to use it without sinking your ship.)

  • Am I allowed to charge that much? (If you have paying customers, yes, you are allowed. The free market decides who stays and who goes.)

This thought train can go on endlessly, and the point of it is to preach to myself. My business gets stuck in a rut sometimes.


I hate ruts.

 

Hand-sanitizer-on-fire experiment
Hand-sanitizer-on-fire experiment

Random bits:

  • Kal and Kara tried an experiment they saw on YouTube in which hand sanitizer is set on fire on a plate. I guess it works on a hand, too, but I (The Mean Mom) wouldn't let them set their hands on fire. Above is a picture of their successful, safer version of that experiment.

  • I tried making a training video for my business today on my iPhone. The video cut out after only 20 seconds or so. Sigh. What am I doing wrong? It's just a video. My kids make videos of all sorts of silly things like picking noses and making faces. Why can't I make something normal?

  • Kris has found fancy new duds for the kids. By fancy, I mean new Star Wars t-shirts and other similar apparel. For someone who likes the New England pressed and polished look, I just have to realize they're not like me. That's okay. I'm still good buddies with my ironing board.

  • I had normal coffee this morning and second-rate coffee this afternoon. I had Folger's singles at the shop, so it was better than nothing. If you're not familiar with the singles, they are what I call tea-bag coffee. Hot water, dunk the bag, throw out the bag, gag the coffee down. When caffeine is the draw, this fits the bill.

  • One child is on Day 3 of the same shorts. I've been drilling daily "new day, new shorts/undies/shirt/whatever" since this child was 2 years old. Sigh. We still have work to do, and this is just one thing.

  • We sat in a real restaurant tonight. Los Tres Caminos. All the same food on every plate, just arranged differently. I was fine with it since it meant I didn't need to cook tonight. Random thoughts pop into my head all the time: at a Mexican restaurant, I think things like, "What if there was a mariachi band called the Chimichanga Chicks?"



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