Poker

I'm a big fan of poker. My gf and I watch the World Series of Poker religiously.

I like to go down to Atlantic City with my friends and play table games and poker. Whenever we can, we go to Vegas.

Lately, our trips have been few and far between. I haven't been working, and when you're not working, trips like that are just too expensive, and just... what's the word. Frivolous. That's a good word.

When I moved down to Florida in 2008 to help my mom and sister with the company, my mom asked my sister and I to write down a bunch of things we wanted, when the company became successful.

My mom's very big on positive thinking.

So, one of the things I wrote down was that I wanted to get into the main event at the WSOP. It's a $10,000 ticket, and, at the time, I felt that THAT would be the ultimate cool thing to do when the company went nuts.

See, we had a retail store, we had wholesale customers, and we had just hired a PR firm to help us get out into the world. We sent out press releases, received a HUGE amount of requests for samples, and we really thought we were going to have a serious amount of magazines, television shows, newspapers, and more promoting our awesome products.

At the time, $10,000 seemed like chump change. Sure, hey, I'll get to the WSOP. Maybe I'll even do well. Sure.

Hell, one of the other things I wanted was an original Jeffrey Jones painting. Something like Age of Innocence. One of the most phenomenal paintings out there, in my opinion. I'm a huge Jeffrey Jones (the painter, not the pedophile) fan.

A bit more than 2 years later, my list has changed completely.

I would never consider paying $10,000 for a seat at a poker tournament. I respect people who can do that. After being out of work for so long, I have to save whatever money I make, and, believe me, I won't be making much of anything for a while.

Soapier needs help. Marketing help, actual physical help. We need to hire someone, to help us with soap making, wrapping, shipping. All very important to the survival of my mom's mental health, and our business.

Let's see. What's on my list.

Well, I'd like to be able to help pay rent and bills.

I'd like to be able to buy Christmas presents this year, though I know how much a handmade gift can be appreciated.

I'd like to be able to get my mom a vacation. She hasn't been on a proper one in many years.

I'd like to get my sister a new (used) car.

I'd like to save enough money so that the company won't ever be on its last legs.

I'd like to have enough money so that we can continue to donate to great causes that Reddit finds.

I would Soapier to be a shining light in the world. We're not interested in making millions. We're interested in having a stable company, with stable employees that get the rewards they deserve.

I had this fantastic idea for franchising Soapier stores. I hope to be able to promote these franchises next year. I think it will revolutionize how businesses franchise. I really do... and what it will achieve will be huge for people who want to start their own businesses, but don't want to pay $50,000 before they even open a store. There's a better way.

The WSOP will always be around. Maybe one day when I'm making a salary, and have a significant amount of savings, and won't stress out about spending the money... then I'll be able to do it.

Until then, it's a nice dream... but there are quite a few nicer, more practical ones that hold priority, and I'm fine with that.

Thanks for reading. I head down to Florida for my initial trip on Wednesday. We'll see how it goes.

J