making of

Adding value

Yesterday, we (me and my two helping hands) started counting the inventory. This is interesting. Like the census in Judea,…You go out and count what you have (as we are no Roman emperors here: We go … the emperors asks folks to come. Voilà : La différence).

What is interesting about it: We filled a lot of bottles in the last two weeks. And we boxed a lot of bottles, putting them into the rectangular boxes, with labels, with cardboard sleeve, sealing them with cellophane. Trying to prepare a bit for the second half of 2014, assuming that there will be a second half.

Thus, we have a lot of stock of filled bottles right now, and packed boxes. From a bookkeeping point of view: This means that our profit  goes up, as the inventory goes up. And the inventory goes up, as the inventory valuation is up, and this is up as “added value” is (correctly) reflected in the value of a filled bottle. A filled bottle has a higher value than the juice and the unfilled bottle alone. The added value is our work.

Makes sense: If all burns down tomorrow, the insurance should not only pay for the bottles and the juice, but also for the value added that we put in there, our work.

Anyhow: By working, we added value, and created profit (as we pay us less for the work than there is value added). On paper. It feels strange. The reason why it feels strange: The value added is on paper. It will only become real if the bottles are sold, if they actually leave the factory. Thus, in a certain way, bookkeeping is hoping.

Sorry for this bookkeeping post. But -for me- bookkeeping is still a book with seven seals, and I feel that bookkeeping essentially means: thinking in terms of miracles. Having said all this: Seven seals would be an interesting perfume line concept.  Wouldn’t it? It would be such a twisted line. It would be so cliché and we could all run riot and do crazy stuff. 7 perfumes. so many ways of looking into them and at them. And there names being the 7 apocalyptic riders etc. Ha! another perfume line idea….I need to register the brand name for that.

But now I am drifting: I am heading to the factory in a minute. You see: The more factory, the more ideas. And: Adding more value. Ha!

Today’s picture: An angel seen on a cemetery in Paris, France.