Furniture Retail Tip #14 From Grandpa Mike-e-e! at 90 - Follow Your "Knows" At The Market

I never met Warren Buffett, but I admire him.

And the other day I decided to let him know that I do. So I tried to e-mail him and wow! I ended up with a mound of printed Buffett matter telling me what he does to sweat out an honest living. But alas! no e-mail address.

Anyway, here I am hoping that someone on his staff will read this weekly column and tell Mr. Buffett what a nice guy I seem to be. How during the last seventy years I've written international business columns, books on business venture, environmental interior designs for children bedrooms, a pre-K book for 3-6 year olds and original music and lyrics that have meaning for the whole family... A to Z... plus having lived the stuff, too.

What brings me to this precipice? Mr. Buffett's decision to hand five billion bucks to the Bank of America and take the bank home. Wow-e-e! Not only that. But I have a sincere hunch he didn't ask the guys in Washington, DC or Wall Street or Federal Reserve or Congress or blogs or Tweedle Face or airwave pundits if he should dig such a powerful deal because Mr. Buffett follows his "knows" and not his nose. He "knows" his business territory.

So what am I getting all sweaty and bothered and leading up to? You. Because soon, it will be time to go to the fall and winter furniture markets where new and innovative interior designs are waiting.

And instead of going to look at these fresh creations and measuring them for their long-term value to your customers and business, you might be inclined to use only the current, sluggish business atmosphere as the gauge for this critical decision... or no decision.

You might be tempted to follow your nose. By "nose" I mean your  emotions. Yes, those depressing ones that creep over you from watching too much CNN, Fox News , or when you sneak a peek at your stock porfolio value. Instead you could be following your "knows," which have been conditioned by years of solid personal experience. Lots of up-and-down tries. Lots of truths. Lots of sweat and tears. Lots of business sensitivities that have brought you to the level of experience that is purely yours.

Blah-blah politicians surely don't "know" your territory. Pundits definitely don't "know" your customer's territory. You do. You're the expert... for better or for worse. And you're still around and still taking up the challenge of serving your customers day in, and day out.

And the old man geezer here says "Go!" because you can't make refined decisions from pictures when it comes to brushed finishes or bedding support feel or drawer construction support or not plopping down on upholstered sofas at the end of a marching, market day.

And if you're not going to market because of difficult, personal, life reasons, act pronto after the market to contact those reps you have a quality relationship with to show-up at your store to answer your sincere market questions about what's new a-n-d what's worthwhile about last year's choices that now have a selling or non-selling record.

That's enough of Grandpa!

Now go on out and solidly build "it", build your business, promote it and get your organizaition excited about selling it,  because if you do they'll come and they'll buy "it." You've done it with your successful ways for years by following your "knows."