Finding the Fullness of Promise In an Empty Room

For the past week, or so, I have been sitting in my gutted studio that is empty of everything except the desk upon which sits my computer. The slightest of sound echos off the blank walls. The clack of the keyboard fills the room with its own unique symphony.

This room is the future home of Pixelektra Studio where I will be plying my trade as a photo restorer and digital artist.

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be starting a business, I would have said, "Yeah! Right! You're nuts!"

Now I look ahead to this time next year.

These white walls are now painted in periwinkle and sea foam green. This cavernous space is filled with the equipment needed to resurrect somebody's cherished memories.

Here I will help reconnect people with their past and give them a sense of historical continuance for their future generations. The safe-guarding of people's memories is an emotional business.

Each day nudges my dream closer to reality.

Already I have had five contractors come in to review and measure the space. I await their quotes to include with my business plan and small business loan application.

Yesterday I spent 14 hours working on my business plan. 14 hours! That's nearly two whole working days crammed into one 24-hour period!

The plan is already 33 pages long; and I have not yet begun the number-crunching and the projected cash-flow summaries. At least I am more than halfway through.

I was initially daunted by the prospect of writing a business plan. My inner child kicked and screamed, "Wah! I don't wanna do it!"

Oh please, oh please! Is there any way I don't have to do this? Please?

However, if I am to seek the financing necessary to launch this venture, I gotta do it. Like the ad says: "Just do it!" And so I did.

While I had intellectually understood the need and importance of drafting a business plan, the actual value of one did not hit me until I actually sat down and started answering, one by one, the questions in the business plan booklet put out my regional economic development corporation.

It was when I actually got down to work and started answering the (so far) 11 pages of questions that insights and epiphanies started wending their way into my consciousness.

I realized ~ my God! ~ that I am not in the business of restoring damaged photographs. Rather, I am in the business of preserving people's memories ~ their histories ~ and assuring their continuation for future generations.

Talk about mind-blowing!

That blazing flash of insight had also shined a beacon in the direction that I want to take in my studio renovation project, and perhaps even which contractor may be most appropriate for the job.

Yes, this business is all about preserving and maintaining a sense of history. As such, my business space should reflect that as well.

You see, Pixelektra is going to be located in the original part of our house ~ the part that is about 175 years old. The contractor that I choose is one who is going to be enthusiastic about maintaining the integrity of the architectural details of "this old house" ~ especially the detailed woodwork both inside the studio and outside at the front entrance.

The care that I have taken in preserving the history of this corner room will communicate the seriousness of my intention to perserve the history of the clients who step into this room with their faded and damaged photographs.

Although I have one or two more contractors to interview, I think I may have found my guy. His enthusiasm for old houses was quite infectious. When I mentioned this observation to him, he said that he originally came from California, where one is hard-pressed to find a 100-year-old home. And here he is in New England ~ Old House Heaven!