Mooching is Unattractive

Archive for the ‘Just a Thought’ Category

Mooching is Unattractive

Sep
2009

eggo Reading Seth Godin’s post entitled, “Pay for Stuff”, triggered a peeve of mine I’ve put off writing about: people trying to get something for nothing. Don’t get me wrong, being frugal and seeking a good deal for your business is smart and I’m a proud supporter of the open-source school of thought and whole-heartedly believe in testing before I purchase. There are some, though, that think purely of what they can grab for free, with little if any thought on the cost, time and effort put into the making of such things.

So, here’s a thought: If you want people to continue to make the sweet apps you enjoy downloading for free, make a donation once in awhile. If you really love the way a free version of a web app is helping you invoice clients more easily, consider upgrading to the paid-version that suits your means. Two things happen when you do this: you encourage the developers to continue bringing these fun, useful tools into the game, and (2)you make a financial commitment in your business that says, “Yes, I’m worth it and I’m giving back.”

Cats and Garage Doors Don’t Mix

Apr
2009

Ordinarily, this space is reserved for talking shop and sharing tips, business viewpoints and such. In light of my cat’s accident yesterday, it occurred to me that her plight could be encountered by any number of cats out there. Our surgeon assures us there are in fact many cases of this very thing happening to cats all over our area. It made me think it’s preventable and maybe this post will help another family from going through what we’re going through right now. UPDATE: Karma also has her own Page on this Blog, so you can follow her journey.

What Happened to Karma

Shoestringin’ Your Business in ’09

Dec
2008

shoestring Perhaps you’re wondering just how much more of a bite the economy can take out of your small business, but take heart: you can fight back and even be profitable. Whether your a bootstrapping startup or a long time business owner, with a couple of changes in how you do things now, you won’t even miss the old way, plus you’ll make your office just a little more “green.”

Do Your Best, Hire the Rest
It’s a common misconception that you’ll save money trying to do it all yourself. Take it from someone who’s “been there, done that”, you have to place a value on your time. If you’re whittling your time away with menial tasks or working on activities that are not bringing in money, well, you’re wasting more than just your time. Do what you are able to do quickly and effectively and where possible (and affordable) hire the rest out. Filing, organizing, labeling, whatever, these are things an eager high school student or intern can handle for you. For more complex work and professional needs, consider either a barter arrangement or hire a person from a source like Craig’s List for a short term project.

Don’t Tell Me How To Vote

Oct
2008

Moments ago, I handed my ballot to my mail carrier and for some reason a calm came over me as I realized I am now done with this political process for this election period. Come November 4th, our country will decide on a newly elected leader. It’s pretty likely we won’t have a unified country after this happens and it’s a certainty that things will get harder before they get better; I only hope people will pull together and start digging in, rather than pointing fingers and hoping “they” will fix it all. We the people have put us here, we have elected the people that are in office, WE are supposed to hold them accountable, and voting is part of it. The ugliness of this season has revealed a really horrible side of our political process, but I suppose we should be happy we’re allowed to take part in one at all.

Whatever your views, opinions, or beliefs, voting is your chance to take part in the process, and while some will tell you their way of thinking, it’s really up to YOU to decide for yourself who/what best aligns with your feelings about things. This past weekend, I hosted a group of friends for a little winetasting; a really informal gathering, we just like to drink, share some wine insights, and have a few laughs. Some discussion started up about politics (I knew my guests were a mix of opinions, so expected a bit of spirited banter) but what took place is something I would bet happens out in the streets every day -people “sighing” and giving those “ughhh” sounds when someone’s opinions didn’t match up with their own. I quashed this behavior pretty quickly: my feeling is people can choose what or who they want, it’s their right and that is the beauty of being in this country. I don’t have to agree, but I have an obligation to respect our differences. It’s when people become intolerant that things get off track and start creating division.

Hold the Escrow, Please

Oct
2008

First, I’m not a financial advisor, but feel like I simply must share a bit of information with homeowners out there. Maybe it’s because I think about folks feeling like they have so little control over their own money these days, or maybe it’s just my way of saying, “It’s your money, put it to work!” Having worked in the real estate industry for many years, I often saw people escrow their tax and insurance payments. Break this down for a moment: if you have an escrow account, you pay extra each month to have someone else send payments to your property taxing authority, plus, they send your payment for your homeowner’s insurance. In between, what is that money doing? It’s pooled with other people’s escrow accounts and earning amazing amounts of interest, but not for YOU. Instead, the managing entity has tons of these payments sitting in accounts, building interest for their company. It’s not illegal, it’s not even immoral, it’s just not working hard for you.

Halting Poverty In Your Own Backyard

Oct
2008

For this Blog Action Day post, I decided to explore a bit of the poverty that flourishes right here in my own country. Being the “richest” (I use this term loosely, as we are swimming in trillions of dollars of debt right at the moment) nation in the world, it’s hard to fathom our own citizens being unable to enjoy seemingly ordinary things like education, healthcare, clothing, or even food. According to the 2007 Census Bureau numbers, in 2007, 37.3 million people were in poverty, up from 36.5 million in 2006. Certainly that number can be expected to climb, given our current economic situation. When you look at these figures, what pops into my mind is that common airplane speech we get at the beginning of a flight: “Help yourself, then help the others around you.” It makes sense in this case, too.

For my part as a solopreneur, I feel like if I am on solid footing, I’m both able and willing to help those around me. During the year, I speak at certain events free of charge, I donate to a few organizations I love supporting, I donate material goods whenever possible, plus, I promote volunteerism in my home and community. So for the common business person, are these things you can do, even when monetary resources are scarce? Of course you can, and here are some ideas:

Sleep And Ye Will Be Creative

Oct
2008

There’s no mystery to the fact that hard work usually pays off with good things. Even Samuel Goldwyn said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” I believe this translates into many things in our daily lives, not just our work. The flip side of that is overdoing it, losing sleep, and for me and many other creatives, not enough breaks in the day or work week, resulting in burn out and a lack of “ah ha” moments. If you’re like me, I will sometimes work so hard, so late, that even the greatest or simplest idea or solution seems just out of reach; but some how, as if by magic, if I let go and get to bed, the answer is usually revealed in the morning. Okay, so it’s not magic, but more a function of the cognitive unconscious that allows us to tap that creative storehouse.

So how does sleep work to help us unlock that creative vault? It’s pretty simple; dreaming and rest for the brain allow processes to occur that cannot when we’re in our day to day functions. Think about it: How many tasks and events over the course of a day interrupt, distract, and otherwise require the attention of our mind? Probably thousands. We multitask, talk, type, write, and work the day away, each step asking more of our mind and memory. That’s a normal day, but the brain needs rest. In Leslie Berlin’s article, We’ll Fill this Space, but First a Nap, highlighted is the fact that ideas need to “percolate and marinate.” Not only is the brain in need of rest, lack of sleep is detrimental, the lack of which causes the brain stress and can actually kill brain cells.

Archive for the ‘Just a Thought’ Category