Another Thousand Bucks

I'm hoping as I get closer to opening, things will become increasingly certain, and concomitantly the degree of extremity of the surprises that come my way will shrink proportionally. This has not yet happened, as evidenced by a phone call from Jeff yesterday morning telling me that the HVAC guys had discovered that the ducts bringing air to the furnace are rotted and insufficient in size. What this means is that, if left uncorrected, the furnace will have to work that much harder to draw air, and will get its air from the basement instead of the cleaner air of upstairs. The furnace will be much more prone to a premature failure, as well; thus, I relented and approved the additional $1000 or so (after the 15 percent contractor surcharge is added to the $750 to $900 estimate). Thankfully, my financials are still looking like they'll make it, but by how much is anyone's guess as I continue to dodge glancing blows and move ever closer towards opening.

In the meantime, I am hoping to lower my natural gas bills by finally having stuffed the openings in the walls with insulation (there had previously been doors/windows in two spots towards the back of the store, and they were filled in rather haphazardly through the years, in keeping with the overall theme of penny-pinching neglect to which the building was subjected previously). My Nicor Gas bill will probably come to $300 or so, rather than the ridiculous $710 based on the estimated reading. Much of this can be attributed to the recent Arctic chill that has descended upon the Midwest, and perhaps some blame is due to the aforementioned furnace situation; regardless, I'm going to do everything in my power not to allow for the bill to climb this high again until the oven is install and firing away.

I've more or less completed my first round of interviews, and have been thoroughly impressed with all who have shown up (I've had a few no-shows). As a new business, it has been easy to hire without regard for specific needs (other than making sure that everyone can work until close at least a few times a week); however, now comes the hard part. As I interview the remaining applicants, I'd be wise to look at who I've hired thus far and try to sketch out a typical schedule based on their hours desired and availabilities before blindly hiring more help. I have one interview this afternoon, and then will take a look at where I'm at and go from there.

On the random nuisances front, I will be meeting next week with Jeff and Brian (my equipment vendor rep) to figure out how to get all the necessary equipment into the store without having it get in everyone's way while they work any more than is necessary. We'll be deliberating these considerations next Friday when Brian comes in from Champaign to check out the store's dimensions in person. As a curious aside, the mop sink I had picked out is out of stock and has a 4-6 week lead time, so I am now looking to purchase one through my plumbing contractor for a slightly higher price.

Finally, based on the finalized schedule, I'm good to start flooring the store on the 15th. I'll have David down here by then to help, and a few of the guys I've hired thus far have a construction background and are willing to help. Even better, Mark (contractor's superintendent) is going to show us the ropes and make sure we do things right. All in all, I have a twelve-day window in which to complete flooring, baseboarding, and painting the inside of the store. I think it can be done, but we'll see.

I also will be running Motor Vehicle Reports (MVRs - also known as public abstracts) on all of my drivers in an effort to get more favorable rates on insurance coverage. So many little things to take care of, but so much time that my biggest enemy is my own tendency towards procrastination. So with that in mind, I'll wrap up this immensely important blog post and get back to what really matters - LUNCH!

More soon...