Think for yourself and deal with it.

I've been trying to figure out how come Pegasus Books has survived when so many have not.  Pretty much a 100% wipeout in downtown in the last 30 years.

I was wondering for awhile if ANYONE actually succeeds.  Other than the exceptions (Deschutes Brewery...)

Especially since I've had such an insecure, niche business.

So what I'm going to say here will sound self-congratulatory, but it isn't meant to be.  As you'll see from my answers, one of the reasons I'm still around is that...well...I had modest goals.

First of all, I just wanted to be my own boss.  I was willing to work extra hours and earn less money than probably most people would be.  So "survival" means that while the business is still here, it has never been particularly lucrative.  Hence the title of this blog.  I didn't feel I had other options so I hung in there when people who had a choice would have left.

Secondly, the very Niche-ness of the business has probably helped protect it.  There is little money in comics, frankly.  Big business has made forays, and then usually backs off when they can't make anything happen.  Instead of agonizing over why comics don't become bigger (look at the movies!) I'm now wondering if I wasn't fortunate that they never took off.  Each of my product lines alone (games, toys, cards, comics, books) aren't enough on their own to keep my store alive, but all of them combined are.

Third, and this is the self-congratulatory part, I have always Thought For Myself.  That is, I try to see the real truth of every situation and deal with that.

Not the common wisdom.  Not the group think.

So even though there are people who are better at running things, or know accounting or tech or systems, who are better at promoting, etc. etc. -- if they don't think for themselves, if they just follow industry trends without questioning them, then eventually they'll find themselves in trouble.

I can't tell you the number of times I've seen an entire industry do one thing, while my instincts were screaming to do another.  So guess what?  Doing what my instincts tell me to do has almost always been the better decision.

In fact, I'd have to say that when I've let the weight of opinion sway me is when I've gotten in trouble.

Just that.

Look at the situation honestly, and then deal with it.