Helping those who help themselves

It makes me sad to see so many vacant retail and office space in Boulder and surrounding communities. Where did they all go? Why?

After a pretty good morning, I stopped by a small floral shop in a large industrial area. The shop was on the street end of the building but somewhat obscure. If I had been driving by, I would have missed it. However being on foot, I decided to stop in and talk with the owner.

As it turns out, she was packing up her vases and small decorative items because she had to be out of the building by the end of the month. She had been in business for almost three years and everything finally caught up to her. She actually looked beaten down. What could have caused this beautiful woman to look like hell frozen over.

The story begins in 2000 after a lousy relationship and bad divorce that she decided to move to Colorado for a new start. She worked at a local company for a few years and decided to take some floral design courses at the community college. She was excited in the fact that she was finally able to do something for herself, getting out from under the heavy hand of a drunkard of a husband. She was now in control of her life and her destiny.

Throughout her time in floral design classes, she had built a relationship with an older lady who owned a small specialty floral shop. After a year or so of classes she Built up the courage and funds for a down payment on this small shop because the owner was retiring.

This was it. From nothing to something, she thought. Everything was in place for her to live and work the American dream. She spent everyday, seven days a week, from about 8 in the morning til late into the night creating and selling her beautiful pieces of art. She was so talented in design of her floral arrangements...

But this is where the dream turns to nightmare. For everything that she learned in her floral classes, the one thing that she didn't learn about was how to run her business. At first it was just the small things like failure to maintain her receipts and keep track of her inventory. Then, as every business owner knows, the salesmen show up. like wolves to a new kill. They could smell the blood of a new business owner. She was vulnerable and alone. She didn't stand a chance against every advertising scheme and who knows how many credit card machine salesmen.

As the year turned into two, the city, county and state tax agencies began to eat into her piece of the pie. Here again, she was blindsided. She didn't properly prepare for these types of taxes and slowly they began to drain the resources from her business and her self worth.

Year three has been devastating. With the downturn in the economy and her failure to properly plan for the future, it was only a question of when and not if, she would have to close the doors.

For her, the American dream turned into the American nightmare. What could she have done to prevent this from happening? What resources are available for entrepreneurs like her to take advantage of to at least give her a chance of survival?

For anyone looking to start a business, it is vitally important to understand the business side of things first even before you spend a single penny of your hard earned money. Over the year, I found out that many trades people who are great at their trades typically go out of business within a few years because they do not understand the real nuts and bolts of business.

I would strongly recommend that anyone considering opening a business contact the Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov). There are some great resources available for many small businesses. I would also recommend reading a book called "The 'E' Myth" by Michael Gerber. Your local chamber of commerce and state economic agencies also have great information to get you going in the right direction

The moral today: Shop local, give great service and always ask for referrals!