Start Up Struggles

Ever had one of those moments that your dreams just seemed too much?
This week I called a professional printer company.
I am starting up my planner business and I wanted to know how much “mula” I would have to save in order to buy a professional printer and do the work myself.
Trust me I knew it was a lot of money even before calling them, I just wanted to know how much…
I can’t reach for the stars if I don’t know what will cost me to get there.
That phone call was the worst 5 minutes of my life.

Once I explained what I was looking for, I said I just want to know the price of it.
The salesman started to laugh…
He was like: “How new is your business?”
I said “A month old”
He said: “Are you rich?”
I said: “I like to believe so, but no I probably can’t afford the printer right now”
He said laughing: “Well, I am not saying you can’t afford this but you are looking at 50 thousand dollars (more laughing)”
I said: “Great! Now I know how much I need to save because I will buy one”
I thank him and hung up…..

Way to go on trying to put me down…

I know I like to dream big; at least dreaming is free!
I have a vision. In a couple of years I would like to be creating planners for school districts around the country, I also would like to have matching decorations for classroom teachers.

I would like to print everything in-house and have the flexibility to customize each item. I would also like for all materials to be made in the United States and to use recycled materials.

I also would like to be able to help writers to self-publish through ebooks and trade books.

Anyways, I was flying high on my dreams until that salesman busted my bubble.
After that phone call I realized I had 2 choices.
Choice 1: I can totally believe the salesman’s laugh/words and accept defeat even before trying and realize that “it won’t work anyways”.

Choice 2: Or I can work harder and print through a third-party until I can afford to print myself. Doing so won’t allow me to customize my planners the way I want it yet, but will allow me to start now.. I can save each penny of that profit and save to buy my own materials.

Can you guess which choice I made? That phone call totally fueled my fire!
I can start now and reach for the stars one day at a time.

The worst advice we can ever receive about our dream is to QUIT.
Trust me there are many times I want to quit not only in this new endeavor, but in so many things in life.
I want to quit when I feel something didn’t work.
I want to quit when I make a mistake and I feel I can’t fix it on my own.
I want to quit when I feel it is too hard.

Here is good news:
Quitting is not an option in my life. I may fail but I will never just “QUIT”.
When I think about quitting I always think why I started in the first place, this helps me get my head in the right direction.
We usually start things because somehow they make sense, they motivate us.
We go on diets because we want a healthier lifestyle right? Therefore, quitting is not an option unless being sick is a choice.
I started this business because I want to give back. I want to build something for my kids and to give back to my parents who sacrificed their lives for us. I want to be able to generate a profit and offer scholarships to hardworking women who have sacrificed their dreams to follow their husbands as they serve our country.
Therefore, I won’t quit!
Not for me, not for my family, not for those who sacrifice so much for our country.
Sophia James Education will grow.
I hope you enjoy reading about this startup struggles.

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Have a blessed day.
Raquel