So Here's the Deal...

Good Evening,

I hope everyone is doing well this evening, or tomorrow morning, or whenever...

I asked the question a few weeks ago as to why it seemed that all of a sudden our business just virtually dropped off to nothing, and the answer has become clear.   We've hit our saturation point. 

I mean, let's face it, in the whole scheme of things, this is really a pretty thin market we've been catering to over the years, as there are only "X" number of ladies with long hair that actually use hairsticks and the fact is you only need "Y" number of sticks.  While we're not particularly thrilled with the prospects, it is what it is, and we have to face the music.  We simply can't survive on FNS's at 20 - 40% discounts, it's an unsustainable path.

Over the past few weeks I've been interviewing with different lending institutions with the hope of getting back into finance.  As many of you know, the interview process is painfully slow, but we've determined that it's time for us to re-enter the actual 9-5 workforce.  Ideally we'll return to me working a full time job and making sticks on the side as it was for the first 5 years.

In the interim however we still have to eat and pay the bills, and we can't just live for Fridays.  With that said, here's the deal, I'll split the difference with you if you are at all interested in a custom order.  Our typical FNS is priced at a 20% discount, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the individual stick, but 20% overall.  Until such time as we determine the time value of new employment vs. self employment, we will offer a 10% discount on any custom orders (existing designs only with wood and gemstone changes being ok,  I won't be making any create it from scratch designs until somewhere down the line).  If it requires anything more than 3 back and forth conversations, I'll decline the request as I simply don't have the allowable time.  All I need is a link to the stick that you'd like along with the length and any gemstone or wood changes, nothing more, other than pleasantries of course. 

Should the job come through before I've completed the custom list, I'll have to ask for your understanding if I'm unable to complete your order.  While I'll do my best, I don't want to start a new job with the concern of an unfulfilled custom list, the distraction wouldn't be fair to my new employer.

So for all of you that have said "someday" I want to order a particular stick, the next few hours, days, or weeks or whatever timeframe we determine, you may consider this as being your "someday".  The job I'm hoping to land is a 1 hour drive each way, and I'm confident in saying that I won't be doing very many custom orders on top of an 8 hour workday coupled with 2 hours of travel time. 

Sorry, but it is what it is, we're not upset in the least, it's just a reality.  You all have been wonderful to work with over the years and we've made some tremendous friendships that will no doubt continue into the next chapter.  I'll keep you posted on the progress as we move forward.

Have a good night.