Letter from Simon Nicholls

My burning question for the day…
the matter of utmost importance on which my most critical decision hinges is mouse mat, golf ball or pen?

I knew that there would be days like these, when the burdens of running my own company would begin to weigh really heavily, where on the spot decisions can make all of the difference between success and failure. So, should it be mouse mats, goofballs or pens? You see I’m trying to decide what ad ware I should be sending to potential customers that will convey the services that we offer and also give the best indication of what a classy set up we are; whilst at the same time – and probably most crucially- being very cheap.

In the brochure I’m studying there are a plethora of pens to choose from, on all of which you can have your logo and phone number either: printed, stamped, stuck, sprayed engraved or laser etched. But they seem to fall into three categories:

Cheap and nasty: tacky brightly coloured plastic which will probably only managed a dozen words before conking out or leaking in the inside pocket of your best alpaca jacket

Very classy: all very well if you want to take the chance of paying £8.25 plus £1.25/print colour for the pen to end up in a child’s pencil case (remembering you have to order at least 50).

Plain whacky: either fat as a horses leg, or triangular or… whatever but plainly impossible to write with.

Golf balls are good, provided: a) your potential customer plays golf, and they’re not used for the dog to play with; and b) the potential customer is any good i.e. the balls don’t all get lost in the pond at the first hole only to be recycled as “lake balls” in Indonesia.

A mouse mat could be good, because you can put lots of information on it, and it’s thin and easy to post. Though they do frequently end up as overgrown placemats for the office yucca plant.

Then there are all those other things I could choose from: rulers, clocks, tee shirts, calendars…and so on. But what should I choose.
I need something simple and cheap to get my message across to the customer. Something they are going to keep and treasure so that when they need it my number will be right there for them. It needs to be something which conveys the class and quality of my company… whilst costing as little as possible.

John’s gospel (ch 17 vv20) tells us of this prayer Jesus offered to his father:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me….”

Jesus’ message, isn’t tacky or cheap. It’s not just for the children or something to be thrown away or simply lost. It’s something that lasts, something to hold onto, and something that will always be there when you need it.

Simon Nicholls