Many Hats

The Many Hats of a Small Business Owner

Big Dreams, Big Ambitions

Being a small business owner has inherent challenges we face every day. Some have employees to assist them with various tasks; many more have numerous employees who fulfill every type of support role imaginable.

And then there’s the nano-business-wanna-be, which would be the scale of Rx4Nails.

But I’m Only One Woman!

I didn’t plan to start a business. One day I was refilling my dropper bottle and talking to a friend, he got quite excited and said, “You should sell this stuff!” Off it went, fast as a cheetah chasing its dinner.

Fortunately this friend is a webmaster, whew! Since I’m relatively totally techno-challenged, he helps with all things technical. I take care of 99% of the other tasks; phone orders or questions, mixing the product, bottling, labeling, ordering, and so on.

 The biggest most frustrating, difficult, and somewhat annoying, challenge for Rx4Nails is—marketing! It’s a struggle to write an ad that packs a punch and delivers the customer to my Inbox. I’ve used Adwords for years, often to the point of practically screaming at my computer! Counterproductive to be sure. Blogging? ME? Ok, this is my first business blog. It’s too long. It’s probably boring. There are a thousand things I could be doing. But here goes.

With social media becoming more important than Adwords (snickering quietly), blogging, writing articles, getting in front of news people, FINDING news people, and constantly improving customer service are invaluable tools. I’m slow, but learning.

One thing I really love about this business is when a customer or a potential customer calls me. I've been blessed to get to know a few of them well, and always look forward to our conversations. Even though they're able to, and have ordered on the website, sometimes they just like to talk. No problem! I enjoy it. It's great fun. Also, people frequently call or write to tell me their progress, and some of the comments just blow my hair back! They're delighted, they've finally found something that works, and can stop wasting time and money on other products. I often get comments like this:

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I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for this wonderful product. I have been using it for only one week and it has performed a MIRACLE on my nails. They were very damaged from acrylics and toxic nail polish, etc. I have been struggling with them for months, trying to get them back to a healthy state. After just this first week of using Rx4 Nails, there is a HUGE difference in my nails and I am so pleased. I have just ordered 2 of your largest size containers and will continue to use your product forever. It is truly amazing.
Thank you, Kim

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I work entirely at home. No overhead. I’d love to have a factory and employ people—it’s to this end I’m working this side of product promotion. Is it easy? Yes and no. But then I don’t need a business casual wardrobe! Compromises can be great. When I get to the factory stage, you can bet it will still be a company with happy employees.
Make it so!

Chris
P.S. This product, and the packaging, is entirely Made in the USA. It's 100% money-back guaranteed--and if you don't like it, just email me, without returning a thing!
P.P.S. Just in time for Christmas, we're offering "buy 2 get 3"  on our 3ml bottles.  Order some today!
www.Rx4Nails.com
support@rx4nails.com

My Lemonade Stand

Opinion
I Tried To Open A Lemonade Stand
By John Stossel
Published February 24, 2012| FoxNews.com


Want to open a business in America? It isn't easy.

In Midway, Georgia, a 14-year-old girl and and her 10-year-old sister sold lemonade from their front yard. Two police officers bought some. But the next day, different officers ordered them to close their stand.

Their father went to city hall to try to find out why. The clerk laughed, and said she didn't know. Eventually, Police Chief Kelly Morningstar explained, "We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, and of what the lemonade was made with."

Give me a break. If she doesn't know, so what? But kids trying their first experiment with entrepreneurship are being shut down all over America. Officials in Hazelwood, Missouri ordered little girls to stop selling Girl Scout cookies.

It made me want to try to jump through the legal hoops required to open a simple lemonade stand in New York City. Here's some of what one has to do:

1) Register as sole proprietor with the County Clerk's Office (must be done in person)
2) Apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number
3) Complete 15-hr Food Protection Course!
4) After the course, register for an exam that takes 1 hr. You must score 70 percent to pass. (Sample question: "What toxins are associated with the puffer fish?") If you pass, allow 3-5 weeks for delivery of Food Protection Certificate.
5) Register for sales tax Certificate of Authority
6) Apply for a Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit. Must bring copies of the previous documents and completed forms to the Consumer Affairs Licensing Center.

Then, at least 21 days before opening your establishment, you must:

Arrange for an inspection with the Health Department's Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation. It takes about 3 weeks to get your appointment. If you pass, you can set up a business once you:

- Buy a portable fire extinguisher from a company certified by the FDNY and set up a contract for waste disposal.
- We couldn't finish the process. Had we been able to schedule our health inspection and open my stand legally, it would have taken us 65 days.

I sold lemonade anyway. I looked dumb hawking it with my giant fire extinguisher on the table.

Tourists told me they couldn't believe that I had to get "all those permits." A Pakistani man said, "That's crazy! You should move to Pakistan!"

But I don't want to move to Pakistan.

Politicians say, "We support entrepreneurs," but the bureaucrats make it hard. The Feds alone add 80,000 pages of new rules every year. Local governments add more. There are so many incomprehensible rules that even the bureaucrats can't tell you what's legal. In the name of public safety, politicians strangle opportunity.

John Stossel's TV Special on America’s explosion of laws, "Illegal Everything", will air Saturday at 10 pm and Sunday at 3 pm EST.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/02/24/tried-to-open-lemonade-stand/?intcmp=spotlight#ixzz1nbKRarjc