I got interviewed by Leslie Truex of Work at Home Success - turn up the volume, as my voice seems low (which is nothing like it is in real life… ask Maryellen 
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Archive for the ‘Success’ Category
New interview
September 19th, 2009An interview with Dan Furman
August 13th, 2009I was interviewed on the radio yesterday, (a talk radio Home Based Business show). In it, I talk about business in the current economy, what I did to combat such and make business better, etc etc – it’s a solid half hour of Dan goodness (this is assuming you think a half hour of me is good, of course - I imagine there are a few folks out there who would think that’s 29 minutes too many, but I digress…)
Ok, click this link: Dan Furman Interview . Then look to the left, click “Home Based Business”, then look for the 8/13 show in the list- that one is me. Save it to your computer, then pour yourself some coffee (or perhaps something stronger.)
Happy listening.
About the girl who’s suing her college because she can’t get a job…
August 5th, 2009You’ve likely heard about the girl who’s suing her college because she can’t find a job, right? If not, here’s a link.
Now I don’t really want to comment on the suit itself, ridiculous as it is. I instead want to comment on what has come home to roost - we’ve raised a generation that thinks “trying” and “effort” are to be rewarded the same as accomplishments and excellence. I say bullshit.
Consider this part of the story: “As Thompson sees it, any reasonable employer would pounce on an applicant with her academic credentials, which include a 2.7 grade-point average and a solid attendance record.”
2.7 and solid attendance… That’s “pounce-able” material? Really???
To me, that says ”Hey, I showed up most of the time, and I prettymuch did the minimum. I’m totally average.”
Well excuse me lady, but “average” gets you nowhere fast today. Too bad your parents didn’t instill that in you. Instead, they stopped keeping score at your soccer games, and encouraged points for “trying”. I’ve been saying for years that that attitude doesn’t cut it in the real world, and you’re feeling that now. Welcome to life – now get a helmet.
Then, later in the article, this woman says ”They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement“.
Ummm… yea. Why is that a problem? You mean the school shouldn’t promote their best graduates more? I dunno – that seems logical to me. Maybe you should have thought of that while you were doing the bare minimum on your way to that 2.7.
I have zero sympathy here. I work for myself, and I succeed/fail on the strength of my work. There are no points (or dollars) for “trying”, and being “average” will run me out of business pretty fast.
Here’s the sad part – I see a TON more of this in the future. There are a slew of kids and young adults out there who really can’t do anything. They aren’t exceptional in any way, nor are they encouraged to be. That’s going to be a problem – there was a time in this country when you could be average and make an “ok” middle class living. But those days are done – you either excel, or you will have a “barely above minimum wage” career consisting of answering the phone, doing data entry, or asking if they want that supersized.
In simple terms, there won’t be any room for those who show up and do the minimum. Well wait – there will be room for them – it’s just it’ll always be in their parent’s house.
I made my own motivational poster
July 19th, 2009
Starting a business – is the business you choose viable?
June 28th, 2009My wife Maryellen bought a computer today.
Long time computer junkie that I am, I would normally be very interested in the specs, but I wasn’t. I just told her to go to Sam’s Club (she likes shopping there) and buy whatever she wanted.
Because you know what? The “specs” really don’t matter anymore.
There was a time when it really mattered. Like I said, I’m a computer junkie – I’ve built and repaired more computers than I can count. I can remember setting up a new sound card in DOS, and the absolute magic that Windows 95 was (where plug n play sort of worked!) I was always concerned with processor speed, cache, megahertz, gigahertz, RAM, Video RAM, etc etc. (stay with me – I do have a point to make.)
But today, computer specs hardly matter anymore - almost any machine you buy off the shelf will suffice nicely. And they are now dirt-cheap – Maryellen bought a new Hewlett Packard with fairly high specs, with a beautiful 22″ LCD widescreen monitor, for about $700. Are you kidding me? At one time, I spent $500 on just a video card. And $200 for another 4 megs of RAM. And put em’ in myself…
My goodness, computers have been reduced to TV’s in terms of buying new – buy one, when it doesn’t suffice anymore, you buy another. No need to ever buy parts or fix them or such.
So how’d you like to own a computer repair shop today? (see, I told you I had a point)
Really – ten years ago, there were no less than 7 local computer repair shops in my area. Today, there might be one. And I’ll bet business isn’t so good.
Same with video rental stores – remember how many there were ten to twenty years ago? My goodness, they were everywhere… and now they’re almost all gone.
They say hindsight is 20/20, but in both of these businesses, I feel the end was clearly in sight. In fact, in one of my first business ventures back in 1991, one of the many things I did was sell local ads on the boxes you brought your videotape home in. I’d provide the video stores with my boxes (so they didn’t have to buy boxes), and also paid them a few dollars for using the boxes with the ads pasted to them (making this a no-brainer for video stores.)
So I got to know a lot of video store owners – and I remember asking a few “doesn’t this seem like a limited lifespan business?” Pay-per-view was just getting started, and if that wasn’t HUGE writing on the wall, I don’t know what is. Plus, I also knew that people would rather own many of the movies – if the price was right (and in 1991 it wasn’t, but that would soon change with DVD.)
But none of the video store owners thought their business would ever end. I know quite a few of them lost a LOT of money in the end. And really, with a little objectivity, they could have seen this coming.
And that’s my point – if you are starting a business, be truly objective in the viability of your business. Because I’m sure it sucks royally to spend 5 years building something up, and then seeing it go under a few years later.
Business relationships ending
June 23rd, 2009I wrote in Start and Run a Real Home Based Business that almost all business relationships will end sooner or later. That client you have that gives you solid work month after month… guess what? That relationship will eventually end.
Be it change in management, new ownership, fires, floods, locusts eating your client’s crops, recession, falling sales, change of direction, or even “just because we want to look at someone new”, the business relationship will eventually end. And you need to be ready for it (it’s one reason I don’t take on any job that blocks all of my time – I will never give any one client my full attention for more than a few days. Even 300+ page jobs, of which I had 2 last year, were done over a period of time, with outside help.)
I was reminded of ”all business relationships will end” today. When I got fired from my last job (2001), I started freelancing the e-commerce programming I did at that job. This eventually turned into copywriting (which I knew had to happen, as the software I specialized in was being phased out), but even to this day, I still had 2 old e-commerce clients who kept the old software and needed me from time to time. I kept these clients because I enjoy the “logic buzz” that programming gives me – kind of keeps that left brain occupied.
Anyway, one of the “remaining two” was my very first, meaning we had been doing business together since 2001. Well, two years ago, they had major shakeups, new management, etc etc… I sensed the relationship changing. Where it used to be ”just call Dan, tell him what we want, Dan does the work and sends a bill”, it became “send us a complete itemized estimate for this project and we’ll think about it”. Basically, it became very formal and corporate. Which bugged me a little because that’s not me. It also bugged me because I really did exceptional work for them – always on time, always right, I made little modifications for free, etc. But the new people didn’t “know” me. I could just hear them saying “who’s this shorts-clad Night Owl schmuck sitting in some NY basement that we send a grand to every now and then??”
Then, last year, they got to a point where they didn’t pay me for work I did. I had to chase them for payment (and I *detest* that. I hate being bullied by corporate idiots.) I finally got paid when they decided I was too valuable to let get away (I am literally one of a scant handful that works with this particular software). But you know, I can be a formal, unfeeling corporate prick too – after that, I started insisting on prepayment for any job. They whined, but I held firm, and for the past year, they paid prior to me tapping a single key.
Well, today we spoke, and I sensed it was the end. There’s a problem that their software can’t handle, why can’t I make it work without more hours, why should they pay for further development (errr, because that’s how it works?) Then I found out they were talking to another company, and would upgrade to newer software, etc etc. Which doesn’t bother me – I kind of expected this two years ago. And I’m pretty busy writing anyway – the EDI (which is the e-commerce stuff I did) is extra lunch and DVD money, really.
But this did make me think a bit – here I’ve been working for them for 8 years. For six of those eight, the relationship was perfect. And for eight of those eight, I did *stellar* work. And it didn’t matter.
Almost all business relationships end, folks. Don’t ever forget that.
So… what are you doing with yourself??
June 6th, 2009I’m a fan of Garrison Keillor.
If you don’t know who he is, he’s a radio guy/writer, and the creator (and essentially the star/emcee) of A Prairie Home Companion, which can be heard on NPR stations nationwide on Saturday nights. Maryellen and I often listen to this show while we’re doing our Saturday Night deck thing (which is basically hanging out on our deck, having a drink, and enjoying the peaceful calm of our backyard… it’s a really nice place.) In a world of noisy mass-media, the simple, homespun variety show Keillor puts on is like a breath of fresh air. And being on the radio makes it even more-so.
You can also hear Keillor weekday mornings on NPR doing his “writer’s almanac”, which is a five minute piece of… civility is the best word I can use to describe it. He talks about what happened on this date in relation to writing / famous authors and the like, and he always recites a poem towards the end. Then he signs off with that odd voice of his saying “be well, do good work, and keep in touch”…
I mention Keillor, because as I listened to “Writer’s Almanac” yesterday (and recalled many PHC shows), a thought popped into my head – this man is doing exactly what he should be doing with his professional life.
It struck me as comforting – I really like it when people take their talent (or their calling) and succeed.
I can think of many people who are doing that – most of your writers, artists, sports stars, actors… these people are generally doing what their talents and skills dictate they should do. But it goes beyond that – I know a few tradespeople – plumbers, a builder, etc who are also doing exactly what they should be doing with their life. And how about a top chef? I would bet he or she is doing what they should be doing. Heck, many stay at home moms were meant to be moms, and it’s something they do extremely well. What I’m saying is, you need not be rich or famous to fall into this category.
But for as many people that I can think of who are doing this, I can think of millions more who are not. People who are just… doing whatever it is they do, with no real direction or reason save a paycheck. I mean, does anyone really want to be a middle manager? Or a cashier? Or a receptionist? Or work as a low level schlub in the marketing department?
Probably not.
Now I don’t disparage anyone who does these kinds of jobs - sometimes finding “your thing” takes time. I worked many a shit job until I finally figured out what I “should” be doing, and started doing it. In fact, I personally feel that I’m only 70%-75% there. I still have a little further to go – there’s more consulting/speaking type things to do (I think); and a “bigger” book or three to write. But I’m definitely on the road I need to be on.
So where are you in your journey? Are you pointed in the right direction? Are you doing (or moving towards) what you should be doing?
And if not, then what are you doing?
More random thoughts on Rates
May 16th, 2009Some random thoughts this afternoon on rates and such:
Many times, small business owners hit a wall in setting their rates or charging for their services. This is because they are still in that “job” mentality of hourly rates, etc. If you are in business for yourself, you will need to break out of this line of thinking.
If a job pays you $20 an hour, that’s probably only 1/3 of your true cost to them. Because there are taxes, benefits, your office, your computer, your chair, company services, the copier repair guy (who is always there), and 4 billion other things you don’t really know of.
That means if you were in business for yourself performing the same job as the above-mentioned example, to cover everything you probably should be charging $60 per hour. Fair enough?
But let’s take this a step further – that rate makes things equal to a job. Is that really all you want? To be worth only as much as a job would pay you? I gotta tell you – if I’m only going to make what a job would pay me, I’ll just go get a job – it’s 1,000 times easier.
No, to be happy working for yourself, you have to get paid what you are truly worth. And how much is that? Well, there’s no set number, but here are a few things to take into consideration:
- Competition – if your competition generally charges about $100 an hour, you need to be somewhere within that rate. It can vary some, but you need to be somewhat competitive.
- If the competition is all over the place in price (like in my business), you need to find a number that you are comfortable with and charge that. And make sure you are happy with this rate, not grudgingly accepting it.
Per Project Price
A good way to avoid the whole hourly thing (and I hate hourly, as it feels too much like a job) is to charge a per-project rate. This is what I do 95% of the time: tell me what you want, and I’ll give you a complete price for the job.
Avoid feeling bad about getting paid
This is another roadblock that many entrepreneurs must overcome – the guilt associated with charging a fair rate. Again, the “job” mentality doesn’t help here.
Back when I was doing freelance programming, I had trouble with this – for my first job I charged $60 an hour for (a VERY low rate, but a fortune to me at the time, as I was used to a “job” that paid around $20 per hour). The project was going to be 20 hours, and I was astonished that I’d actually make $1,200 for it. I did the project, and I felt a little apprehension (and a bit of guilt) as I sent the invoice – am I REALLY worth that? (silly question, I know, but I was starting out )
Anyway, my apprehension went away fast – not only did the client happily pay the $1,200 right away, they booked me for several more jobs right then and there. Turns out, I was an outright bargain in their eyes.
So set a fair rate for yourself, and send out those invoices with confidence.
“Networking” Clubs
May 13th, 2009Posted this on the small business forum – thought it would be good here, too:
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Going to my monthly Toastmasters meeting tonight, and it got me thinking about networking / groups / clubs / and the like.
I’m not really a fan of networking groups where the point is to swap cards / leads / etc. I find them somewhat phony and dishonest – the only reason people are there is to “get business”.
In my experience with them, I have found that there’s no continuity – if business gets too busy or too slow, the person will stop attending. Thus, I find these groups filled with short-term people. New salespeople hustling for leads; the “here today, gone tomorrow” bodyshop; the “new to this” graphic designer, etc. I’ve belonged to a few of these in my lifetime (back when some of my sales jobs MADE me go), and I’ve never met a five-year vet. I don’t like the vibe in the room, or the look in everyone’s eyes. Reminds me of a new car salesman on the salesfloor… that “I need biz” look.
I know some of you belong to these groups – I don’t mean to disrespect what anyone else does – this is just my opinion of them (and is ultimately worth every cent you paid for it).
This isn’t to say I am against networking – far from it, really. I just think it needs to be done as a secondary thing. Now that I call the shots, if I’m going to join a group, it’s because I find the group useful in an educational sense, or a social sense. If business comes out of it, fine; if it doesn’t, that’s fine too, as that’s not the main reason I am there. I really, truly feel that you cannot be a true business success until you have this attitude.
I look at the Chamber this way – I like hanging out with other successful businesspeople. Once in a great while, I’ll attend a mixer. Not because I want leads, but because I like shooting “business bull” over a scotch. I do realize people swap cards at Chamber mixers, but I think most can agree it’s not a hotbed for leads. It’s WAY more “meeting people” than “getting leads”.
The Lions and Rotary clubs come to mind, too. The big players belong to these clubs. They don’t go there to look for business – that’s almost beneath them. Again, if business comes from it, fine. If not, that’s fine too.
Like I mentioned earlier, I’m going to Toastmasters tonight. Been a member for about 2 years. Out of all the clubs / groups I have joined, I have found Toastmasters to be the most useful. I was always a willing speaker, and was decent enough, but this club has really brought it to another level. From doing the “off the cuff” tabletopics to doing prepared speeches and evaluations, it forces you to communicate in an effective manner. In a very supportive, friendly environment.
I have a hard time believing that any businessperson would hurt themselves by joining Toastmasters. But again, it’s not a place to look for leads, etc. But I think it can help your business better than almost any other group.
Any other Toastmasters here?
A quick thought about using Credit Cards to finance your business
April 10th, 2009I’m a member of a small business discussion group, and post there often. Once in a while, I’ll repost one of my posts here in the blog if I think my audience will be interested. This is one of those times.
There was a question asked about financing a business with credit cards. The original poster (who doesn’t own a business – just saying that for context, not to disparage her) stated she wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this. That’s probably a fairly smart attitude for most, but it goes against what I feel makes a successful business owner.
Here’s my reply:
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Not to sound negative or disparaging to those that won’t do this, but I think part of what makes an entrepreneur successful is that willingness to fly without a net. That includes quitting jobs, that includes using savings, that includes taking on debt.
There are millions of people out there that would “like to” start a business and/or work from home. However, they say things like “but… right now, I have x and y, and my job is good….. maybe someday”. That’s all well and good, but those people will never start businesses. They want it to be safe and foolproof. They don’t want risk. They may fool around with something part time someday, but that’s about it. Business isn’t “safe”. There is no good time.
I quit a good job and financed my first business on credit. I was 24 or 25. It failed, and I was left with maybe 10k in CC debt. I eventually paid it off, quit another job (or got fired… same thing) and started another business. That one didn’t work either. Left with maybe 4k in CC debt. Paid it off, got fired again, used CC a little, and here I am, nine years later.
I always knew I’d succeed. Knew without any doubt. Thus, taking on debt didn’t bother me.
I know I sound very black and white here, but I think that’s what you need as an entrepreneur. If one is adverse to risk, one should not work for themselves.
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