Pinched nerve, ouch....blah, blah, blah.

I was just getting ready to brag that I haven't had back or neck problems for a couple years now -- since I changed the position I sleep and --for neck problems -- not drinking before bed.

Then, yesterday, I was casually putting books away at my store, and I felt the nerve in my back pinch.

Same nerve as always.

The first time it happened, about 25 years ago, I was laid low. I couldn't move off the couch.

Each time I get it now, it's a little less dire. I can pretty much function now. I take an Aleve immediately, and then just try not to move much -- nothing I can do but wait it out.

I'm pretty sure this is the most uninteresting blog I've ever written....

Sunday suds.

Remember when the Ducks couldn't get into a bowl game at all? When having a winning record seemed impossible?

The Rose Bowl was a dream.

National Championship? Don't make me laugh.

So when the Ducks have a season where the consolation prize is the Rose Bowl, I guess we shouldn't feel too bad.

Meanwhile, a Bend school winning the state football championship. That too hasn't been likely for years. Bigger schools, bigger talent pool in the valley. (Yeah, well I suppose there are always Black Swans like Prineville, and that team that Gene Hackman coached in Indiana).

**********

Twilight Breaking Dawn. The reviews made this so utterly unappealing, that I doubt I'll ever see it. (I did watch the first three movies because I could fit them over a weekend...)

Meanwhile -- go see Hugo. Really. A great movie.

**********

Can we root for Tiger as an underdog now?

***********

Linda has a cold, for the second time this season.

I managed to avoid the last one against all odds. I'm not so sanguine about me chances this time.

Wishful thinking.

Newt Gingrich has always looked like a fat cat to me. Put some whiskers on him.

(Linda: "yeah, one of those pampered pudgy fat cats with scrunched faces...)

**********

The news of a unemployment rate dropping was tempered by the fact that so many people dropped out of the workforce.

But isn't this a constant? Aren't they always dropping out?

I'm assuming from the news that this was an extraordinary number not a ordinary number of dropouts, but they don't make it very clear.

**********

If I may be a Grinch. The Black Friday sales increase is somewhat of an illusion.

First, for many stores, there is the little matter of cutting margins. (They don't cut margins -- I'm guessing -- as much as they lead the customers to believe, there is some calculation going on there, but....) Higher sales and lower profits just means you have to restock the stores. Or not. Which is why there are shortages, when the stores are in doubt.

Secondly, I think a whole lot of these sales are 'borrowed' from future days. The week after Black Friday is usually dreadfully slow, so slow that you wondered if it doesn't just average out.

**********

It's a bit of a dangerous dynamic that's been created -- by the mass market, and we small stores have to fall in line.

We have become very dependent on the last week before Christmas.

One of these years there is going to be an event-- knock wood -- such as a natural disaster, a storm of the century, an attack, something that will glue everyone to the T.V. for a week.

Ironically, this will have a bigger impact on the big stores, instead of stores like mine for which the Christmas season is a boost, but not the be all and end all.

And like I said, the mass market created this dynamic through shortsighted thinking.

**********

I was talking about these kinds of things with a customer the other day, and he mentioned a Discovery show about how it used to cost the equivalent of a house, or something, to get a suit of handmade armor.

Well, sure.

I'm not advocating for a return to the days when everything was handmade.

Like most things in life, I'm advocating moderation. A happy medium. Some kind of balance.

But that's capitalism -- there is no such thing. There are always people who push to the extremes, whether it's in the best interest of the market as a whole or not.

I know this -- and wishing for people to be wise and moderate is just wishful thinking.

Downtown Comings and Goings.

Topolino has moved into the Azu spot, and a new business, What Lola Wants has moved into their spot.

I'm taking off Andre's Dance Club until I get confirmation that such a place is going to open.


NEW BUSINESSES DOWNTOWN

What Lola Wants, Wall St. , 12/2/11.
Jackalope Grill, 10/12/11.
Gypsy Soul, Wall St. 10/12/11.
Colour N' the City, Tin Pan Alley, 10/12/11.
Lotus Moon, Brooks St., 10/12/11.
The Lobby, Bond St. , 10/12/11.
Ruby, Minnesota Ave., 10, 12/11.
Kariella, Lava Road, 8/24, 11.
Plankers, Wall St., 7/11.
Faveur, Franklin, 7/11.
Dream Pebbles, Minnesota Ave., 6/15/11.
Bend Yogurt Factory, Franklin/Bond, 4/26/11.
High Desert Lotus, Bond St. , 4/4/11.
Tryst, Franklin Ave., 3/11/11. (Formerly Maryjanes, **Moved**).
D'Vine, Wall St. , 2/9/11.
Let it Ride!, Bond St., 1/29/11.
Gatsby's Brasserie Bar, Minnesota Ave., 1/8/11
Tres Jolie, Wall St., 12/20/10.
Caldera Grill, Bond St., 12/7/10
Bond Street Grill, 12/7/10.
Perspective(s), Minnesota Ave., 11/20/10
Toth Art Collective, Bond St. 11/20/10
Boken, Breezeway, 11/20/10
Dalia and Emilia, Wall St., 10/3/10.
Antiquarian Books, Bond St., 10/3/10.
Giddyup, Minnesota Ave., 10/3/10.
The Closet, Minnesota Ave., 8/11/10.
Showcase Hats, Oregon Ave., 8/11/10,
Red Chair Art Gallery, Oregon Ave. 7/13/10.
Earth Sense Herbs, Penny's Galleria, 7/12/10.
Mad Happy Lounge, Brooks St., 6/2910
Common Table, Oregon Ave. , 6/29/10.
Looney Bean Coffee, Brooks St. , 6/29/10.
Bourbon Street, Minnesota Ave., 6/22/10
Feather's Edge, Minnesota Ave., 6/22/10
The BLVD., Wall St. , 6/13/10.
Volt, Minnesota Ave. 6/1/10.
Tart, Minnesota Ave. , 5/13/10
Olivia Hunter, Wall St. 4/5/10.
Tres Chic, Bond St. 4/5/10
Blue Star Salon, Wall St. 4/1/10.
Lululemon, Bond St. 3/31/10.
Diana's Jewel Box, Minnesota Ave., 3/25/10.
Amalia's, Wall St. (Ciao Mambo space), 3/12/10
River Bend Fine Art, Bond St. (Kebanu space) 2/23/10
Federal Express, Oregon Ave. 2/1/10
***10 Below, Minnesota Ave. 1/10/10
Tew Boots Gallery, Bond St. 1/8/10.
Top Leaf Mate, 12/10/09
Laughing Girls Studio, Minnesota Ave. 12/7/09
Lemon Drop, 5 Minnesota Ave., 11/12/09
The Curiosity Shoppe, 25 N.W. Minnesota Ave, Suite #7. 11/5/09
Wabi Sabi 11/4/09 (**Moved, Wall St.**)
Frugal Boutique 11/4/09
5 Spice 10/22/09
Cowgirls Cash 10/17/09
***Haven Home 10/17/09
Dog Patch 10/17/09
The Good Drop 10/12/09
Lola's 9/23/09
**Volcano Wines 9/15/09
Singing Sparrow Flowers 8/16/09
Northwest Home Interiors 8/5/09
High Desert Frameworks 7/23/09 (*Moved to Oregon Ave. 4/5/10.)
Wall Street Gifts 7/--/09
Ina Louise 7/14/09
Bend Home Hardware (Homestyle Hardware?) 7/1/09
Altera Real Estate 6/9/09
Honey 6/7/09
Azura Studio 6/7/09
Mary Jane's 6/1/09
c.c.McKenzie 6/1/09
Velvet 5/28/09
Bella Moda 3/25/09
High Desert Gallery (Bend) 3/25/09
Joolz
Zydeco
900 Wall
Great Outdoor Store
Luxe Home Interiors
Powell's Candy
Dudley's Used Books and Coffee
Goldsmith
Game Domain
Subway Sandwiches
Bend Burger Company
Showcase Hats
Pita Pit
Happy Nails

(List begun, Fall, 2008.)

BUSINESSES LEAVING

Mad Happy Lounge, Brooks St., 10/11.
Azu, Wall St., 10/25/11.
Showcase Hats, Oregon Av., 10/11.
Bourbon St., Minnesota Ave. 10/12/11.
Curiosity Shop, Minnesota Ave., 7/11
Luluemon, Bond St., 8/26, 11.
Shear Illusions, Franklin Ave., 7/11.
Crepe Place, Wall St., 7/11.
Pita Pit, Brooks St. , 6/28/11
Smith and Wade Salon, Minnesota, Av. , 6/3/11.
Perspectives, Minnesota Av., 6/1/11
River Bend Art Gallery, Bond St., 5/5/11.
Donner's Flowers, Wall St. 3/11/11. (**Moved out of downtown**)
Maryjanes, Wall St. , 3/11/11. (new name, Tryst, moved to Franklin.).
Di Lusso, Franklin/Bond, 2/9/11.
Earth Sense Herbs, Penny's Galleria, 1/2/11
Marz Bistro, Minnesota Av., 12/20/10.
The Decoy, Bond St., 12/7/10.
Giuseppe's, Bond St., 12/1/10.
Ina Louise, Minnesota Ave., 11/3/10.
Laughing Girl Studios, 10/21/10
Dolce Vita, Bond St, 10/21/10
Diana's Jewell Box, Minnesota Ave., 10/15/10.
Lola's, Breezeway, 10/8/10.
Oxygen Tattoo, Bond St., 10/3/10.
Great Outdoor Clothing, Wall St., 10/3/10.
Volcano Vineyards, Minnesota Ave., 10/3/10.
Subway Sandwiches, Bond St. 9/2/10.
Old Bend Distillery, Brooks St., 6/19/10.
Staccato, Minnesota Ave. 6/18/10.
Showcase Hats, Minnesota Ave., 6/1/10 (Moved to Oregon Ave., 8/10/11.)
Cork, Oregon Ave., 5/27/10.
Wall Street Gifts, 5/26/10
Microsphere, Wall St. , 5/17/10.
Singing Sparrow, Franklin and Bond, 5/15/10
28, Minnesota Ave. and Bond, 5/13/10.
Glass Symphony, Wall St., 3/25/10
Bend Home Hardware, Minnesota Ave, 2/25/10
Ciao Mambo, Wall St. 2/4/10
***Angel Kisses 1/25/10 (Have moved to 'Honey.')
Ivy Rose Manor 8/20/09
***Downtowner 8/18/09 (moving into the Summit location)
Chocolate e Gateaux 8/16/09
Finders Keepers 8/15/09
Colourstone 7/25/09
Periwinkle 6/--/09
***Tangerine 7/21/09 (Got word, they are moving across the street.)
Micheal Cassidy Gallery 6/15/09
St. Claire Coffee 6/15/09
Luxe Home Interiors 6/4/09
Treefort 5/8/09
Blue 5/2/09
***Volcano Tasting Room 4/28/09** Moved to Minnesota Ave.
Habit 4/16/09
Mountain Comfort 4/14/09
Tetherow Property 4/11/09
Blue Moon Marketplace 3/25/09
Plenty 3/25/09
Downtown Doggie 3/25/09
***King of Sole (became Mary Janes)**
Santee Alley
Bistro Corlise
Made in Hawaii
EnVogue
Stewart Weinmann (leather)
Kebanu Gallery
Pella Doors and Windows
Olive company
Pink Frog
Little Italy
Deep
Merenda's
Volo
***Pomegranate (downtown branch)**
Norwalk
Pronghorn Real Estate office.
Speedshop Deli
Paper Place
Bluefish Bistro

(List begun, Fall 2008.)

Trust your instincts and think for yourself.

Easy to say, hard to do.

A major task of a small business owner is to compensate for the stupidity and shortsightedness of those higher up the food chain.

When I started, I had an assumption that those bigger and richer than me were somehow smarter and more savvy and experienced.

It took way too long for me to realized the fallacy of that notion.

Watching the card companies disappear, one by one. Watching Marvel go bankrupt. Watching one publisher after another fail. Watching my banks get bought up, once, twice, trice. Watching the comic industry shrink to one supplier. And on and on.

It now doesn't surprise me at all that the local city officials make boneheaded decisions; and it certainly was no revelation that the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street are a bunch of shortsighted, greedy pricks.

I now carefully watch my bigger brothers to see what direction they're headed and if I think they are going off the rails, I start to look for ways to compensate for their decisions.

You can't wait until it's obvious, or until someone tells you to. This is the kind of thing you have to think of yourself, and have enough faith in your own reasoning to make decisions.

So idiotic as I think it is for comic and book companies to rush into the digital publishing realm. (Have they figured out that -- if they succeed -- creators won't need them anymore?) I have to recognize the trends and adjust accordingly.

Way back in 1992, I made the decision -- at a time when sports cards were 85% of my sales -- to get out of them. To stop buying directly in large quantities at discounts. To stop trading and buying off the street. To stop selling singles and sets and boxes. And so on.

Every time I made a hundred bucks selling cards, I spent 20% to keep the cards going, and diverted 80% into other product.

No one else I knew made those decisions. And none of them are around anymore.

So I just keep trying to make these decisions on my own, trusting in my instincts.

Working in (and on) the margins.

I worried as I took more time off over the last year that I would lose connection to the store.

I don't think that is going to happen.

I've learned that, without being totally conscious of it, I was pacing myself when I was working full-time. I knew that opening at 11:00 instead of 10:00 had been a huge deal. I knew that stringing days off together mattered, instead of having them interspersed through the week. I'll probably never again let my employees dictate MY hours: I'll either hire enough part-timers or have employees who work the hours I want.

Working less days has been nice. But on the days I do work, I'm working much harder. I'm not sure the energy expenditure is diminished as much as I would have thought. I find myself going to the store on my day's off to finish some of the tasks I haven't competed.

Anyway, the store is always going to be a challenge. That is never going to change. I'm always going to need to be plugged in.

Just in the last two years, the rise of the digital and e-book has created a whole new set of problems to deal with.

My answer to this is to continue to diversify, to move to the margins -- as it were. Up until now, I've had the benefit of comics and graphic novels being half of my business. More or less solid and reliable and with a profit margin that stayed somewhat constant. I'm not sure I can count on that forever, as each comic company announces 'digital' initiatives.

The other half of my business was already made up of product that were "sidelines" if you will. Sports cards and non-sports cards, manga and anime, toys, games (role-laying, collectible card games, and boardgames), new and used books. I look for niches in each of these categories that I can exploit. Either better margins, or specialized knowledge and selection, or simply having them when no one else carries them.

I went into euro-style boardgames with full knowledge that they might eventually hit a tipping point and appear in the chainstores at discount prices. (In fact, I'm a little surprised it hasn't happened quicker.) I went into new books with full knowledge of the challenges from the mass market, the big chain bookstores, and Amazon. (Though I didn't really see e-books coming on so strong.)

But I can make these product lines work in the margins -- and also get better margins in the buying process. The "margins" is a pun for both the placement of the product and the prices I pay.

I'm guessing that I'll need to deal with a slow erosion of sales in comics, graphic novels and books, as the e-world gets bigger. There may be compensations, such as decreased competition (hard to see how Barnes and Noble can be in it for the long run). But basically, I'll need to make each of the margins I'm currently getting improve to compensate for e-book incursions. This isn't going to all happen immediately; but the time to deal with it is now.

My New book sales are still increasing -- because I'm getting more and more and better books and displaying them better.

I look at the products I have in stock, and I'm pretty confident that I can keep adjusting, keep responding to which products are selling at the moment, to keep sales above my break-even point. Or increase my profit margins by being selective and efficient, which the longer I do it, the more I become.

Finally, I'm really having fun bringing in new books. The more I do it, the more I feel comfortable taking chances on new titles. I'm carrying best-sellers more than before, such as Stephen King's 11/22/63 or The Night Circus; because I'm figuring out how to do it.

My new book section is like a new toy, and I'm really enjoying making it work. And that too is keeping me engaged in my business.

My budget is constructed so that there is enough of a margin that I take home the same amount of pay whether sales are strong or weak. (If they got super weak, they might change -- but probably not even then, since I can adjust other things.) (If they got super strong, I might put more money into savings.)

All that usually happens is either I buy more stuff or less.

So my focus has been on making the store something that I can be proud of.

Banks are our friends. .... .... .... ....what?

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is suing five of the nation's biggest banks: "Our suit alleges that the banks have charted a destructive path by cutting corners and rushing to foreclose on homeowners without following the rule of law." Huffington Post, 12/1/11.

I remember way back when a mountain of foreclosures looked like they were about to fall on our heads, I asked: What was to keep the Banks from playing this? Holding back properties they wanted, dumping others, delaying and hurrying, using their clout to bully and so on?

Good old RDC, who has never seen a corporation he doesn't like, said, Oh, no, they will have to follow proper procedures, the rule of law.

Heh.

What say you now, RDC?