The simple fact that you need to list the positives about being a small custom framer versus being a BB, tells about independent framers’ fragile position and struggle for surviving.
Framers’ do what they always did and even more than that. Yet, the younger BB players are in offensive and keep on growing since their very beginnings. They must be doing something right and that’s obviously not about quality, turn over time, smiles and expertise (all those being little framers’ stronghold). In my opinion when you are loosing, you must be looking after your weaknesses first because they are the major factors in your going south. Unfortunately you prefer look at a list of individual framers’ qualities as if they were little known but likely to be appreciated and sought after by the consumers, have the consumers only known those rare qualities of yours. Fact is that those consumers that bring their business to the BB’s can’t care less about your proven qualities. They are not buying your package but they do buy BB’s. What’s so attractive about BB’s way of doing business should be on your list, not what’s precious in your opinion about the way you do same framing business as BB’s.
Now, it’s generally accepted that from the edge of the field things look differently and mistakes are more prominent than for the players themselves. This is why we seem to always have better advices in store for others than for ourselves, and this is also why we relay on counselors when passing through difficult moments. Further more, I need say that individual framers don’t master same set of qualities, don’t share same goals and don’t even have one precise business policy and attitude. Looking for commonalities and hope for one generic success policy is the second large mistake I’ve seen being made in here. You may be using same tools and suppliers, but as individual framers you are individually facing and addressing specific problems with more or less success.
Your list of self-reassuring qualities, reminds me of my first attempts at selling my frames in America. But that’s a different story. Anyway, try for a change do a list of BB’s strong qualities because they, along with your weaknesses, are eating up your future as we speak. Good luck.
John,
You just said taht
"We can compete with them by offering unique products, having hard to find items for sale".
I wonder how is that possible when from the East Coast to the West Coast every one of you are talking LM23456, LJ0987654 and can perform same job using same mterials from same suppliers within the same ballpark price?
Actually this type of "globalisation" is what made you vulnerable to BB's in the first place, in my opinion. Individual framers' area of uniqueness is narrow and getting narrower.
You didn't mean to say that buying and selling my hard to find frames, is helpful against BB's. Or did you?