Friday, November 23rd, 2007...12:15 am
3 Dates Forever Burned Into My Brain
Three dates will live in infamy for me: November 22, 2006, November 26, 2006, and December 2, 2006. Since today is November 22, 2007, one year later– last year’s experiences have been on my mind recently.
I’ll explain: November 22nd is the day our entire team was laid off from the tech startup I’d worked with for about 5 months (after the prior tech startup I’d worked for had also laid off everyone as well).
On my drive home, I determined I would not be looking for a new job, but would find a way to keep myself afloat through entrepreneurship. For me, it wasn’t about finding a better way to earn a living, or to develop some amazing new idea. I just wanted to prove that it (starting a business) could be done very quickly and effectively.
Between Nov. 22 and 26, I brainstormed several ideas and even fleshed out a fairly detailed business plan for another concept with a colleague, which we both determined wasn’t the right thing for either of us. Those four days were fairly intense, as I tried to figure out what my next step would be.
On the 26th of November, I was bumming around my house doing Saturday-type things, when I got the idea for the Hundred Dollar Business concept. I went to my favorite cafe (Guru’s) and spent a few hours further developing what I wanted to do.
Just for fun– here’s a list of ideas I put together, in an email to Rachelle, who was a crucial partner in the kiosk project. The ones in bold were my favorites. If you can believe it, there are ideas I didn’t include because they seemed so ghetto….
***
- Provide list of inexpensive gift ideas for people on low-budgets
- Make travel arrangements
- Shuttle students to the airport/pick up
- coordinate rides for students to their homes (out of state)
- valet park at the malls
- wait in line for people at crowded stores (that cracks me up)
- shop by proxy– you give us the list, we get the stuff for you
- provide gift idea lists for younger/older people (what to get your grandma? what to get your grandchild?)
- shovel snow
- carry shopping bags to cars
- go to mall for older people/people who don’t like malls
- provide cooking help for large Christmas parties/activities
- pack/clean/move service for students
- rent out a collective storage unit for students during the break
- be a date for christmas parties
- help with weddings setup/take down
- go out and acquire christmas tree, decorate, deliver
- do store returns for gifts
- provide gift-wrapping service
- provide list of best stores/times to shop at
- decorate houses indoor/outdoor (they supply the stuff)
- have a white-elephant gift warehouse (collect stuff from people, wrap it, sell as ready-made white elephants)
- have a new/gently used Christmas gifts sale: collect items, have them at discounted rates, charge an admission fee (like a flea market) (the theme for this one would be: “It’s not ghetto… just retro.”
- sponsor community holiday activities, charge for them (they must pre-register/pay): christmas movies, caroling w/cider/hot cocoa, skiing, snowball fight, Christmas goodies, a Christmas dance, paid Temple Square tours (not sure the Church will go for that one…)
- ready-made christmas cookies (order in advance)
- homemade Christmas cards
- store-bought cards that we address and mail for you
- party or event planning service, we consult with you, make all the arrangements for you
- provide mailing service for out-of-town gifts– we pack & mail the things for you.
***
So then, between the 26th and the 2nd, I went into action mode, getting things ready, finding opportunities, etc. And on December 2nd, at 7 am, after having been up all night stocking the mall kiosk, we officially opened for business.
Within two hours of opening, we’d made around $120 in sales. The three startup companies I worked for previously hadn’t made a dime in sales over several months each, so it felt amazing to start off with an inherent focus on selling something immediately.
The rest of the story, you’ve heard. (Or check out our archives, starting with December 2006.) I became an entrepreneur because of the events that happened between these three dates, and to look back on it a year later, is astounding to me.
It’s been a wild year, full of exciting things and freedoms and interesting projects that I didn’t have the opportunity to experience before becoming an entrepreneur. Maybe I’m being a bit sentimental, but thinking about last year’s 3 pivotal dates seems apropos.
One final thought/question: how would my life be different if:
1. We hadn’t been laid off from the company?
2. I’d looked for a new job?
3. The kiosk had been financially successful?
I’m not sure I know the answers to those questions, but it’s interesting to think about! 
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