Well it's Sunday again, the weeks just fly by every day we get older and so they say wiser and this last week as taught me a great deal. After the days off line and seeing just how close we could be from losing our living when things like that happen I'm starting work on a way to cover this kind of situation. The problems are not just how to bank takings or list beads but also the possibility of losing customers, they may see that I'm not listing items for days and wonder if I have stopped trading or they are waiting for beads to arrive without hearing a thing from me for days, both situations are not good for me. So with this in mind I need to get things covered for any future unseen problems.
When you trade as I do the most important thing is customer service, I need people not only to enjoy my beads but also to feel buying from me is easy, quick and reliable, this is the reason why I don't charge stupid postage prices like many in fact I guess I lose out on some postage but better that than maybe post my beads in a cute little box that costs pennies then charge a silly amount, customers are not silly, they would soon start asking questions like how come some sellers can post a set of beads out to me for a pound and some need to charge two or even more. If we went to buy a loaf of bread would we pay double to have a ribbon around it ? I think not !
I guess some would say I'm silly for not making a small profit on things like postage or for giving away what must be hundreds of sets of beads over the years and maybe they are right, maybe it's wrong to live your life like that, after all shouldn't we all just be making lots of money, not giving a monkey's fart about others, isn't that the way this world is run, if it is then count me out, I'm not changing for anybody.
Yes I do worry about things sometimes, when I get a slow couple of weeks I get that feeling that I'm falling back into that deep financial hole where the mornings post brings a sick feeling to your stomach, every envelope carries a nasty letter threatening bailiffs or demanding money, the phone is never answered in case it's someone asking for money and loose change is counted hoping we can afford milk and on the rare occasions we did get to the supermarket every item in the trolley is a value option.
But do you know what, I love working with glass so much I will always put up with those worries and I trust myself to be able to produce beads that people will like, that they will buy and use in their jewellery, I have to carry on down this road, it has been a hard one at times but I need to carry on walking forward, I know I have so much to learn in both bead making and life and with the support I get from some fantastic friends and family I know I'll get to that safe contented place one day when I can sit back looking over my work and say, "your there you old sod, you know how to make real beads"
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