Fed up!!! Going back to a 9 to 5 life !

[Digamma]

It sounds like you built this huge, massive event, got it done, and then you felt bad because it wasn't perfect and from your perspective it feels like failure.
Thing is, when you're into the actual battlefield, your whole body and mind will try to get you back to safety. It's survival. You want to quit. Anything feels like it would be better.

But. From here, from the outside perspective, it looks like you accomplished an amazing thing. You're awesome.

I was having a really bad day. You know, those days when you gotta get back to the drawing board and you feel lost.
Reading this thread helped, though, don't know why. Perspective and all that. Thank you.

 

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[SteveO]

I see hiring a coordinator as a shot in the dark unless you can find someone that is very experienced at what you are doing. Seems that most people talk a good game but actual performance is another thing. You need to get good at this first. Then when you do hire someone, you know how you want things done.

 

[Bila]

Ohhh and by the way...i am not going back to 9 to 5. Thought about it during the week...
I thought about having a " normal" " stable" life ...instead of extreme stress like this week.
I thought my son deserves better than a stressed mom, and that i am being selfish, after all it was MY choice, not his.
I thought " is the struggle really worth it ?"
I thought the price i am paying might be too much.

And then roll my sleeves and go back to work because i know the end of the tunnel is soon.

 

[Vigilante]

I guess it's time for an update.

I wish i can say that everything is great, that business is making 5-6 figures a month, that i bought my dream car ( Porshe with red interior if you are curious ) or some other glamourous claims.

Reality is ....Every time i feel i am making a step forward, something happens and the feeling of making two steps backwards ....i guess, this too, is part of the process.....oh well.

I had to deal with 2 complaints with labour bureau ( apparently i should have paid transportation to the employees during training ....crazy laws .....now i know them

On the positive note : my main business is doing well ( and i can see that the trend ( in the last 3 years ) is to use more and more services like the ones my business offers )

My business is semi-passive, that's why i work as a consultant between 1-3 days a week .....One of the best decisions ever, i work with a different clientele ( mainly young single moms, new immigrants/refugees ) and i love that ...Being paid to do it is a big plus


Where my business is heading : Getting more serious about franchising, and learning everything about it, any resources about it would be appreciated ( @Vigilante

PS : regarding the gender comments : Acknowledging the difference, learning the best practices from the other gender while maintaining my identity as a woman is one of the hardest part of this journey actually.

PS 2 : I think in French but i write in English...So, my responses might not be as articulate and precise as i wish they would be

When I was interested inn franchising (I never actually did it) I had to find someone who was brilliant in franchising. I had to learn from them, as it is very complex.

Get a hold of Larry M. Weinberg.
lweinberg@casselsbrock.com
(416) 860-2987

Larry Weinberg is a partner with significant experience in all matters relating to franchising, licensing and distribution. He is past chair of the Ontario Bar Association Franchise Law Section, Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association Committee on Franchising, Vice-Chair (and sole Canadian member) of the International Franchise Association’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board, and an active member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Forum on Franchising as well as the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA). Larry was the first Canadian lawyer to be appointed Director of the ABA Forum’s International Division and to a leadership role on its Governing Committee. He is co-editor of the ABA Forum on Franchising’s Fundamentals of Franchising-Canada, editor and co-author of the chapter on Canada for ABA’s International Franchise Sales Laws text, and co-author/co-editor of CFA’s How to Franchise Your Business. He is a frequent speaker at Canadian and international conferences. Larry is also recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global, Best Lawyers and Franchise Times. He was the recipient of the 2014 Lexpert Zenith Award and was named the worldwide franchise “Lawyer of the Year” in 2014 and 2015 by Who’s Who Legal. Larry was called to the Ontario Bar in 1989.

Do what ever it takes to spend an hour with him. If you can't get to him, get to someone like him.

Then, go to this show:
The Franchise Show – Montreal
http://www.cfa.ca/events/the-franchise-show-montreal-2/
Call the organizer at 416-695-2896 x 228 and tell them you just want to attend as a guest to learn about franchising.

Then, contact
Yasmin Heyat
Manager, Chamber Relations
T. 416.482.5222 ext. 2420
http://www.occ.ca/about/staff/
and have her tell you how to get involved with the chamber. You are looking there for a mentor.

Then find a good contact at this company
http://www.murphybusiness.com/canada
and set a meeting with their salesperson to learn about franchises. Buying AND selling. You have to become an expert in how it works.

 

[Bila]

In 03 years of being in business, this week i considered going back to an " easy " 9 to 5 life.
The last two weeks were the hardest thing i ever done in my life ( and trust me, i have done a lot of hard things in life, including not being afraid of death threats because i did not wear something on my head, i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel ..... But those things feel now like a piece of cake compared to the last week.

If you follow my progress thread, you already know that i am offering a summer program : leadership, and entrepreuneurship program ....parents LOVED the concept. I had 447 registrations .

What went wrong then ??????

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.
I hired 10 young ( 18-25) to help with the program and have a ratio of 1 supervisor for 10 kids .

I will not bore you with details but here what i learned ( the very hard way )

1- You think you are well prepared ?? Think again. I had unexpected situations ( a supervisor that seemed during the hiring process like a really good match, turns into a lazy slob, cellphone texter and very arrogant, which results in complaints from parents that we are not delivering because kids are bored during the day.
I was not expecting managing a big number of kids to be sooo challenging ( i am a teacher, i do know know how to manage 10, 20 but 100 is different. Sometimes it was chaotic and then a parent show up and witness that...it was just sooo embarassing. When parents witness that, they become anxious ( i fully understand ) and even agressive, the worst part is that they talk to each other and it becomes like a snow ball effect......So far i have 10 people asking for reimbursment ( yes it was that bad ) and even one threatning to call a local newspaper..!

2- People HATE paying extra for extra services ( i had Tshirts made for the program, they were not included in the price ....Parents would become sooooo angry when they learn it's an extra $15. I was soooo surprised by their reaction. Eventhoug the Tshirt is not mandatory or anything, they just did not like it being asked to pay more for something. So next time : Charge more upfront.

Will add more later ( time to get to work for next week )

 

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[jason91]

In 03 years of being in business, this week i considered going back to an " easy " 9 to 5 life.
The last two weeks were the hardest thing i ever done in my life ( and trust me, i have done a lot of hard things in life, including not being afraid of death threats because i did not wear something on my head, i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel ..... But those things feel now like a piece of cake compared to the last week.

If you follow my progress thread, you already know that i am offering a summer program : leadership, and entrepreuneurship program ....parents LOVED the concept. I had 447 registrations .

What went wrong then ??????

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.
I hired 10 young ( 18-25) to help with the program and have a ratio of 1 supervisor for 10 kids .

I will not bore you with details but here what i learned ( the very hard way )

1- You think you are well prepared ?? Think again. I had unexpected situations ( a supervisor that seemed during the hiring process like a really good match, turns into a lazy slob, cellphone texter and very arrogant, which results in complaints from parents that we are not delivering because kids are bored during the day.
I was not expecting managing a big number of kids to be sooo challenging ( i am a teacher, i do know know how to manage 10, 20 but 100 is different. Sometimes it was chaotic and then a parent show up and witness that...it was just sooo embarassing. When parents witness that, they become anxious ( i fully understand ) and even agressive, the worst part is that they talk to each other and it becomes like a snow ball effect......So far i have 10 people asking for reimbursment ( yes it was that bad ) and even one threatning to call a local newspaper..!

2- People HATE paying extra for extra services ( i had Tshirts made for the program, they were not included in the price ....Parents would become sooooo angry when they learn it's an extra $15. I was soooo surprised by their reaction. Eventhoug the Tshirt is not mandatory or anything, they just did not like it being asked to pay more for something. So next time : Charge more upfront.

Will add more later ( time to get to work for next week )

my vote: keep learning and adjusting but find ways to improve your reputation.

The company who messed up that takes responsibility and improves DRAMATICALLY from the mess up can't be hated for long.

Throughout history lots of companies have made HUGE mess ups - the ones who take responsibility, apologize, and improve are still in business

 

[James Thornton]

You sound like an action taker to me.

I've been there too, with a failure that boiled over all at once in a very stressful way. I've also been guilty of some slow boil failures.

Never forget that failure is a key part of success. Best of luck adjusting course.

 

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[AndrewNC]

Someone once told me that it's not how hard you fall, but how quickly you pick yourself back up and keep pushing forward.

Everybody goes trough negative events. How you choose to respond determined where your life goes next

 

[jason91]

In 03 years of being in business, this week i considered going back to an " easy " 9 to 5 life.
The last two weeks were the hardest thing i ever done in my life ( and trust me, i have done a lot of hard things in life, including not being afraid of death threats because i did not wear something on my head, i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel ..... But those things feel now like a piece of cake compared to the last week.

If you follow my progress thread, you already know that i am offering a summer program : leadership, and entrepreuneurship program ....parents LOVED the concept. I had 447 registrations .

What went wrong then ??????

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.
I hired 10 young ( 18-25) to help with the program and have a ratio of 1 supervisor for 10 kids .

I will not bore you with details but here what i learned ( the very hard way )

1- You think you are well prepared ?? Think again. I had unexpected situations ( a supervisor that seemed during the hiring process like a really good match, turns into a lazy slob, cellphone texter and very arrogant, which results in complaints from parents that we are not delivering because kids are bored during the day.
I was not expecting managing a big number of kids to be sooo challenging ( i am a teacher, i do know know how to manage 10, 20 but 100 is different. Sometimes it was chaotic and then a parent show up and witness that...it was just sooo embarassing. When parents witness that, they become anxious ( i fully understand ) and even agressive, the worst part is that they talk to each other and it becomes like a snow ball effect......So far i have 10 people asking for reimbursment ( yes it was that bad ) and even one threatning to call a local newspaper..!

2- People HATE paying extra for extra services ( i had Tshirts made for the program, they were not included in the price ....Parents would become sooooo angry when they learn it's an extra $15. I was soooo surprised by their reaction. Eventhoug the Tshirt is not mandatory or anything, they just did not like it being asked to pay more for something. So next time : Charge more upfront.

Will add more later ( time to get to work for next week )

Seems like kids and extra charges don't go well at events - it might go well at the store, but not events .

Yes.. business can sometimes be a wrecking ball, but looks like you learned a lot through this experience.

Why not offer the dissatisfied customers an unexpected gift + your sincere apology? Take the feedback well, and dish out some changes.

At the end of the day - embarrassment does not add any value - satisfying their love for their kids adds value. Create some extra value for those unhappy clients and they just might rave about your company

 

[Hackdroot]

Shame to give up now. I followed your progress thread and was in awe over what you had built in such a short time with your program. I work 9-5 and have for over 20 years. It sucks and I hate it.

After seeing your progress, I came away thinking "wow, if only I could do something like that!!". But FUD kicked it in and I second guessed myself out of every idea I had for a seminar/program. That's why I'm where I'm at though and you're not.

You oversubscribed yourself. Repair the damage and move on. You're an inspiration to many of us here in the trenches.

 

[NormP]

I'd hate to see someone in a place I want to get to just throw it all away out of frustration. You're a winner, separate yourself from the quitters. Cheesy, I know, but so true.

"Winners find a way, losers find an excuse."

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I had 447 registrations

Bila, this is what success looks like. When Home Depot calls and says they want a 20,000 units of your product (or 4 pallets) you don't say, "Oh well, time to go back to my 9-to-5". Entrepreneurship is about solving challenges, problems, and growing as a person. Sounds like you have entered this phase and are indeed providing value to the world. Congrats to you.

When I hear you are thinking about throwing in the towel despite your success, I think about @MTF 's avatar.

Anyhow, I was just hoping that you try to change your perspective on how to manage your success. Thread watched-- looking forward to seeing what you decide.

 

[throttleforward]

FWIW, I'm right there with you (my negative feedback comes in the form of potential investors, which I need to grow into a real sustainable business, but who all so far have balked). I don't know that I offer much to you other than the knowledge that other people are in the trenches too, wondering "what the hell am I doing this for."

Then I remember all the reasons why I persued the path I did, realize there is no other choice, and put my head back down and push forward.

As the old saying goes, if it were easy, everyone would do it. Few people have the strength to take a somewhat-angry boss giving them a cross-eye. It's an order of magnitude harder to handle 10 angry parents demanding a refund from you. You're already in an elite class - as a percentage, few people on this entire planet have done what you've done, and even fewer push forward after such setbacks. Keep going!

 

[Bila]

As someone who has worked with (literally) hundreds of thousands of kids I kind of giggled when you said you had 100 kids to manage yourself (plus a bunch of teenagers who are usually dee-dee-dees as well).

It takes a lot of skill to be able to manage that many kids at once and a tremendous amount of energy (and planning) to make something like that go well.

I started teaching martial arts at age 12 but even then for years and years I only worked with one... MAYBE two young students. It wasn't until I was around 14 I was able to lead a small class (3-7 kids).

From there it took many more years before I could run a solid class consistently but it was still 30 or less.

When I started doing classes with hundreds of kids at once? It presents all new challenges and you need a completely different way of thinking. I even taught summer camps for around 300 disabled and handicapped children (which was an amazing experience) every summer -- can you imagine?

Anyways. If you need some advice or tips, feel free to hit me up, I'm around. This is kind of my expertise

Thanks a lot, i will pm you.

UPDATE : the program is now done, yesterday was the last day.
Here what happened in the last 2-3 weeks :
1- Negative media attention .....Check.
2- Firing 2 minions on the spot .....Check.
3-Continue providing a safe, good service for the kids ......... Heck yeah, check.

I have a bittersweet feeling about the whole experience, on one hand, i am proud of having found a " hidden " need ( will give details about that later ) and following my intuition that this is what parents want and they are willing to pay for it.
I am proud of my fearlessness to go ahead and actually act on my ideas ( my friend called this,unnecessary thrill seeking )

I am more aware now more than ever of my flaws as well and the necessity to have the competent people around. Attention to details ? Definitely not my thing. I need somebody to help with that. .... And a lot of other flaws

 

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[Determined2012]

Bila don't give up! Stay the course! Just make a list of things that you can prepare for and anticipate (based off of how everything went down), and put a plan in place for how you will execute.

What I have learned that has helped me over and over again is that you never let yourself get buried, and never fall behind the 8 ball. You always want to be running out in front, ahead of it. Its easier to keep running ahead and avoid getting caught, than to be behind and have to struggle even more to get back in front. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Have solutions in place for potential problems that haven't even happened yet. Doing things this way lets you pace yourself (keep stress low, keeps you calm) and also lets you think and act more level headed-ly. (jus made that word up!)

When things spiral out of control in a frenzy, most people can't manage that effectively and they act irrationally. My solution to that is to always be PROactive with everything at all times, and I can avoid more problems and set backs than when I have to be REactive at the last second.

Please don't give up! This is going to pass, and you can redeem yourself with the parents. They are people too, use your social skill set to fix things with the parents.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel

Disclaimer: Here's an opinion that you and everyone else in this thread will probably not like. It also does not take into account your current situation, and is based on the limited amount of info that I have.

I'm all for supporting other people through the struggle, however, putting your family at risk is not an option. Do you have enough money in the bank to pay for necessities for your kid? Heat, food, housing, etc.?

If shit hit the fan tomorrow, would you be able to support your son? Or would you be out on the street?

In essence: Do you have a large enough safety net to take on the current risk?

If you do, then keep pushing forward. If you don't, then you should take a step back, build that safety net, and then come back. Taking individual risks is commendable. Putting your son at risk is not.

Sidenote: It seems like this program is only a few weeks in the summer. At this point you have to keep pushing forward. Everything I stated above is for future planning.

 

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[mws87]

I say utilize the feedback and just improve on it. I wouldn't throw it all away and go back to a 9-5, think of all the time invested, all the hard work you put into it to get to where you are, always remember "it's supposed to be hard".

Using your feedback to make improvements will probably make all the difference in the world. There have been so many times I was disatisfied with something and the company or whoever offered me an apology and a gift which in turn made me happy and kept me as a customer. On the other hand, there are countless examples I could give of a company who simply couldn't give a damn, needless to say they lost a LOT of business. People like compassion, people like feeling special and important. Make them feel like they matter, I can see great things coming from it.

Just hang in there, learn and build from it. When things get difficult like that use it as motivation and realize you're onto something good if you take the challenge. I'd hate to see someone in a place I want to get to just throw it all away out of frustration. You're a winner, separate yourself from the quitters. Cheesy, I know, but so true.

 

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[Bila]

I guess it's time for an update.

I wish i can say that everything is great, that business is making 5-6 figures a month, that i bought my dream car ( Porshe with red interior if you are curious ) or some other glamourous claims.

Reality is ....Every time i feel i am making a step forward, something happens and the feeling of making two steps backwards ....i guess, this too, is part of the process.....oh well.

I had to deal with 2 complaints with labour bureau ( apparently i should have paid transportation to the employees during training ....crazy laws .....now i know them

On the positive note : my main business is doing well ( and i can see that the trend ( in the last 3 years ) is to use more and more services like the ones my business offers )

My business is semi-passive, that's why i work as a consultant between 1-3 days a week .....One of the best decisions ever, i work with a different clientele ( mainly young single moms, new immigrants/refugees ) and i love that ...Being paid to do it is a big plus


Where my business is heading : Getting more serious about franchising, and learning everything about it, any resources about it would be appreciated ( @Vigilante

PS : regarding the gender comments : Acknowledging the difference, learning the best practices from the other gender while maintaining my identity as a woman is one of the hardest part of this journey actually.

PS 2 : I think in French but i write in English...So, my responses might not be as articulate and precise as i wish they would be

 

[Ubermensch]

In 03 years of being in business, this week i considered going back to an " easy " 9 to 5 life.
The last two weeks were the hardest thing i ever done in my life ( and trust me, i have done a lot of hard things in life, including not being afraid of death threats because i did not wear something on my head, i slept in a sleeping bag once with my little one while it was -25 outside because i did not have enough money ( my first year in business ) to pay for a new electrical panel ..... But those things feel now like a piece of cake compared to the last week.


"If you follow my progress thread, you already know that i am offering a summer program : leadership, and entrepreuneurship program ....parents LOVED the concept. I had 447 registrations."

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.

I hired 10 young ( 18-25) to help with the program and have a ratio of 1 supervisor for 10 kids .

I will not bore you with details but here what i learned ( the very hard way )

2- People HATE paying extra for extra services ( i had Tshirts made for the program, they were not included in the price ....Parents would become sooooo angry when they learn it's an extra $15. I was soooo surprised by their reaction. Eventhoug the Tshirt is not mandatory or anything, they just did not like it being asked to pay more for something. So next time : Charge more upfront.



Will add more later ( time to get to work for next week )

So, everyone loves your idea. They go crazy over it. You obviously have a solid concept. Nearly 450 registrations is no accident. You're definitely rockin' your idea...

Sounds to me that “what went wrong” concerns minion management. Minions (aka employees) are there to support you, the BO$$. The problem is, the minions... are minions. They screw things up. One second, everyone is rockin' to your idea... but with one bad move...

Your problem seems to revolve around hiring. If I read your post correctly, you hired ten minions, and then a main minion to manage the other minions.

Have you ever looked into job boards? Most people know about Monster and Career Builder, but most people do not know that these sites have a “back door,” something called a resume database. You can think of it like a people search engine. You can search for people based on an astonishing number of subsets. The top recruiters in any field use tools like this.

You probably already know about Monster and Career Builder, and there are extremely inexpensive – yet high quality – sources where you can find the best talent to fill your position.

You're right. Managing that many people is difficult. That's why you need to know HOW and WHERE to find the BEST talent.

Check out Zillion resumes.

Before you spend a dime, try the "free demo search," so you can see if it's actually worth your time. You will be able to see the COMPLETE resumes of ANY candidate in their pool. Only their contact information is hidden. That's what you get when you pay, and you can download the resumes into a spreadsheet. The cost is very low, and you can target your searches down to a small radius around your zip code. Calling people from their resumes puts you in a position of power. Their cell phones – and home phones – are often on the resume (which also makes this a pretty sick prospecting tool, if you're clever). You can search for any type of person: people with security clearance, former or current c-suite executives. You can search for people with a specific type of skill set.

It really seems like you just hired the wrong person, and that created a chain reaction of bad events. Hiring the right person can cause the opposite to happen: a chain reaction of positive events.

Good luck!

Now, go find your King Bob.

 

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[Bila]

Bila, this is what success looks like. When Home Depot calls and says they want a 20,000 units of your product (or 4 pallets) you don't say, "Oh well, time to go back to my 9-to-5". Entrepreneurship is about solving challenges, problems, and growing as a person. Sounds like you have entered this phase and are indeed providing value to the world. Congrats to you.

When I hear you are thinking about throwing in the towel despite your success, I think about @MTF 's avatar.

Anyhow, I was just hoping that you try to change your perspective on how to manage your success. Thread watched-- looking forward to seeing what you decide.

Thanks for the encouragements. It means a lot to me.

When you are in the middle of action, having to manage 10,20 unsatisfied costumers ....It's a challenge to think about the 80 satified ones ( they dont make much noise, they dont send you 10 emails a day, they dont give you killer looks ..etc)

I am not a quitter, i will not quit. I am aware that this is what it takes. It takes sweat and tears ( a lot of it )
It takes adjusting my personality and acquiring new skills that 6 months ago would have thought impossible to do ( Be more practical about everything, which is VERY challenging for me, i am more of a '' concept person '' and analyzer )

Tomorrow, i have a guest speaker in my program, a professional athlete, to talk about perseverance.....I cant be teaching kids perseverance and quit.

There is this voice however, that tells me that life ( my life ) is now, is the today ....and my now, my today is a lot of work, and it's been like that for the past 3 years.
I dont listen to the voice often. I CHOOSE not to, and continue defying odds.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

As someone who has worked with (literally) hundreds of thousands of kids I kind of giggled when you said you had 100 kids to manage yourself (plus a bunch of teenagers who are usually dee-dee-dees as well).

It takes a lot of skill to be able to manage that many kids at once and a tremendous amount of energy (and planning) to make something like that go well.

I started teaching martial arts at age 12 but even then for years and years I only worked with one... MAYBE two young students. It wasn't until I was around 14 I was able to lead a small class (3-7 kids).

From there it took many more years before I could run a solid class consistently but it was still 30 or less.

When I started doing classes with hundreds of kids at once? It presents all new challenges and you need a completely different way of thinking. I even taught summer camps for around 300 disabled and handicapped children (which was an amazing experience) every summer -- can you imagine?

Anyways. If you need some advice or tips, feel free to hit me up, I'm around. This is kind of my expertise

 

[Bila]

You're an inspiration to many of us here in the trenches.

Ohhh, i needed that ego repair thanks after feeling like an incompetent for the whole week lol

 

[Bila]

when you say you had trouble with control, I'm assuming that it's because kids find buddies and goof off?

One of the main problems i identified is that my teachers/ supervisors dont follow the program ( my fault for not giving VERY specific guidelines ) , which result in a lot of down time = chaos. We need a very detailed structurefor the days ( my fault for not doing that earlier ) ... ...worked on it today.

I have a meeting with my team tomorrow ...i wish i could get rid of the lousy ones, but no time to replace them now, will have to really be specific with them about my expectations.

 

[johnp]

Last week was the one of busiest ( next week will have same number ) .... 100 kids ....it was crazy, my lack of experience managing a big number of kids was soooo obvious, it was embarassing.

My wife is a teacher and during the summers she used to work at a camp with 100's of kids. She always came home completely drained. Then she started tutoring during the summer. The first couple of years she started with just 1-3 kids per summer. Then she figured out the process and got up to 30+ kids in one summer.

So my advice:

Scale down. Start with less kids until you know how to manage it. Maybe 5, 10, 20, kids. Think in terms of class sizes or something.

Go back next time and say that you took on too many kids. But now you're adding a quota and lowering the class sizes so the kids will get the focus and attention that they deserve.

Parents eat this shit up. Whenever I looked a private colleges they always pitched class size to parents.

So you can then charge a premium for your service. My wife charges $95/hour to tutor. Parents will pay.

Then add more kids as you learn the ropes. Or keep class sizes small and add more "sessions" or whatever you would call it.

I don't think that you are the problem at all. I think that the problem could be the way that you're doing it. Just try doing it a different way.

 

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[Bila]

Okay, now I know, and you know- why you are in this business.

Next question- is what is going on/the hardships, worth the gains? ... I want you to say that to yourself every single time something goes wrong. And just see it as a stepping stone you have to walk* over to get to the other side.

I say walk- not run, rush, skip, dash, jump- you have to make a logical attempt to take emotion away from everything and carry forth with your plan.

Wish you luck You can do this.

Thanks for the kind encouragements.

I identified some flaws in my character that i have to work on, one of them is that
I dont like to " walk " through the journey...i jump, unprepared. It has it's benefits as it forces me to adjust quickly and improve. But i would not advise the same "method" for everyone.

I read a lot in the forum about taking action .....it's more complicated than it seems. On one hand the market has too many variables and you cant be prepared for everything, so yes taking action is the only way to find out what the maket really wants but looking back, i think you have to have some skills before. Planning is one of them.

 

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[Bila]

SEPT 2015 UPDATE :

What happened the last weeks of the program and the negative media attention : a kid fell and had a concussion. The parents were not happy that we did not call 911 right away ( we ( my team and i ) did not call right away because all vital signs were there, he was consious and speaking, walking ..etc ....after 20 mn we saw that he was not feeling well, we called )

It was a traumatic experience for everybody ( curious to know if @Kung Fu Steve you had to deal with similar situations )
The kid is fine ( the most important thing ) and apparently i looked good on camera ( kidding )


The whole experience was such a learning curve

CHANGES :

1- Dissolving the current company ( sole propriétor ) and creating an LCC ( not sure if these are the legal terms in English ) in case this ( or anything else ) happens in the future ( liability wise )
2- Focusing on the programs that work $$$ and once i am done with the paper work for the LCC, expanding geographically to an English speaking market ( i operate in the French speaking side only now )
3- I was offered a position as a consultant ( 3 days a week ) with a departement ...and accepted, it's different from what i have done before and i am sure it will be a good experience.
4 - The remaining 4 days of the week will be spent on the company, new design, new name, new marketing....new beginings. Wish me luck

 

[Bila]

Thanks @Jon L and yes, it's a summer program only.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE

1- The importance of a support network/system : I found that in dark moments, a pat on the back with a " you are not alone " or a " i know you will go through this and you will become stronger " makes a huge difference in a day. It gave me energy to show them they were right to trust me.

2- The importance of proper planning and put contengency plans in place, well in advance.

3- Life is short and everything or anything can happen in a fraction of a second .... I knew already this but it was a confirmation .....things turned out ok but it could have been not the case. Enjoy the moment, take ( calculated ) risks, make mistakes, recover .... And have fun while doing it.

 

[Chitown]

@Bila,

What I like is that you're in the mix, swinging and making it happen, which is more than most people will ever do with their lives. I wish you well with your venture.

 

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[Bellini]

Bila, so sorry that happened.

As someone who understands your temperament, I can imagine how overwhelming and stressful that situation could be.

I saw something really positive though - Technically you had a business that grew too fast!

While it's a good thing for a business to explode, (in your case, the camp attendance, etc) there are always problems that weren't expected and like most other business owners, naturally you weren't prepared for it - hence the hits, stress and dis-satisfaction from customers.

I watched a video recently from Tony Robbins where he said the anticipation factor is what catches business owners off guard and causes them to take a hit. They didn't anticipate what was coming. It's a learning curve.

If the number of kids that were able to enroll had been limited (at your discretion) it may not have been so bad for you. So maybe if you try it again you could limit the enrollment at first in keeping with the growth. Also, having a 'sold out' camp would make it seem even more desirable for parents and kids who couldn't get in due to perceived value. Just a thought.

The fact that you attracted that many kids / parents in the first place is a good sign. A lot of people wouldn't have the guts to take on something like that. haha

Sounds like you did a great job under the circumstances

 

[Esquire]

May I make a suggestion, Bila ...?

Download a copy of "The e-Myth Revisited" (Michael Gerber) and (if you havent done so already) crank through it.

Not a long book, by any means, but it talks a lot about what you are experiencing now (small business growing pains) and (more importantly) what lies ahead ... and what you need to start doing now to prepare for next wave of shitstorm that lies ahead.