If you’re like me, the time being an entrepreneur is mostly exciting and hope filled, anticipating all of the things that might be to come of your efforts. The freedom, the glory and of course the satisfaction of “look what I did” but if you’ve been doing it for any amount of time you have those days. You know, the one when you meet that dirty rat.
Today I’m going to tell you a story about my friend Jon. Jon has been my friend for a lot of years. In the beginning we believed, like any true adult that friends are people who want to be close to others for what the others allow them to be and give. Our friendship started off very, shall I say ‘antagonistic’, to be dramatic. You see, Jon was a modern progressive thinker. The old school laws, rules and ways are antiquated and that there is a better way of doing things. Maybe you are too, deep deep left. The new blue. Not in any way dipping into communism like some we see today. More sex, drugs and rock n roll, hippie type. After all he has lived in both People’s Republics, The Borough and California.
To succinctly illustrate our divergence, in times past one might have heard me say something stupid like, I’m so conservative you need to turn right at George Washington. I was very confident that the Republican party was saving America with it’s status quo agenda and the Democrats were wrecking the country.
When I met Jon he was sold out, deeply embedded. I on the other hand had a “reconning” and was flying at mach away from it all. So much so he asked me one evening after the Obama-McCain debate, “what are you an anarchist?”. You see, 911 did me in. I had believed in our system and the people in it were like me. Honest, interested hard working “Americans”. The lies, the treachery and death did me in. Being an architectural student and contractor was all it took to see the ilk.
After that DC became more of a fixation. At the time I was rearing children, like most of you WORKING for a living. Too busy to do much anything else. Over those years since the anger has been brewing and the desire to do something about it growing.
Covid is where I saw the change in Jon, but his direction chosen was markedly different than mine. He immediately abstained. He was done with his people and didn’t even want to talk about it anymore. Couldn’t get a word out of him. But these five year since, we now talk about what might come of what is going on out there.
All of this to give you back story on my good friend, actually one of my best friends. A real adult! Jon is an entrepreneur like most of us, he’s in the services side of the economy. Like all of you reliant upon the production side. Thank you for your services!! In any case from time to time he is in need of a plumber and when he is it is not a cheerful moment. Especially when the reason you need a plumber cuts into your revenue stream. Think, “the smell is from toilet water running through your building not the pipe intended.”
Down stream complaining upstream about odors is cause for immediate action. He’s been here before, he’s got hours not days to find the problem, get the plumber (hopefully not tomorrow), have the repairs done and be ready for the next customer. It is definitely a tense and dismal time. You know you’re going to pay the question is how much and how long will it last.
Focused and intent he sets about the mission to make remedy no matter what. Enter the dirty rat. Usually a customer who left some despicable thing somewhere it shouldn’t be, that was near impossible to see, festering in the damp, growing all sorts of evil, wafting such fragrant aromas. But to his elation, and I do literal elation, he found a dirty rat. A dead one. A bloated and a stinkin’. The joy of such a find! If you’ve been looking down the barrel of that gun just to find a bang flag pop out, you know what we’re talking about. The relief over whelms the disgusting things by leaps and bounds. A free plastic bag from the grocery store and some deodorant and we’re off an running.
To all of my entrepreneur family out there here’s hoping your next foray into detraction from you business fit into a free plastic bag and a little deodorant will save the day!
Go, be good, and know. We producers appreciate you servicers, we need you. Servicers please realize producing here keeps your businesses viable. Be local, buy local as much as you can. Wealth comes from production, we all serve production in some way.
Greg