Page 32 - NOV2021 Digial Issue

Vic Clevenger
Chimney Cartel
victor0568@gmail.com
Costs for everything seems to be on the rise. Watching the news this morning the talk was about meat Beef is costing more. Pork is costing more. Chicken is even costing more. Our overall family grocery bill seems to be costing more just for the regular items we purchase each month. Sitting there you’re saying, “Vic, don’t forget about fuel prices.” Everything seems to keep going up with the exception of our salaries of course. Although the term “budget” has been a vocabulary word we’ve all used, it seems to be tak- ing root in our lives a little more lately. The one thing we’re all doing now is something we should always do when starting something new, count the cost.
Are you starting a business? Count the cost. Are you figur- ing out how many food sport events in which you can com- pete? Count the cost. Packaging a rub or sauce? Then, well, count the cost. Below are a few items to consider when counting the cost. The immediate implications is having enough money to embark on a project, there is much more to counting the costs than this.
The Cost of Resources
When taking on a new project the bank account is where almost everyone looks first. This isn’t a bad place to start. Jesus once told a story about a guy going out to build a house. His said this to the listening audience, “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and
count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Oth- erwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” This is our number one resource. Is there enough in the savings to bottle this great sauce, or develop a new grill? Maybe you want to take this BBQ hobby to the next level and make a living at it. Is there enough money to do so? Many allow this dream, goal, or project go stagnant or even die because there isn’t enough in the bank. So, back to the 9-5 job we go, hoping “one day” will come to make something we want a reality.
We’re all looking to stretch the dollar hoping it not only stretches but multiplies. When costs get tight, it’s hard to scale back what we’re used to doing. It’s even harder to take the step into the unknown when finances are tight. Ben Franklin once said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” But sometimes it gets hard to even save that penny. A way around this is investors. This is nothing new to you really if you think about it. For many of us, the bank holds the title to our truck we drive or the house in which we live. We make sure we can pay the monthly bills, of course, but the bank is our investor. I’m not necessarily saying you need to go to the bank for a sauce loan, but having some investors, partners or sponsors could make all the difference.
One food sport champion told a new product developer to not let his goal get stopped by lack of money. His point was there was a way around not having enough resources. This is great advice to anyone looking to start a project or even grow your business.
The Cost of Time
Growing up one of my favorite memories was going to the woods to build a treehouse. We built several over the sum- mers. They were rustic, of course, but they were sturdy. We called it our clubhouse and had tons of fun in them. Many reading this remember doing the same thing as a kid. We ate there, told stories there, made plans there and other such activities. But the treehouse didn’t just happen, it took time to get it right. It took time to gather lumber all over the neighborhood. We looked high and low to find just
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Count the Cost