2013 Planning and Beyond

Happy New Years!

2012 was...not pretty for many people. It was a hard year for us all, actually, one way or another. But what is it about a new year that renews drive and passion? I don't know. But I intend to find out. Business is a routine. Of course there are exceptions, but there is a basic formula that most legitmate business follow. Provide Product/Service, Consumer Buys, You get Paid. Yes, this is easy. But there are a lot of tiny little ins and outs that I've never noticed before until I started working at Budget.

Routine is something we should all have. This routine helps us manage our lives and our business. It's a foundation, not a step by step guide. What's my point? Planning. Did yopu have a rough year? Are there things you want to change? Why keep it as a New Year's Resolution? Call it a business goal.

Mine is to be more organized. To have protocols, to be more observant. New Years Resolutions often get ignored because there are set as a goal to work towards. They're treat like an empty promise to ourselves. Don't let it be an empty promise. Apply it in your life. Make a goal, and follow it as you achieve and evolve.

Easier said than done. And no, I don't have a self help book that I'm going to plug and ask you to buy, either. All I'm asking is for you not to treat your resolution like an empty promise. Treat it like a goal you must obtain without fail. See how that works for you.

Hope you're enjoying the new year so far!

Responsibility

As I become more and more comfortable with my original position here at Budget, I found myself getting bored. Almost as if he knew, my father cued in and told me I need to broaden my scope and start looking at the business from more of an owner's perspective rather than just a manager. I must say I've been re-challenged, re-motivated, and happy to start working on a new aspect of myself.

Getting older has taught me something. Motivations change. Dramatically. What used to get me going ten years ago seems...trivial. I know it sounds stupid. Like, "well duh you blogging moron", but when it hasn't happened to you yet, it's really a shocking moment. Talk about an epiphany.

Not too long ago, I shuddered to think of owning my own business. All the responsibility, problems, bills, taxes, forms, and a whole crappy cornucopia of other terrible things. But after being in the working world for awhile and seen what a good boss and a bad boss is, I can't picture myself working any other way.

I am going to take this business to place it's never been. Here's hopin' that it's a good one.

Pushing Limits

Business owners, managers, workers. A lot of us will push ourselves to the point where we can't even see straight anymore. One more shift. One more sale. One more errand. One more this, that, and the other thing. Always trying to get ahead, always trying to get in just a lil' bit more time than the other guy. Now, mostly? I thought that I had a pretty good bead on things. I would push myself, sure. We all must push in order to find out how hard the world will push back. And I thought that I knew my limits.

I did not.

Instead, I pushed past them. Which is good, yes. We should always try and be a little bit better than we were yesterday. But I realized that when you push too hard, you do more harm than good. The last three weeks have been very busy for me. I had a grueling martial arts proficiency test (I passed!), and then a lot of extra physical jobs like carpet cleanings, and the like. I would work through weekends, or take only one day off, and I would push myself further and further mentally and physically. I pushed too hard, and now I'm sick.

Yeah, I got a cold n' shit. Awesome, right? I worked out only ONCE last week, and none this week. I've been tired at work, tired at home, and now I'm sick. Because I pushed myself too. Hard.

This entry is a cautionary one. Work hard. Push yourself. Never settle, never be in your comfort zone for too long. Work baby, work. But for the love of god, don't forget to slow down and just...eat an ice cream cone with your girl/boyfriend. Watch a stupid comedy movie rife with crude humor and gratuitous nudity. Laugh with a friend over a few shots and a brew. HAVE FUN!

If you're always pushing yourself, eventually? You'll be so far past your limit that you'll have to backtrack. And then? All that hard work was for nothing.

Taking Crap

No matter how good you are, no matter how hard you try, you just can't please everyone. And sometimes, it is directly your fault that you haven't pleased someone. This goes true in life, and in business. Hence the title of this entry, "Taking Crap".

Customers that complain are very important to a business. They let you know what you're doing wrong, what needs to be improved on, what you need to do to be a better company as a whole. I'm glad that we get customers that complain at Budget. We're not perfect, nor will we ever be.

But we all run into individuals in our lives, whether personal or professional, that simply cannot be satisfied. No matter what you do, there is always a problem, there is always something they want done over, there is always a discount they want applied. These types of people (perhaps you are one for shame, shame) can often sour the positive mood of a company, and wreck morale.

This shouldn't happen.

No matter what criticisms you receive in your life, take them with grace, and dignity. Stand up for yourself when applicable, and accept/admit when you are wrong. It gets hard to listen to customers complain sometimes not because it annoys me. It's just that...I feel like I failed them, and I want to try and make things right. As for the other type, I simply deal with them the best I can, and then disconnect from the feelings that the situation has inflicted upon me.

Being in business means you must being accepting of criticism, and capable to take abuse. A thick skin combined with a good attitude and acute intelligence will prevent you from being hurt, and allow you to improve and grow your business.

Any war stories you'd like share?

Green Cleaning Goods --- Part 2

Hello again! If you read my previous blog, this is part two of my Odyssey through the green cleaning product world, the third part is me delivering results on the methods I have tried. Just in case you have NO clue what I'm talking about, I'm trying out some green cleaning tips from this website. I ended with number five last time, so we'll start at, you guessed it, number six. The tips says to...

Add baking soda to water for a good cleaner safe for counter tops.

Miracle Soda

I have used this, and I enjoy it. A lot.

Pros: It's cheap, the solution is easy to make, and with a little elbow grease and determination, it works quite well. And, you can use it in certain baked goods. And, AND! It's non-toxic. How can you beat that?

Cons: It doesn't disinfect. If you use a simple solution of baking soda and water, you can clean with it, but you can't disinfect with it. If you want that, you gotta add a disinfection agent. A prime example? Vinegar. Just be careful when you mix it with baking soda.

Alright, onto tip number seven. Go green by getting green. Houseplants. Certain houseplants have the power to freshen the air in your home simply by existing. I have houseplants, and let me tell you...




English Ivy


Pros:...they work. The only time I really noticed it was being in my home without them, and then getting the plants. It was a subtle difference, but quite palatable once you recognize it. It was like an...a ha! moment.

Cons: Maintenance, cost, and space to put the plants. The plant won't do it's lovely job if you kill it through neglect. It's a living thing that needs to be fed, watered, and paid attention to. Some houseplants can get a little costly, too.

Alright, onto the next tip, and that would be tip eight. Vinegar (really?) with water. Wow. SOOOOO hard to make. Use it to make your windows gleam with the light of a thousand sons. Okay, yeah I'm exaggerating, but I can so I am. Anyway, the site tells you how to make a simple solution to clean your windows, and wipe them clean with newsprint. I have used the solution, but I gotta try the newsprint. I'll still do a pros and cons, though. Obligatory picture:

Hopefully you don't have these windows...

Pros: Vinegar and water is SO easy to make, it it works like a charm. However, the newsprint trick I cannot confirm first hand, but I have heard that it works quite well on glass surfaces, but not all surfaces. You gotta test it out.

Cons: Uh, the smell of vinegar? Only one I can spot so far. I'll try the newsprint thing and see what "clears up"! Hey, I'm laughing and that's all that counts!

Comin' to the finish line. Tip number nine. Preventing mold and mildew with a special solution that includes tea tree oil. Never even tried this, and I think I would like to. I can't list any pros and cons with this because I've never used it. However, I can say that prevention is the key to eliminate mold and mildew while staying green. I have never used a green cleaning product that kills mold or mildew. If you know of one, PLEASE contact me. Here's a pretty picture anyway.

You and I have a date, little plant.



Last, but not least, tip number ten. Disinfect and scrub your kingdom's throne with baking soda and vinegar. I have never done this, believe it or not. I've been looking for a mild abrasive and disinfectant for my bowl for quite some time now, and honestly? I have No idea why this didn't cross my mind. This is something I will try, you can count on it. For your pleasure, I've included a picture of a toilet.

Well. That's terrifying.

Okay, that about does it for this blog.  I have a lot of things to try, and I am not ashamed to say that I am looking forward to it. Yes, I am looking forward to cleaning. I'll hit you guys up later with my results. If I don't talk to you before then, have a fantastic Holiday season. Thanks for reading!

Baking soda picture found here.

English Ivy picture found here.

Windows picture found here.

Tea Tree picture found here.

Toilet picture found here.

Easy Ways to Help a Hurtin' Environment

Well, I just learned something absolutely terrifying. If you...didn't read my title. We all know that global warming is a big problem. Not a backburner kinda thing, no way. Well, thanks to this article: New Shipping Lanes in the Arctic the already BAD problem in Antarctica is getting worse due to new trade routes opening up because of ice melting. And that's only the half of it (check out the link, it's an interesting article). Is it really that hard to be more environmentally conscious? Is it really? No.

Small steps are easy. Here at Budget, we started recycling all of our paper office waste, like envelopes, copy paper, scrap paper, everything. One change right there. I don't have to tell you. Working in an office? There's a LOT of paper, and we're trying to recycle all of it. It's a simple way to help conserve our forests. Say what you want about deforestation, we get paper from trees and we have to be more careful about it. Period.

 

If you have a dishwasher, another simple step you can take it simply turn off the faucet in-between placing a rinsed dish in the dishwasher and getting another dirty one ready. I do this, and you wouldn't believe how much water you can save. You wouldn't really think of it that way, would you? Maybe you're skeptical. Well, the next time you do dishes, listen to the white noise of the faucet. Every second is precious freshwater wasted. We need that stuff to LIVE. Why not conserve it? It really is not that hard. Take short showers. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Drink all the water you take from the faucet. If you MUST throw the water out, throw it outside where it can be used by plants. Simple things mean a lot if everyone is doing it.

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Another big pet peeve is littering. I mean, come on. Really? Are we really littering in this day and age? When I go to a park, I see beer cans floating in the lake. When I walk outside, I see fast food wrappers strewn on the side of the road. I've even had litter dumped on my driveway from careless passersby. Are you really that lazy? If you are, I have some tips for you, then. If you have a lot of junk in your car, pull alongside your dumpster or trashcan and walk a total of 3 feet to dump out your cartrash quickly. It's easy. You have an ashtray in your car, don't you? STOP throwing out cigarette butts. They can start fires, and they are LOADED with hazardous chemicals that go into the ground. Get an empty soda can with some water in the bottom of it. Place it in your car. BOOM! Instant ashtray. Cut it open when you're done, dump out the junk into a bin, and recycle the can. See? It's not hard, I swear.
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PHew! Back to the main point. The whole reason why I went on this tangent was simply to show you that it's easy to start being environmentally conscious. These small steps might lead to something more. Something like, gee, I don't know. Not pumping more ozone boosting bi-products into the Antarctic air because humans are ruthless opportunists? Think about it.

Recycling Paper bin picture obtained from this site.

Dishwasher picture obtained from this site.
Virgina's Anti-littering Poster obtained from this site.
Polar Bear picture obtained from this site.