An Intriguing Tale Of Being An Owner

We love what we are doing – 10 yrs is definitely no easy feat and like i say everytime – you think you’ve seen or heard it all but nope it’s not true.   Today – a guy came in and looked thru’ all the VHS movies that we had and in his hand had a few – it was a buck a piece and then he looked at the new DVDs and asked me – are they $3 and i replied yes !  On the sign it said – rental at $3 a nite – now this customer thought that the new released DVDs were at $3 a piece to buy .. muahahahha!!!  how can anyone think that a new released dvd can be at $3 when we just bought it for $30 …???  hahahhaha!!!  I bet the guys at  estatecarinsure must have more stories than us though afterall they had been in business a lot longer than us.

Beautiful beaches and holiday resorts is what i remember of Haiti – for those who don’t know where Haiti is – it’s pretty close to the Dominican Republic and less than 200 miles away from the Caribbean Islands.   Been there – done it was what i usually tell people when you are using cross country moving companies like taking taxis once upon a time.

But this morning on the local news – it wasn’t a pleasant news or anything i wanted to wake up in the morning – more so – i know that there are a group of volunteers from this town who are up there doing good for the ppl of Haiti.  Haiti is very slowly but surely trying to help their own economy and an almost God forsaken place -   you would think that God would spare them.  Poverty is huge there – one can see it as soon as you are out in the local town and local ppl.  Sure the beaches are beautiful and so are many places by the sand and the sea – but mostly you can see how poor the ppl are there.  I cannot tell you how heavy-hearted i am right now and hoping that the death toll would stop right now as i continue following the news and already 100,000 feared dead.  I continue to hope here – hope for a safe return for the people from here and glad that my g/f who went to the Caribbeans to escape the cold is already back home.

Revelation..??  NOT !  I should know better actually .. but i refused to think that there are others facing the same problems like we did in the past.  Whether if it was for an admin job search or a retail place like us, it seems that small business owners and even big boys had been facing employees problems for centuries.

Another small business owner was in the store having his security system looked at by us .. and he was telling us all the problems he had been having.  His exclamation was ..  YOU CAN’T TRUST ANYONE!  if you think that was a bit dramatic .. then you should hear some of our stories.. hahhahaha!!!  We figured that if we can survived this Christmas.. with no help .. which we did.. fabulously..!  we can survive anything.

Yes.. we started on the xmas decor for this year already.  Why so early..??  to join the window display contest of the town..?? nah.. NO WAY..!!!  from previous years of being accused by ex-employees for “making” them decorate the window.. we never wanna do another window display for any contest no more.  With employees like that … one don’t need to find out  how to lose belly fat coz’ it’s a natural way to lose all kinda fats.. just by listening to their ridiculous reasons to get unemployment.

We started this early.. to pace ourselves.. and give ourselves.. more time..to enjoy the christmas spirit.. plus it’s fun.. to do stuff by yourself.. because you will always do it the way you want.  When getting someone else to do it.. you kinda not want them to do too, too much.. coz’ you don’t want to stress them.  Many years ago, i had to stripped everything.. and do stuff all over again.  Ppl just don’t really take pride in what they do here.

For as long as i can remember … we have been approached by just about everyone in down to donate for a cause.  Whether it is for the boys and girls club or the hospital.. or even YMCA .. we try to give back because it is the right thing to do.  Recently we had been approached by a childcare place to help donate some classroom desks for some students in their school and we wanna donate because it is good to give back like we said .. but if you remember.. we were celebrating our 10th anniversary of being in business .. and had asked other businesses that we had worked with .. or helped to also chip in on some advertisement for our business.. but guess what..??  outta the many we’ve listed..  only a few came on our bandwagon.  So you tell me.. this giving back thing..??  is it only me.. about giving back..??

Woman comes into our store, told the boss she bought this game about a month ago for $7 something.. and her kid can’t play with it .. because she doesn’t like it.  She wants to know if she can exchange it for another game.  I can understand if she came back within a day .. ok .. nevermind a day.. even a week .. but more than a month.. and no receipt for it..?? plus we know that this woman lies..!!!  why..?? because she had bought something from us about 2 years ago.. and wanted to return it to us.. because her “b/f” bought her a new one..!!! and it was for a private sale of a child bouncer..!  So it’s like buying diet pill that works and completely does it thing.. but she wants to return half the bottle because she doesn’t use it anymore.. or her mother bought her something else.. another brand.  Ppl sure got guts here.  I could never do that to even Walmart.. and we are just a small business owner – this is bad for our health.

There must be hundreds of online casinos out there.. maybe even thousands. I strongly suspect that folks from the west plays their online game alot because of the cold weather. For us, we have like 6 months of cold, so what do one do in the cold weather…?? Definitely not wise to fight the blizzards.. or the windchill but most of us play a lot of online games and finding the best usa online casino is a must for those who loves the rush of winning and placing the best bets.

Our family and friends  plays online games every so often, afterall, there isn’t much to do in this small town of ours. One can’t be watching tv all day right, some stimulation of the brain is important too. So if you are into online gaming, check this free guide that helps US players find safe and fun online gambling destinations.  Whether you love playing poker or blackjet, they have the place just for you, plus you can also see what the payout rates are and get customer support on this site too.  Easy to use and safe to play.

The competition is closing its business.. and we donch really know the reason why.  But since they owned the building they are in.. and its a fair size place.. we had called to see how much they are gonna lease the building out.  In which, he had replied to the boss that it would be too much for us.  So who is the one going outta business..?? and still being so cocky..??  oh well .. !! he better get the best eye cream because like the chinese used to say..  “dog eyes see ppl down”  .. when he is already down himself.   And asking for $3500 for the area we are in .. well, he is gonna have a tough time getting another tenant in that’s for sure.  An ass and short-sighted.. plus RUDE..!!!  not the combination i want for a landlord.  Sorry .. even if he lowered his rent.. in a couple of months.. he is not getting our money .. that’s for sure.

One of our worker’s family member??? has what we call huge, huge, huge bum and she is only in late teens.  Having a kid is not the reason for not taking care of oneself – that is a darn lazy excuse in my opinion.. but how do one tell them the truth..?? without offending them.  Can one recommend some diet pills that work without having them jump all over you for being rude…??   Normally, i wouldn’t care.. but since it is someone we know.. i thought it would be nice to tell her.. because it does get harder .. to lose those unhealthy sight.. if you know what i mean.  But she is totally happy with that look.. so what can you do eh.

Someone that we know .. a customer opened a satellite shop some 8 months ago.  And each time we ran into him, he had told us how good business was.  So of course, I was shocked to learn from another customer.. that the satellite store is closed.  Afterall, the young owner had told us he was making a quarter of a million in sales less than 6 months into business.  Plus he was upset, he wasn’t nominated for young entrepreneur of the year and that he had put out another satellite shop outta business, that all these didn’t count with the bank who was the nominating business and that he should change and sell best fat burners instead, since the girls at the health store were nominated.

I had hope that he would continue to well because any business located downtown is good for those like us.  But on the other hand, did i really think he would be able to hold onto the business..?? since this town is full of pirated cables and satellites.

When you own a business as long as we have .. you think you see all sorts. But everyday, you learn something new.. and everything.. ppl still try to con you.  It’s not even the older crooks.. that tries it.. it’s the young kids.  They know that if they get caught, they are too young to be charged.. so they dare do stuff.. like cheating, stealing and breaking in. One even tried to sell us stuff today.. and claimed that he was helping a friend who has cerebral palsy. Of course, we try to do the right thing.. and didn’t wanna chance that he was not telling the truth.  But later this evening.. we found out the things that were sold to us were stolen.. *sigh*.  How do small businesses like ours stay open..???  *sigh* .. when you have so much crooks in this town.

February is almost gone.. and every year we wonder when the warm whether is gonna come .. and we whined about taking a vacation and can`t wait till we get out of this cold and wet weather.  Orlando vacations are very enticing especially during the March break, I know of our regular customer heading that way with her entire family to escape the cold here.  If it wasn`t for the business, I will be the first to head out there.

This time of the year, if you ever go to Cuba, you would think that you probably landed in the wrong country. . or the Canadians owned Cuba.  Yes, the worst time of Winter.. is the time where all Canadians flocked to Cuba.  Travel medical insurance are highly sought after by the people here.. and I tell yer not all the Canadians are smart enough to think of that. But i make sure.. all our customers who are heading that way knows about the benefit of it. Just because we can leave the store.. and go holidaying.. doesn’t mean that we have to be selfish about what we know eh.

We have been shoveling the snow where the doctor’s use as doorway for their prayer’s place.. because the entrance is just next to our store.  And like any good neighbour, knowing that they are not always there.. we shovel for them.  A few days ago, I had left message for our family doctor .. about the snow situation. .and that it would be nice to leave some salt for us to salt it for them.  A few days later.. no response.. !!!  Oh well.. guess who isn’t gonna shovel for them no more..  ???  no prizes for guessing correct.  Where is their social responsibilities eh…?? a bunch of doctors.. and no manners..!!

Yes.. Gem of Life Episode 48, I’m gonna watch at the store.. because we are open on Boxing Day.. that is today..!!   We hope it will be busy.. that way .. it would be worthwhile opening.. since it is a Public Holiday.  Anyways, I’m watching the show now.. and if you want to download or watch it online, check out my entertainment blog.

When the big boys like Walmart and Staples came to town a few years ago, we really had a hard time trying to keep afloat.  Small businesses like ours cannot beat the prices of those big boys have to offer and if a customer can buy something for less than a few bucks, they go where they can save money on, and you really cannot blame them right? So yes, things were tough for us .. the first year they were in town… and with money not coming in and bills to be paid, we too wonder if our business can survive?

With not knowing what to do and how one can find help or advice to  avoid bankruptcy, we were quite stressed and totally lost.   If you are ever in such a situation where you have too much debt and you are looking for ways to solve your debt problems, a good site like ClearDebt has comprehensive information and advice for you.  With knowledge brings a clearer head and better planning for what to expect and what one can do.  Find out your other options, the advantages, the disadvantages and get all your questions answered online with absolutely no obligation and free.  No hassle, no embarrasment, doing it in the privacy of your home at a time convenient to you.

You know when you own a business, you kinda need to decorate your store according to the season . .and you can imagine, just how much we spent after being in business for 9 yrs.  Yes.. the man isn’t too concern about it.. but i am.  What about you ..?? But having a store is a disadvantage for the family and home.. because the store comes before anything.  So all the good decors goes to the store first.. and then the home later.  It can get quite stressful.. and i know of some ladies in our community .. they put on weight .. because of all the goodies around at this time of the year.. but they also use Decaslim, know to be the best in the market for being safe and the natural approach.

For someone who uses the spa very often because we know we have to take care of ourselves.. and pamper ourselves every  now and then, I  had consider owning my own spa or a beauty salon here..  providing facials, manicure and pedicures .. and other spa/beauty treatment.

But having no experience, I would have to look for a beauty school like the girlfriend of mine living in United States, beauty schools in kansas are listed with FindABeautySchool and it has the most comprehensive listing for all the beauty schools around United States.  Just do your search by zip code and you will get all the information of the potential schools you want to look into.  I certainly wished that they have a listing for Canada.. because I could use some useful information and a comparison.

I’m done watching Gem of Life Episode 33 and waiting for Gem of Life Episode 44, sometimes they do come out in the middle of the night here.. or even the weekend.  So don’t forget to check back at my entertainment blog for the latest while i check out some horse supplements.  Winter is definitely here.. and although they don’t get any sunshine, I still have to make sure their coats are healthy eh.

I thought i was gonna send you good news.. with Gem of Life Episode 40 .. but here sitting at the store.. I still can’t see any come online .. what a bummer.  Oh well..!! i’ll check again. .and make sure i have it post up on my entertainment blog .. once i find it.  Check back later.. while i close up the store.. it’s about 4pm already.