tomteriffic Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 My dad was blessed to do what he loved, writing and advertising, all his life. He was a little lucky at first, and then phenomenally successful. When he wound up getting promoted to the Imperial Mafoof and Big Cheese, and no longer was getting his hands dirty, he retired. What did he do? He found himself a small office next to a music studio (so he could hear the little kids play piano), that had a golf course halfway between the office and home.Then he set about doing what he loved again, pretty much for free.
HamerHokie Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 One more thing on band instruments/Music & Arts. Music & Arts will set a store like us up as a satellite location, allowing us to make a little more coin. I'm thankful for that. Do they make you carry their gear?
bobbymack Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 I first read this some time ago, and it's kind of stuck with me:An American businessman stood at the pier of a small coastal village in Mexico, when a small boat carrying a lone Mexican fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.” The American then asked, “If it took only a little while to catch these fine fish, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The fisherman explained that this catch was enough to support his family's immediate needs. The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and eventually New York City, where you would run your expanding enterprise.” The fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?” The American replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.” “But what then, señor?” inquired the Mexican. The American laughed and said, “That's the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.” “Millions, señor? Then what?” asked the Mexican. The American said, “Why, then you would retire, of course—move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.” Great post Cary! Did I really say that??? Nice going!
elduave Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 One more thing on band instruments/Music & Arts. Music & Arts will set a store like us up as a satellite location, allowing us to make a little more coin. I'm thankful for that. Do they make you carry their gear? They supply the instruments if that's what you mean.
Cary Posted April 5, 2006 Posted April 5, 2006 Great post Cary! Did I really say that??? Nice going! Actually it was your post and Straightblue's post that reminded me of that story. You are correct bobbymack - and what's even sadder than chasing the almighty dollar at the expense of everything that should be important to them, is chasing it because they are struggling to just keep up with the interest payments on their big screen tvs and onion petals they ate 3 years ago... I am absolutely convinced that a scary number of people in this country are so up to their asses and eyeballs in debt they will never be "free". The hard part is having to explain to our 11 year old son that his friends who live in $500,000 houses maybe don't see their parents much because they're working all the time, or they're struggling to make ends meet paying for that house and the lease on their H2. Don't get me wrong - we have some nice stuff, and we too are very fortunate; but we have also been able to show some discipline and keep sight of what's important (as hard as that is at times)...
JohnnyB Posted April 6, 2006 Posted April 6, 2006 ...and what's even sadder than chasing the almighty dollar at the expense of everything ... is chasing it because they are struggling to just keep up with the interest payments on their big screen tvs and onion petals they ate 3 years ago... Well put! Four years ago I was carrying an incredible amount of paper and three years ago I spent most of 2003 out of work. It was a real challenge to watch so much of the reduced income service the debt, but I kept at it, paying well over the minimum payments, and today the only loan I have is the house. I sleep much better now. And I still have too much stuff, but at least I own it outright.
JohnnyB Posted April 6, 2006 Posted April 6, 2006 <yak, yak, yak>To justify the hours, exposure to risk and aggravation you need to see a 50% margin, not 30% and another 7% due to nepotistic luck. The simplest of questions is, whould Val's father have entered the business 48 years ago given today's business reality? I truly believe he had visions of success greater than that are acheivable today.When I first posted about Guitarville, you could have followed the link and learned something about the store. Al had already been a successful jazz guitarist for years. He started the store as "Al's Swap Shop" to semi-retire, keep his finger on the musical pulse of Seattle, and have a place for friends and buddies to come by and chew the fat.Guitarville is a major player in the vintage market, not too far behind Mandolin Bros. and Gruhn. Right now their stock includes:1966 12-string Gibson FirebirdOne-off 1974 solid Brazilian rosewood Les Paul Custom1971 Les Paul Signature Prototype--3 years before it went into production1961 all-original Stratocaster w/original trem arm and case1964 all-original Stratocaster w/original trem arm and case, and untouched solder joints1963 Mosrite Ventures model, custom-modified to stereo output by Semie Mosley himself2000 Gibson Custom Shop 4000 archtop, autographed by the late Chet Atkins2000 Chet Atkins Model Super 4000They had some other Gibson custom shop archtops with the multi-colored artwork wood inlays, including that art deco one. They've all been sold. It's not uncommon to walk in and see a 1964 Epiphone Sheraton with Frequensator tailpiece and New York mini-buckers, a 1956 Junior, a 1948 Epiphone Emperor, a Switchmaster, and the equivalent in any number of '50s-era and '60s-era tube amps.In December 2004 Val brokered a 1958 Les Paul Standard that sold for $230,000.Still think he doesn't pay attention to his insurance coverage?
BCR Greg Posted April 6, 2006 Posted April 6, 2006 Johnny, you can't change this guy.Spiders sting, dogs bite, this guy pontificates.Let him live his own way and we'll just chuckle a bit.
Jack C Posted April 6, 2006 Posted April 6, 2006 Spiders sting, dogs bite, this guy pontificates.He does remind me of a certain spider. But with better spelling and grammar skills.
JohnnyB Posted April 6, 2006 Posted April 6, 2006 Johnny, you can't change this guy.Spiders sting, dogs bite, this guy pontificates.Let him live his own way and we'll just chuckle a bit.Oh, I know. I was just having fun showing the fence-riders what a knee-jerk contrarian he is.
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