July 14th, 2008
Everything that begins has an end.
Sometime in October I clearly remember getting an email from Kelly inviting me to replace some blogger who decided this position wasn’t for him. Fortunately, I was chosen to fill the position.
This was one of those things that you say “Hey, I think I can do it… why not try it out?” Luckily, I received an email MONTHS after applying for the job. It was a big and pleasant surprise which bought me bragging rights against Journalism and Business majors (seeing as how I am an Industrial Engineer filling a journalist-like position regarding business). However, with the fun comes tedium - and writing about young entrepreneurs day-to-day is not easy. School caught up with me and I needed some help, which is why my friend Alejandro briefly served as a co-blogger.
It is impossible to consistently run a business that does not make money… unless it is a front for some sort of drug ring (I kid). The best thing to do in a business, when the economy goes sour and you must make cuts, is to find which areas have the potential for the least amount of growth. As those prostate commercials say… I had a growing problem. Thus, the site and I will be taking our final bows.
I just want to thank everyone at b5media for giving me this chance and all of my readers for sticking with me at BossHatch. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything (not even a Klondike Bar); and if the stars eventually realign, I may be back for an encore. Until then, I guess this is it for us.
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By Jim Gordon -- 6 comments
July 13th, 2008
I didn’t sleep last night. I had the choice between sleeping on a friend’s couch or staying up all night watching old bands try to rekindle their washed up careers with montage videos of people who seem to be worth more than them.
I chose to watch the montage videos.
This left me a lot of time to think. First of all, does overlapping a song with videos from Live Earth, Nelson Mandela speeches, and the breaking of the Berlin Wall make you a philanthropist or self-righteous? I dwelled on this issue for about an hour… that’s when the subject was expanded into another facet of imagination and guess-work.
There are people who are entrepreneurs and there are people who are unemployed. I don’t think I have ever really been an entrepreneur… have I freelanced? Yes. Been an entrepreneur? No. I’ve been a writer. I am a writer (sometimes contrary to popular belief). I have an unemployed friend who has recently thought about being an entrepreneur - but based on his educational background (he went to the same high school, but not to college), I don’t think he has what it takes.
I feel that the lack of business education early on in peoples’ educational careers is appalling. Business 101 should be a basic requirement. The more I get into engineering, the more things break down into business. The more you go into MOST majors, the more THEY break down into business. If you don’t attend college, the business background could infinitely help people start a business. I think the main issue is that people don’t know how a business works… and that is definitely one thing that held me back from taking my freelance work any farther - fear of crossing uncharted territory.
So without going too in depth, you’re finding a lot of people like my friend - entrepreneur extraordinaire… working for himself, by himself, and selling his product to nobody.
Maybe he should make a montage.
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By Jim Gordon -- 0 comments
July 11th, 2008
Poorly Drawn Plan is a weekly illustration based around interpretation. It focuses on common behavior traits of our (my) generation (thanks for the idea, Miki!).
Tags: business idea, parents, Poorly Drawn PlanShare This
By Jim Gordon -- 1 comment
July 10th, 2008
Better question: How much is health a liability with your company? Does it affect your productivity?
Japan recently enacted a LAW that FINES Japanese workers who are overweight (due to their rising obesity percentages). Apparently Lincoln Industries also has a requirement for employees to be physically fit. I think this is a great trend. As much as I would love to say it is one’s own freedom to gain as much weight or smoke as many cigarettes as he/she sees fit, a company has a responsibility to its employees and itself. Not only would fit employees increase productivity, it would also increase happiness and decrease potential liability and risk. Why aren’t more companies doing this? What are your thoughts?
Tags: company health, lincoln industry employees, personal health, physically fit in businessShare This
By Jim Gordon -- 0 comments
July 9th, 2008
Over the next couple days before the HUGE launch of Apple’s new 3G iPhone, I’ll be making a few posts about what I love so much about the iPhone and why & why not to get the new one.
My question is - is there a market for the iPhone with young entrepreneurs or do most young entrepreneurs get a Blackberry like a lot of business folks do? Confession: I’m crazy, I probably by a new phone every year just cause I love being up to date on the latest technologies & I’m totally a sucker for “features.”
I got into the Blackberry a few years ago when I was in Mortgage industry & I liked the features & what it did but the aesthetics totally sucked until recently. Blackberry has done a GREAT great job in the last year coming out with the Pearl, then coming out with the Curve.
The Curve was such a great phone for me as it had push email, Blackberry messenger & some other great features. I ended up getting an iPhone because I thought it would make sense to me having a Mac Book Pro & have the ability to sync my Calendar, Address Book, Email, etc all together from my laptop & my phone. The result = I’ll never look back.
For the masses, the iPhone is a great all around phone. You have a full web browser, you can get your email, plus many other really cool features. It also looks cool which is always nice. For Mac users, the iPhone just makes sense with the ability to sync everything together.
I’m going to be sharing some more thoughts as well as some cool things that I believe are really going to help young entrepreneurs & business folk out tremendously. Stay tuned folks & I’ll be talking about “MobileMe” next. It’s gonna rock!
Stay Tuned.
Alejandro Reyes
Tags: 3G iphone, blackberry, mobilemeShare This
By Alejandro Reyes -- 0 comments
July 8th, 2008
So many of us buy alcohol… some in larger quantities than others. Recently, the state of Colorado got this brilliant idea of abolishing their blue laws! What is this “blue law” you speak of? You ask… Well, it is a dumb prohibition-era law that says you can’t buy alcohol on Sunday. According to this CNN article, 15 states still have enacted blue laws - including my own (South Carolina). This barbaric excuse for religious exploitation hurts businesses and the economy. Since people typically have Sunday OFF, they will often use that day to buy food for the week. Unfortunately, our government representatives pull a responsibility card and tell us we should make our alcohol purchases in advance (which still doesn’t directly answer the question of why we have the law in the first place). Jerks.
I am not angry because I just looooove buying alcohol on Sundays. I am angry out of principle. First of all, I would like to stay out past midnight on Saturdays. Second, it is a law based on religious beliefs (let’s not kid ourselves) - not that I am not religious, but there is a seperation between church and state… hurr. Finally, allowing the sales on Sunday could boost the economy. That is what I think. Do you think it is worthwhile to even discuss?
Tags: alcohol, blue laws, Economy, personal vendettaShare This
By Jim Gordon -- 0 comments
July 6th, 2008
Becky from My Organized Biz just posted a great article about napping (my personal area of expertise… har har har… I am holding my side). Anyways, there was actually a research done which determined the best times to nap. Check out the article!
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By Jim Gordon -- 1 comment
July 5th, 2008
A great question to ask yourself is whether or not you wanna be a solopreneur or work with a partner instead on a business venture. Either way, it doesn’t matter but it’s definitely something to think of.
I have seen both sides of the coin on several occasions. I think it depends on YOU & your business model sometimes. For me, I know there’s times where I can work on a project by myself, but there’s other times where it’s best to have a partner. The big issues that people have with finding a partner is splitting profits? Think about it though, if you have the 2 right people involved, you might double or triple your profits. There’s just power in numbers in my opinion.
Again it all depends on your & the project. If you have a small project that won’t take too much time to get it off the ground, it might be a good idea to work it by yourself. I think you should push yourself til you feel that you’ll need an extra hand. Then you just gotta find the right partner.
Finding the right partner is critical. I’ve had a few business deals go bad cause I chose the wrong partner and it sucks. So make sure when you’re looking for a partner, that you do your due diligence. Find someone that is strong where you’re weak & vice versa. If you’re not good at the details and organization, find someone that is. You wanna find someone that compliments your talents.
Both ways can be very beneficial depending on the project. Just make sure that whatever you choose, you’ve got all your bases covered, you’ve taken the advice from your mentors, & you should be just fine! :)
Alejandro
Tags: business partnership, solopreneurShare This
By Alejandro Reyes -- 1 comment
July 4th, 2008
Wanted to take the time out to wish you and your family a happy 4th of July.
Have fun, eat good food, & be safe.
Thanks!
Boss Hatch
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By Alejandro Reyes -- 0 comments
July 1st, 2008
Free Agency has opened up for the NBA and there’s a lot of high profile athlete’s that are available. Now I’m a HUGE fan of basketball but sometimes I just don’t get these guys.
I just think its interesting when you have talented players that with the right pieces to their team, can be contenders to win a championship, are so quick to jump at the opportunity to just make a few extra bucks. Well it’s not a few extra bucks, it’s like either going with a 5 year deal for $101 Million or a 6 year deal for $127 Million. I mean at that point, is there really a big difference in money?
I mean if you’re a Ray Allen or a Kevin Garnett, it makes sense as they were going to a team that was instantaneously going to contend with a title, which they ended up doing so. What I DON’T get is when a player goes to a team that totally sucks just for the money. That’s annoying & it screwed up sports IMO.
Ya you gotta look out for your family, but sheesh, how big is your family when you pull a 100 Million Dollar plus payday. That’s nuts.
I see some entrepreneurs do the same thing. Where they get so caught up in the money side of things that they burn bridges, jump from opportunity to opportunity where all they have to do is just let a little grass grow under their feet and just build a business.
Money is obviously important, but you’ve definitely gotta have some integrity in class in business. The grass isn’t always greener & relationships with your team, business partners are far more important than leaving just for the money.
What are your thoughts on this?
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By Alejandro Reyes -- 0 comments
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