I’ve got a story for you. It’s about a man who let himself down for nearly an entire month. He thought about one of the things he wanted to do most and simply did not have the motivation to do it. It’s not a sad story, don’t worry. It’s just one that hasn’t ended yet.
He woke up every morning, thinking about that one little area that he knows brings him joy when he does it but when it came down to doing it, he didn’t. That might sound familiar to all of you. We can’t always be a powerhouse that blows through everything. This time, it was me that lagged behind.
There’s some pretty cool shit that I feel I experienced this month, as well as one key area that I really let myself down in.
The Dealership
Good and bad news on this front!
We had been having an issue finding a collector and salesperson, as you may remember from last month’s update. The good news is that we found a salesperson who seems he will be able to hold his own.
Like any new hire, there is a period where you have to polish the edges and correct behavior to have them align with your culture, and by the sounds of it, he is receptive to this. That’s a good sign.
Especially so considering that my new sales manager is having some difficulties with one of the other salespeople who doesn’t seem to be engaged. This other salesperson is expecting everything to fall into their lap and treating the position as if it is a 9-5. If anyone has ever done sales, they’ll know if you have that mindset, you will fail.
We still have not hired a collector, which we are starting to see the ramifications on our past due balances. Our current collector is doing a damn good job of keeping her accounts up to date, as well as the additional workload that has been placed on her, however, no one can hold that up forever.
We have interviewed a few different people that have applied, some good, some horrible. Most, though, simply just don’t want to show up. This is probably the most frustrating part of the entire experience. It makes no sense to me that you would apply to a place, set up a time for an interview, and then not show. Why even bother going through the process?
Maybe it’s just my way of thinking, but I’m the type that if I made a promise, I deliver. Even if it’ll cost me, or waste my time, I fucking deliver.
Overall, sales were good. They weren’t amazing and we didn’t blow past any records but we did hold our own with one less salesperson. We have made some tweaks to our marketing, as well as have began taking our blogging and social media a lot more seriously.
Social media is being handled to show us behind the scenes. It is also promoting some of our tips and insight into the car/finance industry. The blog is focused on providing most of the insight and we are considering repurposing much of the content into videos. We don’t truly expect this to increase sales much, but it’s more of our way of giving back.
May sound a bit cliche but we really do care about helping people get out of debt and not need to use our financing their second time around. If we could help even 1% of our customers achieve this we would be making a pretty big impact in our community.
The biggest hurdle we’ve been dealing with has been acquiring inventory. Auctions have about a fourth of the inventory they would normally have. All of the dealers are bidding for that same inventory and it’s causing the prices to skyrocket. Most vehicles are going for close to, at, or even past retail price.
Just think about what that does for consumers…
The Real Estate
So as you know, we closed on another property last month. We had a bit of an issue with a person that was trying to squat there. We had a bit of a scare, thinking that we would have to take them through the entire eviction process. Luckily, we were able to convince her to bounce and got everything taken care of.
I had a serious chat with the electrician/plumber who has been working on the other two properties. I technically fired him and then he asked me to give him one last chance, so I did. He ended up pulling through and finished the first property! Now he is working on the second one and by the sounds of it, he is making progress. He is supposed to finish this week and if he doesn’t…well…you know.
We are about a week out on the first property to wrap up the finishing touches. It is looking very nice.
We’ve even had people come in and ask if they could rent it from us once it is complete.
We also located another property that we put under contract and will be closing on this upcoming week. It’s a single family home that just needs a little bit of work. Basement is partially complete, with two extra bedrooms that had been started already.
On a slightly different note, I passed my real estate exam! As soon as I did, I set up a bunch of interviews with local brokerages and met with all of them. They all had great things that were attractive but ultimately I went with Realty Concepts here in Fresno, CA.
If any of you are looking for a home or wish to sell it…well…you know.
The Leisure
Rachael and I have had the opportunity to relax a lot at home. We’ve also had some family gatherings to attend, as my nephew from the UK has come to live with my old man for a while.
He’s a good kid. He has a very easy going personality and isn’t awkward to talk to, so that’s a plus. He’s being going up with us to the auctions to help check out cars and also going in to work as an “intern” of sorts. We are trying to find out what position is the best for him to shine at and by the looks of it, it might be sales.
My brother also had his Hmong wedding this month. It was extremely fascinating to see as the culture is so much different than most people are used to. They had us go through their traditions and explained everything as they did it. Much of it seems super archaic without an explanation but once they clarify the purpose it doesn’t seem as foreign.
My wife’s brother also had his official wedding. They had technically been married last year but because of everything that was happening they were not able to have everyone come out and celebrate with them. They were both a blast, although personally I am happy with the way Rach and I tied the knot.
I made it through The Stand by Stephen King. It was fascinating to see how well he built this world. I personally would have liked to spend more time on certain characters over others but that is personal taste. It is a very enjoyable book. If you like post apocalyptic stories, I suggest you check it out.
Joe Abercrombie release the last book of his Age of Madness trilogy named The Wisdom of Crowds. I just started it a couple of days back and I’ve made a huge dent in it already. Don’t bother me, I’m reading.
We haven’t made too much progress through Star Trek Discovery but we did watch some other things. How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) is a fucking hilarious show about nerds who turn into unconventional drug dealers. We also watched the other two movies from the Fear Street trilogy, which were great. Sinister from 2012 we watched a couple of days ago and it was pretty fucking creepy. I had my issues with how quickly it all ended, but it was still very enjoyable. The Suicide Squad, The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It, Black Widow, and probably a couple of others I can’t recall. The Suicide Squad was pretty funny. The rest of them were a decent but nothing to rave over.
Still playing video games, that won’t change. We’ve only made a couple of chapters worth of progress on the Troop. I’d say that’s my fault. Just like what’s about to be dropped on you soon.
A show I recommend this month: How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)
A movie I recommend this month: Sinister
A book I recommend this month: The Stand by Stephen King
The Puppies
BD-1 got out of his surgery just fine. He had two teeth removed and a bunch of drugs that were fed to him. Now that he is all healed up, he is still the same damn grouch as always. So much for hoping.
Nova is still our sweetheart. She spent the first couple of days wanting to lay next to her groggy brother and lick him until he felt better. Clem, on the other hand, had no idea what was happening and just wanted to play. My wife calls it the typical middle and youngest child.
We’ve had some fires going on surrounding our area and have been enveloped in smoke. It’s pretty bad to the point that you feel as if you’re congested after spending 30 minutes outside. Because of that, we have not been taking them to the dog park as much as we would like to.
It also hasn’t helped that their uncle and grandpa have been on a trip to Germany and I’ve been responsible for the auction/all the stuff for the business we would normally do together. It’s not bad, though, the girls still play together and get their energy out like that.
Clemmy has chewed through two of her daddy’s headphones now. I refuse to purchase another set until I’m sure she has gotten out of the habit. It’s interesting because Nova is usually the curious one that picks up things and runs off with them. Clem only does that with food…and headphones apparently.
Clemmy is going to get spayed this month. When Nova had it done, I was like an overly anxious father. I don’t feel as bad this time but the day of I’ll likely be worrying quite a bit.
Which leads me to what I should be worrying about.
The Writing
I’ve let myself down and any of you that want to read my shitty stories.
I’ve made nearly no progress this entire month. I could tell you it’s because I was focusing on real estate or the business had me wrapped up or any other bullshit that might make me not sound bad. The truth is, I didn’t feel like it. I woke up at the same 3-4 am every morning and instead of writing the story I would go jogging or do research on blog articles for the company.
I know, I know.
It’s not like I didn’t write at all. Technically, I wrote articles for the dealership. Quite a bit of them, actually. They just weren’t producing anything toward my own story.
Don’t worry, though. I have reminded myself of how I feel after I write and gotten my shit together. It’s for my own enjoyment, so there’s no reason why I would choose something else that doesn’t bring me the same level of it.
My wife could still use some support on her project for her 4th grade kids. We would truly appreciate anything you can afford to donate. Donors Choose for Rachael Beneke’s 4th Grade Class.
I won’t be letting myself down this month, so hang in there with me.
See you on the next one. Ok Byeeeeee!