Spoke with Janet Webster jones who is the owner of sourcebooks sellers in detroit about how the shutdown how has affected her business Janet Webster jones give us an update five months into the covid pandemic. Well, we have quite a lot to say this time peter and thank you so much again for having us on cspan. You are also dear to our hearts. I look at sheila at home a lot. You have helped us really improve our business by the things you do. We have really had to have an experience of backandforth, open close, up and down that is been happening with everybody across the country. Because we take little step forward and then we have to back up a little bit. And i think that is the mode of the day as they would say. And so when we shut down we pivoted right away to online sales. But it took a little while for that to happen. So we quickly moved ourselves to online sales and began to sell through the online website. In addition to that we also have added, people have added phone calls, emai
Thats good evidence that maybe you care too much in this one instance about what this instance is doing foryou and not enough about what it would do for other people. Who is supposed to be helping. Now look, it could be that you just happen to the case where it so important that someone say something. That even if your grandstanding, its still the right thing to do you should even in that case go in knowing that what youre doing is not optimal. It would be better if you werent motivated to seek status for yourself and if you were primarily just going for helping others. But its good to ask. Justin is right that one thing we didnt point out yet but that we discussed in the book is in might be okay in some cases to grandstand. Youre perfectly comfortable with that. Grandstanding may be more no different than lying in this instance, sometimes it would indicate a live but it doesnt mean that its great or laudable but it might be the best of a set of pretty bad options. So the thought is th
Business by the things you do. We have had to have an experience with back and forth, open, close come up and down. Its happened across the country because we take a little step forward but then we have to back up a little bit. And i think that is the mode of the day as they would say. So when we shut down we went right away to online sales. It took a little while for that to happen, so we quickly moved ourselves to online sales and began to settle through the online website. In addition to that, weve also added the phone calls, emails, instagram and facebook which was a big surprise for us. Alyson has managed all of the online sales which means that we are sending out books from the store directly to people. Then we kind of move towards having people pick up at the door because the governor did move some of our restrictions and allowed for curbside, we call it door pickup because our curb is full of bicycles and cars and people, so we dont want anybody out on the curb. And so, we call
Business we had to have an experience with back and forth upanddown with everybody across the country and then we have to back up so when we sat down we went straight to online sales but it took a little while. So we quickly moved ourselves to online sales and began to sell through the online website. In addition people have added that phone calls and emails and instagram as well which was a big surprise for us and allison has managed those online sales which means we are sending books out from the store directly to people because they lifted some of the restrictions as we are full of bicycles and car and people so we call it indoor pickup so we can take their credit card or the online sales. It has caused a different kind of complication in the way we do business. We are learning something every day thats what happens in between. That is your daughter the coowner what is your experience since we talked to you last . We have been very grateful publishers have offered a few Virtual Even
Here. Is really a celebration of a brilliant, timely new book and a time for us to have a really important discussion about what is going on in the critical region of the world. And of course the start of todays performance is the author of that great new book, scholar of contemporary asia he is distinguished fellow here at hoover pretties also a great friend, mishas really wonderful for us to be with you and sold by this tremendously book. The book is asias new geopolitics. The book is an important book at an important time about the reshaping that is going on across the indo pacific region. Michael is also the author of another tremendous book right behind here, called the end of the age of the century. Michael is one of the most prolific analysts on what is going on the region. If youve not already done it, set up a google alert for whenever michaels essays are published, you get them right away. So also the hopes of a wonderful podcast he does with sean view on the pacific century.