Location, Location, Location.

When we conceptualized Five Ultimate in late 2005, one of the first things we did was call a meeting with an older cousin of ours. FK is no random cousin of ours - we five were actually raised to emulate FK and his siblings. A testament to our mothers' love and skill, we five siblings bear striking similarities to FK and his siblings. The biggest, most obvious, and most interesting similarity in this instance was the fact that FK and his brothers also started their own business as young adults, starting with an idea and a small amount of personal savings. Their bicycle parts company is now internationally renowned. In our meeting with FK, however, we were more interested in his mistakes in the early years than his current screaming successes. Xtehn and I sat on the edge of our seats, picking his brain for criticism and elaborations of our business plan. Through the many comments, one simple yet critical point came to light through FK's stories. Believe it or not, inventory management is one of the top (if not the #1) reasons why small businesses fail. The naive picture of a warehouse and forklifts I painted in my mind told me that inventory management was a far cry from what Five Ultimate would face. I was wrong. I now do "inventory management" every day, and the task has hit me like a wet tomato across the kisser. Keeping track of our stock of almost 200 different items has become almost impossible. Teams, tournaments, individuals, friends, family, samples, personal use of gear - they all make splashes and ripples in our inventory that seem to dissipate and fade away before I get the chance to keep track of them. The longer I wait to record something, the more the ripples fade. And compiling all the information... if only we had an intern.