Outsides

Everything has a price.

At the last job where I was an employee – my immediate manager was always busy and happy to work long hours. Then, I observed that he didn’t really enjoy spending time with his family. Then and now, I see people commuting 45+ minutes each way, for decades, to live where they want to live. But they’re commuting, and spending more time in an office and on the road then in their dream house with their life partners. Any time I feel a pang of envy, I remind myself, I don’t know what price they’re paying for the thing I’m envious of, but it’s likely much higher than I’m comfortable with.

“Years later, I find out that the person, the one I modeled my creative habits after, was going through a bit of a cocaine addiction at the time.” – Ze Frank

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside. –
The more you practice your craft, the less you confuse worldly rewards with spiritual rewards, and vice versa.

“You are your own problem, and you always will be. Also worth noting: you’re the biggest problem you’ll ever have. Better figure out how to deal with yourself.” – Jason Zabel

Dayton’s Sales Tax Proposal is Bad for Minnesota’s Creative Economy

For the past 10 years I’ve owned and managed a small business selling consulting services to larger businesses. I’ve been fortunate that Minnesota’s business climate has allowed me to support my growing family and work with some great Minnesota businesses. While many of my clients have been based in Minnesota, many others have been based throughout the United States: California, Colorado, and Florida.

Under the Governor Dayton’s proposed tax plan my small business would be required to collect a 5.5% sales tax on our services. This will immediately make my business 5.5% less competitive in Minnesota and around the US. But it’s more than just 5.5%, it a adds a layer of complexity to my day-to-day operations, eating into my overall profitability, and discouraging me from engaging other businesses to support my clients. Taxing professional services will mean not just lower profitability but decreased business activity for many of the great creative service firms Minnesota is known for: design, advertising, architecture.

The past couple years have been some of the most challenging for my business – it’s been a slow and arduous recovery and I’m just now starting to see some of the profitability I once enjoyed. The addition of a sales tax burden on my business will significantly impair my ability to grow my business in Minnesota.

I’m a small business owner, I’d rather not be a smaller business owner. I’m against Governor Dayton’s Sales Tax proposal – I encourage you to vote against it as well.

Kubbchuck’s 2013 Loppet Tournament Recap

Over on the Kubbchucks blog I wrote up our 2013 Loppet tournament experience. Here’s a quick snippet:

“Jim and Jamie readily cleaned up the 5 kubbs in the corner leaving the that lone sixth kubb for me and two batons. I took a deep breath, focused on the sixth kubb and threw – striking the sixth kubb and knocking it into the baseline behind it. With my final baton I took out the remaining baseline. This pulled us ahead, made it our game to lose, and a few short turns later we did.”

Charter City: iii Citadel

“The Citadel Community will house between 3,500 and 7,000 patriotic American families who agree that being prepared for the emergencies of life and being proficient with the American icon of Liberty — the Rifle — are prudent measures. There will be no HOA. There will be no recycling police and no local ordinance enforcers from City Hall.”

“Each household will provide ONE able-bodied Patriot (aged 13 or older) who shall muster one Saturday per month for Martial/Support Training for neighborhood-level training & musters, as set forth by the Militia Commanders of the Community.”

3 Principles of Success for Independent Professionals

Garrick,
Hi! I’ve heard about you for a few years now (originally from Richard Fink), and have enjoyed reading your blog posts. As a web designer who’s striking out on his own to learn programming and build his own business, do you have any advice? Cheers! – Josh

For the past decade, I’ve been working for myself. Over that time, I’ve had good fortune and made significant missteps. The services I offer my clients today are purposefully and dramatically different from those I offered my first day in business. Across all those challenges – I’ve found 3 constants:

  1. Define what success is for you. Eliminate everything else.
    You can’t have someone else’s success. It’s theirs. It doesn’t fit you in the same way their clothes don’t fit you. The longer you chase after someone else’s success – the further you’ll drift from the success that is uniquely yours. And the longer you’ll be uncomfortable. The world obey’s Sturgeon’s Law. Your success lay somewhere within the remaining 10%. Each day, pursue something that matches your definition of success while eliminating something that doesn’t. This means saying ‘no’. You must do it deliberately. The world doesn’t believe you want to be successful. Stop proving it right.
  2. Force work to fit into your life. It’s the only way you’ll have one.
    In your preferred calendar, enter regular fixed appointments for exercise, steps toward personal life goals, time with loved ones, time away from technology. Always, always keep them. Work is insidious and will tempt you to blow them off. Don’t let the bastard. It’ll kill you. I’m serious – the Japanese even have a word for it – karōshi.
  3. Find a good accountant specializing in independent professionals. Treat them like a partner.
    Good accountants are worth every dollar you pay them. Ones that expertly handle both your personal and professional finances – doubly so. They will force you to be honest with yourself and your business. This honesty brings out who you really are – see #1.