So Lem we page 2 - February 2, 1977 - North Shore News HT On Sesame Street there is a frog named Kermit who sings a mournful song called ‘‘It Isn’t Easy ewe = 402 Being Green.’ I’d like to steal-his title and change it slightly, to ‘‘It Isn’t Easy being In Business.”’ And dedicate it- to 1977. There are 2700 businesses on the North Shore. The North Shore News, by virtue of its advertising sales-teams (display and classified), is in contact with a fair portion of that business community on a regular basis, stories that some of our ‘merchants have to tell inspired this piece. MERCHANTS COMPETE Competition is a_ very overlooked thing, these days. Competition is good for everyone. If you don’t like Harry’s price, you can go to Joe’s. And if Joe’s service is indifferent, you can © still select from quite a few other firms or stores who are anxious to do business with. you and who are willing to compete, both in terms of price and quality. things, combiried with a thing that we tend to take for granted - until we don’t get it - called * service:, add up to value. MAKING NO MONEY ‘It’s nicer to spend. money when ‘you get value’ for it. When you don’t have much - money to spend, it’s essen- tial to get value. And if there’s no competition, there’s much less chance of you receiving value for your dollars. This may sound like a _ strange thing to say, but it’s _ based on a lot of experience. Most North Shore merchants aren’t making any money. Some are, for sure. But most, if you take their yearly income and divide it by the number of hours they work to earn it, earn less than a carpenter or a mechanic. Add to this the terrific independent and the > for some ‘Those > learners - ignorant when they went into © VERIFIED CIRCULATION 46,000 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 OFFICE/NEWS: (604) 980-0511 CLASSIFIED: 980-3464 CIRCULATION: 986-1337 - Publisher Peter Speck Assoclate Publisher Bob Graham/Managing Editor Noel Wright/News Guillermo Lam/Photos Ells- worth Dickson/Production Marna Leiren/Advertis- ing Kristi Vidler/Classified Berni Hilliard/Circula- tion Yvonne Chapman/Administeation Barbara Haywood/Accounts Sylvia Sorensen. North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an community newspaper registered under Part 111, Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Customs and Excise Act, is published each Wednesday by the North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mall Registration Number 3885. ENTIRE CONTENTS COPYRIGHT © 1977 NORTH SHORE FREE. PRESS LTD. All rights reserved. “worries involved, and- it makes you wonder why most people bother going into business for themselves. Most don’t do it for the money. I'think in reality most people in business are there other — primary reason - cali it freedom, or the ability to grow, or independence. A _ lot of business people are in business for themselves be- cause they sincerely want to be of service to their fellow man, and their financial reward is a vague goal somewhere in the future, when their product know- ledge and service orientation (‘value’) have attracted a lot of customers who like the a Lh nd way they do business and keep coming back. << Many. people in business for themselves are there because of their ignorance. They aren’t ignorant now" ‘the laws of the marketplace out slow but they were quickly weed their business, and _ they haven’t much choice now except to tough it out and try to make their business go. ‘MOM AND POPS’ The saddest businesses I know of are what I call ‘mom and pops’. Mom works in the store and Pop works: in the mill and they only lose a little money every month. Their kids are neglected, Mom and Pop are exhausted, and it’s only a matter of time until the social and financial pressures are so great that . they-go under. People in this state of mind often can’t make rational. decisions . or and ‘disillusioned; | au bit - : resources, ' tion,”’ consider alternate proposals. First, they are dog- tired and and second everything is an ‘expense’, expenses are to be avoided - at all costs. When you’re trying to avoid any expense ‘at all costs’ you can't operate a business properly. To be successful in. busi- ness (especially in the local retail business) requires a lot -of hard work, good decisions, courage, market and product - knowledge, and capital. We often run across advertisers who are just starting a business and who are sure that they know exactly what they are doing. They some- times are very difficult to reach, and I’m sure that many bankers and _ trade suppliers can name several of their customers who are in - that boat. These people, new to the business world, or to their particular business, or to the. iocal marketplace, come in like ‘a house afire’. By the time they have their feet on the ground and have learned = their ‘preliminary Ne Se 8 ee Se waswee Bre ween aseRAGeR lessons they have usually lost - all or most of their capital. It’s easy to lose a thousand or two a week, especially if you don’t have sophisticated accounting controls, and by the time you find out you're you’re broke, believe it, broke. Then comes the. difficult the mustering of the’. agonizing reappraisal, the. gathering ‘of new energy and courage and capital. Lots go under at this stage. Some close _ their homes and life savings. Some go personally bank- rupt. Others muster every resource, learn where’ they went wrong, and plunge back into the fray. The old saw goes ‘When ‘the going gets tough, tough get going.’ It’s true. ereretetete®) continue their present prog- rams with the least disrup- the students will be placed on shifts at neighbor- ing ‘Balmoral Junior Secon- dary. ‘Delbrook students will start on a morning shift at 7:40 atm., Monday, Feb. 7 and Balmoral students at 12:40 p.m. Halfway through the term, the two groups will switch with Balmoral att- ending the a.m. shift, the Board announced. Feeling tired? Rundown? Take a wath, ? 4 7] PDA Na A Vit : Walle is bosch. Nadi. , the . : Sita Sean ...and our newly expanded premises offers one of the largest selections of decorative wall and floor § _tile in Western Canada. Our display room features imported ceramic tile from Italy, Spain, France, Germany, etc. We have ali of the tools and accessories for the ‘do-it-yourselfer’ or you can have it | sionals. Drop inte our exclusive showreom, select the tile of your choice, ‘and we a’ give ‘you a free estimate and in-home consultation. . ~ Our showroom features shower and bath enclosures to demonstrate our elegant tile and our skiliful installation. All of our workmanship is fully guaranteed for 5 years. 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