What we can learn from spaghetti sauce

This is a great speech by Malcom Gladwell about what makes us most happy may not be the "best" or ideal product - rather a more segmented approach to meeting people's needs. If I were to run this to it's obvious conclusion - I believe the web has empowered people to develop products or content to meet very specific niches unlike anytime before. No longer is the entire country watching Johnny Carson simultaneously on TV - we are instead choosing our most passionate interests from a sea of options. I think this takes power away from the "one large widget corporation" and gives numerous entrepreneurs the opportunity to be masters of entire segments of widgets.

Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce -- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness.

What we can learn from spaghetti sauce

Most Small-Business Owners Don't Plan to "Fully" Retire

Here's a relatively recent article I found from Gallup that goes back to my point that if you are doing what you love, you won't WANT to retire!

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/104866/Four-SmallBusiness-Owners-Dont-Plan-Retire.aspx

PRINCETON, NJ -- Only 11% of small-business owners say they plan to retire and stop working in their businesses in the long run, according to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey.

Declining and Delaying Retirement

Nine in 10 small-business owners say they are satisfied with being small-business owners -- 21% are extremely satisfied, 37% very satisfied, and 31% somewhat satisfied. Perhaps most indicative of their contentment, 83% say they would do it again and become small-business owners instead of doing something else. In other words, small-business owners overwhelmingly like what they do.

Because small-business owners like their work and have the option to continue working past retirement, it may not be surprising that 40% say they will continue to work as long as their health allows them to do so -- essentially the same as the 38% who felt this way in 2005. Another 47% say they eventually plan to cut back on the work they do but maintain their involvement in their businesses -- up from 42% in 2005. The percentage of small-business owners actually planning to retire and stop working in their businesses fell from 19% in 2005 to 11% in the most recent survey.

Thirty-eight percent of small-business owners say they will retire or cut back on their work at a different time than they had originally planned. Six in 10 of these owners say they will retire later than planned and many of those delaying retirement will do so for financial reasons. Sixty-two percent of small-business owners say they expect their small businesses to keep going after they stop working, while one in three feel their businesses will stop -- essentially the same as in 2005.

A Good Time to Have Retirement Flexibility

An April 2007 Gallup Poll showed that only 53% of Americans thought they would have enough money to live comfortably when they retire. Obviously, current economic conditions are even less conducive to retirement than they were last year, given declining housing prices, a weak stock market, low interest rates on most safe forms of savings and investment, and surging food and energy prices. As a result, it is not surprising that earlier this year, 45% of Americans said they were worried that they would have to retire at a later age than they had originally planned.

In the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey of last October, a much higher 79% of small-business owners said they thought they would have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. In part, this may be because small-business owners tend to have higher incomes than the average American. More importantly, however, small-business owners also have more flexibility than the average American in deciding whether and when they will retire.

This ability to time one's retirement may be of even more importance in the months ahead. Last Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing another drop in U.S. jobs makes it obvious that the U.S. economy is now experiencing a recession. During such an economic downturn, many companies lay off employees and encourage early retirement as their business slows. As a result, many Americans may soon be more worried -- not that they will have to work to a later age than they had hoped, but that they will have to retire earlier than they desire and with far fewer resources than they had hoped.

Survey Methods

Results for the total dataset are based on telephone interviews with 600 small-business owners, conducted Oct. 4-14, 2007. For results based on the total sample of small-business owners, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ± 4 percentage points. The margins of error for subgroups will be slightly larger.

Other results are based on telephone interviews with 1,008 national adults, conducted April 2-5, 2007. For results based on this sample, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Most Small-Business Owners Don't Plan to "Fully" Retire

Small business owners would do it all again

It's hard to find data on entrepreneurship - so while this data from Gallup is a bit outdated - I believe that the sentiment is the same...

Source: http://www.gallup.com/poll/9586/Would-Small-Business-Owners-All-Again.aspx

Anyone who has run a small business knows that it can be a
challenging way to make a living. Small-business owners wear many
different hats. They typically have little leeway with regard to
pricing -- they're usually price-takers on the buy-side with
no ability to leverage their suppliers, and price-givers on
the sell-side with no ability to leverage their customers. The
government generally makes the whole situation worse, forcing small
business owners to deal with enormous regulatory burdens and
paperwork that was designed with much larger companies in mind.

Given these day-to-day challenges and the relatively poor
business environment of the past few years, it probably wouldn't be
too surprising to find that many of the nation's small business
owners are discouraged and wish they had done something else with
their lives. However, just the opposite is true, according to the
new Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey* (see "Small
Businesses Offer Hope for Job Creation" for more on this new
Index).

Small Business Owner Satisfaction

More than 8 in 10 of the nation's small business owners say they
are satisfied with being a small business owner. More than half
(56%) are very or extremely satisfied, and 30% are somewhat
satisfied. Only 13% say they are not too satisfied or not at all
satisfied.

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"440" alt="" border="0">

Small Business Owner Success

Nearly all small business owners feel that they are at least
somewhat successful at what they do. Forty-one percent feel that
they are very or extremely successful at being a small business
owner. Another 56% say they feel somewhat successful, while only 3%
say they feel they are not too successful or not at all
successful.

"http://media.gallup.com/GPTB/finanComme/20031028_2.gif" width=
"440" alt="" border="0">

Better Off Financially?

Three-fourths of small business owners say they are better off
financially than they would be working for some other company in
the same field.

"http://media.gallup.com/GPTB/finanComme/20031028_3.gif" width=
"440" alt="" border="0">

Although the majority of small business owners feel that they
are better off financially than they would be otherwise, they also
recognize that they usually work considerably more hours than
employees of other companies do. Do small business owners feel
they're better off financially simply because they work so many
hours?

On this question, small business owners are more evenly divided
-- about half of the nation's small business owners (48%) feel that
they earn more per hour in their business than they would earn as
an employee of another company. Thirty-six percent say they earn
less per hour, and 14% say they earn about the same.

"http://media.gallup.com/GPTB/finanComme/20031028_4.gif" width=
"440" alt="" border="0">

Do It Again?

Despite the poor economic conditions of the past several years
and the inherent challenges they face, small business owners are
not only satisfied with their occupation, but almost uniformly feel
successful. Add to this that most feel they are better off
financially than they would be otherwise, and it is not surprising
that 81% of the nation's small business owners say they would
become small business owners again instead of doing something else.
Nor is it unreasonable to expect public policy-makers to do more to
build on this success, by more aggressively encouraging Americans
to become small business owners.

"http://media.gallup.com/GPTB/finanComme/20031028_5.gif" width=
"440" alt="" border="0">

*The new Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index is not based
on a survey of the bank's small business customers. Instead, it is
based on a nationally representative random survey of small
business owners from across the United States. For this initial
baseline survey report, Gallup conducted telephone interviews with
591 small business owners (having $20 million or less in annual
sales) over the period of Aug. 5 to Aug. 20, 2003. For results
based on this total sample of small business owners, one can say
with 95% confidence that the margin of error is ±4
percentage points.

Small business owners would do it all again

My 4 Hour Workweek Moment

The book 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris talks about working no more than four hours a week and from anywhere you want... including the beach. I had my 4-Hour Workweek moment last August, which gave me the vision of what I wanted in my life...

My dad's company sent him to a conference in Honolulu, Hawaii... Quite a boondoggle. My mom joined him, and I figure I would too. Free lodging in Hawaii, all I had to do was buy a plane ticket. My dad even offered to cover that to get me out there, but I really didn't need any more incentive to go so I told him thanks, but I'd be more than happy to pay my own way there. This was August of last year.

Rewind back three years... I was an MBA student, and I discovered that buying textbooks at the bookstore was a crock... you could buy books on Amazon.com for at least $20, if not $50-100 cheaper. So after graduation, I started playing around with creating a site that felt just like buying from the campus bookstore, but it pointed you to Amazon instead. I got some revenue out of it, but nothing major.

Back to last August... I had spent the spring of 2008 working on marketing and promoting the website. I dropped almost $1000 on marketing (doesn't sound like much, but I'm closer to the "corporate" part of corporateprenuership than "entrepreneur"). The start of the textbook buying season coincided with my trip to Hawaii. And since students weren't accessible in the summer, all the advertising was done in the spring. So all I could do was watch and see how much revenue would come in every day.

The resort had a wireless connection, and it was accessible from the beach. So every day, after sightseeing, I'd take a swim in the ocean, have dinner, shower, and head to the beach with my laptop. Since Hawaii was 6 hours behind, I was able to check the previous day's revenue while I was still up. Each day I checked... some days would be $30 days, but some days got as high as $120 days. By the end of the week, I was up to almost $500.

I was living the dream... money was rolling in, while I was basically working one hour a night. That's a 7 hour workweek (not quite 4 hours), but when that one hour a day is spent on a laptop on a beach, I think anyone would sign up for that. The money I made wouldn't even pay for my flight out there, but it was a major breakthrough to taste it for just that week. I considered this the first step in the long term goal of financial independence. My mom took a picture of me with my laptop on the beach, and I have it up on my wall so I can look at it every day.

Some people back home didn't get it... They felt like it was sad that I was working on vacation. On the contrary... people thought my working on the beach was replacing vacationing on the beach. I wanted working on the beach to replace working.

My 4 Hour Workweek Moment

5 Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness

One man's road to Success, wealth and happiness was created by studying the Book of Proverbs, the proverbs of King Solomon (who knew). Anyways instead of a book review (I'll skip the part about how this guy makes his millions) I thought I'd save you some time and give you the gist of the book.

So here are the 5 Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness. I have expanded upon the 1st two in detail because they really stuck out to me.

"Secret" #1 - Be Diligent
This Author states that it is pretty much human nature to take the path of least resistance, to do the minimum, and to just get by. He argues that in order for people to aspire to be more, all the success, wealth and happiness in the world is reserved as a reward for being diligent versus lazy.

He states that being diligent is to be:
a) Persistent towards your goal or in refining your craft (not in a stubborn way but with an openness to continuing to alter your course when needed to overcome obstacles).
b) Hard working
c) Well planned
d) Perform with speed, efficiency, and excellence so you will be sought out for your work.

The rewards of this diligence are:
i) True fulfillment without the want or need of material possessions
ii) Respect and admiration from society for your work
iii) Satisfaction and success
iv) Great wealth (everyone is happy to pay someone who does great work)

The author states that pretty much by being lazy you can assure yourself of having the opposite of each of the things above.

Most interesting was his beliefs around the root causes of laziness:
1) Self-centeredness - those who are open see the world around them will find an abundance of opportunity to make a difference with their own unique skills
2) Conceit or arrogance - those who are humble will be open to learn much from the world around them. Those who are arrogant know it all already and continue to takes the actions they want to take without improvement in approach or aspiration.
3) Ignorance and Irresponsibility (Foolishness) - The ignorant act without regard to the consequence of their actions. It is easier to be ignorant than to be educated because it takes time and effort to become something.

I won't be able to comment in as much detail as I would like on each of these without losing some readers, but this is one of two that I will comment on. At times I think you can go through the motions and do just enough to get by in this world because you haven't spent the time or the soul-searching effort to decide what you want to do. If you are going to do or study something, do it as best you can. If you are half-assing it - then you probably don't know what you want to do (or you may know it's not to become that which you are studying to become) so do something else.

"Secret" #2 - Eliminate Your Sense of Entitlement
A sense of Entitlement in any area of your life is an enemy that will keep you bound to unhappiness. This author argues that you will continuously be looking to others with unrealistic expectations and no control over what they actually are willing to give you. The only way to break loose of this unhappy and bitter cycle of entitlement is to release all unrealistic expectations you may have of others, including the government, your spouse, your employer, friends and your relatives.

This is the other topic I feel compelled to comment on. After spending 2 years studying Gen-Y (also known as generation debt) I have talked with many teenagers and people in their early twenties and I have seen this first hand. I am not sure what compels people to constantly keep score of what others owe them without thinking about what they have contributed in order to justify their "ransom". And too often you will find that the people who feel they are entitled to something are those who are desperate for that hand-out because they do not give enough of themselves to earn it. Once these people figure out how to earn what it is they desire (money, respect, etc) they will quickly break free of the chains of relying on others as they figure out how to rely on themselves.

In a business context the story goes as follows. Most people don't know how to make money. They don't know what they should do to have someone offer them compensation, so they look to an employer to tell them what to to to generate money for the company, and the company gladly gives them a wage which will be less than their output for the company. One famous business quote is that all of the enormous profits of the Fortune 500 companies are from excess output of the employees that they are not being paid fairly for. Once you learn how to earn money (or create money) without needing a company to tell you what to do, you will have "job security" for the rest of your life because you will always be able to rely an yourself versus needing a job from someone else.

But quickly back to the Gen-Yers. The sense of entitlement is alive and well as many people just starting out and working full time believe their standard of living should be as high as is was when living at home with mom and dad. They forget that it took their parents 20+ years to get to that level in their lives. This is a rude awakening for many Gen-Yers and a big reason why they prefer to live at home with their parents until they can save up for a higher starting standard of living. I still support Gen-Yers who chose to live at home with their parents because I think it is more responsible than starting out buying a home or a new car too soon while living lavishly. Far too many Gen-Yers start out with enormous college debt to let alone then add to their debt by spending beyond their means with no thoughts of saving for the future or retirement.

This section really struck me as I feel our nation becoming more of an entitlement nation than a boot-strapping nation of hard-working achievers which I believe is what built this nation.

"Secret" #3 - Be Grateful
If you are not grateful, DEVELOP a grateful heart. We all start with different levels of difficult situations in our lives, so this Author recommends if you currently don't feel that grateful, "treasure hunt" for things in your life that you could be grateful for already. In addition to warming you heart and those around you, you will begin to see joy in your life that is consistent, persistent, and lasting.

"Secret" #4 - Root out the weeds of Envy
Envy is a bottomless pit with no end. It is in opposition to feeling fulfilled. Envy is a misbelief that the things others have makes them happy or would make you happy. I think research has shown that by achieving a new level of possessions, we quickly recalibrate and would then desire what's next. When you know what you want in life, you can then know when enough is enough for you. Until you do that soul-searching, you will envy out of fear because you don't know enough about yourself to measure when you will have enough and be fulfilled.

"Secret" #5 - Live Wisely
The author states that Wisdom is not just about knowing what is right but acting on it. Living wisely involves DOING the right things, for yourself and for other around you. It is not enough to say "I know I should appreciate the people in my life" if you are actually being cold or bitter. It is an emptiness inside that fosters an external chill. Probably everyone knows someone who is curt or rude, and I also believe most people know that those people aren't happy with themselves more than they are unhappy with the masses they aim to irritate. Wisdom is about continual learning and self-improvement, and then putting those learnings into action. My takeaway from this point is not to just talk the talk but walk the walk. Another point that comes to mind with the live wisely point is that inner peace is not enough. I think everyone must then work to spread that peace.

So that's my long-winded summary. If you made it to the end congratulations. By no means do I pretend to be an expert on any of this, but I can now say that this book has brought it more top of mind as something I strive to be conscious of. And now - hopefully you will too because then in some small and indirect way maybe I can pass along some success, wealth and happiness to your life. That is your reward for being diligent enough to finish this blog!

5 Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness