Monday, November 12, 2007

About this 'minimum wage' thing. It's not like I prefer it. It's not like I set out -- all these years later -- to still be making minimum wage.

When I started, I think I just wanted to survive. Not lose the beginning investment, at the very least. My Dad co-signed the original 10k loan, and I was determined that he'd never have to pay a dime. I even kept my landscaping job for almost a year.

Then, I went through my 'young entrepreneur' phase, where I made the mistake of reading INC. Magazine, and believing it a little too much. I opened four stores. I thought I could reproduce the success of the one store, but didn't realize I didn't have the capital, the systems, the tools and, most importantly, the employee's to make it work.

That, plus the sports card collapse, set back any chance of making money for another decade.

Yet I always thought I was just two years away from making real money. It became a bit of a joke between my wife and me. But, like Wiley Coyote buying a new Acme kit, I always thought it would happen. Always two years away from paying off the credit cards, two years away from buying a house, two years away from a vacation, two years away from catching that damn Roadrunner.

I don't know that I ever thought about how long I would be doing this. I just realized one day that THIS was my career; not a stage on the road, but the whole road. And suddenly, surviving for 27 years doing this, especially in a pop-culture store, and most especially in downtown Bend, became something to be proud of. I look around, and I've outlasted everyone else. The adult businesses who looked down on what I was doing, all the suits are gone, and I'm still here, still doing what I like to do.

It's been incredibly interesting to stay in the same place and see the town around me completely transform.

I suppose I still hope that the store has some value, though it's nearly impossible to sell a comic store. But hopefully there is some real equity in the store. I'm finally earning enough money to not have to juggle bills quite so much, and to take time off, though the 'minimum wage' thing hasn't changed all that much.

To be honest, I don't feel like I live on minimum wage. I'm always surprised at the end of the year when I do my taxes that I end up that way.

I'm surprised that we have as middle class a life-style as we do. A couple of small inheritances knocked off the credit card debt, and provided the down payment for a house. Luck that we bought our house before the pricing surge. Determination to pay our bills and keep our credit good and to live frugally in exchange for freedom. I certainly wouldn't trade my job for a higher income, at this point. I like owning my own business.

But I still wouldn't mind changing the title of this blog some day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice post. There are definitely nice things about being self-employed -- of doing what one wants to do.

One disadvantage of running your own business is the lack of benefits, however, I would think -- especially health insurance.

This might have been fine in the old days when health care costs were 'reasonable', but now if you're not on some kind of 'plan' the price you have to pay for medication & service seems just ridiculous. The paperwork is just phenomenal -- everytime I visit the doctor I get two sets of paperwork in the mail -- from my insurer and from my provider. Of course, they too are communicating with each. It just seems very wasteful and inefficient.

Anonymous said...

Duncan,

Your right survival is what matters. I really do think that the city of Bend, doesn't give a shit about downtown or the businesses therein, this is clear.

What they seem to care about is BIG, Beautiful construction, on large scales. These days that is all happening at the fringe of Bend, and thus like Sauron, this is where the big eye is looking, not at downtown.

I have hardly ever known a small businessman that didn't make less or near minimum wage when it was all over.

This is why most move on, or cannot even stick with it, its very hard to pay off the big bills, when your always waiting for the big one that never comes.

The fact that you have survived makes you a success. To me this doesn't need to be said, but I think that unless you have run a small business, its virtually impossible from the outside to understand what really goes on inside.

All this said, as Bend crumbles there will be a return to small business as the credit card will implode and the all the big box that came with it, things will go to cash, which suits the small guy anyhow, because generally he never got credit.

Enjoy,

Look today E*trade down 60%, this is big, this is the biggest day trade stock company, much of their so called customer deposit 'money market' was in SIV's which were commercial CDO-MTG paper worth penny's on the dollar. The implosion of all but pure cash has started. Soon it will be impossible to get a credit card, as nobody will accept the losses, without an incredible rate of return.

Duncan McGeary said...

Yeah, there's something uniquely satisfying about the ability to make your own decisions.

It's stressful, but it is somehow easier for me to take the stress that I have some control over, than to accept the stress of unreasonable job.

Duncan McGeary said...

Health care is a huge can of worms.

I finally started insuring myself again a couple of years ago. It goes up in price every year.

A 5000.00 deductable, with no dental or vision.

Which means something serious has to happen before it kicks in.

But I had an M.D. customer who looked around at my business and looked me in the eye and said,

"One cardiac event and you'll own hundreds of thousands....you're business would be gone."