New York, New York

One of the things I HAD to do yesterday afternoon was reorganize myself.  I've had so many different things going on this week, with so much email and soft copies of contracts, proposals, and artwork flying around that I needed to put some structure around the chaos!  I cleaned up and sorted my email, uploaded key documents to my online storage (MobileMe) and updated my contact lists.


I had conversations with three of my wholesalers in New York during the afternoon.  As I was updating all of the contact information in Entourage (the equivalent of Outlook in the Office for Mac suite), I realized that most of my new contacts are in the 212 area code!  I am planning another day trip to NY in October to visit the showrooms for the wholesalers.


Although it took less than 30 seconds, the true highlight was initialing the Letter of Intent at my broker's office yesterday and seeing the Landlord's signature!  The broker said I should expect the first draft of the lease next week.  I alerted my attorney and he is identifying a top notch real estate lawyer for me to work with on the lease review/negotiation.  I'm hoping there won't be too much angst since we've pretty much spelled out the key points in the LOI.


I spent a good part of the morning putting together my information based on my conversation with web designer Mark on Wednesday night.  I sent him the logo, Zoe Girl, and a Word document with excerpts from my business plan.  It contained an overview of the store, the Mission of the store, descriptions of some of the key lines I will carry, and a description of my primary customer.  This will help him understand my style and focus.  He has proposed that he do some Mood Boarding in the development of the site so that I can have the opportunity to choose from a variety of options.


Another task was to bring my accountant up to date on my progress.  He was very pleased when I shared Zoe's potential location with him.  He'll be reviewing my summary and setting time to talk with me in the next few days.


And, Susan, the lovely water lady, has offered to introduce me to a Move Manager who will help to oversee my contractors and bidding process for the buildout.  I have told her that I would be delighted for the introduction.  Despite thoughts to the contrary, I don't have to control everything (ha!)