March 27, 2003
Had a manager’s meeting at nine yesterday morning.Ironed out some developing problems with our postcards. We send out PR postcards to announce each upcoming issue (they are becoming quite collectable). It gives the salespeople an opportunity to send them to clients they think might be interested in advertising in certain issues, and they makes great little response cards to mail out for inquiries or correspondence. They are so successful we are sending out about 1,500 each issue and saving 500 for the store. The trick is to make them pleasing and cool (a stand-alone), and yet give the sales staff something to sell. So far, so good. Abby had worked hard on a Pancho Villa card and it looked great, very classic design, but Mike M. shrugged and said, “I can’t sell Pancho Villa.” So, he lobbied for us to put some of the “50 Legends of the West” which will also be in the issue and the next thing you know there are words everywhere: “Butch & Sundance, Billy the Kid. Johnny Cash, Gunfight near the O.K. Corral.” and by the end of the process the card looks like poo poo on steroids.

Decided we need a preemptive meeting early on between Robert, Mike, R.G. and I. It would help alleviate some of the problems (not all, as Mike kicked back another Davy Crockett themed proposed card late in the afternoon).

At lunchtime Kathy picked me up and we drove down to Desert Ridge so I could buy some more watercolor paper ($65 for six sheets, and that’s with a 25% discount!). We ate subs at a new sub place near there ($11 cash) and hurried back to Cave Creek.

At 1:30 we had an executive committee meeting to talk about money matters. The good news is: we have some. The bad news is: we need some more. We’ve got a vendor kind of flipping out on us, acting weird. Dealt with that. Also talked about a Classic Gunfights, Volume I book. Planned margins, projected costs. I inventoried all the Classic Gunfights Gus and I have produced and it’s at 106 pages and counting. Amazing. We are projecting several volumes (we have done about 25 and there are over 300 known incidents that could qualify).

Banta is sending 100 of our magazines to the troops in Iraq. They rounded up overages (over-printing copies) and are sending them from Kansas City. Feels good and I think they'll enjoy the escape to a simpler time. This morning's paper says many of the troops are looking at the pictures in Maxim and Hustler.

Worked until around six, locked up, came home, fed dog and cat. Watched war coverage. Decided my problems are rather tiny and insignificant.

“If you have a job without aggravations, you dont have a job.”
—Malcolm Forbes