October Report — Running Out of Time
I’m going to jump right in because this report is already a week late. I’ve found myself slipping a lot lately — missing deadlines, forgetting deliveries, and being in general disarray. I’m swamped and overwhelmed with work. I’m beginning to seriously question if I’m spending my time optimally.
I’m fighting myself over growth. I am working so hard just to keep up that I’m afraid to grow the business because I may not be able to handle it. I feel as though I’ve reached my maximum capacity and don’t have any more to give.
And all the meanwhile the cash in the bank is disappearing at an alarming rate. So much so that I will be out of business in a few months without either a cash infusion or becoming cash flow positive. Both of those objectives seem so far out of reach.
I realize this is a grim post but this is a grim time for me. I’m not going to sugar coat how hard this shit is and how hopeless it sometimes feels. It’s entirely possible that, had I wrote this post a few days ago or even a few hours ago, it would have had a completely different tone. But that is indicative of the life I’m living — an endless roller coaster from which there is no escape.
That’s not a complaint. I did this on purpose. I forced myself into a situation where I cannot quit no matter how bad I want to. I removed choice from the equation. I have no choice but to keep going.
And so I will.
Milestones and Cash Flow
I’m moving the cash flow section of this report to the top because it has become the most important and the most urgent. Since the next milestone is to become cash flow positive, this section doubles as the milestone section as well.
Becoming cash flow positive is not an easy thing to do. It took me years to do it in my personal life, and in this business I have not yet had even one month of positive cash flow from revenue.
To be successful, almost every month needs to have positive cash flow. I cannot stress the importance of this milestone enough.
In October I spent over a grand on a new washer and dryer set. In addition we had to divest some money to go towards the house we are trying to buy. Needless to say the bank account took a nasty hit. Here is a cash flow chart for the entire life of the business —
October was clearly the worst month of cash flow to date. And I can already tell November will not be much better.
The one saving grace is that I always work harder when times get tough like this. Last week was the first time this year that I put in more than 70 hours of work. I expect that trend to continue indefinitely.
Sales
The thing about sales is that I have not made any effort to increase sales. All I did in October was try to keep up with the orders that I was getting. Increasing sales at this point means outsourcing the work so that I can handle the deliveries myself.
That’s not to say that sales didn’t go up. Most of my sales right now are repeat customers that just love the service. I have lost a few of them but not that I understand my customers so much better, I am confident I can increase sales with more advertising.
But as I said, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to handle it because I am already stretched so thin. I want November to be a slow month so that I can get my bearings straight. That means I want a better outsource process before I begin to ramp up sales. But I foresee myself going on a major sales offensive, if not in December then definitely January.
Marketing
My marketing efforts were virtually nonexistent in October precisely because I was hustling just to keep up. As the title of this post suggests, I’m always running out of time. November will be similar because my personal life demands a lot more of my time. We are in the process of buying a condo and once that happens I have to move into it and set up my work station all over again.
The only exception to taking a break from marketing is the package I’m putting together for a local hotel. I had a meeting with the manager about doing all of their hotel laundry (sheets and towels). Although that specific order fell through, I have an opportunity to advertise to their guests because of the relationship I’m building with the manager and I plan on cultivating that relationship and taking advantage of the opportunity.
Profit and Loss
The question of profitability is nuanced. If I work 70 hours a week but never pay myself and the company is in the black does that mean it’s profitable? In my mind, no. If I were to pay myself, or someone to do the job I’m doing, the company would be losing money. That distinction is not lost on me so the point of profitability will be the moment the company can afford to pay me and still be in the black.
I will end this post by saying that there are a lot of good things happening with the company. They are just overshadowed by the constant looming threat of going out of business, which needs to be avoided at all costs.
Hopefully, the next monthly report will be more positive and not so gloomy.
This story is part of a series documenting the journey of a 2016 Dallas startup called Feather. For your reference here is the Table of Contents for the series.
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