Category Archives: Home Based Business

Telling the Truth Really Does Matter

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I’m an educator.  In fact, in 2 weeks I will close the book on my 19th year of instruction.  I love teaching and my current position as a pajama-wearing,  no-nonsense home schooling mommy of a 3rd and 7th grader is some of the most rewarding (albeit challenging) work I’ve ever been a part of!

On the other hand I’m not a salesman; however, I authored a collection of leveled readers that my husband and I self published in March and I find myself with 2 choices:  1) let a storage room full of books sit cold, lonely, and unused or 2) figure out sales and marketing.

The last 8 months have been on-the-job-training with regards to my sales career.  While I still have much to learn, I’m not quite a green as I was at my first home school convention in April 2014.  In particular, I’ve learned much about myself as a salesman and customers in general.

While I’ve not been in this business long enough to make many valid generalizations I can tell you that Telling the Truth Really Does Matter.

Mark-Twain-on-the-truth

My product is very much a niche product.  While our collection is beautiful, unique, and powerful for young children, it’s meant for a very limited audience.  If you don’t have a pre-school child who’s beginning to work on early literacy skills or a K-early 2nd grade reader, you probably won’t be interested in talking to me.  I’ve learned not to waste time (mine or a customer’s) giving my spiel to a mom with 5 teenagers.

In addition, my collection is faith-based.  If you don’t believe that The Bible is God’s Holy Word, this collection is not something you will purchase for your child (although I pray you’re given it as a gift and that your child loves these stories and begs to read them daily).

Not only have I truly internalized the benefits of honestly representing my product upfront, I’ve learned the importance of telling the truth as a customer on the other end of a sale.  A telling example happened just last week.

I asked a middle-aged woman walking past my booth if she had young children, 4, 5, 6 or 7 years old, in her life.   She looked at me with a smile and said, “I bought those books in California last year,” and kept walking.

Honestly, I would have preferred for her to have told me the truth, saying “I’m not interested,” than to have lied.  I know she was lying because the books have only been available for 8 months, I’ve personally done all the sales and marketing for the books, and I’ve not been further West with my collection than Denver and Albuquerque.

Seeing people lie so effortlessly has really been heart-breaking.  I’ve had to guard my heart from becoming skeptical of others, but more painful than that, it’s been convicting for me.

I can think of examples in my own life when I’ve very carelessly given a “white-lie” kind of a response, thinking it was easier than an honest answer might have been.    Have people seen through me as easily as I saw through this woman?  Have I ruined my testimony through the years with my careless words?  Have people thought less of “Christians” and Christ because of my “fibs” or “half-truths”?

Lord, help us speak genuinely and honestly in our conversations with others.  Keep us humble and grant us wisdom in our words that as we speak, our words are measured and are found to be accurate.  I pray that our conversations bring You nothing but joy and the glory You so rightly deserve!  Amen

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For more from Marea, check out Me and Thee Studios’ faith based leveled readers for 1st-2nd graders at http://www.meandtheestudios.com/early-reader-collection.html

 

My Name is Marea and My Mouth can be a Problem

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Monday was a rough day.

Last Tuesday, after almost a week of unreturned phone calls and Emails to my contact at the printing company we’ve decided to use, I found that he’d transferred to another department and I’d been reassigned to a new “project manager”.  We’ll call him Tom.  From the first phone call, Tom was more helpful and excited about his role in my project than my first “project manager” had been and we nailed down several formalities Tuesday and Wednesday.  I felt encouraged!

I uploaded our first files Wednesday night and our first proofs came back Thursday morning, having sailed through the first wave of pre-press printing tests.  After literally 60 minor adjustments on my part (a text box nudged 1/16th of an inch her, an illustration nudged 1/16th of an inch there),  I uploaded the second round of files Thursday evening assuming Friday mornings report would again be favorable.

Friday morning I received my first Email and second round of proofs from our new-to-the-project design expert.  We’ll call him Bob.

Before I opened the proofs I read his short note.  Bob informed me that the left page page number is always on the left hand side of the page and to help me out, he’d moved all the left page page numbers for me and had tweaked my text up and to the right when necessary.

My immediate reaction was physical.  I’m sure the geyser of frustration (imagine a geyser that rivals Old Faithful) could have been seen bursting through my head and I felt the need to vomit.  I hate that about myself.  I’ve got no formal training in layout design, but my control-freak inner self began to wind up for a full blown Class A temper tantrum.  I hadn’t even looked at the proofs.

I remember thinking, “Get a grip Marea, maybe the proofs will look great!”  I wish with all my heart they had.  That would have given me solid evidence that my tendency to control is freakish and unnecessary.

I had very carefully considered the placement of the page numbers.  I had chosen to leave them all on the bottom right of the text, even though they are normally on the bottom left for left hand pages, because I want the text itself (which is much larger and more bold to be visually obvious) to be consistently placed on the page for the young reader.  When I had experimented with page number placement, I’d had to move my text boxes too far to the right, throwing the balance of the left and right page layout off.

When I opened the proofs I found the same problem.  Bob had moved the text boxes on the even left hand pages and the text on the left and right pages was no longer consistently placed.  Some had been decreased in size and two had the very bottom of text cut short to fit the page number in the frame.

I prayed.  That’s what I have to do.  I have learned to do that first before firing off an Email or responding with a hasty phone call.  In fact, for many years I sent Franklin any Email that could potentially be problematic to be proofed for offense.

I spent the day considering the page numbers, changed my Anthologies to reflect the fix I’d decided upon, and uploaded the files again with a message in the “Additional Comments” section:  “Bob,  Thank you for your attention to detail!  Ultimately, the text placement on each page is more important to me than having the page number on the left hand pages.  I’ve deleted the page numbers of concern and am happy with the visual consistency of the text on the left and right pages for my very young readers.  Please use the revisions I’ve made to my original files.  Kind Regards, Marea”

Monday I received our third set of proofs; again, an immediate physical response – Old Faithful from every orifice.  Bob thought his original of the first anthology would work but there were problems with the 2nd and 3rd and he was sure I was going to want to look at the text.  He had input page numbers on the bottom left of the left hand pages and “had to” move the text boxes again to make them fit.

“Heavenly Father…  Help!  I want to kill Bob.  Why does he think he can add page numbers again?  This is my baby!  I am the customer!  And what is he, like 17?  This has to be his 1st project!  Why did I get the new kid on the block? “

I called my “project manager” Tom.  “Tom.  This is Marea Smith.  I have a huge problem and I need to get some information to Bob but I should not talk to him.  You’re going to have to help me.”  I explained the Friday proofs and Bob’s movement of my page numbers and text.  I explained my consideration of the problem, my decision, my work on Friday, my upload and my explanation to Bob.  He assured me that he would be in contact.

Bob is new and Bob did not know that the “Additional Comments” section even existed.  He worked all day with me and was appropriately kind and gracious as we tweaked a new round of proofs.  We were able to send the files to press yesterday afternoon.

I know Bob learned something from our experience together, I was certainly reminded again of my vulnerability in the area of my tongue, and as He often does, God orchestrated my Bible study this week to speak to the matter at heart.

Through the inspired book of Proverbs alone, God has much to say to me about my tongue:

13:3 – Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

15:2 – The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.

15:4 – Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

18:21 – The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

21:23 – Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.

 

And from Beth Moore’s Daniel study, “If you’re like me, you have also allowed some of your weaknesses to engrave an invitation to the enemy.  Satan recognizes the treasures God has given us more than we do.  He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).  Satan may bide his time until the opportune moment, but make no mistake – he will RSVP with an acceptance.  We’ll be the ones left with regret.”

Satan tried to act like a friend and sympathize with me in my trouble, but his goal was really to betray me.  I am very aware that if I’d called Bob and said everything I’d been inclined to say that I would have betrayed the heart of this project and that this collection of readers would be in jeopardy today.

A good friend of mine shared that she prays the following over her business every morning, “Lord, I ask that you cover me and that your favor surround this business as a shield, for your glory.”  I’ve typed out the following to place right beside my computer in my office, “Lord, I ask that you cover my mouth and that your favor surround my words as a shield, for your glory, in the name of your most precious son, Jesus Christ.”  I hate that I might need this daily reminder as long as I live… but, thank God for his grace and mercy!