Day 239 | $3,720.97 paid | $8,145.72 until freedom
The context for my resolution
I’ve been doing some reading and some thinking lately about the value of time. Specifically the value of my time. For example, I’m making these lamps: http://www.graypants.com/tilt-lamps/. I know how much time I put into one of those lamps. Someone who isn’t me priced these with the intent to sell them frequently and all over the world. This gives me an idea of the value of my time. I have to consider the overhead costs they have, like their marketing, their employees, their world-class Christmas parties, the lamp shades and the electronics. Even taking this into consideration, my time is worth a lot of money.
The nature of this blog is that I share my own finances openly, but if I shared the numbers on this, I believe I would begin to encroach on sharing other people’s information, and I don’t want to do that. But I’m about to get an influx of a few hundred dollars for some lamps I made.
A friend of mine from years ago also gave me an idea, and requested that I chase something down. I chased it down. It’s a keyring bottle opener that will last a century and plays to regional pride. I know how to make them now. I can make hundreds of them, and they’re awesome, and no one else can make them just like I’m going to make them. But I don’t particularly want to deal with selling them – a company website, selling to fab.com, writing an interesting feelings-post on Etsy. I would love to talk to someone about them, but I have no interest in working with drupal.
In a book I’m reading the author points out and clearly states something that’s been on my mind for a while: if you can offload the work for less than you get paid to do it, then you’re making money for nothing. This is the context for my resolution for the year.
The resolution
This year I’m going to pay someone to make me money.
So.. is there anyone out there interested in getting paid to do some basic metal work? Or in doing some marketing for bottle openers?
Oh, and I just dropped another $800 on my loan. No big deal.
Useful info, also, if I may add.. Although it is more important to invest in a highly profitable business than
a business that has superior management, you should watch out for snakes.
Even businesses that are extremely profitable at the moment can be bad investments if extremely bad management is in control.
If you discover a business with management practices that make you leery, then stay away.