Freedom Countdown

I need to find the drumbeat for my new business.  What’s that you say? Well, in Six Sigma Lean, the goal is to operate a process, like a factory line, in a consistent, efficient, error free manner so that one item comes off the line every set increment of time.  Like 1 candle per second, that’s the drumbeat of the candle production line.  Every second of every minute 1 candle is made, boom, boom, boom, just like a steady drumbeat.

As a part time business owner, I find myself rushing to get orders placed, then waiting for the merchandise to come in, then rushing to process the merchandise.  Or letting the accounting pile up for weeks, then cramming for hours to get caught up.  Or blogging.   There’s nothing steady about any aspect of my business and it contributes to an overall feeling of being out of control.  Things that were manageable when I began the business are totally unmanageable as the business has grown.

My options all revolve around becoming more disciplined in my activities.  Perhaps, I do accounting every Saturday morning, or divide my orders into smaller orders and place them every Monday and Wednesday so that there is a steady drumbeat of merchandise arriving every week. This becomes especially important if I hire someone to work with me because I’ll need a predictable amount of work for them to do.

It’s weird, but it just might start looking a little more like a job and a little less like a dream.  Hmmmmm.