Limes

More than occasionally, I’ll really want to start my own business.

Last Sunday, I made the most refreshing smoothie. Frozen berries (straw, black, and blue), Greek yogurt, and almond milk. Don’t ask me what quantities so that you can make this at home. Not that I want to prevent you from making it, but rather I simply don’t remember the proportions I used.

This is pretty much how all Allie J recipes look:

Ingredients – whatever looks/tastes/smells right

Cook/Bake/Broil  time– however long until things start changing colors

Yields – different amounts every time, depending on how much of it you eat while you’re making it

True story.

Anyway, my impromptu smoothie was amazing. It tasted organically sweet in all the right places. I was sitting on the couch, talking to Mike and said, “You know, I could sell these. Start my own little smoothie business. I’d call it ‘A is for Banana’ and never sell a smoothie with a banana in it.”

And then because we’re accountants, we did the math of how many I would have to sell at what price in order to cover my direct materials, my salary, and overhead. I’d have to sell like 80 every day at $5 each to make a yearly salary of $45,000 before taxes.

Not to mention getting a business license, taxes, organizational fees, liability insurance, and the seasonality of smoothie sales.

A is for Banana got really complex really quick. I bet that most small business owners don’t even consider the things I just did. They’re probably like, “I can make smoothies!” And then they rent out some place somewhere and sell smoothies but don’t do the math beforehand and then wonder why they can’t turn a profit.

The thing that scares me about sole proprietorship is I feel like you never get a day off. Even if you’re not working/making smoothies, you’d probably still be thinking about it because that’s where your livelihood comes from. Soon, your $45k a year gets diluted in all the hours you’re putting in to smoothie making, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who likes unpaid overtime.

This is where consulting firms have it made. They made a business – get this – out of making suggestions on how to run a business. They collect a fee and never have to get their hands dirty.

If I ran a consulting firm, I’d still call it A is for Banana.

Sam’s experiencing real birds for the first time, and it’s pretty much adorable,

TWS