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Nothing personal, it’s just Business.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am a terrible business person. I would rather pass on an easy job for a difficult one. I have turned down making multiple furniture pieces because I have no passion in making the second one. I have even turned down sponsors and good money to endorse what I believe is a crappy product. So when people say, “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business. “ my response is, “To me my business is personal.” 

To be honest with you, I don’t really play the right part as a spokesman for products. I probably get at least an offer each month from some company wanting to pay or give me their product in return for an article or video. I know many people think if they could get free stuff or paid to talk about stuff, it seems like a dream. And yes, it is tempting to go along with it. But I know better.

I’m not casting judgment on some others that eagerly take the free product. They might be willing to use the product and give a good review. But to me, a product can not be used once or twice and then determined to be “good’’. I believe a product has to be used many times. I will tell a potential company, “I have to use it for a minimum of several months before I can determine if it’s decent. Then I will do a review stating in my opinion if it was good OR bad.” I would say 99% of the companies never reply to me. 

CrystaLac was one of these companies. David Shepard co-owner of CrystaLac sent me an email and asked if I would like some free samples of their product. I initially didn’t reply. I am not a fan of finishing and I pretty much had my product and method that I was comfortable using. I don’t like new things and didn’t want to change. But David didn’t go away.

David kept asking me if I would like to use their product. I did some research on CrystaLac and saw that it was a small family run business. Dorinda, David’s wife’s father, started the company. He developed a product unlike any other finish out there over 40 years ago. I had to admit, I was intrigued.  Again, I wasn’t eager to use FREE stuff. There always was a catch. Plus, it was water based, and I didn’t believe any water based product was durable enough. So I figured to make this guy go away I would tell him my requirements. To my surprise, David said, “Sure!” 

Whoa, wait a minute! I was taken back. This guy was willing to wait months for me to use the product and then allow me to write an article if I didn’t like it?!?!? I figured this guy either was really confident in his product or was one hell of a salesman.

After months of using the product, I really liked it. It laid down smooth. No sanding in between coats. It’s  durable. It didn’t yellow or fake off.  Super easy to clean up. Has low or no VOCs. And has a 5 year shelf life AFTER opening. Needless to say, David can be confident in his product because it’s a good one.

Although I can say now I am a fan of CrystaLac products I also have to admit I have a locker full of old products that I will still try to use up. And this brings me to another reason that David at CrystaLac is outstanding. I have called him many times with finishing questions. Even if it’s not a CrystaLac product, David will walk me through my problem and give me a solution. What company does that!?!?! David Shepard and the CrystaLac Company are another example of  individuals who conduct business on a very personal level.

The reason I am telling you all this is because, this past week David’s father passed away. I never met his father, but when I would spend time with David, he frequently spoke of him. I believe a lot of the good values that David has and the success of their company has a lot to do with the way David was raised. Our parents have a lot to do with our values and morals. I believe David represents the wholesome values of this country and his father would be proud of him.

I would like to say to David, on behalf of everyone that has taken the time to read this article, our thoughts and prayers are with you. So sorry for your loss.

Chad Stanton and all the newsletter subscribers.