So I started this whole business in 2006. The shirts were born in 2005, just in time for the holidays, but the business of Namaste Mofo™ began in earnest in 2006. The state of California granted me official corporation status in March, the website went live in July, and I hosted a launch party in September. I wanted to make some schwag to give away, but the whole thing almost died, poisoned by my own medicine.

In my previous life (or my parallel universe, at the time), I was in the business of buying printed materials for an ad agency, and had relationships with vendors who produced all manner of printed items, including doo-dads like buttons, badges, and bumperstickers. I requested quotes from my man Sam, and he came back with some really good prices on things. I got my art to him JUST in time to get the buttons and bumperstickers made, and went about my business.

A few days later, Sam called to tell me that he was having a problem. See, his company’s in the middle of Illinois, and he was subcontracting to a company in Nebraska. That subcontractor saw my logos, which read Namaste Motherfucker and Namaste Mofo, and refused to print them. Sam shopped them around to other companies in his general, midwestern area, and got the same response.

I related the dilemma — what to do? where can I get my stickers made so cheap… and now FAST?! — to various friends and colleagues, all of whom were PISSED, on my behalf. “How dare they?!”, “What, they don’t want your business?!”, and “…fucking BIBLE BELT…” were all responses I got. Ah, sweet friends, so quick to punch someone out, if only verbally, to protect me… but I remained pretty calm.

I mean, I was anxious as all hell, trying to figure how I could get shit printed in time for the launch party, but I’d made a professional life of getting stuff done under pressure and tight timelines.

The reason I was calm was this: People who own companies can choose to do business however they please. If I, as a business owner, have the right —and the privilege— to refuse service to whomever I choose, then that’s my right. I never disparaged these midwestern companies that right. I’m always PRO putting oneself in someone else’s shoes; I reasoned, if, let’s say, I owned a company that made t-shirts and someone wanted me to print some kind of anti-choice message, I’d decline that, too. It’s my right, and MY loss of income.

So I can get behind their decision, even if it fucked up my schedule.

And it afforded me a BUSINESS opportunity to use my new mantra:

NAMASTE, MOTHERFUCKERS!

I was happy to find that, even in the heat of a deadline, my natural tendency is to stay on-message. (Of course, this turns out to be a fucking great message.)

(c) Kristy Duncan

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 9:23 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.