Business at Pegasus Books has been really good for the last two weeks. Which is a big relief because February sucked. That's the worst effect from weather I've ever seen. But it looks like everything is back to normal.
About the time it turned normal, I'd already decided to order as if it was normal. That's when I posted my "Small business is an act of willpower" entry--and it seems to have been proven true once again.
It's nice these days to have a line of credit to cover these kinds of events. Paid off the line of credit about ten days ago. I spent years on a COD basis with no backup funds. It was a constant tightrope walk.
But also, we sell books and graphic novels and games and toys nowadays, which have a much longer shelf-life than comic periodicals used to have. I never realized how hard a comic shop was compared to just about any other business. I probably shouldn't say this but--bookstores are a breeze, comparatively--and I still haven't resorted to returns, which I could do if I wanted. If I miss a week or two of orders for books or games, sales continue on as normal. If I miss a week of comics, it's a holocaust...heh. (I don't even want to talk about sports cards...shudder.)
The thing I keep coming back to--when it comes to willpower--is another way to put it is--heavy-lifting. I spent years putting the business on my back and pushing through, by work and willpower and constant attention.
So it's a big relief nowadays that the store maintains itself, that it requires a constant spin of the wheel, but not the mud-wrestling it used to take.
As I always say, it only took 25 years--it might have taken less time if I hadn't made so many mistakes, but even if everything had been smooth, I'm sure at least 10 to 15 years needed to pass before the store became functional. (We started at a very low ebb.)
Small business is wonderful--but be ready to work at it.
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