Things My Mother Taught Me

It started when I was just a little tyke and continued right on through my early adult years. In fact Jennie (that’s my Mom), thank God, never let up. I can still clearly remember several things that she taught me, things she would repeat frequently. Things that also had a common thread, they were all true. The first saying that comes to the surface is her most famous. “Haste makes waste,” she would say. Thanks, Mom. Moving too fast into uncharted waters can definitely get you a bump on the head. I do tend to run before I walk and she knew it.

The second thing my Mom taught me was to, “do it with all your might.” Whether it was sports, school, chores, or whatever she always made the point that if you do anything, give it your best. I’m trying Mom.

The third and final Jennieism is, “God is always watching, so be a good boy.” Whew! Oh well, nobody’s perfect.

Where is this all going you ask? Let’s take Jennie’s plan and apply it to the future of the futon furniture category. Moving too fast is dangerous, and the larger trade’s general perception that futon furniture is passé is just that. Full line and specialty buyers are taking a second and third look, and what they are finding is what we have known all along. Consumers love a value, and futon furniture, even at $999, is a huge value that delivers real comfort and more versatility than anything else in the marketplace.

So? So let’s do it with all our might. Unifying around a simple and targeted message will cause all boats to rise with the tide. The Futon Association is the best delivery system we have and it is also one that every member company can get behind. The challenge to all is to make the best of the opportunity now, while we still have time and money on our side.

Finally we get to the “be a good boy,” part. I always said, “Yeah Ma, don’t worry.” She worried, and for good reason. Good is such an overused term. What does it really mean? Pride is good when it is part of a deed well done. On the other hand pride is bad when it prevents one from doing the right thing. I have definitely been party to both kinds of pride at one time or another.

And if I’ve dished it out…don’t tell my mother. But for that I do apologize. It was not my intent. At the same time business lends itself to competitive energy and the survival of the fittest. Pride powered by competition can be an awesome engine for prosperity, and I want to survive and thrive just like anyone else.

On the other hand, working together for a common goal is community at its best. I want to continue to work for the common goal of promoting and seeing the growth of futon furniture continue.

The big question is, can competitors work together in a community where common goals overshadow personal gain? If the futon industry can do it, it will make my Mom very happy. And it will make all those mailing labels she stuck on magazines in the early years all the more important.

Setting The Record Straight

In case you didn’t know it, I am a huge futon furniture fan. Over the years I have written more about this category than any human being on earth. “Big deal,” you say. Hey, somebody has to do it. In fact I challenge anyone out there to do it better.

Putting the chest beating aside, when I started this publication in the basement of a rented house I decided to do it my way, and I have. I have always had the support of a great cadre of advertisers without whom I would not have survived or succeeded. But they do not control what I write nor do they direct any of the editorial content of this publication. They do have my ear (as do all in our small world) and many times their suggestions turn into stories and reports. To this I say, “Thank you very much.”

Our position on PR has been the same from day one. If you have pertinent news about your company tell Futon Life about it, and if there is room we will print it. I assume this policy is the same for all publications. We get the same press releases the other trade pubs get from Simmons, Sealy, Spring Air, etc. for our mattress publication Bedroom, and we cover this news like everyone else.

Bottom Line: Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I can hear my mother saying, “Quit complaining and just eat your supper.” I have gotten a few complaints about editorial content and favoritism, and this is your right in our free society. I do applaud your independence. But I do hope everyone in the category can understand that my goal, first and foremost, is to get the word out for everyone whether you choose to advertise or not. The line between editorial and sales in most trade publications is blurry at best, and advocacy and mutual support, to one degree or another, are also part of their agenda.

Furniture Today is the “bible,” Furniture Style and Infurniture are the “wanna be’s,” but Futon Life is all futon furniture, all the time, and so it will remain.

Oh yeah, “Mom, if you can see me, I have clean underwear on.”

FL