A small fire flared up today within the Sonlight online community. It's interesting what sparks these fires. Frequently it's things we do not expect.
Like when I took the time to try to capture a good picture for the Sonlight Rewards Program and got comments asking why companies always had to choose good-looking models with perfect skin.
<blink>
True, I do have some good-looking co-workers. (You can meet several of them on the Sonlight Tour.) And my goal was to take a nice picture to showcase this opportunity to bless you and your friends. And while I certainly don't want to add to the Photoshopped Reality surrounding us ...I do really like Photoshop.
Today I saw--once again--accusations that Sonlight is just a business looking to make a buck and not interested in the Sonlight community.
Well, Sonlight is a business. And while we do seek to provide a service and bless you, ultimately we do have to make money. That's how we can keep providing services and work to bless you in the future.
That's also how I get a paid. And I like getting paid.
So, yes, Sonlight seeks out ways to find others to bless and serve. We do things we hope will be helpful and bring more people into the Sonlight community. But we firmly believe that what we offer must be of value and helpful. We seek to make you offers that you--and others--will want to take advantage of.
But we realize that not everything we offer will be of benefit to you. In fact, sometimes it may even make you unhappy that we offer it. That's a bummer for us because not only did we fail to provide something that will help you, but we also failed to leech another penny from your coffer.
<cough> [That was supposed to be funny] <grin>
The good news in all of this is that: Every offer we make is one you can refuse.
And the better news is that, as a business seeking to make money to keep serving you, if our offer doesn't help you we'll have to cut it out. Otherwise, we'd quickly not be able to offer anything to anyone because we'd be out of business.
So the fact that Sonlight is a business--a business built on more than just great resources--continually urges us find ways to serve you better. And whether you believe it or not, we do truly care about you and your family's educational needs. ...even if that means you refuse some of our offers.
It's late. I'll have to leave it at that for the night.
Has Sonlight served you well? What was the most ridiculous offer you've ever received?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
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