The sign was a simple one, right below where the cash register sat on the counter. My wife smiled and pointed at it as she went to pay for her items. I smiled back with a nod.
"We Work for God", it said. We had visited the little hobby shop several times and had come to know the owner a little. He was a tall, big shouldered, man yet very mild mannered. Sort of like if Clark Kent had chosen to sell toys and hobbies instead of being a reporter.
Each time we spoke, it was becoming apparent that the economy was taking a toll. The building his store was in had just been sold. He said that while business was good, the "For Sale" sign that had been up for many months had hurt sales. The new landlord, he told us, was not flexible and the rents in the area too expensive for a business like his. He was closing the store at the end of January, for a variety of reasons, and moving out of the area.
Lists of major stress factors usually include moving and job changes. Yet somehow, this guy seemed to be as stress free as anyone I've ever met. Didn't complain about the situation. He wasn't running around the place frantically. He tended to the customers as friendly and helpful as ever. I briefly met his wife and she was just as calm. I wondered how they both held it all together.
My daughter started collecting nutcrackers last Christmas. The toy and hobby shop had two large plaster nutcrackers outside the door. Since the store was closing, I asked if they were for sale. They were, but I would have to pick them up later in the week. When I arrived to pick them up the store owner asked if my wife and I liked the sign. He noticed our acknowledgment of the sign. I told him we did and were happy to see the sign. In this part of the country a positive sign about God is rare. I told him we had been looking for a good church in the area since we moved here and he referred us to exactly what we were looking for. We had a brief, but very interesting, conversation.
We talked about how he had lost his daughter in a car accident a few years ago. Losing his store location didn't even rate on the same scale. Just like when he lost his daughter, his faith would get him and his wife through this. There were things out of his control and it was best to not worry about them. No matter what, everything would work out.
Our discussion reminded me about the final doctor visit I brought my father to. I had checklists of my dad's medications. I had an Excel spreadsheet of questions. I wanted to know more about his pain medications and how much he should have. I wanted them to demonstrate to me how to give him his Heparin shots, to make sure I was doing it correctly. Instead the doctor pulled me into a side office and simply said, "It doesn't matter, the end result will be the same". No matter what, I couldn't control the situation. He made me understand that my father was beyond a cure and there was virtually nothing I could do to make things better now, or worse.
For me, this was not only a life lesson, but a business lesson as well. This economy is making it difficult for many of us small businesses. Don't waste time trying to control things that you can't control. It will only take time away from taking care of the business you can control.
To learn more about the hobby shop owner's daughter and the Scholarship Fund in her name, please visit kimhoule.tripod.com.
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