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Everywhere I go I seem to be surrounded by negativity these days. I heard and saw a great deal of it at the antique show in Charlotte last weekend. I have also seen it at the Scott's show in Atlanta, and in every antique mall that I wander into these days. Negativity about the economy, republicans, democrats, the weather, the cost of gasoline, health care, and you name it. I think that our worst problems are not about any of these things. I instead think that many of America's problems are due to our own " gloom and doom " mentality.
Let me give you an example.
About 3 months ago, Lee Ann and I signed up to be vendors at the Charlotte ICA antique show. The first day of the show there was an ice storm. Lee Ann and I spent the entire first day of the show sitting in our booth waiting for customers that never arrived. This is how we make our living, so it was pretty disheartening to have counted on a little income, and then have an uncontrollable event happen, like an ice storm, on the very first day.
The second day we were hoping for good weather. We thought we could pull out a decent amount of sales if the sun were to show it's face. Lee Ann and I got up early and turned on the local weather channel. Here is what the weatherman said.... " If you don't have a reason to go somewhere, it is better if you just don't go. " And guess what happened. Even though the weather improved a great deal, people stayed home.
The weatherman could have easily put a little bit of a positive spin on things, but he chose not to. As a result, his negativity had a destructive impact on the economic welfare of several hundred vendors that were at the show that month. One gloom and doom comment, by only one weatherman, is all that it took.
We get that same gloom and doom negativity all over the place. You cannot turn on the tv without being bombarded by it. Even though our economic recovery is dependent on consumer confidence, I keep seeing Americans dwelling on negatives instead of positives.
I know it is diffcult to have a positive attitude about things during economic rough spots, but here are a few things to remember that may help.......
1. Sales are the backbone of the economy and a negative attitude never helped a salesman sell anything.
2. Most of us have very small problems in the grand scheme of things. I personally did several million dollars better than General Motors the first quarter of 2010. If you made any money at all, you could also say the same thing.
3. Stay way far away from the negative traps that the media sets for you. Negativity sells more newspapers, so why print anything positive?
4. Beware of politicians who predict doom amd gloom. Politicians know that predicting disastrous consequences if you don't vote a certain way, will probably get them on tv. Be especially wary if they are coming up for re-election soon.
5. As a former business manager, I had a strict rule where my employees were concerned. I told them that they were welcome to give constructive criticism, but they were never to complain. The difference between the two is that complaining is negative, and constructive criticism is positive. Constructive criticism is usually coupled with a solution to the problem, where complaining has no real value.
6. Some of the most successful people in the world got that way because they surrounded themselves with the right kind of people. Successful people want to be around postive thinkers and problem solvers.
7. Make a committment to yourself that excuses and complaints don't wash anymore. Excuses and complaints won't help your items sell on Etsy. Instead, evaluate your situation and become your own problem solver.
Most of all, keep up the good work and stay positive. If you can get through these tough economic times, you will have it made when the recovery takes hold.
The next antique show I attend I think I will go around asking vendors a couple of simple questions like, What is working for you? instead of, How is it going? By the way, I would love it if a few of you out there would post what kinds of things are working for you. Let's hear a few success stories.
Rory
First of all I really need to thank everyone who has visited The Greentiques Solution lately. Considering that my little blog is barely a month old, it has been really exciting for me to see so many visitors, comments, followers and contest entries. Your support has been amazing. Thank you.
Next, Classy Chassy won the Earth Hour Giveaway. For those of you that entered and didn't win, don't depsair because your comment also automatically entered you in my March Oven Key Giveaway. So you still have a chance. By the way, Classy Chassy has a great blog of her own called Expressly Corgi. Stop by and visit her. Here is the addy. http://corgi-express.blogspot.com/
Also, today I am preparing for the Spring Classic ICA Show. Lee Ann and I will be setting up a booth there in the big circus tent. The show goes from March 31-April 4. I will be attempting to post from this great antique and collectibles extravaganza. This will be a fun one. I plan on taking lots of pictures so stop by periodically and take a look.
Keep up the good work!
Rory
I have purchased possibly hundreds of chairs over my lifetime for next to nothing. $5 is usually my limit to spend on old broken ones, and sometimes I am able to pick them up for free. I like free. Free is one of favorite things. I have made a living at times picking up free stuff, fixing up free stuff, and reselling that same stuff for a tidy profit. I do it all the time. But the impact of fixing a chair is way more than putting a few dollars in my wallet. Let's look at it...
If I buy a $5 chair at a garage sale from Ellen, that might be lunch money for her daughter at school on Monday. By making that purchase I just stimulated the economy (and the educational system) in a very small, but very effective way. The money went straight from me to Ellen. There was no middleman. Ellen benenfited from the entire $5. It is unlike a goverment program because Ellen and I know where our money went.
As for me, I now have a chair that would have probably ended up in a landfill. I know I can fix it and make it useable again. It might even accidentally be cute when I am done with it. So, it is one less chair taking up space at the city dump.
Once it is fixed, lets assume it is worth $50. Let's also assume that all it needed was some elbow grease, and no materials were used, to speak of. That means my personal economy was just stimulated and now I can buy 10 more $5 chairs. That is 10 more chairs that will never see a landfill. How are we sounding so far?
It gets better. If I sell 10 old chairs that I fixed up, that means that americans won't be buying 10 new chairs that were probably made in China. It means there is less lead based paint being shipped here, along with less styrofoam, formaldehyde, packing peanuts, bubble wrap, etc., not to mention that my fixed chairs are no doubt of better quality than those coming from China, and will last longer.
It gets even better. I am just one guy. I have a very humble blog with a little over 30 followers. But suppose all 30 followers did the same thing I did, and fixed 10 chairs? 300 chairs makes a pretty big pile. When I was a kid I once went to a school that had less than 300 chairs. The potential impact of a $5 chair is huge.
Chairs aren't your thing? Money doesn't matter to you? Okay, how about quilts? Think about this. What if 30 members of your club, civic group, or church, got together and each of you made 10 quilts out of unwanted, free clothing? That is 300 blankets that could be distributed to America's homeless. Would 300 blankets make an impact?
Many of you that are reading this post already understand the concept I am talking about. In some respects I am probably "preaching to the choir". So, I urge you to pass along this post, in an effort to help people understand what it means for americans to buy locally, to buy handmade, to repurpose, and to fix rather than buy new.
Meanwhile, please let me know if I can help you by making this blog more valuable to it's followers. Do you need a tutorial on a subject? have a question? a comment? I am here to help. Let's work together.
And thank you for following The Greentiques Solution.
Rory
My first weekly editorial post of hopefully many to come is more of a thank you letter to fellow craftspeople. It is because of the combined efforts of people like you that I think America is going to be just fine, even though there is still a lot of hard work to do. In these days of a poor economy and high unemployment, many of us have gone back to our roots, learned to live simpler, and are supplementing our income with little more than our own 2 hands and a few basic materials. It reminds me at times of how people managed to survive The Great Depression. People like crafters and craftspeople are learning to do more and more, with less and less, much like they did after the 1929 stock market crash. During that time they spent less money, learned to be more frugal, made their own bed quilts and clothes, and fixed what they had instead of buying new, much like we all are today. Now, some economists would say that americans spending less money is a terrible thing. But I have to tell you, I completely disagree. It's not the amount of money that americans spend, it's where they spend it! For instance, I get excited every time I see a fellow blogger who has puchased a $5 item at a garage sale and is able to fix it up and make some money with it, because I know that the entire $5 is helping the local economy. But, I get annoyed when we spend $100 at "zmart" knowing that our $100 is going almost entirely and directly to China. The other day I heard where China has the #1 growing economy in the world! Anyway, I love the fact that we have more and more people every day like you, that are finding new ways to use old things, and are out there trying to handcraft their own income. I think America will be fine because of it. Thank you all for working so hard and doing what you do. Please allow me to return the favor by answering any questions you might have that might be within my area of expertise, such as antiques, furniture repair, chair caning, refinishing, woodworking or whatever. It would be my pleasure to help. Thank you again for being part of The Greentiques Solution.
-Rory-
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