BUSINESS CLASS – WORKING CLASS

I never wanted to be a businessman and maybe I will never reach those dizzy heights. It started simple enough with my late wife, Maureen and I buy a small building in 1990. Idea was for me to wave my magic flames all over the glass to create wonderous works of art that people would love so much they would buy them. I had been doing similar for years but all unofficial. Now was the chance to break out of the confines of a hobbyists and become a real live living creature of creative artistry. More wizardry me thinks. I hated anything other than hot glass working so no selling, form filling or talking to customers. Just make and sell.

Oh, how wrong I was when I realised there is more to running a business than enjoying oneself. Its flippin hard work and most of the time not much fun. Arguing with suppliers and trying to fathom out costs occupy too much space in my head. It’s a small head and most of the time I create ideas for my next work around the inner sanctuary of my skull. Last thing I want to do is to pollute this space with boring account queries.

I have an accountant that seems to speak a foreign language of opposites. I think I am making money, but nothing left in my bank account. I can’t understand how spending money earns me money. For the first fifteen years of my business life, I had a bank overdraft. Part of this was due to spending at least £2500 a year on advertising. Now all that has changed with the availability of social media and the word “advertising” has been replaced with “promoting”. Cooler and gets better results and its free, free, free!

When we started the business it had the novel name of Glass Creations, thought up in ten seconds due to the appropriateness of it as I do create in glass. We took ages to design a log, in fact it took at least ten minutes to come up with the idea of the words of the name written as if written in glass tubing. Had to include a flame. Job done!

Glass Creations is alive and kicking and will continue until I die then cease. I have no one to pass the business on and in any case the business revolves around me which any true businessperson will tell you is a bad move. I did tell you that I am not a businessman!

First job when setting up a business is getting some money. This money is important since things need to be bought to make more things which you can sell. I had to but glass to make more but different types of glass. I could have just paid someone to make the glass for me but then that defeats the purpose of why I set up this business. As I said I just want to make things. We got money from the bank and those were the days when bank managers were human, and you could normally find one in a bank. My bank wouldn’t lend me any money until the manager visited my workshop to see me in action. I was surprised that he lasted the distance. I remember making a glass dragon in front of his eyes and he didn’t blink for an hour. I think he was human. He was transfixed and proved his humanity by agreeing to a loan. I don’t make dragons anymore, maybe I will again. I don’t make a lot of money either but then I don’t see my bank manager anymore. In fact, I can’t find him or her or they!

Grants are there as they always have. Tendency to think this is new but I was chasing grants in 1990. Had to be nice to funders which I found natural as its my default. Also, and this is key had to accept rejection as a lesson to be learned. I mean look at where I am today?

Some people ask me about setting up in business and when I regard myself as that’s what I have done then I can answer their questions. In the meantime, I am just messing around. However, I do take a business approach on things and sell at a price accordingly. Having an overdraft is not really healthy and for a few years lived in fear that the bank would recall the loan. This doesn’t help one’s creative juices flowing and more times than not other juices seem to be pouring out of me. Man, I was sweating when doing big glasswork. Commanded big prices which I didn’t get so learnt not to sell at a lost. Better than that is don’t make before you sell at a lost. Best of all don’t talk to customers who aren’t willing to pay for hand skills that are fast disappearing.

There are some that think I am successful although they don’t expand on that by explaining why. They just see the surface. Its funny but the link between being successful money and being busy are so confused and wound up in each other that no wonder people think being busy equates to making money. I am less busy now than I was twenty years ago but also losing less money. I have never made loads of money which I suppose a good businessperson aims for. Nope definitely not a business guru. Maybe just a poor old blogger?