The struggle is real
People often say that the hardest part of turning your hobby into a business is that it stops feeling like a hobby. Whilst I'm sure that's true for many people, I've discovered a different struggle altogether.
I'm finding it incredibly difficult to separate the collector from the dealer. I always knew this would be something I would have to work at, but it's proving rather challenging!
Over the last few weeks, I've had several conversations with potential buyers. Good conversations, genuine interest, and in a couple of cases, we weren't actually that far apart. Yet, no deal was done.
On the face of it, that probably sounds like poor business. Maybe it is.
The problem is that every watch I buy is one that I genuinely like. I don't buy watches purely on the basis that they're easy to sell, or because the numbers stack up on a spreadsheet. I buy them because, at some level, I'd happily keep them. If I wouldn't wear it myself, or if I couldn't imagine my wife enjoying it, then I'm probably not buying it in the first place.
That makes pricing and listing them a surprisingly emotional exercise.
When someone asks, "What's your best price?", my brain doesn't immediately jump to profit margins or stock turnover. Instead, it thinks, "What would I have to pay to replace this if I changed my mind next month?" I know how difficult it can be to find the right example in the right condition, and I know what I'd be prepared to pay as a collector. That inevitably influences what I'm prepared to accept as a dealer.
Perhaps that's the collector in me refusing to let go.
The irony is that I started Dodimead because I wanted to enjoy as many watches as possible and to share what I love with other enthusiasts. Yet, every now and then, I find myself hoping they don't actually buy them. How messed-up is that!
I'm sure, with time, I'll get used to being a little more detached. Experience will probably teach me that another lovely watch is always around the corner, and that selling one makes room for the next. But I also hope I never lose that feeling completely.
After all, if the watches ever become just stock, I suspect I'll have lost the very thing that made me want to do this in the first place.
The journey continues....