Taking the Plunge

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. ~Sidney J. Harris

Regret is a powerful thing, it leaves you wondering what if and more over and over again. I've decided it's time to stop playing the what if games and start taking chances to make life better. This isn't the first big chance I've signed myself up for, but in some ways it's both the most exciting and terrifying yet.

So what did I do? I agreed to put somewhere between 4 and 6 months of living expense money on the line and buy the inventory of a liquidating bead store in India. I've never been to India. Or Asia for that matter. In fact, I've been to exactly two countries in my lifetime and they're both in North America with a huge demilitarized border in between them. I also know very little about beads.

Why beads if I don't know anything about them? To start with it's something radically different than what I've done before. Jewelry also seems to be selling well, though I don't have the knack for making it myself. If I can help a few jewelry makers come up with interesting new pieces then I'd consider that a small victory. Doubly so if I happen to make a bit of money while doing it. I also can't think of a much better excuse to learn the difference between a bicone and a briolette than having an enormous pile coming to sort through and describe.

There's more than just learning about beads involved in this venture. I'm learning a lot about international trade. As a first time importer some aspects of what's involved in the process seems anywhere from archaic to paranoid to just plain weird. I'll talk about that more another time. For now, hello, World! A new bead vendor is on the way!