Price Tags!
After getting married, Sue took over her dad's business, which she'd been
running for years anyway. I became more involved with it as time went on.
It was something new for me and more fun than construction. It was a
retail business which dealt in Ham Radio. We booked ourselves at sales
conventions across the country, covering every weekend this way. I
computerized the business, feeling most useful in this capacity.
Here is the first set of price tags printed off the computer. They are
less than an inch square and contain useful info besides price. If a
small item falls on the floor, a quick look will show which hook it
belongs on. Also shown is the vendor code, the amount discounted from
retail, and so on. There are thousands of them! It took me some time
entering all the data into the computer - and then maintaining them as
prices fluctuated and businesses changed.
The program I installed at H.R. Electronics, inc. tracked inventory, as
well as sales: out of town sales, tax exempt sales, mail order, at the
point of sale, (we used a lap top on weekend road trips). It also tracked
accounts receivable (about 50) and payable accounts. It did purchase
orders and printed monthly bills. It generated all sorts of very useful
reports.
I also set up a computer BBS (Wildcat 4.01) to provide all kinds of
information about the store and the hobby, (1993 was actually
pre-Internet).
Sue and I gave it our best, but alas, ham radio dealerships have been
folding up for years. People buy through large mail-order warehouses these
days, and they buy computers and cellular telephones rather than radios.
Local customers avoid Michigan 6% sales tax by ordering from out of
state. We finally admitted defeat. It was fun, but it couldn't produce a
profit.
Sadly, Sue decided not to stay around after that. Her whole life had
definition within the ham community. I wonder who's kissing her now
(whistling).