Smooth like buttah!
Wow. I know I haven’t updated in a while; I apologize for that. I simply haven’t had time to do anything lately.
We finally dug ourselves out of the driveway in Indiana (I’m waiting for my mom and uncle to forward me their pictures of it since mine didn’t turn out), and I came back to California for New Year’s.
2004 was the close of a big year for me — Simpli’s biggest year yet (we tripled in size since 2003), and overall a highly stressful year for me. I was feeling awful for a lot of the year since I was taking on too much work. At IBI 1204, the biggest thing that came out for me was that I was just drained and exhausted. Having my own business should be fun, but for me, too often, it resulted in sleepless nights, customers who were driving me up the wall, and health problems (my wrists being the #1 culprit; it got so bad in December that I was actually unable to type for 2 days.) Changes had to be made; that was clear.
So, in a complete and utter change of pace, I hired C as my COO and let him take over the day-to-day operations of Simpli.
I can hear all your mouths dropping right now. “You hired C? After all of your personal problems, etc. with him?” Yes, I did. Why? Two big reasons.
1) He’s extremely talented at leading teams. He has been in IT longer than I have been alive. He shows intelligence and thoughtfulness at leading, and he spoils his teams rotten. His management style is far different from mine, but it’s effective and that’s what is important. (Mine, at this point in time, is not effective because I do not have time to properly manage a team and still do all the other responsibilities of my job.)
2) For all of the personal things we have been through, he’s still a damn good person who deserves a great position at a stable and growing company where he can really flourish, and Simpli was a clear fit for him and his experience.
C has been kicking butt at Simpli lately, setting up a to-do list, forcing me to stick to agreed-upon deadlines (thank you!), and generally cleaning up the place. I’ve received loads of compliments from customers about him, as well. I am quite relieved and proud that he is working out well.
On to things about me. Oh, sheesh, where do I begin? First of all, this New Year was the best New Year I have ever had, mostly because for the first time I can remember I actually let go 100% and stopped caring about what everyone thought. I danced and danced and danced.
I have more to update. At IBI 1204 I met a really interesting guy who is now my boyfriend. In keeping with the tradition of not naming real names, I’ll call him N. We have been dating for a little over a month now and so far it’s been going really great. He was the one who took me dancing for New Years, and we’ve had a couple fun outings since, including skiing last weekend in Tahoe.
N is not like most of the other guys I’ve dated. First of all, he isn’t a geek. Does it surprise you? I bet it doesn’t surprise you if you know me well. It surprised me at first, but then I looked back at who I really was and it dawned on me that being a computer geek is a just fun aside that also happens to tie into my business. What’s the real me? Well, being a serial entrepreneur, of course! N also happens to be a serial entrepreneur, so that’s all good. We have fun plotting out company ideas, developing strategic plans for our companies, and raising capital for our companies and other companies. I love the fact that he has the same true passion I have, which is starting businesses. We’re both extremely competitive, but since our companies are so different (his company manufactures a line of all-natural deodorants) we can help each other kick butt in different areas. This is really cool, and honestly, it’s a relief to not have to be competitive with him in the computer arena. He is Chinese, knows kung fu, and is a total cutie, too. 😉
So what’s next? Releasing two sub-companies of Simpli, one of which should be online on Friday. My wrists, having received a month’s hiatus, are feeling a lot better. I am up in Sacramento a lot since that’s where N lives. I’ve started to really enjoy my life and I do love who I am now. All in all, it’s a fantastic, amazing turnaround from just a few months ago.
I feel good.
