Revisiting the topic of sharing information

Sample bracelets by Tammy

Back a couple of years ago, Tammy Powley wrote about a bad experience she had in sharing information with a “friend”. We can probably all relate to the feeling that someone else has used you…it stinks.

My personal feelings on sharing and copycats have always been mixed. On the one hand, I do write about making jewelry for a living, so when I’ve put a tutorial out there, I expect to answer questions about it, including sources, and I obviously want people to feel free to follow my instructions and make a piece for themselves. On the other hand, I don’t really want to see copies of my work knocked off and sold by the hundreds at flea markets And when it comes to my personal work, I don’t necessarily feel that I owe it to anyone to tell them everything about the how and the what. But in general, my bottom line has always been, “Copy if you must…I’m moving on!”

Recently though, the lovely Jeri England wrote a comment about the topic, and she had a completely different slant on the topic that she gave me permission to share with you all. Jeri wrote:

I helped my husband grow & run a business for several years back in the early 1980’s. In 1991 he sold out to his partner of two years. I think you could say that they agreed to disagree. He hesitated in taking a partner in the first place but our company was growing so fast he needed a money partner. It served a purpose and they stayed together until his partner bought him out in.

The business was heavily based on sales and I had zero experience. In order for my involvement to benefit the business I needed training. The two most important things my husband taught me have stayed with me and served me well all these years. The lessons are so specific and yet so nonspecific that anyone can apply them as I have across many areas of my career & personal life. I would like to share them with readers.

One lesson was that I should not choose the jobs to bid on based on size and/or the competitor bid list. I was afraid I would get us into a job larger than we would be equipped to run. He told me that my job was sales and his job was making sure that jobs were done and run well. He told me to let him worry about the “how”. Until we had a contract there wasn’t a “how” to worry about.

So, I simply stopped worrying. We reviewed the bid list for the upcoming week on the Friday before. I focused all my energy in getting contracts. I did my job and he did his. We quadrupled the sales of the first year in our second year of business. The third year we doubled sales of the second year. The last year I worked with him, I outsold the other two salespeople and I had sold a little over 1/2 million during the first 5 months of the year. That was incredible when one realizes that the company consisted of my husband, one helper for him, and myself. We added employees the end of the secondyear. He hired 2 experienced salesmen.

The second lesson came very quickly after I started working with him. I kept worrying about what our competitors were doing. I worried about what jobs they were bidding and what contracts they were being awarded. I worried that our price might be out of line.

He told me not to spend time focusing on our competitors. For every minute I tried to check them out, see what they were doing, maybe even mimic them somewhat, was time lost in our sales momentum.

He reminded me that if we just kept moving forward they would play “keeping up with the Jones”. If we were getting contracts that were profitable, it did not matter what they were doing. He told me that it was human nature to try to outdo your competitor and that they would begin to get distracted by us. As long as they watched us and we took care of ourselves, they would be in the dust, so to speak, and we would be the forerunners and trendsetters. We would lead and they would follow.

Guess what? It played out that way. Time spent copying others sucks your creativity away. I will always be grateful for the things my husband shared with me. So, two very important lessons: don’t impose barriers. When real ones come up just ask yourself “What do I need to do to remove this barrier and make this happen? As you determine the answers just proceed to move forward.

That takes you straight to the next step. Don’t look back to see who is watching and/or what they are trying to do. Stay focused forward. As you become more of a contender in the market place, your competitors often spend precious time trying to watch, second guess your next move, and perhaps try to copy you. It will be your gain and their loss.

I say – keep your eyes forward. Build the marketplace, don’t wait to see what everyone else does and then react. If you do you will always be toward the rear of the pack.

I wish everyone a successful endeavor-no matter what it is.

I know that was a long story but I have found that it works. With those two simple yet powerful lessons I developed confidence. Confidence in what you do is a terrific tool in a sales environment. I owe my husband a lot. We have been together since 1978. He continues to share his knowledge freely. I hope those two lessons will speak to the needs of someone out there.