Badger, Badger, Badger

Badger Brush

"So, is the Badger brush, like, Badger-Badger or is it something like Badger?"

I was asked this question this week when I was talking to a customer.  At first I was surprised.  What on Earth?  Of course it's <<real>> badger.  But it got me to thinking. 

Why are our brushes so much cheaper than very large brand names?  The large name spends a lot of money on their marketing blitz.  They have been doing it for years.  The have stand alone brick and mortar stores in New York City  (the most expensive real estate in the country).  Bless their hearts.  They have CEO, CFO all the way down to the sales staff on the floor; the barbers in the shops.  Everyone needs to get paid.  I hope they do.  I hope they have great benefits and awesome pensions.  To finance these things drives the cost of each item up. 

Here's what we do without: salaries, benefits, making enough money to cover the costs of manufacture, and profits - we get a lot of satisfaction.  We love them,  we love the wood.  I love the finishes that bring out the beauty of the wood.  Eric loves the tool and learning new and better ways to use them.

Name something you love to do.  Name something you do that doesn't make you money.  Scrapbooking? Shiny antique cars?  Retro cookie har collecting?  Excellent!  And you do it now even though you aren't paid for it.  It's the same thing and once you've made something for friends and family...where do you go but outside your circle. In our case, we started a shop on Etsy.

Then we found an amazing resource from China.  99% of all badger brushes are made in China.  They still have a large badger population.  Badgers interfere with a farmer's fields.  Farmers who need their crops to survive.  Now they can earn money by killing pests. And having found a resource we can buy directly from China.  Directly from tiny business to tiny tiny business.  Across the world.  Across the world!  That is cool enough to do it by itself!

So we get our brushes at a good price and since we do not have expensive expenses, we don't charge as much as the big names.  This is where I am not good at capitalism.  I wouldn't feel right charging a zillion percent mark-up.  I also am not worried about funding pensions and shareholder return on investment.  Frankly, the big business idea could not be more unappealing.  I went to business school.  It was painful.  Not my thing. 

So, are our Badger Brushes are Badger-Badger.  I think this explains why they are cheaper than the large company's similar brushes.  Pure Badger Hair Shave Brushes, Really.

And ps have nothing to do with the meme.