Oh. My. Gosh.
I have not posted in weeks because we have been SO busy with the dry cleaners! Every day all day I eat, breathe, sleep dry cleaning.
I don't really have any new news because we have just been working our hineys off trying to finding our stride with the business, but I'll go into detail with that a little more.
The first three weeks we took over we were training with the previous owner. This kind of training was not spending an hour with him watching what he did and then off we went, this was intense training. He was there with us, and when I say us I really mean Jordan, 13 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 3 weeks. He taught Jordan the labor side of a dry cleaner for 3 weeks straight. The labor side consists of: what chemicals take out what kinds of stains, what fabrics you can wet clean or dry clean, how to properly press clothing, and how to organize clothing, just to name a few. It tires me out just thinking about it. You wouldn't think it would be that hard....until you stepped into the back and saw all the machinery and presses and everything that goes into cleaning clothes on a mass level and then you would probably want to turn around and walk right back out the way you came! Jordan, though, has tackled every obstacle and has picked up on everything so well. He really is so smart and can do anything that helps him on his way to success!
After the initial 3 weeks of training, this week was our first week without the previous owner there to guide us. Man, I gotta tell you, it has been a looong week. It has been a very emotional and stressful week. This week has been emotional in the sense that we worry everyday all day about the business. We are constantly thinking up ideas that could potentially make the business better, worrying about how we are doing from the customer's perspective, ugh, and all kinds of other things. It has been very emotional for me, personally, because I now know it is a fact that I cannot work side-by-side with Jordan. He is a chief and I am chief and that is too many chiefs in one place. I wanted so bad to work with him, but it ain't gonna happen. We've decided that I'm going to manage the drop-off location we have in the next town over, and I am thrilled about that. I'll be able to work with Jordan, but not work with him, if you know what I mean. This week has also been very stressful because we have to stick to a schedule and we have to make sure that the clothing is taken care of so everything is ready for the customer when they come to get their clothes. Whew!
I know that things will get better with time and that eventually things won't be quite so stressful, but for now I'm so thankful for these precious moments I have to just relax for a few minutes. Time really is a special gift.
