Laying the business foundations with Tadao Ando

I am in a time of change. I know it. I can feel it. Not girly change or anything immensely profound, but a time when I am needing to change things to make them better.

My life is wonderful. I feel blessed to have the family, friends and surroundings I have. But I am always thinking of ways to quietly grow out business. By quietly - I mean slowly, little steps and, in the end, I don't want to rule the vintage fabric world! I just want a nice little business that ticks over, makes people happy and makes us happy, as well :)

The problem is, we're incredible time poor. Our lives are constantly on the move with myriad things - whether that is work, parenting, renovating, loving and just generally living.

And when you're time poor procedures and protocols that you thought you set in place start to crumble and get pushed to the side.

So, when I spoke of 'structure' earlier this week you can tell I was thinking of procedure, protocol - you know, the stuff that makes business chug along as the pace you're happy with, the stuff that gives you the software to make sure you're not giving stuff away etc etc. The stuff that makes a small business tick. Like direction. Like goals. Like positioning statements, that type of guff.

And today I realised that without the proper business foundation then the structure I am looking to build just won't work - or, it may work for a short period, but it will end up crumbling.

So I am currently working on the business foundation. Not business plans as such (already have one of them - must update!) - but the foundation of the place we work. It has fabric everywhere. On shelves - 35 to be exact - and in copious amounts of boxes. Boxes everywhere. Can't even reach the sewing machine anymore - that's how bad it is.

So - like the new age peeps say - clean the space you work in and you'll work with a cleaner mind.

So I have set to it. I am slowly structuring our work space to ensure all fabric is on shelving - and my ultimate goal is to have all fabric we have here for sale on the website. Cos it's not - no-where near it. I haven't even booked in fabric we purchased in late 2007 - shocking, isn't it?

So - no more grand plans, no more sewing, no more buttoning, no more extending the wares...just good old cleaning and neatening and tidying to set up bigger and better plans for the future.

Foundations before structure in small business. Makes sense - I just forgot it along the way :)

BTW - isn't this image amazing? Tadao's architecture is sublime - breath-taking - view some here. His architecture is representing what I want our workplace to be - clean and simple but with creativity!