A product had become an order.
And an order had become money in the company's account.
For the first time, she had evidence that the operation could generate legitimate revenue.
Unfortunately, one small order wasn't enough to save the business.
The bank still expected payments.
The investor expected progress.
And the facility continued consuming cash even on days when nothing shipped.
By the end of the first operating quarter, the young woman understood just how difficult manufacturing could be.
A purchase order wasn't profit.
Revenue wasn't cash until customers paid.
And a company could be growing while running out of money.
She prepared another financial forecast.
This one was less optimistic than her original plan.
The revised figures showed that Ashford Circular Minerals needed consistent volume and additional buyers.
It also needed better control over its incoming feedstock costs.
At present, the family-owned processor provided reliable material, but its volume was limited.
To expand, she needed more suppliers.
And one of the largest potential suppliers in the region belonged to the heavyset farmer who had spent months laughing at her.
She stared at his name on the list.
Then closed the folder.
She wasn't ready to make that call.
Not yet.
Instead, she contacted several other facilities.
Some were interested.
Others weren't.
One operations manager explained that his company had recently renewed a long-term waste-handling agreement.
Another said the existing contractor warned that alternative eggshell processors were unlikely to satisfy environmental requirements.
A third claimed the county would never approve a small recycling operation of the kind she was building.
The young woman frowned.
Her facility had undergone the applicable reviews.
It was operating under documented conditions.
And she wasn't aware of any blanket prohibition on properly permitted eggshell processing.
She asked the manager where he'd heard that claim.
He gave her the name of a regional waste-hauling company.
She recognized it immediately.
The company handled shell waste for several large egg producers.
Including the heavyset farmer.
And according to her father's old notes, it was one of the businesses he'd contacted while developing his original plan.
For the first time, the young woman wondered whether the laughter at the feed store had been encouraged by something more than ignorance.
She opened the old notebook.
Found the company's name.
Then began reading.
Her father had kept three letters from the waste-hauling company.
The first was polite.
It thanked him for his interest in alternative uses for eggshell waste and said the company was always evaluating opportunities to improve its services.
The second was less encouraging.