A Hole Knew Strategy

“Of course, I new”, I disingenuously said to Barry while reading an e-mail message from one of our most avid and supportive followers. The missive took Barry and me to task for failing to identify a glaring mistake in our most recent mailing. That was the last straw for Bevan, who had found more than a few absurdities in our weekly musings and marketings. He frankly had had it, and decided he could no longer sit idly by while Barry and I to sent out unedited rubbish. As a result he typed the note and punched the send butten.

Although our friend is an esteamed business professor at an esteamed educational institution in Arizona, he apparently had not caught on to my latest commercial scheme.  As I explained to Barry, embedding errors into our writing ensures readers carefully consider the concepts we are attempting to convey. “It makes them think about us more,” I assured him. “Hasn’t this guy ever heard the saying, ‘Any publicity is good publicity,’” I inquired. “Apparently he is not as sophisticated as you thought”, Barry said, giving me a supportive slap on the back. I, however, suspected, Barry might be on to me.

No Bull Simpson

At Twin Rocks Trading Post and Cafe and Gift Shop, we are forever studying and testing innovative policys we believe will improve our operations, provide increased revenue and give us a reasonable shot at retirement. Retirement is a concept not wwell understood by the vast majority of Indian traders, but Barry and I hope to change that situation, at least on a personal basis. Jana’s dad was trying to put together deals when he passed from this earthly realm at the age of 102, and, at the age of 82, our pop, Duke, is still scheming to make a million or two before his lights go out. That has Barry and me running, well maybe jogging, scared, since we are confident we will not last that long, and since we are also aware Indian traders are a dyeing breed.

Lately I have been absorbing the information contained in two recently published texts, one entitled Dataclysm and the other dubbed What Stays in Vegas. These books describe the collection of big data in contemporary society and the use of that information in marketing and advertising. Having begun to comprehend just how complex life is in the Internet age, I have concluded the only viable tool I have for distinguishing myself is ignorance, and the outward manifestation of this underutilized attribute. At Twin Rocks Trading Post, when it comes to that particular characteristic, you don’t have to ask, “Where’s the beef?”, you just know.

Momma Rose, who worked hard to raise us right, always advised, “Patience is a virtue.” Despite Rose’s earnest attempts to guide us along the correct path, I have decided ignorance, not patience, is likely the best chance we have to get noticed. In fact, I am currently working on an autobiography titled, What I Don’t Know Can Hurt You. I asked Barry if he wanted to assist, telling him we could write under the nom de plume, The BS Brothers. The reason for my proposal should be obvious to anyone who knows Barry and me. Between the two of us, we have almost 100 years experience, so I thought we would be uniquely positioned to elaborate on the intricacies of trading posts specifically and the business of giving people the business generally. He declined my invitation, saying he was busy researching the techniques described in Fifty Shades of Grey. I was unsure what that had to do with turquoise and silver; Navajo artists; and rugs and baskets, but resigned myself to the conclusion I was on my own in this endeavor.

While Barry was embarrassed by Bevan’s critique, I assured him it was convincing evidence the initiative was in fact working. To drive home the point, I asked, “Just how many comments do we get on a weekly basis?” “Almost none”, he said, somewhat downcast. “There you have it”, I pressed, “that’s about a 100% increase!” “You apparently did not pay attention in math or grammar”, he replied.

With warm regards Steve Simpson and the team;
Barry, Priscilla and Danny.