Yesterday I did not want to do ANYTHING, at all. I had received some information about a different incident the day before, and was kind of dragging my feet the following day from the blow. I didn’t want to go anywhere or have to deal with anyone. Then I realized that what I was doing was throwing myself a pity-party…just me and my dog, Abby. Sweet thing she is, really. Always there to support her people, no matter what our moods might be like. Perhaps there is something in that to learn about the way I deal with other people, huh?
Well, once I realized the party going on between my ears, I “forced” myself to get out. I went walking down the strip in old downtown Commerce, looking at all the small businesses down the street. I stopped by each one of them, shopped around, spoke with the owners and watched the customers. It was inspiring for me. I was getting out of myself, taking steps I needed to prepare for my own companies launching.
Most of the stores I stopped by were thrift, pawn or consignment stores. The shop owners were nice people who were willing to share their stories of how they got started. One place was an ice cream shop. I was wearing one of my gun shirts and the owner, after serving me, sat down at the table beside mine and him and I had a nice discussion on guns and hunting. We also discussed business. Him and his wife used Square to process credit cards…something I am looking into, and they told me they really like it so far. I have read a few reviews on Square, and seen where some food businesses had had issues with their accounts being frozen, but these people hadn’t had any such issues.
One, however, was a regular clothing store. I walked in and, as far as people, it seemed completely empty. The cloths they carried looked like items from the 80’s. As I made my way to the back of the store, a man popped out and asked if he could help me. I told him I was just looking. I asked him if all he had was clothing, and he pointed to the shoes at the other end of the store. Looking closer at the stores inventory, I noticed the items were actually “new”, and mentioned to the man that I had assumed it to be a thrift shop like all the other stores down the strip. He informed me that “THIS store has been here since 1887, and all items were new!” He seemed offended at my remark. I looked around a little more and left the store. What I learned in that encounter…and, it seemed kind of sad to me, in a way…was that if we are not willing to grow and change, as the community grows and changes, we will become stuck, drowning in our own mire, thinking that since we are doing things the same way we have always done them, and they worked 20 years ago, that it should be working for us now, too.
I must always remember, that as long as I want to stay in business, no matter how much I might like some of the eccentric or “old” things, that I need to pay attention to the here and now…no matter how many years into the future my business may take me. I am excited about what is going to happen over the next year.
And, by the way, I needed that trip out. It really got me out of that pity-party mode and got me back on the right track. Something I learned quite a few years ago from some really good friends…if you don’t like where you’re going, you can always turn around.
