I have a two year old nephew. Every time I go to see him I am bound to watch whatever NickJr show that just happens to be on. In this case it was the Backyardigans. Lovely show. In this particular case the episode “Horsing Around” harped on an age old tale of the Tortoise and the Hare. A classic. The work that I am doing today made me think of this episode. All I can do is laugh…and continue to do so. Let me explain…
I have a business, SG Visual Media, that I established back in August of 2009. With my move from the Midwest, I needed to register my business with the new state that it resided in. In this case it is Maryland. I began research on what needed to be done to get my business registered and up and running in no time flat. For starters, I needed to fill out an application for sole proprietorship and a trade name application. Processing of these two documents combined is $25 and the processing period is 6 to 8 weeks. If I wanted expedited service I could fax the documents as well as my credit card info for an additional $50. The processing for this service is 10 business days. For same day service? A trip to the Baltimore office with the $75 and completed forms. I’ll be registered that day and ready to proceed on with my next steps.
I had everything in order. All I needed to do was fill out the necessary forms, drive up to Baltimore with my fees for expedited same day service and I was good to go. Of course, I didn’t want to go about the 6 to 8 week option! That would take too long! I needed to hurry up and get things moving pronto. The funny thing? It has been almost two years and I STILL do not have a business registered in Maryland. Sad.
Let me go back to the Backyardigans for a few moments. In the episode mentioned above Uniqua (the cowgirl) and Pablo (the jockey) battle it out to see who is the fastest rider on this side of the Mississippi River. They decide to race to see who can get to the river first and who can boast about being the fastest. During the race they both keep getting side tracked trying to best each other at random activities such as who can jump the highest, etc. Unbeknownst to them, Tyrone and his steed Molasses join the race. Sure they are the slowest at first site but their concentration is on the race and nothing else. Tyrone and Molasses are focused on the task at hand and not all over the place like Uniqua and Pablo.
So from January 2010 until now I was showcasing characteristics of Uniqua and Pablo. I was all over the place and not really focused on the task. I wanted to just get it done quickly and I figured I had plenty of time to do so. There were other things that I wanted to get done as well. “Sure, I could do them all”, I would say to myself. Things would come up as they always do. Life does that. “I have plenty of time,” I would say to myself. “It’s same day service.” Lol. Almost TWO YEARS! SMH!
I’ve changed it up a bit. Due to my lack of transportation, I am unable to even consider the same day service at the Baltimore office. I am opting for the 6 to 8 week service for only $25. This is the best option for me. I don’t have to travel far. Only down my driveway to my mailbox. My mail provider will pick it up in the morning and the process will begin. Once I receive my license number I can apply for my sales and use tax and resale certificate. That only takes three days using their online form which is free. Once all of that is complete the waiting period for me to apply to my wholesaler will have expired. I can apply with them and FINALLY get started with my personalized gift business online. I’m only out of $25 plus 6 to 8 weeks of my time. Not a bad trade off for owning my own business!
See how all of that works? I’m glad I’m finally seeing it now. The illusion of time can be an enemy for me. I figured I had plenty of it and procrastinated. Silly me…not thinking in the NOW. A problem that has come to light for me and is being dealt with expeditiously.
What will I be doing while my applications are being processed? Spending time with family. Manifesting other dreams and desires. Who knows…maybe I can get another Aha-Moment from a NickJr show. 🙂
*Backyardigans image compliments of http://backyardigans.wikia.com/wiki/File:Horsing_Around_Cast.jpg*