Monday, November 16, 2015

Dealing With Bad Days And Working Past It

So I wanted to open the eyes of those who don't understand the way things work when you are trying to establish a business.  I'm not sure where to exactly start, but I can tell you this.  Opening a small business is not an easy task.  There are the obvious things such as finding a proper location, having or obtaining financial backing, and then operating the business itself.  These steps might seem very simple, but when you take into account all the work and effort required, things are not as easy as they seem.  Just finding a city that would allow an establishment like Super Arcade was a task in itself.  Had I told people what I was going through just to obtain the proper permits for this, I'm sure I would've looked like a clown and no one would believe me.  If my public hearing were not streamed live, my entire effort might have already been shut down and all of my loyal friends and customers might have just called it quits too.  But thankfully, the internet does exist and the City of Azusa not only archives and records their hearings, but yes, they too are streamed just like our beloved tournaments.

At this point, I have honestly been doing everything I can to speed things up and get up and running as soon as possible.  Here is where the toughest part of everything stands and here is where my biggest problem comes.  I am not in control of what is going on and not able to change that.  We received a stop work order back in mid September due to building permit issues.  I can only press the issue so much in terms of asking for things to get expedited and what not before I just become a nuisance to the city planners and get on their bad side.  The funniest part of all this is, some people think I am not opening on purpose.  Let me just say that by not being open now, I am currently paying rent on a building that is not in use, I am not taking in any revenue from the location, I am completely stressing myself out day and night because the situation, and also being stuck without any progress for almost 2 months will drive anyone insane.  If you calculate expenses during this time, I am at an estimated loss of roughly 4,000 to 5,000 per week.  So if anyone believes that losing this type of money is fun then be my guest and walk in my shoes please.

Regardless, this week we will be allowed back at work and move as fast as we can to get things finished with all the proper steps being taken.  There has been very few times where I wanted to give up, but this particular project has really driven me to the brink on occasion.  The light at the tunnel seems so near but at the same time out of arms reach and ever so frustrating.  The journey is almost over everyone and thank you all for hanging around.  The next post will have a lot more positive things to talk about so keep your eyes open for that.  Until then, thank you again for your support and thank you all for reading.

4 comments:

  1. It sounds like they are trying to take advantage of you. I personally don't know how they would benefit from prolonging the opening of your Arcade but who knows what the hell these guys think. I hope it works out for you man.

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  2. I'm behind you Mike......(Look behind you) :-) Waiting for a new home for MVC2. See you soon.... Duc

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  3. Hey Mike, where have you been? I hope everything is working out.

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