I thought I'd be hung over for sure. Maybe even still drunk when I woke up. But honestly...nothing. You don't get hung over when you don't drink, and that's exactly what I did. I didn't drink to celebrate the signing of the lease and the handing over of the keys. To be honest, all I wanted to do was run like the wind out of there.
I was excited enough walking in there, with my pen ready and the LLC's checkbook in my bag. I had already exchanged a few emails with Miss M earlier that morning and we laughed about how we were both giddy with butterflies. Miss M and her husband, Mr J, were already there when Husband and I arrived. We all walked around the studio taking measurements and imagining what the space could eventually look like. Landlord and the men discussed the demolition and the more technical aspects, while Miss M and I talked colors and motif. I even made Miss M pose with the deposit check while I took pictures on my cellphone. I think my adrenaline peaked when we tested out the keys that Landlord handed to us.
When Landlord left with the check secure in his pocket, the little whispers of doubt began caressing my head. Had I made a mistake? Would I go down in financial flames? What if Miss M decided she wanted out? What if I wasn't good enough? What if we threw a party and no one came???? This is why I was an independent contractor for so long: I could come in, teach my class, and then leave. I wasn't involved with the day-to-day business side of things; I wasn't responsible for anything other than teaching a good, quality class. My stomach tightened and I fought the urge to sink down to the ground in fetal position.
Fear of failure is a laughable concept to someone who was never expected to succeed much in life. But fear of success is a real bitch. I think what scares me silly is that DollHouse Pole Studio really has a chance to make it. I'm not talking about world domination (although one can only hope...) but I'd be thrilled with creating classes that might inspire women to find their own power. And Boulder is ripe for the experience. My old friend, Bootsie, once said "if you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always gotten." Well, what I've always gotten doesn't seem very fulfilling anymore. I've always played it safe with the comfortable net of failure to catch me. So with that in mind, it's time to pull my head out of the sand and take a risk. I could run frantically after Landlord, rip up the check and dissolve my partnership with Miss M, or I could grow up and see where this ride is going to take me.
I sat down on the floor of the soon-to-be DollHouse Pole Studio with Miss M to calculate the days until a Grand Opening.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Dolls in Space
It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. If so, nature must have been extremely annoyed with me these past few years and recently sent me an avalanche as a retort!
It all happened so fast: Miss M and I decide to open a pole dance studio, we form our business, we take a class at SBDC, we look at properties, we're discouraged by said properties in relation to the asking prices, brokers don't return calls or are plain rude, and then, boom, we found it--a great spot with a rent that could not possibly be beat. We are thrilled, we are nervous, we are giddy, we are apprehensive. Every emotion on the chart ran through us in the course of a week. And then we got down to business.
Four revisions of the Letter of Intent later, our Commercial Real Agent (CRA, for short) sent us a lease. Miss M and I were flabbergasted. It was a simple document of nine pages but we poked it gingerly, as if it were a bomb ready to detonate at any minute. Perhaps this was the influence of SBDC Lawyer. She scared the bejeezus out of us and rammed a fear of the IRS and the Bar Association down our trembling throats. Surely we were not capable of signing a lease until a legal professional picked it over with a fine-tooth comb! So we sent it off to a legal service and crossed our fingers that whomever it was assigned wore a skirt longer than Ally McBeal. In the meantime Landlord was literally drumming his fingers on the table. There was nothing to do but wait to hear back from the legal people. We thought we'd be productive and go get our business license from the City of Boulder and also see what we'd need to do in terms of permitting and zoning. Oy, what a headache.
We learned from the Permitting office that we'd need to do X, Y, Z and that we'd need a licensed Contractor or a registered Architect to stamp the work. It was a harsh hour of building codes and mechanical codes, and occupancy loads. In all actuality, the information was harsh, but the permitting guys were a blast. They got a particular kick out of picturing men pole dancing. I'm not sure what they were seeing, but they both turned three shades of red each. Miss M and I left there with our heads spinning but with a fairly clear idea of how to proceed. It was going to be a ton of paperwork, dotting i's and crossing t's, as well as a bigger build-out than we had anticipated.
Yesterday was when the avalanche really starting gaining momentum. We unexpectedly got an appointment with SBDC Lawyer (it was offered for free for anyone who took the class) and while I'm pretty illiterate in legalese, I think she indicated that we were definitely on the right track with the work we've already done and she seemed pleased with the questions we were asking. She generously gave us two hours pro bono and we couldn't have been more grateful to her. Then the legal people called and said that we were in good shape with the lease. Then CRA called to ask whether we were ready to sign (not too subtle there, CRA). Then we contacted Landlord to make an appointment with him for tomorrow to sign the lease and exchange the deposit check for keys. Then we ran to the bank to establish our brand new business account.
Last night I was numb. For three hours after Son went to bed, my mind was buzzing but in a really nebulous way. I couldn't focus on anything but I couldn't quite relax either. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant.
If avalanches are the result of pursing your dream, I'm happy to be buried temporarily.
We're signing the lease today at 1:00pm!
It all happened so fast: Miss M and I decide to open a pole dance studio, we form our business, we take a class at SBDC, we look at properties, we're discouraged by said properties in relation to the asking prices, brokers don't return calls or are plain rude, and then, boom, we found it--a great spot with a rent that could not possibly be beat. We are thrilled, we are nervous, we are giddy, we are apprehensive. Every emotion on the chart ran through us in the course of a week. And then we got down to business.
Four revisions of the Letter of Intent later, our Commercial Real Agent (CRA, for short) sent us a lease. Miss M and I were flabbergasted. It was a simple document of nine pages but we poked it gingerly, as if it were a bomb ready to detonate at any minute. Perhaps this was the influence of SBDC Lawyer. She scared the bejeezus out of us and rammed a fear of the IRS and the Bar Association down our trembling throats. Surely we were not capable of signing a lease until a legal professional picked it over with a fine-tooth comb! So we sent it off to a legal service and crossed our fingers that whomever it was assigned wore a skirt longer than Ally McBeal. In the meantime Landlord was literally drumming his fingers on the table. There was nothing to do but wait to hear back from the legal people. We thought we'd be productive and go get our business license from the City of Boulder and also see what we'd need to do in terms of permitting and zoning. Oy, what a headache.
We learned from the Permitting office that we'd need to do X, Y, Z and that we'd need a licensed Contractor or a registered Architect to stamp the work. It was a harsh hour of building codes and mechanical codes, and occupancy loads. In all actuality, the information was harsh, but the permitting guys were a blast. They got a particular kick out of picturing men pole dancing. I'm not sure what they were seeing, but they both turned three shades of red each. Miss M and I left there with our heads spinning but with a fairly clear idea of how to proceed. It was going to be a ton of paperwork, dotting i's and crossing t's, as well as a bigger build-out than we had anticipated.
Yesterday was when the avalanche really starting gaining momentum. We unexpectedly got an appointment with SBDC Lawyer (it was offered for free for anyone who took the class) and while I'm pretty illiterate in legalese, I think she indicated that we were definitely on the right track with the work we've already done and she seemed pleased with the questions we were asking. She generously gave us two hours pro bono and we couldn't have been more grateful to her. Then the legal people called and said that we were in good shape with the lease. Then CRA called to ask whether we were ready to sign (not too subtle there, CRA). Then we contacted Landlord to make an appointment with him for tomorrow to sign the lease and exchange the deposit check for keys. Then we ran to the bank to establish our brand new business account.
Last night I was numb. For three hours after Son went to bed, my mind was buzzing but in a really nebulous way. I couldn't focus on anything but I couldn't quite relax either. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant.
If avalanches are the result of pursing your dream, I'm happy to be buried temporarily.
We're signing the lease today at 1:00pm!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Building a DollHouse: Blueprints
As a first generation American, the third child of immigrants, many ideas were drilled into my head. The three most, shall we say "constructive", ones are: 1) be your own boss and own your own business (although being a physician in a hospital was allowed), 2) if you must borrow money, better to do so from family than from a bank, and 3) own your house free and clear and nobody can take it away from you. Despite some other more colorful world-views, these three concept still ring true after all these years.
I've always wanted to own my own studio whether it was dance, Yoga, or Gyrotonic®. I've worked as an independent contractor in so many of them, I thought that it was high time to strike out on my own. In 2010, I decided that I would open a pole dance studio. The only problem was: where? We were living in Santa Fe, NM, knew we weren't going to stay, and we were trying to decide where we wanted to put down some roots. Aha! Boulder, CO! There was lots of hiking, we all loved the mountains, there are roughly 300 days of sunshine, the public school systems were excellent, and maybe best yet, the market for pole fitness was virtually untapped.
And then I hooked up with Miss M! She is a dynamo of a woman, with super duper brains, the body of a goddess and the face of a model. She shares my vision of creating a space for women to discover their self power through the funnest medium we know: pole dancing. Miss M and I are a great fit for one another. Areas in which I'm weak, she's strong, and vice versa. I think this is going to be a beautiful partnership.
Now all we need is space...
I've always wanted to own my own studio whether it was dance, Yoga, or Gyrotonic®. I've worked as an independent contractor in so many of them, I thought that it was high time to strike out on my own. In 2010, I decided that I would open a pole dance studio. The only problem was: where? We were living in Santa Fe, NM, knew we weren't going to stay, and we were trying to decide where we wanted to put down some roots. Aha! Boulder, CO! There was lots of hiking, we all loved the mountains, there are roughly 300 days of sunshine, the public school systems were excellent, and maybe best yet, the market for pole fitness was virtually untapped.
And then I hooked up with Miss M! She is a dynamo of a woman, with super duper brains, the body of a goddess and the face of a model. She shares my vision of creating a space for women to discover their self power through the funnest medium we know: pole dancing. Miss M and I are a great fit for one another. Areas in which I'm weak, she's strong, and vice versa. I think this is going to be a beautiful partnership.
Now all we need is space...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)