I Don’t Do All the Errands Anymore - and There’s a Reason

When my sister and I first established our corporation, we did almost everything together.

Business permits? Both of us.

Follow-ups? Both of us.

Meetings? Both of us.

Construction supervision? Again, both of us.

If somebody needed to go somewhere, somehow we both ended up going. 😂 At the beginning, I think it made sense.

Everything was new, and we were both learning as we went.

But after a few months, I realized something very practical:

I couldn't keep doing everything with her.

Not because I didn't want to.

I simply didn't have the energy for it.

I Still Have My Bread-and-Butter Work While we're building our small businesses, I still work as a virtual assistant.

That's my bread and butter.

And I started noticing a pattern.

If I spent half the day driving around, waiting in government offices, following up permits, talking to contractors and doing other errands, I would come home tired.

Then I'd open my laptop and stare at it like...

Okay. Now we're supposed to work? 😂 Technically, I still had time.

What I didn't have anymore was energy.

And I think there's a difference.

At this stage of my life, I've become much more protective of that.

Maybe because I'm older.

Or maybe I've finally accepted that I don't need to personally do everything for it to count as work.

So my sister and I gradually settled into a different arrangement.

She handles more of the physical errands.

I handle many of the things that can be done behind the scenes.

I'll prepare the authorization letters.

I'll organize the supporting documents.

I'll make the list of things that need to be checked.

I'll make the calls when necessary.

I'll research.

I'll follow up.

And then I'll send my sister out into the world. 😂 It works.

There’s Another Reason I Need to Keep Working There's also a financial reason I've chosen to protect my VA work.

When we need additional capital and financing becomes part of the conversation, my income documents are usually stronger.

So while it may sometimes look like my sister is doing more of the running around, my role is simply different.

I need to continue generating and documenting income.

That's part of what I bring to what we're building.

It took me some time to understand that contribution doesn't always have to look the same.

One person can be standing in line at an office while the other is sitting behind a laptop earning the money that helps keep things moving.

Both matter.

Then Came My New Foreclosed Property Since acquiring my second foreclosed property, I've started going through the usual checklist.

Taxes.

Documents.

Water.

Electricity.

Outstanding obligations.

All the things that aren't particularly exciting but still need to be sorted out.

The property is in another municipality, so the process isn't exactly the same as the first foreclosed property I acquired in the city.

Some things feel familiar.

Others don't.

So before sending my sister anywhere, I prepared the authorizations and supporting documents she might need.

Then today, she called me with an update.

The water district apparently needs the previous owner's signature before the existing account can be transferred to my name.

Okay.

That's interesting. 😂 Then there's the electricity.

That account isn't even under the previous owner's first name.

Same surname, different first name.

My guess is that it may belong to his father, brother or another relative.

But that's only a guess.

And if there's one thing property paperwork keeps teaching me, it's this:

Don't build your next move around a guess.

So now I need to find out what my actual options are.

Can the existing accounts be transferred?

Do I need the account holders to sign something?

Would it be easier-or even possible-to apply for completely new connections?

Are there outstanding balances attached to those accounts?

I haven't done anything yet.

I'm still gathering information.

And honestly, there's another reason I'm not rushing.

There’s Still the Previous Owner’s Request I'm still weighing what to do about the previous owner's request to get their family home back.

So it doesn't make sense for me to rush into changing everything while I'm still deciding what happens to the property itself.

For now, I'm collecting facts.

That's something I'm learning to do more often.

Not every problem needs an immediate solution.

Sometimes I just need to understand what I'm dealing with first.

And when it comes to utility accounts, I have a very good reason for being careful now.

Because earlier this year, my sister and I learned a surprisingly expensive little lesson about an electricity account.

It involved her old business.

A new owner.

An account that was never transferred.

And four months of unpaid electricity bills that technically weren't ours.

Guess who eventually had to pay them?

Yep. 😂 But I'll save that story for Part 2.

Because apparently even after you sell a business and walk away...

your electricity account may not get the memo.