Pay it forward….

You know what its like….. you are working on a million things at once and stuff is swirling around in your head and then you say something to yourself, out loud….. and it crystallises everything into a few words. Sometimes that thing is profound, sometimes its hilarious and sometimes its mortifying!

Well, I have dealt with some truly lovely people this week; business people, who are people first, then business….. Over and over again people I am trying to source products from, to sell myself in The Garden Shed and Pantry, have done special things, beyond the call of duty.

Just two examples…. Janet at CheeseLinks in Melbourne went out of her way to send me hundreds of dollars worth of yoghurt culture (and a few freebies!) the same day I ordered it so that I would have it for this week’s Sunday market, trusting that I will pay, even though I have never dealt with them before.

Then, today, I strolled down to my letterbox in the misty drizzle and found a parcel from The Pepperman, in northern Tasmania, who I had spoken to earlier in the week after hearing a lovely interview with him on the radio (Click on the link and you’ll hear the interview….its VERY interesting). He grows the Tasmanian Pepperberry (tasmannia lanceolata) and I need it for the dukkah I make and sell and also to sell along with other native spices. When I contacted him he refused to sell me anything until he had sent me samples of all his wares and I could choose what I liked best….. Nice man, nice idea…. But I did not expect such big packets, for free! This stuff costs $75 - $85 / kg and I only use a tiny smidgen in the dukkah so the samples alone will see me through several months or even years! But the nicest thing is a hand written note, with ideas for using the berries and leaves, plus the prices. Its rare these days to get a hand written note.

Well, wipe your eyes and get back to the gist of the story, Kate!

So, all skippity doo, I was walking into the kitchen with the sample bags and I said out loud…. “These people are sooooo nice….. What is wrong with them?!!” Horrified, I stopped in my tracks…. Has it become so rare to find nice business people, that I would say such a thing? I don’t think so; I deal with many really nice people…. Have I become a horrible business person? Maybe …. trying to make a dollar here and there has changed the way I look at some stuff….

One thing is for sure, I will buy from these people, come hell or high water. And another thing is…. I will pay it forward and do some nice things for others, in my business too… and …. when you open a bag of finely ground Tas pepper leaf, don’t sniff too hard or you will sneeze forever, like I am doing!