What are some of the greatest challenges in your business?
The greatest challenge for me is accepting some level of imperfection. Now I am not saying that I am perfect or that we make a perfect reel. That's not what I mean. But at the level that I can make a product out of metal, plastic, wood or whatever material that I am working with. If I see a slight imperfection, or I feel something that to me is not in my opinion, at that moment "Perfect", (and it never is perfect). I have never made anything Perfect. I have a hard time letting it out of my shop. There must be a level of acceptability, a level of quality for any product or performance, a level of excellence defined period. I don't have a written specification on a completed product. I suppose I am a little obsessive, just a little. And it would be great to have an inspector in house to do just that. Inspect, verify and make a judgment based on a written standard or spec.- to ship, or not to ship a Saracione reel. That being said try to find employees to work at that level of quality day in and day out. Every reel we make goes through my hands for final inspection. It makes me nuts and anyone and everyone under me nuts. I have found only one guy that can do that. One guy that can deliver his best and strive to be better tomorrow and that is Steve Whitlock who is working with me now. He is a reel maker now, not just a machinist or assembler. He has- along with his own previous experience learned my methods of machining, my polishing, anodizing and assembly. And he is also a fisherman that can competently adjust a reel drag that will work, that you will like. He can stand alone and do it all now. So together we do the best that we can. Hopefully you like the results.
As I said- I, we have never made a perfect reel. I have never been absolutely satisfied by my own work. That is my biggest challenge. The second is business in general. What started out as a career-skill applied to a hobby and love of a sport evolved into a business. That's another world of skills to learn and earn...