The summer ended, and even though we were scooping ice cream 77 hours a week and investing religiously in new videos, the store was not close to breaking even. Most days, we were only selling about $100 worth of stuff, hardly enough to cover the cost of goods purchased, let alone pay for staffing.

To preserve cash, we cut all the remaining fat and hoped that sales would increase as more people got to know we were there.

Miraculously, Chris kept his job. My salary was cut back to $300 a week which was not enough to comfortably cover even my modest lifestyle. I began to have my first real doubts about the business.

Fortunately, the new school year had begun, and I was able to supplement my income with tutoring, something I had fallen into quite by accident during my senior year in college. Fortunately, the student I had tutored hadn’t graduated and his mother was kind enough to introduce me to several other families. Soon, I was working with three additional students. Unfortunately this windfall came with a hidden cost – I made house calls, and all my students lived across a toll bridge 35-45 minutes away. I had a new car at the time, so at least transportation would not be an issue.

Why I had a new car when I was so broke is an interesting story in itself. When I graduated from college, I had about $1000 to get launched. This meant I had $500 left to spend on a car, after the $500 required to cover my first insurance payment. At the time, GMAC, General Motors’ financial arm, would finance a new car purchase for any college grad. So, I was able to become the proud owner of a brand new Geo Prizm (and assume monthly payments of $273 for the next 4 years!) but it was not financially feasible to buy a used car for me at the time.

In the end, it worked out. Reliable transportation would be necessary for the next few years, and I never had any trouble with the car, until it was totally by a guy who ran a red light and smashed into my parked car 3 years and 70,000 miles later. Thank you GMAC!

Between my Hometown salary and the $120-$150 a week I earned in tutoring, I was able to breath more easily and meet basic expenses, including $400 rent, $273 car payment and the student loan that I’d soon need to start repaying.

For better or worse, I was working (or driving to work) most of my waking hours, so there wasn’t much time for socializing. This was just as well because I didn’t have enough money to spend on more than an occasional restaurant meal or bar tab anyway.

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