It’s been rather a roller coaster week. On Friday I was heading to work feeling quite emotional: I have brought Ryding2Health from a one man band out of my garage and the back of a car, to a team of four staff on the brink of opening a brand new custom designed building using nothing but lots of guts and hard work.
Then on Saturday I’m at rock bottom: we can’t afford to put petrol in the car to drive to my race in Wanaka: so no Big Ruby for me, for the very first time ever. I feel heart broken. I don’t race any more, I don’t enter any type of events any more because of the constant pain that I face. But a swim only event was something I could still do. But finances won’t allow the 500km round trip to get there. And it’s the only one of its kind in the area.
The newspaper reporter said to me on Friday, this was a Southland business success story wasn’t it? You can never confidently say that when you are self employed. You are always worrying will the books balance, will you have enough to pay all your staff and all your bills.
I had to have a frank chat with one of my staff earlier this month and warn that I may not be able to pay her next wage, I may have to take some of her work on myself. I am still paid minimum wage. All my staff, per hour, are paid more than I am. At the moment, a move to the new building puts me on a knife edge. The stark reality is, either it will work, or I will go bankrupt. I have just 3 months to sort it out before the cookie could well crumble.
So standing in front of this brand new building which will soon bear my name in giant letters scares me to death. It would be way easier to just get a job and go to work for someone else.
If anyone tells you running a business is easy, trust me they are lying.
Melanie Magowan 