An Intriguing Tale Of Being An Owner

Owning a store and trying to make it successful isn’t as easy as one thinks. We have to carry the right product and at the right time in order to keep the customer/s coming back. Plus when we do, the other businesses would want a piece of the cake as well. A unique product to carry would be religious jewelry because I haven’t seen anyone carrying this product here. Unfortunately, jewelry and a computer store does not really go together, I guess I’ll just have to open another store.

I think we all fall in the category where we tell long stories .. when we buy something, rent something or do just about anything in a store, even when buying a coffee. I have customer/s coming into the store.. and explaining to us .. who would actually be playing the PS2 system.. when he buys it.. and launched into a whole family story.. where which grandkid is good with what games… and their likes and dislikes.

And as much as we love to listen, there is no need to tell us anything.. !! Just buy the damn thing.. and give us the damn MONEY..!! muahhhahaha!!! Are you one of those customers…?? I am..!!! therefore i am trying to curb myself .. from making the same mistake over and over again.. because no one wants to hear my story.. i am sure.. muahahhaha!!! not that we are being rude or anything.. if you know what i mean.

As an owner by association to a small business, even I know and understand the importance of advertising online. In this day and and age, not one person I know goes without the internet. The internet is a very powerful and useful machine and can be utilized to its maximum potential if you know how, but how many of us are an experts in it..?? How does one find and capture the right targeted audience? What is online advertising and what makes you different from your competitors..? How does one break through Banner Blindness..??

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As owners of a small store in town, the town does not help you to shovel or remove the snow in front of your store. And if you do not remove it in time.. you get ding with a fine. The walkways need to be cleaned and cleared of snow.. by the time we open our store.

For years.. even when we had employees then, i did the shoveling myself, afterall you never make someone do the things you don’t wanna do right..?? But this year.. each time we arrived at the store, the snow was shoveled. Yes.. we have a mysterious snow shoveler. I had gone over to the neighboring store today.. and asked if he had seen anyone shovel our walkway.. but he hadn’t. Bummer..!! Oh.. and the snow shoveler even put snow in front of our walkway..! Awesome eh..! now that’s what i call customer service.. muahhahaha!!

I don’t know if it is this town, or is it the event planners in our town, but everytime we have a town event and the latest that I had attended .. was a food tasting event, the convention hall used was the plainest I’ve seen.

I don’t understand why they do not use any flowers to decorate in any events at all, because if they had source for bulk flowers, that gives a savings of up 75% of retail flowers, it would actually make their event so much more professional. Flowers are delivered fresh from their flower farms and they don’t need for you to order the maximum, if you have a small order, they will still take care of your needs.

We are heading up to Halifax on Monday, so the store will have to be closed from 12.30pm – 3.30pm, until Kate is out from school.. and work in the store instead. This trip has to do with my immigration stuff, and hopefully it will be the last of it all.

And i really want to take this opportunity to go up .. and do a few things although it will be no resting time for us at all. As much as I would like to spend more time in the city.. and eat as much as I can.. the food available.. we can’t afford to not be in the store. The joys of running your own business eh.

At one point in my life, i had wanted to be an esthetician, inspired by my own personal esthetician and the many good sessions i had with her, i wanted to bring the same kind of body rejuvenation to other people as well.

For those staying in the United States, texas cosmetology schools is not only established but has as much as 30 campuses across the America. Boasting of the best training grounds for those who wants to be in the beauty industry, their beauty school is professional, salon-like to give you first hand experience and absolutely modern. Combined with talented instructors, student achieve far beyond what they can get from other schools and the best of all is they have a job network, where students will be helped to find their ideal placement.

The weather does proved to be all mixed up every year and the more we looked at it, the more we wonder about global warming. This morning, it was really nice.. not warm by any means.. but nice… almost like spring. And then this afternoon .. it started to snow..!! what a real bummer..!! And we all know.. bad weather means not so much walk-in-traffic .. although it had been quite crazy around here today.

Already so busy at the store.. yet have to deal with giving statements to the cop today.. because of some crook kids who sold us a stolen ipod. Yes.. we do go thru’ this every other month. The cops were nice and all.. but i really wanna just smack the kid .. to be honest. And no.. i wouldn’t really do it.. because it is up to his parents.. to teach him.. and not me. But why do youths here turn wayward so young and so quickly. The kid who sold us the stolen ipod.. didn’t look fearful.. or worried.. or anything.. and he had his whole story cooked out.. and the worst part is.. his mother was with him.  *slap forehead*

We can’t wait for spring to come because it is when the business picks up to. Due to alot of factor as people don’t have to save money for keeping their house warm .. they can be out alot more too.. without the snow and the wind.

For the folks here, they just can’t wait for good weather.. so that they can start going for cruises and get away from the town, and rejuvenate after a long winter. I wished we had the luxury of time too to get away .. but owning your own business doesn’t give you much free time.

Boy..!! I’m fuming MAD..!!! before I could even get all the light turned on.. guess who walked into the store..?? Yup..!! the COPS..!! stolen stuff of course..!! what else is new with this town.. !!

And to think that I was telling the kid’s mother.. about being unlucky with buying used stuff.. and that we lose out alot.. because if it turns out to be stolen.. there was very little we can do about it. God damn it..!! and to think the kid still sold us.. a stolen 30GB ipod..!!

Firstly, we didn’t think it could have been stolen.. because the kid had his mother with him. Secondly.. our babysitter used to go to school with him.. and knows him.. or rather recognizes him. And to think that he would still go ahead.. and sell it to us.. was pretty brazen..! You can’t do an honest business here can you .. anymore..?

A customer was so determined .. to buy a used computer from us last week.. for about $200 or so.. that he had wanted it.. there and then. Yesterday, he came in to return the computer.. saying that his wife wanted him to stick to his old one.. so he wanted a refund. *sigh*.. !

Why O why.. do customer/s do that..?? all the time..?? I can’t understand the mentality of the customer/s here.. and i donch know if we are the only one.. that gets this kinda nonsense all the time..?? because if he hadn’t insisted.. on buying the used computer last week.. we could have sold it to someone else.. who had really wanted it.. because there were genuine customer/s who wanted it. *sigh*.. the joys of owning your own business eh.

Some folks who comes into our store to sell stuff to us .. sometimes.. don’t think. If i can get a brand new laptop for about $550, why would i buy one used one for $650 to resell..?? and a 14 months old one for the record.

If i can buy a PSP – new for less than $200, why would i pay for a used one .. and at very hard shape.. for about $100 to resell..?? Ppl should realized that firstly we need to make money outta it too. Secondly, we don’t know when the product will sell or if ever, we are taking a gamble.. and ppl who wants to sell stuff gotta be realistic and not feel insulted when we offer them “our” price. We need to eat too .. you know..!

We are almost settled into our new store and it’s time to look into furnishing the store. Being a video and computer store, we have customers standing around and waiting for their computers to be fixed and some are just waiting to speak to PB the “boss” .

So providing a sitting area for the customers to wait is what we had always done in the past but since we are in a smaller store now, we wonder where are we going to put that sitting area. Kravet fabrics for the store’s furnishing might be abit overkill but it would be definitely worth investing, if you were furnishing your own home.

Many years ago, when we first started our business, we would try just about anything.. to make money. The Alantic Lotto was one that we had looked into but was only offered .. the scratch tickets and the pull off tabs.. until we’ve reached the minimum sale.. or quota per month. But you see, ppl who comes into our store.. were looking fro the 649 and Super 7 tickets.. that gets generated by a machine.. of Altantic Lotto., but because we were a new business.. there was no way.. they gonna provide us with the machine.

We had to pay cash. .and have to have in stock thousands of dollars worth of scratch tickets.. meaning. . all our money were stagnant. .and can’t be moved. After a year, they still didn’t give us our Lotto machine.. so we gave up.. and didn’t do Lotto tickets no more. If you asked me.. it’s the lost of Atlantic Lotto because there were many customers asking for it. We could have made some money together.

Is feng shui really important to the store..?? or is it me . . being superstitious..?? many years ago, when i first arrived in Canada.. we did get a feng shui master to take a look at our store. But she was a true disappointment.. because she didn’t quite recommend anything.. to improve our sales.. and harmony. After she left, we didn’t see any improvement in our employee’s health.. and the sales. I was really disappointed.. but then “ang moh” to see feng shui.. might not be the best thing to do.

After moving to the new location.. i donch know if it me.. or just superstition.. i feel like the store is getting more business.. but PB said.. it’s about the same. But without the poison arrow from the shoe shop.. i really do feel alot better. Although the store is not fully set up yet. So should i hire another feng shui master..??

Working in Asia’s representative office for the world’s largest telecommunication company in Spain, actually has it advantages. Our main office was in Spain and the factory was in Barcelona. The Spaniards are one of the warmest and friendliest people that I’ve met, they welcome you with open arms, into their homes and offices.

Nothing beats going for a vacation in Barcelona during the summer. The beautiful architectural and colonial style buildings are everywhere. The street performers, flower stores and side walk cafes and soaking in the sun. The beach parties are awesome. Barcelona Hotels are aplenty and when you in Barcelona, don’t forget to visit Gran Teatre del Liceu, every type of performance, from musical galas, operas and ballets to rowdy carnival dances, are held in this theater. Of course, there are the exquisite cuisine that you have to try.. and the nightlife for those who don’t sleep at night is awesome.  It’s easy to get around in Barcelona, just use the underground rail.  It’s the easiest way to get around most of the city and you can get on buses or suburban trains to reach other places, you want to visit.  Barcelona is a great place for not only the honeymooners and the romantics but for the family as well.

We were at the mall today.. doing grocery shopping when we met someone working in the mall, telling us.. that he was a fan of the store’s website. It was really nice. I didn’t think that alot of ppl from this town read PB’s blog . .but apparently someone does.. it’s kinda funny.. and amusing. Plus he also noticed the sponsored postings.. but i don’t think he really knows how much we make from it.

Computer Rams are also known as computer memory and they come in different types. Often customers would come into our store .. and ask to buy rams and when you ask them what type of ram they need.. they don’t have a clue. The most common ones are DDR-Rams .. and these are used for newer computers.. and the SDRAMs are meant for older computers. And yes they are different… they have different amount of pins on the rams. Buying the wrong type of ram that is not compatible with your computer can be a disaster. So when you ask for more memories to be put ito your computer, make sure you find out what type of rams you need first.

Owning a computer store, we have customers coming all the time asking for cables, wires, adaptors, switches, wall plates and just about anything technical. We do carry some of the things that are in demand but there are also different quality for the different price you pay. My grandmother used to say.. “you pay for what you get”. HDMI products are well known for quality, their digital cables are hot plug enabled and gold plated. The man look out for good prices on all these products, and ensure that we have both the good quality ones.. and the more affordable and plain ones, to suit different customers.