Hard at work days before the launch of the truck.
Tracks
After three hours and much consideration, out of the 20+ images that I created, these tabs are the chosen ones for the website.
I’m so happy that the vending plan, submitted in April, got approved 2 months later. Quite a delay but LATE IS STILL BETTER THAN NEVER!
New deadline
As of now, I still have not heard back from DOH & the truck still needs some minor touches before it can undergo the wrapping process. It doesn’t look like I’m going to meet my 5/21 deadline :(
On the bright side, in less than 24 hours, I will be conducting a handful of interviews. I’m excited and anxious to meet these folks! I see great potential in them & I can’t wait to welcome them on board!
I think the taste test, that I’m hosting at the end of the week, will make a perfect opportunity for my future employees to showcase their skills in the kitchen!
Lastly, Mother’s Day weekend just passed and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my MOM for bringing me up in such a loving, positive, and supportive environment. I can’t thank her enough for allowing me to live out my dreams and goals while having enough faith in me to financially support my wishes. She’s a role model and an inspiration to a handful of my friends as well. Happy Mother’s Day to all moms; especially mine for being mine <3
I have absolutely no artistic ability so when DOH asked for a blueprint of the truck, I went nuts. However, I took advantage of google and learned to sketch a stove and “TA DA. HALLELUJAH” — my very own, first and last, blueprint, HOPEFULLY!
My application has not been approved by DOH & I was notified about it two days ago at the worse time because it’s finals week right now. I just knocked out 2 major projects and 3 finals this week. 1 more final next week and 2 more the week after. I wrap up on the 17th so y’all will be hearing from me soon! Best of all, I already know I’m making Dean’s List. I’ve been on that 4.0 grind all semester long! Gotta make my mama proud, know what I’m sayin’!??
ANYWAY, back to the truck, my goal is to have this truck on the street by 5/21 but that will be impossible if I can’t get DOH to approve my entire plan!
P.S. Did y’all notice my personal touch on the blueprint? Hope y’all like my design and selection of the logo!
This truck is H-U-G-E!
I feel so tiny standing next to it so I thought I’d upload an image of me IN it, instead.
It’s already 4/1 & they’re still not done building it out. At least the front is being worked on — I hope they wrap it all up in 2 weeks!
I completed STEP 9
& it only cost me $35!
STEP 9
I’d love to create a 5-page website to maximize the search engine optimization but I don’t think that’s necessary. Plus, I can’t even afford it :[
These images are my initial visions for a 2-page-website.
I have no experience with designing a website but I might just take a leap of faith and do as much research as I can. Hopefully I can get it done soon!
STEP 3 - 8
woohoo it’s spring break and I can’t think of anything better to do than to get all the paperwork done!!! First, I tacked along with my mom to check on the build-out of the truck. I have video footages to share but haven’t had the time to edit them. As the week progress, the following steps happened:
-I spent roughly $200 on a few equipments for the truck but this is nothing compared to how much my mom’s spent to keep my dream alive.
-PHONATION L.L.C. was established on 3/12/2012 for $320
-After much complications with the paperwork at the DMV, I was finally able to transfer the truck’s title to my name for $430. I also created the EIN for the business on 3/13/2012
-The truck was registered on 3/14/2012
-My mom and I had a meeting with a designer to execute ideas that I had in mind for the truck’s wrap and the business’ logo on 3/16/2012.
-I created a business email for the company on 3/17/2012
now, I can be reached at rachel@dcphonation.us
Early morning of 3/18/2012, I checked into the ER again [9 months after being hospitalized for a week during summer ‘11] to learn that I had kidney stones this whole time and no doctor or hospital could diagnose it before. This is because, and I quote, “You are a very skinny person, usually, back pains indicate kidney problems but yours stays up front so it’s often mistaken for as stomach ache. The stones are too small to be detected by ultrasound so previous doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with you,” said Dr. _______.
I’m still pretty drugged up but I’m glad that the doctor found what’s really wrong with me.
Now I can focus on recovering correctly and get well by the launch of the business!
Hopefully by the end of this upcoming week, I’ll have the logo done so that I can get into some PR practices.
STEP 2
Had a hard time choosing the right colors for the truck today…
My goal is to wrap the truck on a low budget so unlike what I’m used to, I must minimized the wrapping on this truck… perhaps keeping it simple is the key.
Regardless, no matter what, I always have to incorporate my favorite color, BLUE, into the project. Hence, keeping the truck white while coloring the logo BLUE — [how blue? I’m not sure yet but I have a few shades in mind] will maintain my vision for our customer-friendly service!
STEP 1
After 2 weeks of “actual” searching, make it 2 nights, I found THE truck & made a purchase on the spot today! Can’t thank my MOM enough for the guidance and financial assistance (:
