Now Trending

Around this time, every year, I spot trends among my small business clients. Of course, there are those who are always late to the tax party. This year I'm seeing something a little different and I think it's being driven by the SAS (service as software) trend in accounting.

Bookkeeping is automatic! 

 I get it, bank downloads, data just falling into place. I see the TV ads and all of the new bookkeeping cloud-based software. It looks awesomely easy, and really, compared to what was only a few years ago, it is. What it is not, is bookkeeping.

If it were as easy at that, we'd all still be using Excel workbooks to track our financial data. But we don't, and the reason is that it's really hard to find mistakes. So now we have wonderfully user friendly accounting software out there at a great price. However, if you don't know where the "pieces" go, you've got a bowl of number soup.

Will accounting ever be completely automated? Probably not. Why? Because sometimes when you go to the pub, you've there to have a beer alone and sometimes you're taking out a client. You're the only one who knows (or perhaps your assistant). Those are the details that create an accurate picture of your company from an accounting perspective. Without it, it's digital goulash.

On the Way Out

2016 may be days away from its last gasp but for accounting professionals, we're just about to start our deep dig and clean up of the outgoing year. Even if you're stressed about not having your act together in 2016, it's not too late. Bookkeepers like myself have the month of January to get 2016 tidy and together for CPA's and Enrolled Agents to file taxes.

Take a deep breath and give a bookkeeper a call and look forward to facing 2017 a little more organized. You can do it, let me help!

And What Did Your Accountant Say?

Chances are, you came away from your tax preparation meeting with your enrolled agent or CPA with an accounting "to do" list. Some of the items on your list might be:

• Categorize reimbursable and reimbursed expenses.
• Separate meals when you're traveling from client entertainment meals.
• Track loans to and from LLC members.
• Do an inventory count
• Create "classes" to track different kinds of clients

Getting the detail you missed in the previous year is one of the best changes you can make in your accounting system. The thing is though, it's the fourth month into the year already! Unless you've already locked in your first quarter financials, you can still make some changes before you close Q1 2015.

You probably don't need to toss out your entire bookkeeping system, even if it may seem pretty flawed right now. If your accountant gave you journal entries to make, do those right away. That should get your basic balances in order.

Some easy clean-up tasks include making old vendors and customers inactive so you don't have to scroll through them when you're searching. While you're at it, do the same thing for any service items you might not be using or any accounts in your chart of accounts.

Do some Spring cleaning now and run some monthly financial reports to find errors before they become bigger messes. You'll be happy you did when April 2016 rolls around.
 

The Year is Ending...Again

For those with a fiscal year end of December 31, it's the time to start thinking about what you need to take care of before you ring in the new year. Here are some basic steps to get you going:

• Make sure that you have all your bills entered into Payables and you're in agreement with the vendor statements you get. It's important to know on December 31st what you have paid for in advance (like half of a cell phone bill) and what you still owe.

• Get your Receivables in order too. Print statements and get them out to your clients as soon as possible so that they know what they owe as well. It's much easier to get the time to compare notes before everyone is on holiday vacation.

• Do you need to spend down some cash on new equipment before the year's end?

• Do you have any trust accounts (tenant deposits or deposits on your services)? Now's the time to make sure your totals are where they should be.

• Do you want to move to a new accounting system or do you want to create a new company file in your current accounting system. Now is the time to explore and plan for that.

Any in-depth questions, feel free to contact me. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Taking Inventory

I rarely come up against more differing opinions regarding accounting practices than when I talk about inventory.

Just yesterday I met with a prospective client who purchases parts which are drop-shipped and assembled at a manufacturer. Not a crazy idea. A smart financial choice it would seem. If I were to look at the books for this company, though I wouldn't actually see any of this activity. Why? All the inventory related activity is done outside of Quickbooks.

To use an ERM system or any kind of a external database for working with your inventory may be a sound decision for some businesses. Nevertheless, one should be able to look at your Profit and Loss Balance Sheet and see where your inventory assets are at any moment in time. Are they in transit to your warehouse? Are they paid for in advance but won't ship for two months? You may be able to tell me the answer to these questions by looking at your external database. What happens though if 3 years from now you are looking for financing or a buyer is doing due diligence. They want to see the past 5 years of activity. How much money did you have tied up in inventory at any one point? Pretty much any of the information they are going to be looking for is not going to be showing up in your financial reports.

The main reason companies can end up in this bind is because they build a system that is operation oriented instead of financially oriented. It is in fact possible to build a system that satisfies both needs but only if an accounting professional is part of conversation from the start. I've spent a lot of time trying to pull financial information out of a database that was built to track customer activity or shipping of inventory. It's all well and good that the folks on the operations side of things get to keep doing things in a way that makes sense to them, but at what cost?

Quickbooks is a very robust software. Add on some apps, some software designed to integrate like Salesforce or Wasp Inventory and it's stellar. It's simply not necessary to give up accurate financial reporting to gain operating ease. When operations and accounting are talking, it's a beautiful thing.

Drop by again as I further unravel some of the issues that concern today's small business. Thanks for reading and feel free to email me with any topics you'd like covered in future posts.

Sunday-Sun-Day-Blog-Day

Just taking a moment to drop in and say hi to all of my small biz friends.

The economy is looking up just the tiniest bit but what I hear people talking about is still:
Cash Flow
Downsizing or Stabilizing
New Markets

The post-holiday slump can be challenging for any small business. Hang in, keep networking and remember to take care of yourself as well as your business. In the small biz world, if you don't take care of both equally, watch out! No room for a tired owner or business.

As always, I'd love suggestions for blog posts. Suggest away...

Special Help for Creative Folks and Others

That title is a bit tongue in cheek, but it is true. There's often something like the fear of a dentist when it comes to dealing with numbers for some folks. Especially the "right brained" ones.

Being creative or operating a bit on the "fringe" or out the the box doesn't mean that your financial life needs to be disorganized. Bookkeeping isn't that scarey. it's about organizing information more than math. Today's bookkeeping software does most of the math. You just need a little help in learning the way things need to fit together to file your taxes and see where your money is going.

I seem to have (nearly) infinite patience for wading through your paperwork and holding your hand through getting your year end stuff in order. I'm happy that I can provide that service to those who find it intimidating or frustrating.

Don't wait any longer! I'm here to help.

Back in the City!

So glad to be back in Portland and seeing all my friends. Just a quick post here to tell you all that I'm looking forward to helping you in person with all your small biz and (especially) bookkeeping queries.

I've spent the past 5 months with a deep focus on inventory management. t I've come to understand more clearly that the type of system you need is very much based on how much inventory you have and how much you intend to grow your inventory. One of the biggest issues I see out there is folks not preparing for growth and using a cobbled together system.

Lots to think about here and I'd be happy to share more insights with you and see what we can get going for your small to mid-sized business.

What I've Learned Lately

Hello stranger!

Yes, this blog is still active and I am still active as a consultant as well. I've been spending more time on the finance side of life these days and that's just fine. The pendulum swings again.

I hope that everyone has had a chance to get away from the usual routine this Summer. Travel is my favorite way to gain perspective. Whether you live in the city or the country, they way you do business is very much influenced by your immediate environment. Taking a break can give your brain a wake-up call to think of new possibilities. I do some of my best thinking on trains.

I'm heading back for Portland in a few weeks and these were some of my thoughts as I was taking the train back from my apartment hunting trip:

• Be proactive. If you see a trend, be prepared to hop on it before it's too late.
• Stay up to date on new technology. It can be a bit hard to play catch up.
• Don't be shy about connecting with old colleagues. That's what social media is for.
• Stay open minded. You may have to shift gears quickly and holding onto old ideas will really slow you down.
• And conversely, don't hop onto the newest thing just because it's new and shiny!

I'm sure that being in a new home will shake some new ideas loose and I'll look forward to sharing them with you soon.

On the Side

Hey there folks.
I haven't posted to this blog for a while as I've become a full-time owner of another business, Krafti-Kit. I'd like to say to anyone reading here, if you have topics that you'd like more detail on, let me know. I get a fair amount of hits to financial reporting topics. If that's something you'd like to read more about, let me know. Perhaps it's the joy and hazards of working at home?

I'm still here and stay tuned for future posts! Happy Fall.

Better Late Than Never

That may be true in life...sometimes...but not in business. I think it's okay in blogging.

As you can see, I've taken a couple of months off of actively blogging here. I'm planning on taking off a couple of more months and wanted to let you all know what's going on.

I am a bit of a news "hound" to say the least, but you may have noticed that my blog is more focused on giving practical advice that's more "evergreen". I write less about the business news of the day and more about what you may be going through in your business right now. My idea is to create a body of knowledge for the small business owner that can be used, ongoing.

The one thing I continually see is that a person's ability to realize their goals is connected very much to their personality, their ability to be flexible and to handle the ongoing stress of going it on their own. In the past year, in particular, I've met a lot of wonderful folks who are doing just that. Meanwhile, my own practice has become more and more fluid and flexible as well. I've been focusing more and more on design: web, advertising, knitwear and a bit less on mentoring. I don't see that part of my work ending anytime soon as I really love it and it seems to find it's way to me again and again.

With these changes comes a bit of a brain shift. I suppose I'm in less of a mindset to write practical blog posts for the small biz owner right now. So, I'm giving myself a couple more months off on the blog and will return at the end of the Summer for more of what I do best here. Meanwhile, I hope you'll pass this blog on to folks who are small business owners so that perhaps they can find some use from my words.

Always, please feel free to contact me directly with your inquires into my mentoring practice.

Barter or Not

There's been some humor lately generated by the woman who wishes to be a Nevada Senator regarding paying your doctor with chickens. Yeah, it's not something I recommend, but there are those times for all of us when we wonder if bartering is the way to go.

There's two main kinds of bartering, goods and services. Chickens would be "goods".
I would add two other categories:
Too Much Work to Be Worth it and
Great Because I'm Already Doing it.

Things to ask yourself about a bartering deal:

• Can I afford to not make actual money on this?
• Will the trade be an equitable one?
• How long will the trade last if it's for services?

Some things you may not have thought about on the plus side:

• Is this a good way of introducing someone to my goods or services who will hook me up with work in the future and be a good networker?
• Does this person have something I really want to promote to help them?
• Would you not be able to afford their services any other way?

Some down-sides:

• Are you unsure that they will hold up their end up the bargain?
• Is the trade or barter vague in some way? (scope of project)
• Do you not know how long it will last or if it will recur?

Bartering can be a great way to get yourself out there. For instance, I have a friend who places flowers at a store, weekly from her floral shop with some business cards. In exchange she gets custom made clothes, dollar for dollar.

Goods are an easy barter and should clearly be on the books. Meaning, you want to set up a barter account as a liability for each barter that you're doing. When you get an invoice or send a "zero" invoice, it should be posted to this account. Whatever money is sitting in that account on your books should reflect the barter "dollars" as they move back and forth.

Services can be a bit more tricky, and I won't go into the bookkeeping for that, but it's basically the same. Just consult your accountant. The most important thing to keep in mind with bartering your services is that you "feel" a sense of equity. Of course, equity on paper is crucial, but so is the sense that what you are receiving in return for your services is a good trade.

I've been very lucky and bartering has been a great way to make contacts with folks I would normally not come to work with. Just make sure that your business is "balanced" as well and that you have cash income coming in as well. Until the telephone company takes a barter, you've gotta run a cash operation!

Enough with the chickens, already...

To the Core of the Matter

This is one of those questions I get all the time:

• I've had this job for years and now I want a change. I've always dreampt of X business, am I crazy to try it?

This question has everything to do with "core skills". Those are the skills that you already have a firm grasp on. Skills that you have acquired in some way or other, in your life, that give you an understanding of the business that you want to start.

For instance, if you want to start a retail store, some of the skills that would be important would be:

• Sales experience
• Outgoing personality
• Organized
• Knowing a bit about the product that you want to sell
• Having connections with people who want to buy this kind of product if it is "niche"
• A grasp of basic bookkeeping
• Physical ability to lift and carry merchandise
• Ability to negotiate!
  

A retail business if a physical thing. It requires long hours, hauling of merchandise, moving things constantly. As muchtime as one spends talking to customers, one is also dealing with vendors, if the product is bought wholesale. It's a taxing thing! Take that same business online and you may have taken our the customer contact and the physical environment of a store, but you still need all the other skills.

What are your core skills?

Folks who work in one industry and find a "void" somewhere that they want to fill as a business person have a good way to enter self-employment. They already understand the industry from the inside out! Sure, there are still going to be lots for them to learn, but knowing the key players, what the industry requires and the "lay of the land" are huge benefits.

This is not to say that if you want to retire into something entirely different than what you did for your life's work, you won't succeed. What I would say is this, though: Talk to people who have stores if you want to open a store. Talk to people who offer a service to a niche market if that's your dream.

We all have "core skills" and your chance of success lies directly in the path of those skills. You can develop those other skills you may need to expand your business to the dream that you have. Start out with the ones you already have to build a firm platform or base in which to work from.

Having the business of your dreams may very well be a series of steps, instead of one giant leap from where you are to where you want to be.

Keeping it New

There's a fine line between keeping things "fresh" and looking like you're becoming a new company everyday. What's the difference? We're talking product-based businesses today.

When you walk into your favorite store, you probably notice two things: It looks like your favorite store. There's something new and exciting or a new energy going on.

That's a tall order as soon as you read it from the standpoint of that business owner, isn't it? You're got a lot going on. You probably don't have a merchandising department or much of a budget for that kind of stuff.

There are a few challenges you have if it's just you and maybe a partner looking at your business:

• Small changes seem HUGE to you, but your customer may not perceive them.
• The way you present things is the way YOU see them, not someone new to the store.
• Perhaps you get ideas of changing things but it would be too great of a departure from what you're already doing.
• Time slips away and you don't have a plan on the calendar for when you make changes.

There's plenty more, but let's look at these for now. One of the most obvious things is all about working in the bubble that is your brain. How do you gain perspective on what kinds of changes will actually affect your new customer and your regular customer in the best way?

The best case scenario is to really bring in a specialist on a contract basis to give you pointers and set you in the right direction. Instead of hiring a staff person, bringing in someone who really knows merchandising can give you a big lift.

The next possibility is to get to know biz folks (who's stores or sites you like) in non-competing markets and let them take a look and give you feedback.

Have a calendar ready with some idea of when new merchandise is coming in and when you should be doing a big change up and when you're just doing some freshening up. One of the things I see folks wasting a lot of time on is trying to figure out what to do with the cool new stuff that just came in. You should put some time into that, but if there's more of that cool stuff on the way, then make a plan for a bigger change when the rest arrives instead of sweating the little arrival. Basic time management on this one.

I could write loads of posts about image consistency. There are plenty of folks who work only in this area. You have your colors, your logo, your "look", etc. Make sure that whatever else you do is an extension of this in some way. It doesn't need to be "matchy matchy" but it needs to blend and be subconsciously palatable.

If a bigger change is in order, again, think about bringing in a consultant. Instead of giving the consumer whiplash as you flip from one style to the next, plan your moves and find ways to keep it fresh on a monthly basis.

One blog I really love with lots of great retail advice is Nicole Reyhel's Retail Minded. Invaluable stuff on a daily basis.

Step out of your bubble, know who you are, know who your customer is, follow trends and keep it fresh!

Insecurity

I see there are a lot of folks searching the word "recession". I know I haven't focused much on that, and I know why. To me, it's business in any climate in still business. In as much as I prefer not to focus directly on the recession, I will focus this post on the "feeling" of insecurity. Whether there is eminent danger or not, the sense of insecurity is pretty much the same from a strategic standpoint.

Making any decision in a moment of fear is a bad idea.

On this, I know of what I speak, people. I struggle with this one daily, myself. The thing is, chances are, we have more time than we think to make a decision about something. I'm not telling you to procrastinate, as that has it's own set of issues. I'm telling you to step back, analyze the situation when you can actually breathe.

In this breathing, weighing, analyzing moment, write down exactly what you think your choices are in a given situation. Let's use the example of marketing when you're in the red:

You can...

• Spend more than you have now if you think you have money coming in the near future.
• Spend nothing and put marketing on hold until you're doing better.
• Spend all the money you can on one big print ad.

All of the above are based on "spend or not spend" because your core issue is about money. Generally speaking, the one thing you probably have more of when things are lean is time. So, take the money out of the equation and ask yourself how can I spend my time to keep up my marketing efforts?

If you stop marketing when things are good, you won't have business when times are less good. If you stop marketing for lack of money, you've just bought yourself a self-fulfilling prophesy.

So, let's put in a couple of more options for the marketing effort, sans cash, or very little cash:

• FOCUSED online networking.
• If you have a retail environment, consider hosting events there for free to groups as a way to expose your biz to more new eyes
• Offer free seminars on what you do for your service-based biz.
• Host your own events and bring in like-minded folks. It's not competition, it's cooperative marketing.
• Reach out to existing clients/customers and offer them an incentive for sending you sales or leads.
• Offer to write articles on blogs in your area of expertise.
  

If you are committed to your business, to your dream, just don't stop. Everyday your business NEEDS you to show up. Recession or no, all of the points above apply to the long run of this business of yours. Stop waiting for things to "free up" and make things happen!

Still About Me...

Thanks for indulging me, folks...

It's a new year, a new decade and I've been rethinking my Twitter name a lot. For me it's been an interesting experiment. I've kept it as "Knitfemme" because that's how so many in the cyber world know me. But, after a year of activity on Twitter and somehow many folks finding me and hiring me as a consultant, I've decided to open things up a bit.

I've kept my fiber-arts and biz identities very much tied because it's occurred to me that perhaps it would keep me a little bit more "warm and fuzzy" (pun intended). I think it worked. over 2,550 followers later, I realize that I'd like my identity to make a little more sense to folks who don't "get me".

Laura sent me this list from Forbes of the Top female entrepreneaurs on Twitter and first: I wasn't on the list. Second, my name didn't "fit" on the list.

I have chosen @MelissaThinks

When was I playing around with names and seeing what was available, there was some serious soul and ego searching going on. Can I just say, "I" think? Well, in many ways it's what I get paid to do. Most people who have jobs do, but in my case, perhaps it's more literal. The bulk of the work I do is based on two questions:

What do I do now?
What do I do next?

Pretty much! So, at this time in my life as a consultant I think I can absolutely "own" MelissaThinks. But that's because it's not "MelissaIsPerfect" or "I'mAlwaysRight" or "TrustMe" (Although I do in fact say that a lot).

So, do trust me and although I don't post to this blog as much as I have in the past, Melissa is really busy...thinking.

It's All About Me

As I was composing this post in my head, I wondered if I should post it here... or here or here. Well hey, if it's all about me...?

This is actually about the fear of failure and the expectations we have of ourselves.

I had a knitting experience today and if you know me, knitting is the single analogy for everything in my life.

I was taking a knitting break and making a pair of mittens from a pattern I've been holding onto for a while. I started it with some yarn that I didn't like and then I started them over again after being into them about 5%. Now I'm about 30 % into them with the "right yarn" and I get to this part and I think:

Holy Cr*p, I don't think I know how to do this part. This looks all wrong. I can't do this. I remember that I can't do this!!

Who can't relate to that? Even in the position as mentor to others, this comes up for me often enough. It's like the therapist who has all their own woes and doesn't want others to make the same mistakes, I suppose. I have a good dose of self-esteem going on, but there are those moments. Those quick-as-a-flash times when a choking panic comes over me and I think I haven't a clue about what to do next.

You know what that makes me? Human.
You know what else that makes me? Passionate.

It's my passion for what I do that takes to daily into uncharted territories, in my mentoring, my fiber-arts, my relationships. Wow, that's a relief! I you thought I was just crazy for a minute, didn't you? Ha!

Back to the knitting:

Seven years ago I was at my first really big knitting....uh...convention. I had been knitting for a while and had covered all the basics. I turned around in this huge convention hall and saw all these really well-heeled women showing their cashmere yarn and it was all knit into lace shawls. Cashmere lace? While briefly hyperventilating at all the goodness before me I talked myself down like this:

Melissa, when you are old, like 20 years from now, you will knit cashmere lace. You'll be good enough, you'll be able to afford it and heck, it's something to reach for! No rush, you don't even have to worry yourself with attaining that level of expertise.

It's 6 years later. I now knit cashmere into lace, that is, before I spin it myself. I didn't know I would be able to really knit lace, or become a spinner. None of it. What I've done is let my passion take me on this journey. At any point my fear could have gotten a hold of me. Stopped me in my tracks with some reminder of who I "think" I am.

I am what I do, what I say and what I create, everyday. You are too, but you know, this is all about me....kinda.

Adventure or Crisis?

I was just saying the other day that I have a hard time deciding which posts belong in what blogs I write these days.
This one is clearly economy related.
You also may not want to hear it.

Oh good, you're reading!
If you think that you can "console" yourself with: But the economy sucks and everyone is having a hard time.
Think again. Literally:
THINK AGAIN

How is it that "even in this economy" you're most likely still going to stores and buying stuff and paying for services? Because you believe they have value to you. We live in a capitalist society that, for better or worse, attaches monetary value to almost everything. You know, the commercial that goes something like, "box seats at Yankee Stadium, $500, four hot dogs, $20, the look on your kids face, priceless."

The last part is what people seem to be more interested in today. The experience. The look on your kid's face, the feeling that you get, the "experiential" part of what you're purchasing. So why do folks buy a lot of stuff online still? Two reasons I believe:

The kind of store that they would buy this in doesn't exist where they live.
The kind of store that they would buy this in doesn't have an experience that excites them.

Back to the value thing.

If you think that everyone is doing really badly then why is the latest technology still selling? How is it that we even KNOW what's popular? People are talking about it. Why? It's cool, it's new, it's really really good or it keeps getting better.

These are all keys to long term success for your business:
Quality of product AND experience.

I know that what I've said here is a gross generalization in many ways, but I'm here to kick your butt about accepting "the ways things are" as a way to operate in your head or in your company. Work harder! Throw more passion at what you're doing.

I knew a fella who wrote for an Outdoors magazine. He said: When you're going through it, it's a crisis. When you tell the story of it, that's when it becomes your adventure.

Why don't you begin your adventure now?

What Were You Thinking?

You may be already jumping to a conclusion with the title of this post that I must be addressing you with this rhetorical question. The "you" is really me and perhaps us all at some point.

I had a conversation with someone today about the fear of making the "wrong" decision. Rather than tell you her story, let me turn to my own. Every day I give folks advice on what next move to make, or how to move forward. I work with the information I have at the time. Every time I do this I am working with several elements:

• Knowledge of their "landscape" or situation as they present it to me,

• Knowledge of the different elements in play (i.e. the creative process, or monetary concerns)

Then the last and least quantifiable:

• My intuition.

What I am thinking, feeling and perceiving about what client might do changes as the information changes and "updates". Therefore, what I am thinking at any given time is subject to change. Scary? It shouldn't be for you and it's not for me. If my ability to change with you and your scenario is not flexible and my approach fluid, you'll be getting yesterday's news.

The part that I am still learning myself everyday is to have less "sentimentality" about my ideas and plans. Letting my ego take the back seat on what I thought was such a great idea "before". I believe that in order to succeed you need to have a balance of the ability to go with the flow, but to work like all get-out to make real your dreams.

The visual for me on this one is from years of canoeing:
When you're going down a river and there's some white water, you're moving pretty fast. The boat actually goes down the river on a diagonal. The person in back is steering and the person in front calls out rocks that appear as if from nowhere. We call them "sucker rocks" the water flows smoothly over them, making them virtually invisible.

What happens when the person steering is caught off guard and needs to make a quick correction in order to not get hung up on the rocks is some crazy-fast reverse paddling. Your heart's pounding. The boat (hopefully) grinds to a halt in the fast water. You quickly yank the canoe around the obstacle with sheer brute force of paddle. There is no room for a second thought or a delay in action. No halfhearted attempts allowed. No time to blame the river, the paddle or your partner up front. You just have to do it.

Sound familiar? I hope it does. What was I thinking? Depends on when you ask me. Depends on how I'm reading that river. Depends on what the person in the front of the boat is telling me. Depends on what I'm seeing for myself, up ahead.

Don't spend your time weeping over your last wrong move. Keep moving!

Midstream Turn About

Yes, you wrote your business plan, things are moving along and....
Oh no! Everything's changed again!
Ah yes. It has, it will and it must.
What you do right now is crucial. Let's talk.

Sometimes our initial business model has...flaws. It may address what you think the scenario of your marketplace is, but no. It's just not right. What does that mean?

• You're probably just like everyone else in the beginning
• You should re-brainstorm your whole business idea and see if there are other ways you could deliver the same product or service.
• You may have just found a new niche market that you'll want to take advantage of.
• It's time to dig a little deeper because there may be a "secret" that you don't know about what you're doing.
• You should get a grip and stop thinking about quitting your idea. It probably just needs an adjustment.

Often, we have a rather narrow idea of what our business is supposed to be. These ideas are formed by our experience in that market, perhaps working for someone else. They could be concepts formed that are void of some things you just couldn't have known. Trade secrets.

Instead of focusing on what seems in the moment to be a "dashed dream", just take a breathe, re-adjust a little, do more research and keep an open mind. The business that is meant to work for you, the business model that will succeed is there. You just have to uncover it.

You may feel a little bruised by the rock you just slammed against in that river, but give yourself a minute and you'll be just fine.