Sweden - Day One - April 30, 2024

Dave and I are headed to Stockholm, Sweden for a Hunter Douglas Windows to the World Trip.  We both ended up staying at work last night till well past 8:00 p.m.  When we got home, we went straight to bed.  Thankfully our flight did not depart Grand Junction until 11:30 a.m.  That allowed us time to finish laundry, pack our bags, and check off our travel checklist.

One of the books I wanted to bring with me is "9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back..."  When Dave and I were first learning the blind business, he was instructed to mark up each blind we sell 30.00.  Even if the blind cost us 4000.00, we were taught to sell it for $4030.00.  We did not follow this business model for long.  (You probably figured that out already.)  Dave is very business savvy and self-taught.  We both knew this was NOT sustainable at all.

As the years went on, we stopped selling the "cheaper" blinds and landed on Hunter Douglas window coverings because they are the best.  It's a quality product with a great guarantee.  We often find customers who are going on 25 years with their Hunter Douglas shades.   Much like there are some of us 🤚🤚 (hello - I'm the problem it's me.) that love the Apple iPhone and maybe even buy the new one as soon as it comes out.  Apple certainly doesn't discount their product. They have a quality product and they know it.  I also have been known to (a time or two) go to Starbucks and buy a fancy 5.00 coffee drink.

This is all on my mind because of #1 the book mentioned above 👆👆and #2 a customer interaction we heard this morning at the Grand Junction airport.  A customer was complaining to the United agent that IF he was on a Frontier Flight and he wanted to talk to her, he would have to pay $25.00.  And if he wanted to pick a seat, it was another charge, and if he wanted to check a bag, another charge, and he was going on and on.  Well Frontier is what we call a "discount airliner."  You can most definitely get a great price on a Frontier flight, but you will need to be aware of these other inconveniences that may come your way.  We personally like United for all it has to offer (and we don't have a lot of choices in Grand Junction either.)  Having said that when we were raising 3 small children, we flew Frontier for the savings.  I'm just saying you get what you pay for.

Right now we are sitting in a United Lounge in Denver, where we just finished a chicken, pasta, zucchini meal with soup or salad.  I'm writing my post and we are enjoying a cup of coffee before we head to Frankfurt and then Stockholm.

As a business owner, you can get tempted to "lower your prices" when sales slow down, but did you know that 20% of the population controls 47% of the disposable income.  Our target audience is the 20%.  The chapter I am reading and that I highly recommend if you are a business owner is "We Just Need to Get Our Name Out There."

When I saw that chapter this morning, I just stared at Dave.  I said, "I say this ALL the time.  Why didn't you tell me there's a chapter like that?"  So here I am delving into one of the 9 Lies - we just need to get our name out there.  Perhaps I will share more in the next post.

It's just nice to have a minute to get thoughts down on paper (or laptop) again as we take a few days of R&R in Sweden and as we network with the other dealers there.

Any questions or comments, let me know.  2 hours till we are in flight again.  Thanks for reading my random thoughts.