Sola ... for two weeks

I am working alone right now, and have two weeks until my new temporary Assistant arrives. Actually, I am enjoying doing every step of the business and find that I am putting out a lot of good work. Well ... I will admit that I made a couple of shipping errors just before Christmas, but as I have said before, 99% of my customers are fantastic, and they have such a gentle way of telling me that we / I made a mistake! Almost as though they, too, are from the South and have mastered the fine art of complaining without making it seem like a complaint. The secret to this fine art is to suggest rather than to tell. So, instead of saying, 'I paid for a cone and you sent me a skein! Send the cone right now, or else!' which the one percent will write, someone who speaks Southern would write, 'I wonder if you came up with an extra cone last week. I think it might be mine because my package contained a skein. This is order # 1111. Could you check this for me, please?'

See? They suggested that there was a problem yet laid it out clearly, and didn't say that I or my staff made an error, but implied that the impersonal package itself was to blame because it contained something different than what was ordered! Brilliant!

But, back to working alone ... my new Assistant will be with me for a temporary and undefined period while she finds an executive position. She is talented and so smart and creative, and very nice to be around. I am starting a folder with some marketing issues for her to address, and am looking forward to handing them over to someone who is not so closely tied to every detail of every decision. Maybe she can whip WebGuy into shape, and get him to delivery the new update for UptownStitches.com for me. I've been waiting for almost two months now, and that is really too long. I am ashamed to admit that I waited for 18 months, several years ago, for him to complete my eCommerce site! But, there it is. The admission of another aspect of being a Southern Woman, and that is that we really do not like to make waves. I know, I know there are movies which suggest the very opposite even in their titles, e.g. Steel Magnolias, but we do reach that point of steeliness after all avenues have been exhausted. Very close to exhausting all pleas, suggestions, requests, and when my new Assistant comes I have decided that this date will be the point when all avenues truely have reached exhaustion point. It will be WebGuy Meets Marketing Woman, Round One!

Stay tuned!