So, just gonna vent here, because... well, nobody here cares
I started a small business venture with a buddy recently... just a dumb little thing involving little toy soldiers.
It has REALLY taken off. Like, blown up. We just started a few months ago, and the response has been RIDICULOUS. Like, we just signed a sponsorship deal with GenCon, the largest game convention in the world, for August... we are in the same category as Mattel, which is pretty mind blowing.
But holy cow, my partner drives me nuts.
Now, he is a SUPER nice guy. Like... too nice. And he is the one who is eating most of the financial risk... he wants this to be his full time job, but I am sort of just looking at this as a fun distraction from teaching, and a chance to do something connected to my hobby.
But good lord, I feel like he is making mistakes, and it is driving me crazy.
Like... he tries to avoid bad news and interactions. We are several weeks behind in production for legit, understandable reasons. But when paid customers email to ask where their product is, he simply doesn't respond. Like, I think he feels bad or guilty and just avoids it. And it drives me NUTS... the world of little toy soldiers is a very small one (no duh) and all you need is a few angry customers to start trashing you online, and that can do a TON of damage. Plus... they are paid customers! You OWE them a certain level of service. Plus, I am the one handling most of the PR and customer relations, and I have a certain amount of visibility in the toy soldier world (I know... laugh away) and it makes ME look like the one who has the issues... but I A) have NO impact on production and shipping and B) cannot even answer the questions.
Anyway... just have to vent. There are times I hate working with other people, because I feel like people just never do things the way they need to be done.
I started a small business venture with a buddy recently... just a dumb little thing involving little toy soldiers.
It has REALLY taken off. Like, blown up. We just started a few months ago, and the response has been RIDICULOUS. Like, we just signed a sponsorship deal with GenCon, the largest game convention in the world, for August... we are in the same category as Mattel, which is pretty mind blowing.
But holy cow, my partner drives me nuts.
Now, he is a SUPER nice guy. Like... too nice. And he is the one who is eating most of the financial risk... he wants this to be his full time job, but I am sort of just looking at this as a fun distraction from teaching, and a chance to do something connected to my hobby.
But good lord, I feel like he is making mistakes, and it is driving me crazy.
Like... he tries to avoid bad news and interactions. We are several weeks behind in production for legit, understandable reasons. But when paid customers email to ask where their product is, he simply doesn't respond. Like, I think he feels bad or guilty and just avoids it. And it drives me NUTS... the world of little toy soldiers is a very small one (no duh) and all you need is a few angry customers to start trashing you online, and that can do a TON of damage. Plus... they are paid customers! You OWE them a certain level of service. Plus, I am the one handling most of the PR and customer relations, and I have a certain amount of visibility in the toy soldier world (I know... laugh away) and it makes ME look like the one who has the issues... but I A) have NO impact on production and shipping and B) cannot even answer the questions.
Anyway... just have to vent. There are times I hate working with other people, because I feel like people just never do things the way they need to be done.