Be your future...

It's nice to see someone take up for the work at home group... Thanks, Mr. Sexton.

My favorite part-- where you mentioned why it's imperative to have performence superstars -- "The reason is because that person represents an enormous fraction of your company. "

That's definitely why we work so hard, that's for sure!

You have an enormous grasp of what it is we go through. *drinks another pot of coffee and gets back to work till 4 in the morning*
:)

Enjoyed it!



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-In drill sergeant mode-

Ummm....I sure would agree that it is better working for "yourself" except that this is not entirely true. The reason is that you are working for your customer, whom it just so happens probably sees no less than 10 or 20 of your "self-employed" competitors knocking their doors every 6 months or so. And depending on your industry, that number could easily be per month. If you are considering becoming self-employed, please do the rest of us a favor and RESEARCH what you think it is that you want to do and then MAKE SURE that not only does the market have room for your offerings, but that you have something to offer over the competition other than a cheaper price. In other words, if you think that the rat race is tough on someone else's ticket, just wait until your holding your future closer to your breast and there are 10 or 100 other rats competing for your margins.

If you are going to be self-employed, be sure that you start off by running your show as a business and not as a hobby for "a little extra spending money." I cannot overstate this point. If you don't, there is a pretty solid chance that you will contribute nothing but another downward push on pricing, which NO ONE benefits from, including the customer in the long run. You will also very likely find yourself at an insurmountable point of trying to raise your pricing in order to keep up with inflation and survive, only to find yourself up against exactly what I am pointing out. Ask your average mobile DJ, photographer, lawn mower, etc.. Are they just gettting by, or are they able to save, buy a house and plan for retirement? What is their business forecast?

In short, self-employment is frequently over-rated these days. I know this because I have been riding this wagon for 2 decades. I also hear constantly from potential customers and frequent public opinion in general how "service sucks." Well, the reason for that is a no-brainer. You get what you PAY for. It just so happens that it costs a business money to maintain itself, pay an income and the ridiculous amount of subsequent taxes due while still providing top-notch service. This would also seem a no-brainer except that I have personally witnessed time and again customers (potential and otherwise) spending a buck to save a penny.

This is not a rant or attempt to circumvent a proactive approach to personal achievement, it's more of a caveat since there are always enough amateurs out there jockeying for a customer with little more to offer than a lower price making it difficult for reputable, tax-paying businesses to keep their doors open. If you don't have the guts and nose for creating opportunities for yourself, stick with your current job and keep your head away from the blades.

It's also good to surround yourself with super stars even when they don't work for you. Network with them (easy to do these days with blogs and forums) and learn.

Today it seems people never stop they are always on the move, we are so lucky to be able to interact with "computerized people" by phone to get our bills paid in the meantime.
Have you ever wondered what happened to those nice people who use to take your call when you called a company to pay a bill by phone? I think they all moved to India or something. Lately every time I get a call from a credit card calling center I can barley understand what they are talking about, but they are very polite when they ask me for a payment by phone.

In addition I have noticed that some of the programs that companies are using for the automated bill payment by phone sound so sassy. Have you noticed that they are trying to make the voices sassier lately? Maybe it is a response to the public complaints that dealing with an automated bill payment service is a lot like eating cardboard instead of toast. Do you think if you put butter and jam on cardboard it would taste like toast? Probably not likely, well the same seems to be true with those automated phone programs, no matter how "person like" you make them, you just can not help but wonder where did all the people go who use to answer your calls, and take questions?

I know we live in a computerized era, I know people like efficiency and that is why we have computers I thought, but it seems like that is just not enough for us, we have to take the human element out of nearly everything, till at last we are just what? What will we end up in the end? Will we turn to our robotic companion dogs for affection, people have those you know, and they are very cute actually. But the point is the robotic dog will never be a real dog. On the flip side the come potty trained, and can identify up to 10 voices and be programmed to tell you who is at your front door. The regular dog only barks and sometimes pees a little when it has company at the front door.

Computerized dogs, to tell you your mother in law just showed up, automated voices to tell you what number on your phone to touch to pay your car payment, then you hang up only to call another one to tell you what number to touch to pay your cell phone bill, then you hang up and call another one that tells you how to pay your car insurance payment. You would have paid for your overdue prescription co-pay but you have to mail that one in, or go online for it, so your down to the electric and gas who also give you the option of the electric talking lady or online payment by this point you are nearly a robot yourself and decide you need to just hit the defrag button and take some downtime.

Technology, and people we co exist don’t we? We have reached a point where we can simply not live without the power required to generate all our gadgets and gizmos. So is it the cars using all the oil, or do we use the petroleum to generate power for people to tell us what to do next? What would we do without proper direction from all the electric infrastructure that divides humanity from technology in the United States, are we dependant on it, or does the industry exist only to further our society? It is time we consider how we generate the power to everything, not just cars. We owe some solid solutions to our children for all the "cool" inovations we have given them- now we need to teach them how to be human again- not an easy task, where do we begin?

Michael,

Your comments are on the mark. The best rate of return for high performers is frequently self-employment and increasingly the safest form of employment.

"Figuring out what you want to be" is critical particularly for the entrepreneur. The worst situation for a person who was "wired up" to be an entrepreneur never realizes their potential and spends their entire career working for someone else.

Thank you for this insightful blog.

Jessica Bond
Medical Careerist

http://jessicabond.blogspot.com

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. It's what makes a blog successful!

While visiting other countries, I was amazed at the number of "entrepreneurs" selling vegetables, baskets, clothing, jewelry, spices, souvenirs to tourists and unique works of art. Many of them had more customers in one hour than did a niche boutique back in the States. All of them spoke their native language and many spoke English and the languages of their customers. If not, there was someone close by who could assist the seller and buyer.

As a customer, I enjoyed bartering with many of the sellers. They knew their bottom line, and I always enjoy telling my friends about the great "Sale" prices. I always left the seller with a smile and received an invitation to return.

Most of these people don't have an advanced formal education. They sell what they have based on what they can get , grow or make themselves. Others are skilled, learning the business at a young age. They do very well, thank you.

If you enjoy doing business face-to-face this "storefront" method of doing business can be satisfying and afford you money to pay the bills and save money or invest it to make more money.

If you prefer to do business online, that's fine too. Mobile phone? No problem.

The thing to remember is you get what you give. There is so much competition in the business world that Ford Motor Company, Microsoft, Yahoo or The New York Times can't afford to mistreat their customers. It is because of frequent complaints by customers, that new products are invented.

People wanted to communicate without waiting for information to arrive by stagecoach. The telephone couldn't leave the house and travel. Mobile phone can't .... and something else will.

A good business can outlive the latest gadgets, but not without customers.

I live in Scahumburg Illinois and use Monster, Career Builder and many other websites. Being made redundant as I stated in my last post is absolutely horrible. Perhaps having more support here in Illinois and help would be a positive morale booster. But after visiting unemployment in Arlington Heights Illinois, it was the most depressing thing I have gone through. Coming home and not having anyone to share your layoff with makes it harder. Being single is not easy. Not being recongnized at work for 9 years of service is not easy as well. When you come to love the people you work with at least some of them, it is hard. When you don't have the financial backings in the bank to carry you through so you can survive a layoff is demoralizing. I sincerely hope that something good will come out of this. At least I gave the woman who hired me a hug as she handed me my pink slip. Even as tears rolled down my face I walked out of there with dignity. My only regret was ever taking that job. Wishing I could go back 9 years when I received a call from Coca Cola. Maybe if I would of went on that interview I may have landed that job and still been with them and perhaps my life would be different and not this difficult. Maybe Chicago will stop worrying about the Olympics and concentrate on it's people who pay taxes and need help in boosting the economy in other ways. In my life time I never remember things that bad, jobs this scarce and the only news you hear is bad or about corruption in Illinois. Hoping for a better future.