I did not see how hard it would be to find a shop to rent. Here I am, hot and on an empty road, asking if I chose right. The community around here backed my dream of a clothes shop, but that dream now feels like it's fading away.
The last two weeks were full of let downs. Each day, I get up full of hope, but then I just walk for hours, looking at all the spots I can find. My feet hurt, my hope goes up and down, and my money goes bit by bit on bus rides and trips that led to nothing.
Today was day fourteen of searching. No "For Rent" signs anywhere. When a real estate guy was brought up, I thought I got lucky. That good thought went away fast when they told me about the costs. They asked for 5k just to show me around! Then the big shock: 350k a year and 55k for their cut. All that rounds up to $280. I was taken aback by those numbers. They were more than I could pay.
But I can change plans. When Plan A started to fail, I thought of something else. "How about a wood shop?" I thought. A simpler, cheaper option. But all good spots were taken. The city does not seem to want new people like me.
I see my starting money get less each day, but I'm not about to quit. If I can't set up my dream clothes shop now, and a wood shop won't work, then maybe it's time for Plan C. I'm now thinking about starting a phone charging spot. The costs look okay: $150 for a good medium size generator, $100 for a small booth and ground rent, add some charging cables, and I could start. It's not the cool clothes shop I wanted, but in this part of town where power is not sure, I might really help. Plus, it might make enough money to help keep my first dream going later on.
This has shown me what it's like to start a business. It's not about just one plan - it's about being able to switch paths. Sometimes you need to bend a bit so you don't break.
As I end another day of looking and thinking, I still have hope. It's a different kind of hope, made tougher by the real world and kept going by my will. I've seen that top businesses don't always come from perfect plans - they come from being able to change when those plans don't work.
The city hasn’t given me my ideal shop yet, but it taught me how to stay tough as a starter. Whether I get that rented spot, build a wood shop, or start the phone charging spot, I now know that doing well does not follow a straight path. It moves around blocks, takes surprise turns, and sometimes takes you to spots you didn't think to go – spots that end up being just what you needed.
Maybe that's the key lesson here. Sometimes our Plan Cs turn out better than our Plan As ever could have.