In the Face of Uncertainty

Stay True.

The start of the new decade has not brought the uplifting promise I thought it would. Tragedies in the world, continuing health care challenges and economic uncertainty all seem to bring happiness to a halt. Happiness is . . . well, that is another subject. This is business.

MommyLoves to Chat has been silent this past summer. We have been clinging as best we could to the slippery sides of this current worldwide economic colander. The economy has always represented a colander to me, but now the drainage holes are much larger and there are many more of them, so that it looks more like a very thin cheese cloth with huge holes than a colander.

Yes, I love to cook.

Cheese cloth or colander, it doesn't matter when faced with day to day operations and the way we do business. We don't change our philosophy. We don't change the way we treat our customers. We don't change the quality of our products. When we lose a vendor, admittedly, it is hard to find another of the same quality, but it ultimately works out. When a wholesale customer goes out of business - that one is much more tricky, however we gain more retail business online. Our customers still tell the difference between our products and those of our competition, and our customers still talk to their friends about us. Buying is still personal.

There are many factors that determine whether or not a company stays in business, and stays larger and more solid than the holes in the colander. Integrity and Flexibility are probably the most important. Integrity can't be taught, it must be chosen. Social Media represents flexibility AND integrity to me. The more a company can get its message out to possible customers, the more successful it will become.

Social Media, for many people, is just a many headed gossip column. I won't let MommyLoves simply advertise to our followers in our Facebook page and Twitter feed, and try to hook followers and customers with the celebrities who have enjoyed our products. I want to impart our philosophy, integrity and quality to our current and potential customers, and let our products and customers speak for themselves.

In the face of uncertainty there is fear, yes. Fear then compounds the uncertainty. I must admit that I have cut back on many things because of the fear of slipping through one of those holes, and being sucked down the drain. But, fear will never penetrate my integrity.

What about you?