"I'll get you, Roadrunner!! Beep, beep.

Turns out, the actual making of money is a fairly boring process.

I'll probably turn a better profit this year than I have in my 25 year career.

Why? Because I'm paying attention to my budget.

And I'm not sabotaging myself.

I'm ahead a few thousand dollars this year, which isn't much -- except normally, I have a hard time NOT losing money in the first five months of each year. To actually turn a profit, however small, is promising.

Paying attention to my budget and not sabotaging myself.

Or, more to the point, NOT SABOTAGING MY BUDGET!

Actually, I have undermined myself more than I should this year: I've probably spent several thousand dollars on unnecessary product. I've ordered a ton of 'Sale' books, because the margins are so great.

On the other hand, I'm not going full-tilt-boogie trying to increase my inventory selection width and depth, like I was during the boom. I'm not adding entirely new product lines (like new books and boardgames.) All I need do is receive the new stuff as ordered, reorder the 'evergreen' product, and pay bills, and I'll turn a profit. It's the equivalent of putting the store on autopilot, and very boring.

In an 'eat your granola', sleep regular hours, don't drink, and exercise every day' sort of way.

Summer is when I usually turn a profit, because it's busy enough to keep me just doing my regular business and not look for 'idle hands' mischief. I just keep the store humming along, and selling material that often won't sell the rest of the year because it's being exposed to so many more people, and I'll end the summer with a profit.

I was thinking out my budget for the summer, and if I can keep the current pace of sales plus, say 10% summer boost, and I stick strictly to budget, I could do very well. My budget is more than generous enough to keep the inventory stable.

As long as I stick to budget.

And not sabotage myself.

Heh.

One of these years, I'll actually do it. The Acme roadrunner kit is in the mail.