Hi:
Consider this my somewhat opinionated rant of the day.
I was reading the thread about the "fix people's deck" idea - and the contributions of Mike and Don.
I can relate to Don's comments about not wanting anyone to sign his paycheck and being dependant on someone else for his income. I'm that way, too.
At 19, I was working in the corporate jungle and making more than my father did. Even though my income was fantastic, I could see the sales dollars I was bringing in for the company and the meager portion of it that I was taking home by comparison. I sat in at one too many "retirement teas" in which the 10/20/30 year employee got a watch and we all ate carrot cake. Whoop-do-doo. I didn't ever want that to be me.
I have been self employed for roughly two decades and I'd never have it any other way.
BUT. BUT - Mike is quite right. All it takes is ONE accident or one mistake to lose everything you have worked for if you don't cover your butt.
There is a HUGE difference between wanting to be self employed (which is true entrepreneurial spirit) - and simply looking for a quick buck.
That, as I see it, is one of the darker sides of the Internet. People go to forums like this one and read "ideas" that make them think they can be raking in money hand over fist as easy as eating apple pie.
Well - fact of the matter is that it ain't so. Period. You're going to have to learn your trade.
It's easy for Don to post his ideas. Don has been working in the field of direct marketing forever.
It's easy for a seasoned veteran of any trade to forget what it's like for a beginner. That's why so many computer techs talk way above the heads of the newbies they are trying to work with. They forget what it's like to be "new" at it. They forget that some people have no idea how to defrag their computer and don't know how to do a traceroute. It's second nature to them... like direct marketing is second nature to Don.
It reminds me of a thread that was running on another board awhile ago.... in that thread, some guy had posted that it's really SUPER EASY (no brainer) to make a mint co-ordinating Internet conferences. After all, ya just book up a couple of speakers - collect the ticket money and stand at the back of the room while the speakers do their thing.... and ya rakes in the money. Woo-hoo. Real simple. The details, of course, were all omitted.... Like...
- does the average joe know how to write the adcopy that he will advertise this conference with?
- Does he know how much the ads will cost?
- Does he know where to advertise to reach his target audience?
- Does he have credibility WITH his targeted customer?
- Does he know how to book a good speaker?
- Does he know what equipment to rent?
- Does he plan for costs, overhead, taxes and other associated costs when setting the ticket price?
Probably none of the above.
That's why so many "Internet Conferences" are cancelled due to lack of ticket sales. The co-ordinator didn't really know how to co-ordinate. But h*ll, it sounded easy enough...
As Boyd(I think?) pointed out - the lawyers are always hanging there in the fringes waiting. Why? Because lawyers make THEIR income on people's screw ups. Why do you THINK there are so many jokes about lawyers out there? They swoop in to make their income when our marriages don't work, or we fail to file the right business form, or don't have the right insurance, or infringe on someone else's rights or trademark, or any other mistake that we "spirited" entrepreneurial humans make.
Spirit is a good thing. So are brains.
As Einstein said; "I can't believe that the same God that bestowed us with a brain intended for us to forego it's use."
If you are truly an entrepreneur - spirit IS important. But using your bean is important, too.
See, the flip side of the axiom is true, too. If you don't work smarter - you are going to have to work harder. Probably to pay off the cost of your mistakes.
It reminds me of the "website designer" that contacted me with a cry of "help" when one of HER clients realized that the website she'd charged $2 grand to build only worked in ONE browser. And an old browser at that. They wanted her to "fix it" or give a refund... and she didn't know how to fix it.
But you see, she had SPIRIT. She "heard" that all she needed was a piece of "drag and drop" website design software ... to rake in the bucks. She didn't even know about browser compatibility, much less know how to achieve it. Nor did she know about copyright, or trademark infringement, or many other issues that any serious content provider SHOULD know. Ouch. Ouch.
Spirit, she had. Pity she didn't use enough brains to learn the trade before hanging out the shingle.
That applies in most trades. Learn - then earn. It still works that way - even on the Internet.
: )
Linda Caroll
LindaCaroll.com