Sometimes I wonder...Is it worth it?

I love this picture. I loved my hair cut and I remember this being a really fun day at the shop.  Sammy tooks pictures of all of us to put on the website.  I guess this picture was taken sometime early spring last year.  Two things that I learn from this photo. One is that it's amazing how fast my hair can grow and Two it's amazing how much can change in one year, in my personal life and business.

Being a shop owner can be the best part of life and it can be hell.  I love my shop and I love my job.  I love being able to make my hobby into a living.  I love all of the new beads and findings that constantly come into the store and I love most of my customers.  They are the one's who can make my day great or not so great.  I have been in the hell part of the shop the last few weeks.  As the shop's six year anniversary rolls around my thoughts have been wondering over these years.  I remember when I first moved into our new building six years ago I started out with some of the greatest customers in the whole world.  Most of these customers became really good friends and mentors to me.  Along with the great one's though came some really bad ones and some that claimed to be my friend but it was only after the friendships ended that I realized that these people were only my friends for what I could give them or do for them.  It's hard to look back at the past because I feel let down by some people and I miss some of my old customers.  As we all know life throws us curve balls and we cannot always continue doing things we once loved to do. Some customers have really let me down because as soon as a new bead store came along they went a runnin to the new things. Some customers have gotten out of beading, and some have had medical issues that have caused them to not be able to bead right now.  But, some of my customers who were with me then are with me now and I still get to see their faces coming through the doors.  Along with them are new customers.  This is great but the only problem is that along with these new customers come new tastes.  My original customers loved seed beads and glass beads.  Thus my store is stocked with beautiful seed beads and glass beads.  But, my new customers are into gemstones, copper, mixed media, etc.  My problem is this.  With a store that is busting at the seams how do you keep your old customers and your new customers happy?  How do you add new things without upsetting your loyal customers who have been with you for six years? I guess I am going to have to start hanging things from the ceiling.

It has been funny watching customers the last few weeks.  We have started getting in some more gemstones and copper findings.  My original customers walk to the seed beads or crystals and don't even stop to look or think about the gemstones. My newer customers walk straight to the gemstones and don't even go to the part of the store where seed beads are at.  How do you correct this?