Year of the Startup

Today marks a big day at my company.  We taped out our first production level mask set.

We had to do this because we got a major order.  We’re making money!  This is the first step towards profitability.  Until you are able to sell stuff, your start-up future is always in question.  All that initial cash will quickly die out if no income is streaming in.  The trick is to make a profit before that initial capital runs out.  We’re not profitable yet, but getting a first order is important because it gives other customers more confidence that we will be here a while.  It gives me more confidence that I’ll get paid sometime next year.

What a fun day!  I did have to drive a bit, as I mentioned yesterday.  I met up with my friend at his company’s headquarters down in South San Jose.  What an awesome campus!

Rather than driving immediately back to work, I went to lunch with my friend at the employee cafeteria.  I got this huge mound of chow mein and grilled chicken for six bucks.  I can see why someone would like to work here! (my friend has tried to get me to come here, but I didn’t want to commute… more than I am already… and I would rather be an owner than a worker).

Evening time was with the band as usual.  The team there really seemed to like my study (week three) on prayer.  Gee, and I absolutely threw this study together at the last minute.  Thanks God!  We played after that, and the set was awesome.  I’m going to enjoy playing on Sunday with this team and with this music.  It’s all so good!

What an exceedingly long day!  With the exception of my early morning Wednesday breakfast, and two hours at dinnertime with the family, I pretty much spent the entire day working.

The daytime work was “normal” work, but after dinner, I had a friend come over.  This friend had been doing some projects for my new company and since he was in the area, he wanted to provide some on-site assistance.  We also had to work through a contract, but that went pretty easy.

Well… he helped a great deal, but he forgot to bring along one of his deliverables – a vital, can’t live without item – so we drove to the hotel where he was staying… roughly 20 miles away, and drove back.  It was worth the drive to get everything squared-away before he flew home tomorrow.  We got everything completed by 11:15PM.  Unfortunately, my boss needed to sign the contract, so it looks like I’ll see my friend tomorrow sometime to deliver the contract.

I really missed my family, and they were only in the next room!

I sort of forgot to mention that I got my new Dell laptop over the weekend as well.  I did very little with it over the weekend because I wasn’t really home.  I transferred some stuff yesterday at work while also working on a borrowed computer.  Today, I finished the transfer, ditched the borrowed computer, and began to use my new laptop.  Yeah!

Tonight is back to school night for Courtney.  This will be my last back to school experience at the Middle School where my wife works.  After that, it’s four years of High School for Courtney.  Jeffrey is already in High School, so I’ll attend his back to school event next week.  From what I understand, both my kids have great teachers this year, which is very important to them (they don’t excel if they don’t like the teacher).  I look forward to meeting all these teachers, and I expect better grades from my kids because they like these teachers.

This weekend was BUSY!  We decided to do a family event on Saturday, since it is rare that I have a Saturday off.  We went to Niles Canyon.  The two mile strip offered non-stop antique stores.  After a while, they all looked the same, though clearly some were better than others.  For me, the highlight was lunch.  We opted for Pizza at “Bronco Billy’s Pizza Palace.”  Silly name, I know, but the pizza was simply outstanding!  After that, we drove along Niles Canyon road, though not far enough to get to the Railroad Museum, or the Sonol Water Temple.  We turned around and went to a park along the Niles Reservoir / Alameda Creek.

Sunday was unusual in that I really didn’t see my house from 8AM to 9PM.  I went from church to my friend Jeff’s house to watch the 49ers lose, to the Flesner’s house up in the hills for a Germany reunion party.  Usually, I love the drive up to the Flesner’s house (in my Porsche) because it’s mountainous and twisty, but I was behind a flatbed truck doing 20MPH the whole way there.  The drive home was much faster, but since it was dark, I had to temper my ride a bit.

Today was a nice day, but nothing really stood out… until I got home.  Everyone wanted me!  Now this is unusual; I had all my family members vying for my attention.  Barbara wanted me to fix her computer, Courtney wanted me to help her with homework, Jeffrey wanted me to help him cook.  I quickly fixed the computer, then helped Jeffrey cook.  Courtney really didn’t need the homework help after all.  After dinner, Jeffrey and I fixed our toilet, which had been leaking water.  It was leaking so bad that the water district had called us up to tell us about a sudden spike in water usage.  I guess the $5 part we replaced is going to cost me around $300. because I didn’t replace it two months ago.  Bummer.  Still, it was great cooking and fixing stuff with my son.  I really enjoyed it and I think he did too.

No, I didn’t forget to write; just nothing happened.  I worked, I spent time with my family, I went to bed.

Wednesday is work at home day… and that’s what I did.  I got some chip work done.  I did a little more analysis from yesterday; and look at the time!  Time goes fast when you can work without distraction.

I also listened to half of my Queen albums as I worked today.  It’s been a while since I pulled out this box set.  The kids want some Queen on my iPod (I didn’t even know they knew about the band!) so when we go on trips, they can listen to the band.

Yup, the laptop is dead.  Staples said they could replace the motherboard for $325.  Well you know what, I can buy a better computer for that price, so that’s what I did.  I got the same model, but with the best possible specs.  It’s actually a much better unit than the paperweight I now own.

Work was fun today.  I spent my eight hours doing statistics, and in doing so, proved a couple of theories as to why two parts have issues.  Analysis is both fun and useful!  Now that I know what’s going on, I can do something about it tomorrow.

My boss drove with his friend to Laguna Beach today (you know, the trip I was supposed to make with him on Saturday).  I feel a little guilty about not going, but it sure feels good not to go!

And so I begin this week with renewed purpose.  I’m going to attempt to work smarter, not harder, and stick to one task at a time.  I also need to allow God to rule in my life; I’ll be better off if I do!

The weekend was a little stressful in places, but on the whole, it was good.  I used my suddenly free Saturday to do some church stuff and (once my family woke up) spend time with my family.  Sunday, I taught, but my plan to use powerpoint and video failed – my computer would not work!  Still, by the grace of God, we got through the class, and might have even enjoyed ourselves a little.  The entire afternoon was spent with the Directv installation guy; crawling around the attic and the garage.  Between the two of us, we got an HD DVR installed in the bedroom, and a replacement DVR in the family room.  Yeah!  That old DVR was really frustrating.

Today, I did vendor management at work.  Looks like I’ll have more to do tomorrow as well.  After work, I put my laptop in the shop (Staples).  I think it is dead, but (for $70) I want to know for sure.  I would hate for it to be something as simple as a driver.

The evening was spent playing bass with my son and watching Final Destination II.  We watched Final Destination I yesterday.

I just finished what I believe to be one of the longest “short” weeks I’ve ever had.  As I organized my “to do” list, putting action items in my four areas of responsibility, it occurred to me that I wasn’t succeeding in any of the four areas.  I’m simply trying to do too much in too many areas – each with a steep learning curve – and because I’m jumping around (partially because my boss’s constant change in focus, and partially due to constant interruptions in the office, which cause me to lose focus), I’m not spending enough quality time in any one area to gain competency.

It’s sad really when you come to the conclusion that you aren’t cutting it; that you are incompetent in what you do.  You don’t want to be incompetent, but the only cure for it is learning the craft, and time spent doing it.  I’m doing too many things right now, and no one thing very well!  I finally told my boss this at the end of the day (I had overheard him complaining about me earlier in the day… which didn’t help things).  I’m going to try my best to “compartmentalize” my four hats and set aside time for each, so rather than jumping around on tasks, I will set aside most of a day to complete a particular task.  By doing so, I’ll gain competency.  I might also need to work at home more, which actually offers me more focus, but now that I have a person working for me, I really can’t do that as much as I’d like.

In other news, my boss and I decided today that we would NOT be driving 1000 miles in a day to pick up some software and equipment.  With the long drive imminent, we decided that doing this was just crazy!  We’ll hire someone to deliver the stuff.  From what we understand, a hired driver can deliver it for $500. – totally worth it in my opinion!  We will both be glad to spend more time with our families… and perhaps less “intimate” time with each other.  If I were doing a better job at this company, the drive would be fine.  Right now… it could get a bit uncomfortable, though my boss is exceedingly gracious – quite a plus in my book!

Tonight is a Pot Luck at our house.  I’m really looking forward to that, and even more so now that I can stay up later!