Technical difficulties, please stand by

So, after a plethora (did you say, "plethora"?) of problematic problems being problematically problemy, the problem of the blog is no longer an issue. See, the problem revolved around preferred links to the website and which engine of our choosing we wished to continue with and how each individually unique engine would fare once integrated into the overall web imagery. Got it? Swell, let's move on, because I'm utterly lost.

It will take a number of entries to get you caught up on the madness of the overall process of getting this bookstore open, so I'll avoid detailing them all here and now. I would, however, like to send a great how do you do out to the Georgia Department of Revenue, whose wonderfully adept crew of hardworking souls managed to hold on to my application for sales tax and use for about three weeks before finally succumbing to five faxes, six phones calls and one urgent insistence from a beleaguered owner that they actually take a few moments to process the infernal thing. I was beginning to expect an exchange of dialogue that would go somewhat like this:

"Hi, I've been trying for three weeks to get you guys to process my application and it doesn't seem that you've fully understood what I am asking."

"I am truly sorry sir, but as it is January, we are inundated with alcohol permit renewals and food and beverage renewals. We're a bit behind." (This one I heard each time I called)

"Ri--uh, yeah, right...see I'm not renewing either of those. I need a sales tax and use number so that I can establish vendor accounts and actually order some books."

"I'm truly sorry sir." (I waited for this response but alas...)

"Sure, thanks, but I really need to order books. Can you move this through for me? I mean, the state is rather fond of the whole small business idea, right? You'd think I wouldn't have to wait so long."

"Well, sir, the state may want you to open your store, but we're really not all that interested in whether or not you make any money."

I'd like to say that my imagination ran away with me and left my memory sitting on the corner crying, but not so far from reality there. I did, finally, find the one state worker who felt for my plight and bless her, she processed it there that day and got me the certificate in a bit more than a week.

In the time--a touch more than a month now--since I embarked on this endeavor, I have learned that you are in no shape or form a business until every organization in America has identified you by some form of number. Federal tax ID (Employee Identification Number), state sales and use, Dun and Bradstreet ID (So that all your happy little vendors can quickly check your company's credit history), business occupation (both county and city), not to mention the myriad of account numbers you accumulate through vendors of varying degree. I'm sure I've only tipped the iceberg here. Come to think of it, I fully expect that the iceberg will melt by way of Entrepreneurial Warming and deluge me with its cold flooding blast of suffocation. Pretty sure, anyway.

On a lighter note, I am officially placing a target date on the opening: May 18th. That at least gives me a point to move toward and a brick wall with which I may crash into if anything slows down. If all goes better than planned, it could be earlier. For now though, the countdown begins at 120 days, just four months away. Which, from a logistical standpoint, is what every small business owner should shoot for. 120 at best (with financing makes life so much easier) or the 90 that I have planned out from the acquisition of financing forward--Just in case you were noodling your fingers to see where you were at in your plan.

So, going forward I will simply tag the subject lines of these blogs in countdown mode, which I think will be an easier way to flip through them and see, in order, what is involved in the process. For now though, I'll make a quiet exit and leave the madness that is setting up a website for tomorrow. Until then...

--zach