... and my vacation isn't until next week!
I got up this morning and after the termite inspection guy left took the new (bought on 5/24) computer back to Best Buy. It wouldn't charge. It turns out I had to reseat the battery. Easy enough. On the ride to the shop I talked to our financial advisor. Since I have been in a funk as of late about the shop, I thought I'd ask him, "When do you know it is time to close your business?"
Our lease is up in September. I do not want to renew it if the signs are there to quit. We're responsible for the rent for the duration of the lease regardless of whether we are still in business, so I want to be able to get out now while I still can. Mark is awesome! He always can make sense of things for me, he keeps our best interests in mind, and he has grown our personal wealth even during the downturn. He has taught me to keep emotion out of money matters. So his answer surprised me.
"When it is not fun anymore."
Those words really hit me. First, he was including emotion. Second, wow. That should be the reason! People want to enjoy work. Work defines you, no matter how hard you try to deny it. Work is only supposed to be less than a quarter of our lives (40 hrs out of 168), but when you meet someone for the first time, invariably the first question is, "What do you do?"
I still enjoy work. I love helping people with projects. I love teaching new skills. I love helping someone find the perfect yarn for the project they want to do. I love inspiring people to challenge themselves with a new, difficult project. In short, I really do love what I do! Mark reminded me that it takes on average 3 to 5 years for a business to be profitable. Maybe we'll have to loan the company some money to make it through the lean summer. That is OK, as long as it is OK with us and our personal finances.
We talked about cycles and seasonal business. He told me about the years he managed a McDonald's on the Eastern Shore (I never heard this before) and how he had to remind the owner that yes, it's winter and we're down on sales, but we're up this winter over last winter. We talked about the economy, the oil spill, the tourism, and kids not being in school. All in all, the conversation helped me to make the decision to hang in there. Bill has already said that he's behind me 100% no matter what I decide.
There was someone in the parking lot when I pulled in today, something that hasn't happened for a while. I invited her in after I turned on the a/c. After her, someone else new came in. In an hour I had more sales (from people who had never been in before) than I had all week. I called Mark and told him that our conversation worked magic! The end of the day closeout revealed that we had an incredible day in sales. More than we've had in a couple of months! We're doing a workshop on a project. We sold out the first day less than a week after we advertised it and now we've sold out the second day less than a week later!
Needless to say, I am now really reenergized about the shop. Some new folks came in for Sit 'n Stitch. They've never been in before, but decided to come in. They were really sweet about asking whether they could knit with yarn they had acquired elsewhere. I smiled and offered them "amnesty" (how could I not? They've never been in before, should I have expected them to buy a project just to work on it? That's something my competitor would do, not me!). As it turns out, several new people today commented on how they were there because of a bad experience at the competition. I just can't help but grin ear to ear inside. I know I am creating the atmosphere I think a shop should have.
I gave a private lesson today to a lady who just wanted a refresher, she told me that I was so wonderfully patient with her and that she would never set foot in the other shop after the way she had been treated. She was happy to drive all the way in from Molino to see me, rather than to see the other shop. For those who don't know, the other shop is halfway between Molino and me, which means the lady would rather drive 20 miles or so each way to my shop rather than the 10 each way to the other. That just meant a lot to me. And when the other customers in the shop tell her that she came to the right place, or they drive 45 minutes to come to me, too, I just feel so appreciated. Today has really lifted me out of the funk I have been in and enabled me to refocus.
I cannot thank Mark enough for validating my feelings and offering me some food for thought. We discussed filing a claim with BP for damages resulting from the lack of a summer tourist base. I told him that I do intend to file a claim and I believe I have the records to substantiate a claim for loss. If I close the doors now, I will lose that opportunity (not that that should be the deciding factor, of course). He laughed when I told him how I would back up my claim. He laughed not because it was funny, but because it was "brilliant"! He was impressed by my forethought and "impeccable" record keeping. I almost feel a little guilty for thinking of business school as a place for engineering dropouts.
Well, dinner is about done and I am hungry. And my wine glass is empty. Cheers!
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