Survival Mode.

We are slowly emerging from our first company catastrophe! Whoop!

On June 3rd, Canada Post (our preferred method of delivery) began a 'rotating-strike', in technical terms, they delivered a girlie slap, ran and hid behind a tree.

10 days later, the union was locked out by Canada Post, yet they continued to deliver more girlie slaps & outrageous demands. (Maybe the union is pregnant?).

A bunch of nonsense later, mail was stalled across the country for 8 days. No biggie to most - but to us this was terrible news.

We are a teeny tiny business that heavily relies on Canada Post. Other shipping options are available, but they are far too costly - our price point wouldn't line up well, ie: no one would buy from us. *Poof* we're gone.

We have worked non stop for the past year to build a seamless reputation with our clients. As fast as an order comes in, it is out the door, usually with the ink still warm from our curing dryer. Online shopping - as popular as it is becoming - still hasn't reached it's potential, because people don't like to wait.

We got that message loud and clear as the strike took down our perfect record, day by day. As much as we agree with the CUPW's right to free speech, chest pounding and girlie slapping, we were watching our little company take a huge hit. Sales were non existent as news spread internationally that mail was not being delivered from Canada.

As fate would have it, we were in the middle of re-stocking. AKA - current funds tied up, nadda coming in. As a brand new small business, even the smallest financial hit could threaten your company. There is no back-up, rainy day fun money. You are working for every dollar and making every dollar work for you.

I'm not going to lie - it hit me really hard. I couldn't stand the idea that everything we have worked for, was slowly being chipped away. Even worse, it was out of my control. I couldn't even save this one, with one of my spur of the moment, brilliant, business-saving ideas.

There was absolutely nothing we could do but sit and wait. We had over 300 shipments gathering dust in some postal sorting centre, and a stock room with hundreds more waiting to be sent out. Most clients understood - to them we're very grateful.

Fast forward to June 27 - the Canadian Government legislates the CUPW back to work. I felt like crying.

We had one very busy day prepping all of our shipments, but it felt so good to get them out.

We're starting to see our sales trickle back in again, mostly from Canadian clients. I don't think the internationals are ready yet. (Blame Canada!)

This was our very first hardship. Up until this point it's been all fun and games. Yes we're tired and broke, but it's a fun kind of tired and broke.

We're glad it's over. If it happens again, I just may venture a new logistics company.

On a brighter business note - we've hit a huge milestone. This may not seem like a very big deal to some, but to the self employed, it's a miracle.

We paid for our last re-stock, up front. No borrowed money. Mostly every small business has to borrow, (weather it be line of credit, terms or some other form of credit) to fully stock themselves. It's very normal, as you make your money back quickly and can pay the debt off in a month or so. We've done this for years.

This past re-stock we were able to write a nice tidy check, paid in full. Why is this important? It's a GREAT sign that we're growing steadily. In one year we've gone from a mess of ideas in my head, to a healthy debt free company. This does not mean that we're rolling in cash (I wish) but we are showing signs of financial stability.

We took a huge hit this month and still came out on top. Slightly beaten and ..with a new found trucker mouth, but .. on top none the less! So, very, proud.