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Tightening the Focus

July 6, 2008
by Jeffrey Pierce

All of the pieces are beginning to fall into place on this end. It's been crazy - and immensely good. I'll be sharing the big picture with you sometime this week (not just what we're doing in the present, but where Bri and I see all of this going as the future unfolds), but for now, here are the pieces we're putting into place.

And nearly all of the pieces have needed both an open mind and almost no ego to even appear on the board.

We've reserved the domain names (both .com and .org) for Sage and Scribe, the name of our storefront and the concept behind it, and I finished the logo this evening. Neither site is online (they will be by July 12, 2008), but we have our initial product line assembled and are working on the prices. What's astounding is how much of a mark-up retail stores place on teas, salves, soaps, and the like. Keep in mind that all of our products are handmade from the highest quality ingredients (many of the herbs gathered by hand from a third-generation herb nursery, the soaps having a shea butter base - the same base sold at Nordstrom and high end beauty salons, etc.) and that we stand behind our products 100%. Even placing enough of a profit margin for us to live on, our products are going to be considerably lower than similar products you'd find in any store we've come across.

Sage and Scribe Logo

The Sage and Scribe logo.

That's going to be one of the keys for us - and something you'll hear from us again and again. We're not looking to get rich, especially with the shape the US economy is in and the widening gap between the financial classes. Old Ways was put online and kept free of charge to reach as many people as possible. We're keeping that concept - being accessible to everyone who needs what we offer - at the heart of what we all that we do.

Of course, we're going to keep pretty busy to make it all work.

In addition to Sage and Scribe, we have our holistic healing practice. An hour-long session, including herbal remedies, is about the same price as taking a date to a movie.

I'm teaching offline lessons and I'm strongly considering offering the same classes via telephone conference call or online video-conferencing (through a free service such as Skype.) If you're interested, send me an email. Enough interest and I'll happily put something together.

And last, but not least, I'm thinking about doing intuitive readings. It's something that I dislike doing a great deal, but it's a gift that I was given in spades. Within moments of meeting someone I generally have a great deal of information about that person, the challenges they're facing, and what awaits ahead on their path. One of my very close pagan friends refers to it as "getting a download." If that's the case, then I'm generally the freakin' psychic Internet!

On top of all of that, Bri and I are supplementing our income with graphic and Web design projects. I'm working on getting published (I've written five ready-to-publish novels and I'm working on a sixth novel length manuscript) and that alone could establish quite a bit of the base we need to work from.

"Base?" you ask. "Like financial base?" Absolutely. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll share the entire vision with you very soon, but much of the above needs to happen so we can expand what we're called to do.