Hi,
If you are new to cue making, here is some things to consider as you develop your skills sets.
Have you ever met a cuemaker who has claimed their cues have the best hit? The eastern philosophies teach the value of being humble without ego to reach a higher enlightenment. I have discovered that a lot of cue makers don't fall into that category and that's certainly ok. Promotion and marketing sometimes require you to polish the apple. Let's face it we all got to eat!
In my humble opinion, "The Hit" is a very subjective judgement call and should not be judged or spoken of by the Cue Maker. When someone else speaks of your cues and says how good it hits, a simple thank you is order. When other people ring the bell for you it is always louder.
As a younger person in my past life and career I was very competitive and was full of ego concerning the selling and marketing of my company's services for the welfare of my family and my employee's livelihoods. "The Rat Race". Last week was my 56th birthday and reflecting on my life, I have figured out to let the cards fall where they will.
The Ancient Chinese had 3 simple rules for attaining success that are the golden rules and they apply to cue making very well. It goes like this:
1. Show up on time every time.
2. Be totally prepared for the endeavors you face.
3. Ignore criticism if you were faithful to rules 1 & 2.
Pretty simple but effective!
I have been working on and building cues for about 7 years now and consider myself a journeyman who has paid my dues in time and money in this trade. I have given away about 20 of my first cues to beta test them in the field so that my downstream flaws would be detected without any bashing of my reputation.
Let's face it, when a cue was given to you for free with the agreement that you were field testing it, you are not tending to bash the cue maker and spoil his reputation if you discover a flaw. This activity allowed me to Define the Root Cause for Problems, Take Corrective Actions, and Understand the Lesson Learned.
Again, if you are new to cue making don't build your first few cues and try to sell them. Give them away to your friends and see what happens in the field. Listen to the feedback of the people who play with your cues. I am in this for seven years and am just starting my website to sell cues. All of my dirty little secrets and mistakes have never hit the market and I don't have to worry about the bad press that comes from pool players who had a problem with a cue and flamed my product. Once you get a bad reputation, people talk and the word spreads, game over.
The next time someone asks you about the hit of your cue, describe it in a technical manor - stiff, soft, low deflection, ect. Let the other guy give his opinion without prejudice. If the other guy keeps ringing the bell for you, the world will beat a path to your door.
As for speaking about "The Hit" of my cues, I will leave that to the pool players. Besides, I am not qualified to judge it as I am mediocre at pool anyway and my stroke sucks big time!
Rick G.
If you are new to cue making, here is some things to consider as you develop your skills sets.
Have you ever met a cuemaker who has claimed their cues have the best hit? The eastern philosophies teach the value of being humble without ego to reach a higher enlightenment. I have discovered that a lot of cue makers don't fall into that category and that's certainly ok. Promotion and marketing sometimes require you to polish the apple. Let's face it we all got to eat!
In my humble opinion, "The Hit" is a very subjective judgement call and should not be judged or spoken of by the Cue Maker. When someone else speaks of your cues and says how good it hits, a simple thank you is order. When other people ring the bell for you it is always louder.
As a younger person in my past life and career I was very competitive and was full of ego concerning the selling and marketing of my company's services for the welfare of my family and my employee's livelihoods. "The Rat Race". Last week was my 56th birthday and reflecting on my life, I have figured out to let the cards fall where they will.
The Ancient Chinese had 3 simple rules for attaining success that are the golden rules and they apply to cue making very well. It goes like this:
1. Show up on time every time.
2. Be totally prepared for the endeavors you face.
3. Ignore criticism if you were faithful to rules 1 & 2.
Pretty simple but effective!
I have been working on and building cues for about 7 years now and consider myself a journeyman who has paid my dues in time and money in this trade. I have given away about 20 of my first cues to beta test them in the field so that my downstream flaws would be detected without any bashing of my reputation.
Let's face it, when a cue was given to you for free with the agreement that you were field testing it, you are not tending to bash the cue maker and spoil his reputation if you discover a flaw. This activity allowed me to Define the Root Cause for Problems, Take Corrective Actions, and Understand the Lesson Learned.
Again, if you are new to cue making don't build your first few cues and try to sell them. Give them away to your friends and see what happens in the field. Listen to the feedback of the people who play with your cues. I am in this for seven years and am just starting my website to sell cues. All of my dirty little secrets and mistakes have never hit the market and I don't have to worry about the bad press that comes from pool players who had a problem with a cue and flamed my product. Once you get a bad reputation, people talk and the word spreads, game over.
The next time someone asks you about the hit of your cue, describe it in a technical manor - stiff, soft, low deflection, ect. Let the other guy give his opinion without prejudice. If the other guy keeps ringing the bell for you, the world will beat a path to your door.
As for speaking about "The Hit" of my cues, I will leave that to the pool players. Besides, I am not qualified to judge it as I am mediocre at pool anyway and my stroke sucks big time!
Rick G.
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