|
 |
October 11th, 2008
ok. On morning walks a few times, I have run into a woman that I once carried in my cab. I picked her up at a drug rehab facility on 34th street south and about 16th avenue south - she had all her belongings in plastic bags and they filled the trunk. She had me take her to vacant parking lot near the Bayboro Marina - I kept asking - are you sure you want me to just leave you here with all your stuff and she kept saying yes, I will be fine. As we were unloading her things, two rough looking guys arrive via bikes - she knows them and they are happy to see each other etc. for a moment or two I was thinking that perhaps this was not a safe place for me to be - it was about 6:30pm and I had a wad of cash - she paid me in cash and gave me a very good tip. When I have seen her on my walks she doesn’t look too well. She always calls me the taxi lady! I think she uses some type of drug - her skin is all messed up - I am praying to St. Jude for her.
cu hey juding! (wish we could put a link here to play the Beatle song - and pay the royalities of course!)
voh
Posted in Business, Cabbing, St. Jude | No Comments »
October 10th, 2008
ok. it is here. it is here! winter is here - it is in the morning air - it is in the morning light - the clover is thick - and the clouds have come!
thank you papa for bringing me to my beloved Florida - you were a risk taker - and I am so thankful for it.
cu in some corduroys soon - that is, if I am able to zip them up!
voh
Posted in Business, My beloved Florida | No Comments »
October 9th, 2008
ok. what in our asset portfolio hasn’t decreased in value over the last handful of weeks:
our marriage, our family, the love in our hearts, the peace we bring to the table and to our centerspheres -
ok, seriously:
our investment in QRubini
our investment in Bonnie Lee Blakely movie
our few pieces of valuable art
IOUs from all the people that owe us money
everything else I think has decreased
I am valuing the decrease at $500,000
some of our liabilities will decrease as the interest rates move down this is true
sure feels funny to say that we have lost $500,000 - yet we have - and it may end up being even more
I am so glad I put a big chunck of our assets into QRubini and the movie project. Yet, many over the years would say to me - how risky - funny how the circle goes around - I only wish more folks would have jumped into the opportunity of investing in QRubini when they had the chance - now for most in my circle the price is too high.
I wish everyone would build themselves a brand.
cu working on some value,
voh
ps handworkers for our handkerchiefs are showing up at my doorstep - finally!
Posted in Business, Entrepreneurship, History of QRubini, Branding, Raising Capital, Family, Handmade, Marriage, Handwork, Valuation | No Comments »
October 8th, 2008
ok. this afternoon at 2:24pm just as I was getting ready to leave a bit early for carpool - I needed to stop at Target for a bedskirt for our downtown rental apt the tenant arrives on Friday - I get the phone call - David went home sick from school this morning (why didn’t I get this call in the A.M. so I could have planed for it!) - I now have to pick up Emma and Ashlinn at a different location so I am adding about 80 blocks to my regular Wed route = I now do not have time to hit Target on the way to carpool pick up - instead I have to take the kids to Target with me….. I love being a mom!
cu loving it all~
voh
Posted in Business, Momming, Carpooling | No Comments »
October 8th, 2008
Quote of the day - seems appropriate to today’s environment:
- History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.
-
Abba Eban (1915 - 2002)
Ok. I am so tired of seeing women dressed for happy hour going to work. It is just killing me - please make it stop! QRubini offices do and will have a dress code!
Went the the St. Petersburg Business Assistance Center (http://www.stpete.org/bac/index.asp) a few weeks back - yes, the receptionist was dressed for happy hour - low cut shirt and a tattoo of her husband/boyfriend’s name across the top of one of her breasts.
I met with one of the SCORE counselors - I had dropped off my equity package and a few samples some months back yet he had not been given these prior to our meeting - I thought this was a bit wasteful of my time - yet we met. I gave him a quick overview and history and then he was to review the package and get back to me. Here is the transcript of my reply to his comments (my response is in red):
From: “Dick Swarts”
Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 11:31 AM
To: maureen@QRubini.com
Subject: business plan
Maureen, I had the opportunity to briefly review your info on seeking an angel investor. I took the approach that the presentation would be submitted to a somewhat sophisticated investor, not a friend. With this in mind, the only assets you have to sell are the Brand and your background in design. Yes, you are very well correct. As I mentioned during our meeting, we have no assets in Nicaragua or Colombia or cashflow. QRubini is really only a brand. Frankly, there is no business to speak of outside of what you can generate off the web site and your sales of $600.00 last year seem to bear that out. So in my terms you are selling sizzle not steak. Yes, again, you are quite correct here. As I mentioned in our meeting, however, I do think that the sizzle has great value, in fact, much, much, more than the steak. The steak is a commodity - which can be purchased very easily. It is the sizzle (the brand and me, the story, history etc.) that has the value. Great design has been around and is around and is a commodity as well - we can buy design. It is the sizzle that is much harder to purchase and create.
I think the plan needs to be reorganized in a somewhat structure way. Starting with the mission and what you want to accomplish. Then maybe an executive summary as to how the mission can be achieved. Thanks for these comments - I will review and take the necessary actions. The comments made about the market are way to general. Yes the garment industry is huge but the segment for little girls clothing is a far cry from the total market. I believe info on that market segment is essential. Yes, I do realize I need more segment numbers in the package (wish I had an assistant to dig them all up!) - yet, while the girls (or children’s clothing) segment number is important, I see this as only the initial market to pursue - I see the market for QRubini as the world! The plan relies pretty heavily on the investor to take the brand and build a business around it. Yes, again, you are on the mark. As I mentioned in our meeting, we seek talent and money. This would preclude many investors as they look for a more mature business. Yes, again, you are correct - I am not seeking investors that are looking for a mature business.
Finally, the fact that there is no financial forecast would chase me away from any interest. Yes, again you are correct. Many investors will not be interested in QRubini for this reason. Investors want to make money and you are asking them to figure out how this can be done and pay you something for the use of the name and future design. Yes, exactly. Again, as I mentioned in our meeting, we are seeking investors that want to be involved in the building of the QRubini brand and/or that at least want to be involved in building the executive team that will build the QRubini brand.
You may not like my comments but you asked that I be honest in my assessment. I’d be happy to help in any way I can. Dick, again, thank you for your interest and your concern about how I will take your comments, yet I know you have a genuine interest in seeing QRubini succeed. Thus, I take your comments in the proper respect. I am looking forward to having you in my circle as QRubini moves forward!
cu sizzling!
Posted in Business, Entrepreneurship, History of QRubini, Being a Women in Business, Branding, Corporate Life, The 'burg, Success | No Comments »
October 8th, 2008
ok. I realized that we have another $23K outstanding with some people - the hardwood floor guy that took our deposit and then never showed up to install the new flooring for our beach apt. and another someone in our circle that I pray someday will do the right thing and make our side of the fence whole.
keep hearing conversations in and around town about how dry the flow of the green is - still think we need to be invested in some kind of consumable that folks keep wanting - cigars, wine, tea, beer, water all seem good to me………..
cu enjoying all the above!
voh
Posted in Business | No Comments »
October 6th, 2008
ok. I went to a Chamber event recently and there were a number of women there that looked as if they belonged at the tiki hut happy hour. I am so over it - and there I was feeling undressed in a boardroom because I didn’t wear pantyhose!
As I was going over a few outfits - seems I have gained a few pounds over the summer - and I am pushing 50 - I think you get a little more around your middle when you are pushing 50. And I chuckled to myself as I looked in the mirror and recalled that during the first year of my first job (with Wachovia Bank in downtown Tampa) in the corporate world - my office was on the 28th floor - I wore a pair of very deep, forest green, suede pumps - the heel was about an inch and a half, not much - the color of the pump matched a stripe in a black mohair blazer that my mother had given me. I had worn the jacket on the last day before Christmas break - yes, it was a bit festive, yet it was in very good taste. A senior woman vp (Alicia Laramy) told me at the end of the day that the shoes weren’t regulation and that I shouldn’t wear them again.
My, have times changed!
cu lowering my hems,
voh
Posted in Branding, Green, Style, Corporate Life, Shoes | No Comments »
October 4th, 2008
ok. I do love my morning walks - here is this morning’s dump:
when I was dating Roberto - he drove a Pinto - an orange rust colored one that he and his father had redone - it was pretty yucky really! yet, at the time, Roberto thought it was pretty cool - now my sweetie wants a Mercedes S500 - man and their machines - this is a recurring theme in life, yes?
loving not judging - that is what we have to do - no judgements - it is so hard isn’t it?
everywhere I go - either another dog, a blower (these are used this century instead of brooms), a bike - the sidewalks are suppose to be for walkers guys not bikes - bikers should yield to walkers yet they rarely do in the ‘burg
Go Rays!- wish I could bag carpool today and go to the game -
people of color smile more than white folks do
why is the signage at the Museum of Fine Arts so boring - why not have the local artists do some new signage?
why are the street front windows at the Chamber of Commerce not prettier? they have one of the best corners in downtown directly across the street from BayWalk and Grille 121 (btw the owner of 121 sure has some great ‘burg energy) - why not have the local artists do some murals for them? jazz it up a bit -
the rising sun this morning looked like the setting Japanese sun - so intensely red orange - the light over the Tampa Bay was so incredible - I love the ‘burg
I wish everyone could take a morning walk. One of my girlfriends says that I am spoiled because I am able to walk 1.5 hours a day - yet, most people that go to the gym regularly spend this amount of time with such yes? by the time they drive to and from the gym it is likely that many people in community are devoting such time to their health. I would not be a kind person if I didn’t get my regular walk in most mornings. This is just how I work.
cu walking it all off!
voh
Posted in Business | No Comments »
October 2nd, 2008
ok. here is one that my daughter submitted to me for us:
a straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting - The Doctor, from Dr. Who show
this from a child who changed her dying uncle’s quote of - life is crazy, then you die - to: life is interesting then you die.
cu loving it all!
voh
Posted in Business, Daughters, Quotes | No Comments »
|
![[info]](http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_info.gif){kind=icon}
![[add]](http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_plus.gif){kind=icon}
![[mail]](http://www.quotationspage.com/icon_email.gif){kind=icon}
