Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: Jaftexisms We Live By
In honor of the ensuing 85th anniversary celebration of when my great-grandfather started Jaftex, the parent of Studioe Fabrics, I thought I would discuss some of what I am calling Jaftexisms. Basically, these are expressions or mottos that we frequently toss around in the office. I am sure that I have made reference to several of these Jaftexisms throughout my blogging career. We probably didn’t invent any of them, but we definitely live by them.
“It is what it is.” When you boil this one down, it really just means that a situation is presented in a certain way as reality and now we need to deal with it. In other words, we can not change the facts as they are presented to us, so suck it up and figure it out. As much as we wish the facts could be different, they aren’t.
“It is better to be lucky than good.” Believe it or not, luck plays a big role in each of our lives on a daily basis and it happens in our business too. You could be lucky because you were in the right place at the right time or you just happened to call a customer when he/she was looking to make a purchase. We hope and wish that more of our successes are due to our talents, but one can’t mess with the power of luck. I would definitely rather be lucky than unlucky.
“The first loss is your best loss.” Over the course of a year, we produce so many different fabric designs. Most of those designs are winners, but we also have some dogs once and awhile. It really is hard to be perfect as much as we try. In any case, we don’t like to fall in love with our fabric, nor do we like to fantasize about a bad print selling out on its own. This is when we get aggressive about taking losses. We do what we need to do to make the bad print disappear so that we can focus on strong sellers. Losers are distractions, so bite the bullet and take your medicine. You will feel a lot better when the distraction of having the loser is cleared from your mind.
“It isn’t the last dime that matters.” This expression is really more about negotiating than anything else. This often comes up when I am going back and forth with a customer about pricing and we end up a dime apart in the negotiations. My dad always reminds me that the last ten cents is not the most critical, it really is everything that comes before the last 10 cents that matters. This is where I either give in to the customer and take the order or when I just try to get the customer to agree to splitting the difference. In either case, I don’t want to really lose an order over ten cents as that would be foolish.
“Sell and repent.” This typically means that an opportunity has arisen to make a sale, but unfortunately at the time that a decision needs to be made, all the facts are not available. Usually the missing fact has to do with the price or delivery. This is when you might hear my dad say to me, “sell and repent.” In other words, take the sale and we will figure it out. Fortunately, we are better to be lucky than good and these situations usually turn out ok. Maybe the profit margin is below normal, but it is another sale.
“It is all about averages.” This expression relates to pricing. We obviously hope to sell all of fabrics at the highest prices possible, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes we are forced to closeout fabrics at much lower prices, but the point is that when it is all said and done, it works out to an average and hopefully that average meets our profit targets.
“I don’t do what ifs.” This one was invented by my dad and I find myself saying this more than just in the office. The point here is that you could keep saying, what if this, what if that and so on. All the variables can make you absolutely nuts, but the truth is, you are better off waiting for the situation to develop on its own instead of trying to figure it out on your own. The irony of this is that when we do what if, the result is usually a what if that we didn’t expect at all. So save your brain power and don’t stress yourself out, things will unfold on their own.
Do you have any of your own isms that you live by? I would love to hear about them and maybe we can make them work in our business.
Until next time, stay cool!
Studioe Scott