Backed Up
Heh heh - made you click!
No, seriously, this is about being backed up; it just has nothing to do with anyone’s bowels.
April was a pretty bangin’ month for business. I was a vendor at the inaugural Golden-Con and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Not only did my merch sell extremely well but the people were fantastic. References were made either verbally or visually and there was no need to explain anything; everyone just got it.
I came back to New York with a refreshed sense of why I started HYY in the first place and what I could look forward to in my next steps all in a glorious bubble of success.
::Enter IRS with a giant a** pin::
Upon my arrival back home I was greeted with the news that my Etsy shop had been frozen due to an issue with my company EIN (Employment Identification Number.) Having re-branded in 2020, despite the fact that I’d done all the paperwork and thought I was all set, it turns out that the IRS still was not linking my EIN with my new re-branded company name and therefor, there was no legal connection that Etsy could distinguish with regard to HYY.
All right, I thought. I’ll call the IRS and see what I need to do to get this straightened out. I spoke to an IRS employee and was given instructions to assemble a few things: a letter including all my contact and company info, legal documentation that I had renamed my company, what I needed the IRS to do and my signature.
Me: Great, thank you so much.
IRS Employee 1: You’re welcome. And once that’s done you can mail it to us.
Mail it?
Mail it the way we used to mail payment to Columbia House for $1 CDs you’d see at the back of magazines?
Mail it the way we would order from Delia’s catalogue?
Side barring for a hot minute - In tenth grade I bought these sneakers from Delia’s. I begged my parents to let me get them and when they said yes, I gleefully filled out the order form in the printed catalogue, grabbed the cash, put both in a sealed envelope and snail mailed it back to Delia’s. Then, with bated breath, I waited a couple weeks for their arrival.
And that was the typical process.
… because it was 19 freakin 98.
Me: Is it possible to email this to expedite the process?
IRS employee 1: Unfortunately, we’re not able to do that.
‘Not able to do that?‘ Exactly what decade is it where the IRS resides?
Me: Uh, okay. About how long do you think it will take to get everything straightened out?
IRS Employee 1: We’re very backed up right now. I’d give it four to six weeks. If you don’t hear from us by then, call us back for an update.
I follow these instructions carefully, try to be patient and in about 6 weeks I call to inquire about the status. I speak to IRS Employee 2 who checks. There is no record of having received my mail.
IRS Employee 2: What was it that you sent?
This circles us back to repeat the original conversation I’d had said six weeks ago with Employee 1 (i.e. Back at square one.)
This process happens 3-4 times with absolutely no progress whatsoever and never with a definitive checklist as to what I actually need to submit. Each employee gives me a different version of what I need to submit and where it should go.
I’m frustrated and annoyed, but mostly getting depressed about the fact that I haven’t sold a single product in months because of this. I’d come off such a fantastic high from the success I had at Golden-Con. This fiasco sobered me right up.
Bottom line: I figured it out and my Etsy shop is open once again. This entire process forced me to open a shop on my website where I will offer more products once the more nuanced items expire on Etsy.
From the outside I know it appears that I’m not doing anything, but I am trying my best. The lack of sales really tripped me up and typically when I find myself at what feels returning square, it’s difficult to begin when it feels like I’m starting with nothing.
I know that’s not true, but that’s what my brain tells me so I am working on trying to break that thought cycle as I move forward.
With warmth, gratitude and gusto,
