This is a HUGE step in the right direction. While we are not “open” for business yet, we are pulling together the business plan and laying a lot of groundwork. I am again grateful for the assistance and insight gained from our New Business Specialist. YAY!!

So where do we go from here? There are still many things to do. We have to register with the Federal Gov’t (IRS). We will be sitting down with an accountant and putting together a financial plan. The business plan is huge. We are organizing spaces and designating a “Vadis Only” area.

The pace is picking up and so will my blog on our progress!

Actually I guess I am being schooled in starting a business and I must say that I am forever grateful for this opportunity. My timeline certainly has changed.

My initial thought was to just run with the business.

Skip over the formalities and go for it.

Many businesses have been extremely successful doing just this. But I have to say that by stopping and going through the exercise of writing EVERYTHING down, I have a completely different outlook on what Vadis is going to be.

The first thing I have learned about is vision. What do I see this becoming? Is my dream to sit at all the farmer’s markets in the area for the next 30 years? It has given me cause to pause.

Another exercise I went through was identifying what I am selling. Not the commodity, but WHAT am I selling? A lot of ideas hit the paper, but ultimately it is peace of mind. That is WHY I started making these products in the first place, my own peace of mind.

My business plan is slowly falling into place. While I am not up and running right now, as I had initially hoped to be, I like where the shift is taking me.

Another meeting next week….here’s to having ALL my “assignments” done!

This is my current state of mind. Or at least how my approach  to this venture has turned. While I have been on a good track in my thinking, further analysis has caused me to sit back and re-think a few concepts. Like organization name and vision.

Before I go any further, I must state that the name Vadis is here to stay. *family members gasp* It’s in the genes and that’s that. Just how the name Vadis will be here is the big stumper right now. I have been using my immediate sounding boards in re-thinking this. It’s such an adventure!!

The vision change, though, is HUGE. I can’t even put into words how just yet. After a weekend of market research and further delving into the “E-myth,” something has changed. Some things have changed. Some BIG things have changed.

And it’s my all here in my brain – inside, outside, upside down!

So far it has been more than insightful and enlightening. I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about starting a business.

The e-myth isn’t some electronic myth, which I supposed it to be upon hearing the title. But rather it is the entrepreneurial myth, that all person’s that start a business are entrepreneurs.

So far I am learning about different personalities in a business: the technician, the manager, and the entrepreneur. Very interesting take on each person. I can see myself and others I know in the descriptions and I really think I will approach this whole venture in a different manner.

Off to read some more!

I made this appointment over a week ago with the thought that I would share my idea and get confirmation that I am heading in the right direction. I did share my idea and am heading in the right direction. And confirmation came that I have loads more to do in preparation!!

My list of things to do grew by a few inches, needless to say, and I have my days scheduled even more for the next few weeks. First and foremost I was asked to read the book “E-myth Revisited,” by Michael Gerber. Stopped by Borders on the way home to pick it up.

Also have a long list of Web sites to visit to get the master business license from the State of Washington, set up with the Department of Revenue, get set up with the IRS and so on.

And then there is the ever-looming business plan. For the past year, as I have considered making this jump, I have talked circles around the merits of and limitations with formalizing and writing down my plan. It’s not like I don’t have numerous books on the process or have deleted the multitude of electronic help gleaned over months of dreaming and from past experience. Ugh!

So as I said, I have my days even more planned than usual. It’s not quite time to work on production, though I am really looking forward to that, it’s time to hit the books. And the internet.

Report back for SB 201 in TWO WEEKS!!

“Vadis what?”

That’s the first question I get when I announce my new business name. Followed shortly by some version of  why and where. This very first post is dedicated to sharing the background on my business and its name.

So first off, where did the name come from. For those who know me now, the ‘natural’ part isn’t too hard to figure out. I will be using natural ingredients in my products, staying away from the harsh additives that interfere in so many ways with our bodies. The details of my neurosis is best saved for another post. But what about ‘vadis?’

Vadis is the name of my paternal grandmother. It’s not a real pretty name and honestly my siblings and I used to giggle about it. Well, so did my mom — but don’t tell my dad!!

My grandma Vadis was a very proper woman who kept an immaculate home. I had the privilege of living with her for a few years while I was in college, witnessing first-hand her methods of housekeeping. Though she had a hired housekeeper weekly, she (and I) cleaned daily. On several occasions she commented to me that she would have loved to have played around with chemicals and develop or invent a new cleaning product. So it’s in the genes!

But the significance for me doesn’t stop there. In my adulthood I began to wonder where my grandma’s parent’s came up with the name. In looking through genealogy it doesn’t appear to be a family name. I asked my dad about it. As far as he knows, the name came from the latin phrase, “quo vadis?” So in the early 1900′s, either from book or other pop-culture method, this phrase was popular and her parent’s found it beautiful.

What does “quo vadis” mean. Translated, it goes something like this: “where are you going?” or “whither goest thou?”

So where are you going? I am going green and clean.

vadis naturals — go clean. go green.