MEA CULPA  - BE AWARE 

As mentioned earlier last month on this website, i would like to address publicly my challenges and incompetences regarding business management that unfortunately affected all my customers and my livelihood. 

As i started selling knives internationally, my work and progress quickly growth and gathered supporters, where i had and still have a lot of passion by knives, it was the start of something genuinely great that allowed me to produce knives i never thought i would be able to. 

Unfortunately, my artistical skills were far way above my business management skills, i was stupid and immateur  to neglect basic business management skills and methods such as keeping to schedules, pay attention to strategical planning and most importantly: create a sustainable frame of business.

When my demand was small, i used to do a great experience for all customers, both on communication, schedules and all. Unfortunately, the demand has increased a lot and i didnt had the perception that more orders and public demands a much more business background rather than just being a talented artisan who produces knives and sells it casually. That includes working with spreadsheets, schedules, management of costs+profit+suppliers, solid logistical map (one of my biggest challenges) and others.

Covid pandemics made my business grow a lot and that was the timing that i should have looked more at business skills rather than just paying attention to the artistical side of this business, caring only for knives, materials, techniques and how to make better knives. All my attention was focused on that, all of it, and that has led me to all the current challenges and snowball.

After all this snowball and house of cards due poor business planning, we had a historical floods on my state that destroyed pretty much the entire logistics of the state (as big as Italy), it did damaged a lot my family but me as a person left relatively "entire" out of this situation,

Although, with maturity and being able to focus more on business planning, i can see very clearly now that the floods were not the culprit of my challenges, yet, it was just a catalyst of something that was due to happen soon or late. 

As of now, im currently on a recovery phase: i have stop for a few months taking orders - and i will continue with books closed until i get everything figured out and all customers who are awaiting for their orders get 100% satisfied. 

During this recovery phase, im receiving intelectual support from customers who have marketing and business management background, and im working on an entire new frame that have many new "features", here are some of them that are being put to immediate action:

What has been done:

1 - No longer upfront payments of any sort

2 - Payments will be done by Stripe, giving customers full leverage to automatically request refunds up to 180 days 

3 - Even big orders or highly custom orders will be handled entirely on my end as  a matter of cost. I will handle the risk entirely, and even if the order is a highly custom and specific knife gets cancelled, i will handle that loss and manage accordingly, not putting a single 1% of risk on the customer side.

4 - Books closed, no orders until this situation is entirely figured out. The sales section of this website has been closed.

5 - Mapping poor and unsustainable habits such as overpromising so i can succesfully break this loop.

What is in progress: 

1 - Logistics: still a challenge to me, i live rurally and Brazil doesnt help too much in a matter of bureaucracy for international shipments and as a matter of infrastructure. As of now, we are working and actively focusing on what is the most efficient way to have a stable and predictable shipment structure, avoiding frustrations and unmet deadlines. We are avoiding Porto Alegre base due many incidents of warehouse delay and inventory handling, a new route is being tested and so far results are greater. 

2 - All orders will be taken care on spreadsheets, addressing materials, techniques, dimensions and every single detail discussed by email or other communication methods.

3 - Communication: also a challenge to me right now as of the backlog is getting cleared, im doing my best to keep customers up to date and actively working on pending schedule

Conclusion:

I was highly incompetent managing my business and havent been able to understand what my business needed on its most important growth spurt, that led to frustrated customers and the broken of my livelihood, putting me under a critical financial situation and incredible emotional distress for me and customers affected.

Im actively working to get everything figured out and the most honest thing to say is that this is not a situation i will flip under a small timeframe of days, likely requiring a few months still.

As of now, the backlog and workload is still very high and im in a critical spot financially, due this, inconsistency will still likely to happen and progressively improves as i move forward to clear all the dirty off this structure.

All customers affected by this are getting generous bonuses on their orders, it is a small but wholeheartedly way i have to show gratitude towards the patience and understanding under such critical situation to me and my business. 

I appreciate for all the support received, i apologize for having focused purely on the artistical side of the situation and having to continuously neglected the business background necessary to make all gears work together.