Retirement or Shifting Gears....

My little business has been running me for almost the last quarter century, and about a year ago, I began to plan for its future.

Retirement is a word I've never liked because it suggests that one is leaving life's competition in order to contemplate the meaning of this and that before one drops off the perch. So when I'm asked whether I'm "retired," I prefer to say that I'm not, but I am "changing gears," probably because that description conveys a sense of action, of moving forward, of not departing the field of play...yet.

About a year ago, I started to think about what might be best for me and my business, and the first decision I reached was that I would not close it down so that I could go to some island off the west coast of Scotland and hike paths both old and new. No, I decided that I would re-design the business so that I could carry on those parts of it which are unique and run it from my office, my living room, or from some island on the west coast of Scotland.

When we stopped printing catalogues and focussed on selling on-line, I began learning a whole lot about contemporary technology, and that stream of new stuff banging around in my brain has been enormously helpful in keeping me both alert and growing. I don't want that to stop.

Nor am I ready to give up contacts with customers. Even though our contacts are by email and phone, I feel that we've been helpful to them in small ways beyond providing a product. I remember the guy in London who couldn't find the baton he wanted in London, so he called us, and we were able to get him what he wanted in time for his event....the son in Alberta whose father was a noted musician who wanted custom printed instruction cards for his dad's memorial service, so that the congregation could play together...the band members who found us for that special gift baton for their teacher upon his or her retirement...the speech therapists who taught us that nose flutes are not only fun but also helpful in working with youngsters with speech difficiulties.

So, in the next three months, there will be changes in the enterprise, the most notable of which will be the elimination of music gifts from our offerings so that we can focus on conducting batons from plain to fancy. We'll be selling some items through Amazon, and they'll handle shipping those orders for us. The volume imprinted batons and custom work will be handled by George, our baton maker.

George is a remarkable man. I've worked with him for over two decades, and in that time, he has provided a quality product at a fair price, first-rate customer service, and in spite of the pain he lives with after surviving a serious automobile crash, he does not hesitate to go the extra mile both for us and for our customers. We are grateful to him and his colleagues at the workshop every week. I don't want to give up that relationship either - the jokes and stories are too good to walk away from.

Over the years, a number of people have worked with me to keep things going. Anne, Susan, and Cynthia have been major contributors over the years, and Tom and Vicki provided important support at critical times. I am grateful to them all for their hard work.

After June 30th, it will be Islay the scottish terrier and me in the office. Islay has worked for me since she arrived in my home from the Humane Society and will ontinue to greet visitors and remind me about treats, walks, and lunch, among other things.

Beyond work, I have some projects I want to work on and finish up and some places to visit. It will be an interesting next step in my journey, and I hope you'll stick around and watch what happens....