Image by Tung Nguyen from Pixabay
“So, I just need to know that since our families are doing business together, that the real business is gonna get handled right … when my Papa sells our company to your Pop-Pop and all the people who make our soda, is it still going to be called the Ludlow Bubbly? I don't think it's fair that all the hard work Papa did to keep us eating should be forgotten.”
Seven-year-old Amanda Ludlow was dead serious as she rolled up on nine-year-old Vertran Stepforth, grand-mogul to billionaire Thomas Stepforth Sr.
“I'm not Edwina, but, I will blow up this whole deal if I have to!”
Mrs. Thalia Ludlow and Mrs. Velma Stepforth, grandmothers to these two little individuals, were trying not to laugh too loud while Capt. R.E. Ludlow – also known as Papa – turned red.
“Why does she have to turn into me and get all forward today?” he said. “She's usually so quiet and sweet – what happened?”
“Yeah, but, Papa, we kinda need to hear this,” eleven-year-old Eleanor Ludlow said as she and ten-year-old brother Andrew hustled their grandfather back into the house so they could come back out and eavesdrop.
“Yeah, we taught them well about quality eavesdropping,” eleven-year-old Velma Trent said to her baby sister Gracie from their eavesdropping position.
“Ain't it the truth,” Gracie said.
“No, we're not going to change the name,” Vertran said, “because every smart new owner knows not to mess with a successful brand identity.”
“Go head on, Mr. Be-Ye-Always-Ready!” Mrs. Stepforth said as Mr. Stepforth – also known as Pop-Pop -- just shook his head and Mrs. Ludlow fell out.
“If that boy does not stop twinning on me as hard as Lil' Robert over there is twinning on his grandfather,” he said. “We've never even talked about brand identity – who told him to be all up on Investopedia again?”
“What's brand identity?” Amanda said.
“It's how people know whatever you're selling,” Vertran said. “It's like this, Amanda: if we change the name to Who Shot John Soda, everyone will be worrying about whatever John they know, but no one will have any idea that's the soda they already love.”
Amanda considered this.
“There's another thing, though – not all Johns are good Johns, because I heard that in the red light district a bunch of them were picking up women off the street but must have been running red lights too, and that's not safe, so the police had to pick all of them up, and that's not safe, but I still don't think people should be shooting at them, and our soda isn't about that.”
Capt. Ludlow suddenly realized Amanda must have been doing quality eavesdropping while he was trying to keep his voice down but was bawling out an officer he served with for getting picked up as a john in a prostitution sting …
“Oh no … why today?” he said. “Lord, why does she need to be so much like me today?”
“Right,” Vertran said. “So, we leave the name the way it is, and what we're going to do is tell the story of why your grandfather started the company with my Uncle Vincent Trent, and have everybody's picture too – the Trents, the Stepforths, the Duboises and their contacts who make the soda in Louisiana and Quebec, the Gonzalezes who have done the distribution across our local areas, the Miyamotos who got the soda to Hawaii and Japan, and all the workers that are buying it who bottle it here and everywhere. It started with your grandfather loving you and your siblings, and it's just getting bigger, spreading out in love to everybody, and that's the brand identity.”
Amanda hugged Vertran.
“I feel so much better – that makes so much sense!”
“Good business always is supposed to make sense, and be a win-win for everybody – we just gotta find a way,” Vertran said.
“I feel safe now,” Amanda said. “Thank you, Vertran – it was a pleasure doing business with you!”
“Likewise, Amanda! Wanna jump rope?”
“Yeah!”
“And so the multi-million dollar business deal was not blown up by the chief safety officer of the Ludlow Bubbly because the grand-mogul of Stepforth Enterprises was ready, and they all jumped rope happily ever after,” Mrs. Stepforth said, and grinned as at last her husband fell out laughing right along with Mrs. Ludlow.
Good story
Thank you for reading!
There's another thing, though – not all Johns are good Johns, because I heard that in the red light district a bunch of them were picking up women off the street but must have been running red lights too, and that's not safe, so the police had to pick all of them up, and that's not safe, but I still don't think people should be shooting at them, and our soda isn't about that.
I am glad I was not taking a sip of coffee when I read that one.
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@deeanndmathews, I sent you anI laughed so hard writing that ... the innocence of Amanda's mind, Vertran equally without a clue, and grandparents either as red as tomatoes or falling out laughing ...