Getting Stranger Every Day

I’ve never wanted to deal with the day to day hassle of running my own business, but I have a friend who loves what she does.  She has a small shop selling hippie and progressive type things, things like funny t-shirts and bumper stickers, jewelry, incense, and other little things.  I know why she likes it.  She attracts a great clientele of funny and like-minded people and gets to be surrounded by things and people she enjoys.  I like being there as well!  But she also has to do a lot of work to keep her store open, and I don’t think I could do the same.

When she first opened, I helped my friend research her business options.  I helped her to learn about advertising and I think I even pointed her in the direction of Northern Sun, where she buys most of her products.  I bailed out when it came to the nitty gritty things like banking and credit card processors because while I know all about hippie culture and had no trouble at all telling her where to advertise and what to buy, I know nothing about business.  I’m not exactly a capitalist.

Instead, I told her to get some business advice from an expert.  She ended up reading some great articles and finding a few friends who knew what they were doing to guide her, and she’s been very successful.  She was even able to hire a part-time helper this year, which is a huge thing for her.  It means she actually gets some time off now!