So let me share with you gents what took place yesterday... because from my own experience here on BOTL a lot happens in private message that does not happen the same way here on the thread and so I want to be sure that I share my version of yesterdays experience with webmost openly here rather than in several pms left to random interpretation or misunderstanding.
Webmost visited me yesterday and yes we did have a good time
I had my associate Berniece with me, whom he's met before at his house when we met on his cool new addition. I didn't even realize till he left that he had ridden over on his motorcycle!
How cool is that? He came in hands loaded with goodies... my favorite of all was his own sticks and a stick created by Hooligan! WHHHOOOTTT WHOOOT!!! We listened to cello music, which is his favorite type of music ... it was pleasant to smoke to. We drank, had cheese, fish and meats and of COURSE Cigars.
I wanted to gift him more cigars but he doesn't like flavors ... I asked him if it would make him mad with me if I gifted him flavors and he said yes... lol... so there went that. He entered the house of a flavor expert lol... so ... what can I say... I gave him a naked Heavenly Hickory I'd rolled at an event the night before.
We then talked about the business ideas he wanted to discuss. I tried to explain the nature of how I do business with him and I'm fairly certain he wasn't able to understand the full nature of how I operate as he was very insistent that some aspect of it was illegal, ie; paying taxes on tobacco that I sell... I'll have to revisit that with regard to my public blend sales and operate with a "tip the roller" approach... however to with regard to my Members only CO-OP, there is no taxing them on tobacco they already paid tax on when I purchase on their behalf. There is also no tax on my rolling service, or on my set up service because there's no tax on the service. In any event, pay tax or no pay tax... when you charge what your worth as a blender and roller you do not have to worry about that tax eating into your lively hood since you will not be charging based on what a machine or a manufacturer can produce since you are neither. We are a niche in the market that isn't for everyone nor afforded by everyone so that leaves us available to the higher end market and clientele who can, will and LOVES to afford exclusivity.
So long as you consider every cigar lover to be a customer you will fail. So long as you operate like a sitting duck waiting for customers you will fail. So long as you can not address the questions your clientele throw at you with reasonable knowledge and accuracy you will fail. So long as you lack customer relationship skills with something as intimate as what a person puts in their mouth you will fail. So long as you don't believe in your own skillset and gifts you will fail. So long as you don't do the work of the art, every art work you roll will be charity and profitable business will fail. So long as you sell cigars and not your designer process you will fail. His key questions were based on sustainability... can one pay their bills? Webmost is a cool guy but he asked a dick question when he insinuated I might be a woman with a hobby that has a man who pays the bills for her. "Women have obligations and men have responsibilities" I was going to get angry with him for like two seconds but he doesn't know any better ... and even though it was a challenge enlightening him I continued to tell him I pay my bills, but I also live in a mutual relationship with my fiance so WE pay our bills.
My fiance is disabled and as you may know, no one gets rich being disabled. I am a creative, a Fine Artist and Cigartist. I also run a non-profit organization for orphaned youth and survivors of traumatic violation... I am busy ALL of the time (which is why I'm not always on here) obviously my charity is just that... non profit= not for profit. So, I roll these blends to keep me rolling along in the life we live. I have five children, three in college as we speak and one soon to be in college and another is a successful creative and flight attendant. I was a single mother for ten years, half of their lives taking on all the obligations and responsibilities while living myself with Fibromyalgia. So I'm really not at all in agreement with him remark there
Numbers. Why do I limit myself to 100 club members? ... because it's illogical to believe I can roll for them AND for private parties and events with my two hands alone and with 12 months a year... there is work to be done just in the preparations for that. I cater to the social cigar enthusiasts as well as private humidor client. I know their needs and expectations very well and my structure suits them. Webmost and I have a difference of opinion about what the market wants and needs. Despite this difference, I'm sure he can agree I'm not going the fuck hungry and I am certainly not slumming ... I'm not rich but I'm growing every single month so I must be doing something right.
Supply. Yes... I use several leaf supply sources. Some you already know about and some I keep to myself for various reasons...just like for various reasons some sources held by you gents here are not shared with me
... for me however, it is because not everyone in the business is as big as the guys we work with and are under developed and some aren't even on the radar. I need the leaf but I don't need people killing the source for us. I share the information with people I feel the source can trust. Sometimes the sources don't know how to tailor themselves within the market but have the supply... I don't judge them harshly if they are delivering me a quality leaf. I try to help them... position them for growth. Webmost was putting the squeeze on me trying to get me to tell him my sources. Webmost doesn't even like my creation and is very critical of how I do business for someone seeking information on how to copy my business model.
Maybe he has a love hate relationship with what I do
lol... it's no matter to me... but at the point I realized this, I wasn't really willing to do his home work for him lol ... while he has gifted me leaf I've never had, he has never gifted me a leaf SOURCE but felt I owed him my connects
I dropped some clues for one source and told him the company only had a select few options but that they were great ones however their marketing was not ready for rollers because they really weren't ready with tailoring their product to rollers. The family were always farmers so this arena is new to them. Naturally Webmost went home and did his investigation based on the clues I left for him and found the supplier. He called to tell me about what he saw and as I expected he became critical and judgmental right away lol... which is exactly what I was telling him not to do. During his visit, I showed him the leaf... in comparison to the exact same leaf offered by one of our primary supliers... they were clearly the same type of leaf but greatly differed in quality. For this reason, I was not inclined to share any other sources.
If any of you are willing to be PATIENT with the supplier I'm talking about I'm willing to share it with you too or maybe Webmost already did
. Being condescending or overly critical as someone who needs something from another person isn't a very successful way to obtain what you need ... nor the best quality of it. I'm a business woman and a shrewd one... but I try to be fair. 100% of success in this niche is based on relationship development and nurturment. Webmost and I have very different communication approaches
I am more wordy (as you can see) and he is an impatient listener needing more direct and simplified answers to complex and compounding questions.
Needless to say ... once we got off the topic of business and just talked about life... things went much more smoothly.
We all have room for growth and we are all feeling and finding our way through what we desire to obtain and deliver in this life... it's always helpful to create space for achieve-ability. So that's my run down of our micro herf. I welcome any of you to visit with me when ever you like... naturally I just need a heads up to ensure I'm available. ~xox
producing a fuller flavor while remaining light of strength... nicely married. It burned with a fairly level ring although, it was a fast burn which was my only disappointment... it was leaving me too soon
producing a fuller flavor while remaining light of strength... nicely married. It burned with a fairly level ring although, it was a fast burn which was my only disappointment... it was leaving me too soon 
absolutely wild you can tell all that from my stick!! Blend 51 is 1 nica habano seco, 1 criollo viso, and 1 corojo ligero with a Dominican binder. Haven't rolled that one in quite a while and sounds like I need to put that in regular rotation!
