Back to School - Back to Business ?

Well here we are. Summer has once again come and gone. Back to the normal grind of school and work. Will back to school mean the economy will get back to business ? With the temptation of summer vacations and trips now gone, will the focus be once again on the workplace ? I sure hope so ! With every season and climatic trend there is new hope for things getting back to "the way they used to be". How long can this nervous economic situation last ? It gets harder and harder to have the optimism when each season comes and goes with the same results. People are still afraid to spend their money, still afraid of investing, or just plain still afraid. Everyone is trying to find ways to save their dollar. The only problem with that is the plain and simple fact that as sales go down, cost many times go up for the vendor. Then the vendor has to absorb that additional cost to stay competitive, and also may have to reduce that price even further. How does this help the vendor ? The vendor then makes less profit and might just have to consider a layoff. So then we have an entirely different problem ... unemployment. Many shops like mine do custom work. Anytime you do custom work, it costs a little more. Each piece is created specifically for the customer, no "cookie cutter" sales here ! Heck, it takes time to just talk with each customer, give them good advice and direction, and bill their job. But now we are even being asked to lower our prices even further because "the economy is so bad". If you ask me, it is compounding the situation. Making us fall deeper into the abyss. If we don't support our local businesses, we will lose much needed revenue and jobs. The little guys or "good guys" who work hard for you are now being asked to work almost for free. Then those guys must scrimp and save and try to make enough money to support their respective families and thus repeat a viscous cycle. Let's show these guys some respect and when you get a great custom job from a respected vendor ... be happy to pay him for it ! Your money is never wasted when spent in the local economy and just may help turn around this disturbing trend. A great resource to check out when purchasing local is http://the350project.net. Let's stop knocking each other down and get back to the prominence our great country deserves ... let's work together to change it !