I worked with the manufacturer many times to try to get them to sew just ONE correctly and it just couldn't happen. I learned a lot from working with them, but I also lost a lot of time and money. We parted ways near the end of January. I've had a few outstanding orders that I was hoping would come through them but those never materialized. So I'm behind...I hate being behind.
Now that I'm back from Mexico I am trying to fill my outstanding orders and trying to decide if I want to be the sole seamstress again or look for and train another manufacturer. I decided that if I stay really small (minimal local advertising but mostly word of mouth business) I can sew as I have time, build up some inventory, and be ready for orders as they trickle in.
OR
I can work to get bigger by working with another manufacturer and advertising. The latter is the scary realm of the unknown...will I still have time to enjoy time with my spouse and children, care for my family/home, maintain friendships, help others??? I have no idea.
So, out of the blue I got an offer for advertising from an amazing woman with a great product and a moving book. Her target audience is the same as mine and, despite having only heard one positive customer review and checking me out on-line, she is willing to help my new business for FREE. I perseverated all day and finally decided to move ahead with the ad even though it feels like an irreversible, gigantic leap of faith (can you tell I'm worried?).
Here's a rough draft of the ad:
(FYI pink and brown are her company colors so the booklet will be printed similar to this.)Heaven help me. Literally.
The hardest part of the decision today was that my JustFaith class saw a video about what the WTO has actually done to the poor of the world. It ain't pretty. The influx of cheap, cheap, cheap subsidized American crops has undercut local farmers all over the globe and made it impossible for them to feed their families. They don't have any buyers for their native crops anymore and (since they can't make any money) they can't afford to buy the American grain/products. This has lead to an increase in global poverty! Here are a few notes from the video:
- there is currently enough food in the world to feed every single human 3000 calories a day (enough to get obscenely fat), but most people can't afford to buy it
- Food First's research shows that family farms the world over are 200-1000% more productive per unit of land than large corporation farms, plus they are more environmentally responsible (they use sustainable methods to enable them to depend on the same land for multiple generations vs. raping it with overuse like the large corporations)
- median wage has not increased AT ALL in the last 20 years, but it did increase by 80% in the prior 27 years
- subsidies in the US are given by land size so they inherently support large corporation farms
- small farmers are told to switch to "cash crops" like chili peppers and cotton to try to make a living, but how will they feed their children these things?
- a family farm in Canada that is only 2000 square feet produces enough produce to feed 25 people all year (the family plus a CSA group)!!
- 65% of the average American diet is genetically modified foods!!!! Seriously. Without labeling requirements OR long-term studies of their effects.
- the slick corporations run all sorts of interference with the media to keep this hush hush AND they create some ads that are downright FALSE about their "positive" effects on people and food
- we need to search for a cooperative (vs. competitive) global economy, we need to learn to work WITH people & nature instead of trying to CONTROL them
I hope to support a local manufacturer or a few local seamstresses as part of my business. I will continue to avoid foods created by the large corps, treat GM like the plague, and support Mike and Debbie and their children with my weekly farm purchases. Eventually, I would love to find a way to help on a larger scale.
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