Regular readers (thank you so much) of this blog have noticed a drop in prolificacy.

I’m sorry. I’m up to my ass in alligators, at the moment.

For one, I’ve scorched to earth and rebuilt my sales department twice in the past year (well, I didn’t get it right the first time). Six months ago, I hired the best employee I’ve ever hired, and frankly, I should give him my job (he’s that good). He fired a 9-man team a few months ago, replaced them with a 3-man team, and exceeded the performance of the predecessors. Yea, really.

But we lost the star of that 3-man team yesterday to family problems and a need to relocate. Shit. Shit!

For two, I get blindsided by the bank, yesterday. You see, to grow a business of any import, you eventually have to use other people’s money. The analogy is that you can save a down payment (start a business and get it rolling) on your own, but if you want to buy a house (grow the business), it’s going to involve using other people’s money.

So, we have access to significant cash, but it’s secured by our accounts receivable, which typically hovers at around $1/2 million. We have to send them reports every month, et cetera, et cetera. Each year, we have to renew the line, which involves an audit. Over the last year, we’ve changed our payment systems from a prehistoric, manual system to full automation. Now, the guy who audited us last year doesn’t get it, and on top of that, the new system fucked with the database queries that build the reports from which we source the information to make semi-monthly consolidated entries in the accounting app. Consequently, we’re $200k off. The auditor implies (to us) that it’s no big ("just get me this and that"), but then tells the bank something entirely different…

…and now the bank is talking serious shit.

Shit. Shit!

The saving grace is that the security, the underlying accounts receivable, is solid as a rock, as always. The problem is in the reports. The problem is getting them to understand that (while keeping my cool).

Onward.