Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Cutting Loose!

I don't know how many people out there who follow us have their own small business. But this blog is for you! Just wanted to let you know I totally understand how the smallest thing can have the biggest impact where a small business is concerned.  This came into play last week when our lawn guy accidentally cut our business line. Cut it. As in... cut it. He was cutting the shrubs, but also cut the phone line. And the phone quit ringing. And then we start getting Facebook messages, "Hey, you aren't picking up and it's not going to voice mail!" And, "Did you know your phone just rings and rings?" We didn't know the line had been cut, obviously, so two days later when CenturyLink arrived and found the problem, it was already too late for our weekly show. No phone, no calls, no reservations.

Just the smallest thing can knock a small business to their knees. If I mess up making a change on our website, for example, which did happen a few months ago, suddenly the website is no longer accessible. I owe Brenda Shoffner at the NWF Daily News a big thank you, by the way, as she actually emailed me and let me know my website was broken.

Or if power or water goes out at the restaurant even for a few hours, forget about seeing us! This actually happened a few years ago. A water pipe was knocked out, and the entire Okaloosa Island was without power. No restaurants, no traffic lights, so no Act4Mystery either!

Then there's all the little day to day things that can put us right on the edge. I've run out of printer ink at midnight the night before a show when I'm trying to print out our handouts. So there goes the Act4 Ninja, running to "The Walmart" in the middle of the night so I can finish getting everything together.  I've forgotten to buy props and even forgotten a certain costume or prop is broken and needs repairs until right before the next performance. So human error can also throw a big wrench into the works - and yes, it's usually my error but not always...

I have one actor who forgot we had a show! He wasn't at the restaurant on time, so I started to worry, gave him a call, and found him just getting off of his boat.  The conversation went something like this:

Him: "Why are you calling?"

Me: "Because we have a show tonight and you're in it!"

Him: "Oh CRAP!"

I could go on and on. We've been performing for FIFTEEN YEARS and the stories are endless. But for now, I'll just end with the phone is working again and we're currently back in business! So give us a call. We're a great excuse to get out and... cut loose!   -- Paula