TheWolfEmperor
Contributor
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- 649
I've worked in retail my whole life. I've had other jobs but retail is where I've had the most relative success.
Something I've become a bit of an expert on through trial and error is adult diapers and various forms of absorbent product. So the premise of my one paragraph proposal is, why shouldn't I turn my obsession into a business?
In Vermont there is a program called Vocational Rehabilitation. There's probably a similar program in your area. Voc Rehab's main goal is to help people get back on their feet in an economic crisis. But if you have a job that's low income and you want to try for something better, they can help with that as well.
They put me in touch with someone who runs a small business program. Since he's Finnish, I'll call him Thor.
I told Thor what I wanted to do and he was intrigued by the idea and said it had a lot of potential. Then I explained that my idea for an incontinence supply shop has an extra tier, mainly the ABDL market. He gave me some homework to do and in the week that followed he did his own research (presumably just enough to avoid having to explain too much to his bosses) and agreed that the ABDL market could be just as lucrative in the right circumstances.
I had to write one paragraph about why I wanted to open a shop like this. He was impressed by it, so he told me to do a SWOT analysis, which is when you list your business' Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. He liked what I did with that and praised my efficiency. He likes the fact that I have knowledge about the incontinence industry and that I have at least some realistic expectations of how business works.
Coming on to week three of my working relationship with Thor and I have some additional homework to do. Coming up with a domain name, writing a mission statement, and doing my goals for the first one to six months, then one to three years.
I'm also trying to teach myself the paperwork side of business and the one person I know who owns and runs her own successful business didn't seem one hundred percent on board with becoming my teacher. The problem is, I have a hard time learning things in an academic setting and I do best by having actual experience.
Fun stuff.
Something I've become a bit of an expert on through trial and error is adult diapers and various forms of absorbent product. So the premise of my one paragraph proposal is, why shouldn't I turn my obsession into a business?
In Vermont there is a program called Vocational Rehabilitation. There's probably a similar program in your area. Voc Rehab's main goal is to help people get back on their feet in an economic crisis. But if you have a job that's low income and you want to try for something better, they can help with that as well.
They put me in touch with someone who runs a small business program. Since he's Finnish, I'll call him Thor.
I told Thor what I wanted to do and he was intrigued by the idea and said it had a lot of potential. Then I explained that my idea for an incontinence supply shop has an extra tier, mainly the ABDL market. He gave me some homework to do and in the week that followed he did his own research (presumably just enough to avoid having to explain too much to his bosses) and agreed that the ABDL market could be just as lucrative in the right circumstances.
I had to write one paragraph about why I wanted to open a shop like this. He was impressed by it, so he told me to do a SWOT analysis, which is when you list your business' Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. He liked what I did with that and praised my efficiency. He likes the fact that I have knowledge about the incontinence industry and that I have at least some realistic expectations of how business works.
Coming on to week three of my working relationship with Thor and I have some additional homework to do. Coming up with a domain name, writing a mission statement, and doing my goals for the first one to six months, then one to three years.
I'm also trying to teach myself the paperwork side of business and the one person I know who owns and runs her own successful business didn't seem one hundred percent on board with becoming my teacher. The problem is, I have a hard time learning things in an academic setting and I do best by having actual experience.
Fun stuff.
