#10 TAKING A HOME BASED BUSINESS TO THE EXTREME
The 40ft container arrived in our street and I think it was only then that I realised how much stock I had purchased. The truck didn't have the turning circle needed to fit up our driveway so it was parked out on the street.
I was very lucky to have lots of offers for help and I accepted every helping hand as staffing funds were tight. My brother came down from regional Victoria and was a great help as he could drive the fork lift I had hired. It came in so handy for all of the heavy statues, so glad I did this!!
With the container now being on the street, it was quite a long journey to get all the stock into the backyard.
I do not know how we would have managed without the forklift as you can see in these pictures. I was very lucky to have my close girlfriends, my family and anyone else that had dropped in.
Unpacking was going quite well until it started to rain. I did not want my stock to get wet so we were putting up marquees and tarps over the Hill Hoist so we could find somewhere dry to put everything. Stock was being unloaded and I was becoming overwhelmed at how much was in a 40ft container and where it was all going to fit.
Everyone kept asking "where do you want this?" and my brain was overloaded. We started putting items inside the house as the rain kept coming down and I did not want the stock damaged. We had a time limit to empty the container so we had to keep unloading in the rain. I said just bring them inside. Paintings lined the hallway, mirrors were in the lounge. My son had moved out so his room became a stock pile, also our second living area known as the kids lounge was packed to the rafters.
It was a massive day and we were still unpacking into the night with extra people dropping in to help. We had unloaded a massive recycled boatwood table that seated about 12 people. I ordered pizza for everyone to thank them for helping and we all sat around the big table in the middle of the yard to have dinner and some well deserved drinks.
Finally we had everything under cover, everyone went home and I poured myself into bed. I did not know where I was going to start. This little home business now seemed so big it was taking over our house. It would only be temporary as I was hoping to get it sorted and get it all back into my two Bali Sheds outside. Our house smelt like Bali with all the stock lining the walls.
I was now working from home full time and selling on Ebay. It was a priority to get it photographed and listed as quickly as I could to get some money coming in and the stock level down. Arlene would come and prepare the Ebay parcels for dispatch on my kitchen table while I photographed and listed stock.
I could photograph the small items but needed help to lift furniture so Arlene would help or I would need to wait for Steve or Kale to give me a hand to set up furniture to photograph. My Bali doors that were the opening to the carport were my backdrop for photography.
I was again working long hours as I put pressure on myself to get items listed on Ebay, often working until 2am while everyone was sleeping. I could not have done this without the help of family and friends. It really was a team effort. Things were going well, items were being dispatched, couriers were delivering stock and customers were picking up furniture from our home. This felt good to have my own little home-based business with no overheads so it was not really too risky. But things were all about to change!!!
