#8 Entrepre-what? (Business Meeting 1)

It's August 15. Technically, today I'm launching the doves. Flowery and grandiose. Let's all wear white. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. thinking about shipping costs and wondering how much my book weighs. Why does it cost so much more to ship to Canada? It's attached. Just drive the truck a little bit further north, and there you are: Canada.

So I got out of bed to research.

Once I felt more confident about shipping costs, I opened my website here to set a few "shipping rules" on the shopping cart page. I feel fine about the shopping cart page. I use PayPal for other things. No problem. ...But then I realized I hadn't dealt with "tax rules," yet. Tax rules? Do I need those?

So I began to research sales tax.

And then I saw something about vendor permits on a discussion board. Vendor permits? Do I need a vendor permit?

So I began to research vendor permits.

And then I saw something about peddler permits. Peddler permits? Am I a vendor or a peddler? I hope I'm a vendor, because "peddler" sounds just awful.

I never needed more business-y knowledge than I did when I started my new creative life. Isn't that ironic? I think all creatives everywhere should know that immediately. Right now! Put down your paint brush and listen!

And it should be communicated in a way that doesn't make you feel like you need a briefcase and a management meeting, because a briefcase and a management meeting will fritz out the brain of a creative just like that. Pfzt.

The CDs arrived yesterday while I was sitting in a hospital waiting room. No drama. Just my husband having a little check-up and needing a driver. Everything is fine.

The books aren't here, though. Maybe they'll show up today. Maybe they won't. Discmakers gives you a play-by-play of the process. You can track the every movement of your precious dumplings in the factory. Oh, now they're getting stamped. Oh, now they're getting glued. Oh, now they're delicately floating into the box on the end of a giant mechanical arm.

I'm using Lulu for the book. They are mysterious strangers at the end of the bar. I know nothing except that they shipped two days ago.

If I had any kind of entrepreneurial mind, I would have anticipated all of this before and planned accordingly. I would not have woken up at 4 a.m. the morning of release and said, "Hmm... now what?" But I do not have an entrepreneurial mind. I have a mind that makes music, arranges words, and enjoys red and turquoise accents.

The moral of this story is that although today is August 15 and is technically the release date, I still don't quite know what I'm doing or how this is supposed to work. We're all friends here, right? I can tell you that?

I'm going to start a new blog segment: Business Meeting.

BUSINESS MEETING (1)

Pre-Orders. I had a "preview" show last week. If you pre-ordered, know that your envelopes are addressed and currently stuffed with the CD. As soon as the books arrive, I'll finish that and mail them off. Hooray!

Sidenote: The envelopes are also stuffed with a lyrics sheet insert. I had these printed yesterday, and the woman at the print shop called me to ask, "Are they supposed to look like this?" Which is never a good sign. Look, they're fine. It's just that part of the photograph didn't translate well to black-and-white and looks possibly, maybe, perhaps like the printer barfed a little bit.

PayPal. The online ordering page will be ready to go as soon as I figure out shipping & tax rules. Orders go through PayPal. I've been using PayPal for my freelance writing work for over a year, and it's excellent. No worries!

Mailing List. I'm going to start one just as soon as I figure out how.