Business Brink

There's been one thing over the years that has been a real struggle for me: building my own website. Why? Simply because I'm too busy building websites for my clients. This is a great problem to have, however now that I'm going to build a real business it's becoming more important for me to build a real website for Zoom Agent.

So, I promise to work on it. I have been designing concepts for it and will do everything possible to have it up before the end of the year for all three of you.

If I don't, send me an email and tell me I suck as a reminder!

Thanks!

My oldest son (5) recently decided on his own that I am not allowed to drink soda anymore. I actually don't even drink that much soda to begin with (probably 4 or so per week), but he's probably at the age where he's starting to realize that I may get old one day, and that he wants me to be around for a long time. So, I promised to him that I would never drink soda again. It's been a few weeks since I made that promise and I plan on keeping it. But it got me thinking: I should get a routine physical done to make sure my body is in good shape and perhaps see where I can improve so I can withstand the stresses of being an entrepreneur (whether you believe me or not, it does take physical energy).

So I went to visit a doctor yesterday and had a good chat with him - I even told him how my son has committed me to stop drinking soda.

The result of my visit
Unexpectedly, my blood pressure was found to be a bit high (140, where 120 is normal). I asked why this was the case, to which he said it could be a number of things... stress, fatty foods, not enough exercise, etc. He nailed it on the head! I am stressed from starting my own company, but I'd assume that's normal for the beginning. I definitely don't eat right nor do I exercise nearly enough.

Time to take action
Now is the time to take action. I'm 28, so there's still time to reverse this being-out-of-shape problem. The doctor told me to check my blood pressure often (at target or where ever I can) to make sure I stay on top of it. So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Maybe if I can get myself in shape I'll send a before and after shot of myself like they do on body for life : ) (don't plan on that one though).

Go get 'em tigers!

Health insurance is probably one of the biggest concerns when it comes to deciding whether to go off on your own. My wife is pregnanct, so I have a good understanding of the stresses that come along with the insurance dilema. So what am I doing about health insurance? I'm going to be on cobra until we have the baby. This is not the cheapest route to go, but I live in a state (Utah) that considers pregnancy to be a "pre-existing" condition when you go to apply for a policy. Pre-existing huh? Not sure how they got to that end, but I can't change their mind so I'm moving on and will apply for a policy after the baby is born. Cobra, for those of you that may not know, is basically keeping the same coverage I had when I was employed. Only I have to pay about $850/month for it. Ouch! Tell me about it... but that's how it is so I gotta focus on making things happen, not waste time complaining.

Is working for a huge company really more secure than starting your own company and working for yourself?

Some may argue either side of this question, but when it comes down to it I think it's a personal thing. Some people will honestly have much more security working for someone else for a number of reasons I won't get into on this post. This doesn't mean entrepreneurs are better than employees at all. It just means that job security is a relative term. Employees, for their own reasons, have simply made the choice to have their job security dependent on their boss.

Entrepreneurs are different. They would rather depend on the skills of their own hands (and minds) for job security. But don't employees depend on their own skills as well? Yes, but who is the one that determines how long they stay with the company? What if something like this happens in your community? Novell is known around my community for laying off thousands of people at a time. I bet the employees at that company have a different perspective of "job security" when they read the message in their break room about future layoffs around the corner.

The beauty of life is that we're all different and unique in our abilities. If we were all entrepreneurs, I'm not so sure the economy would be in good health. And if we were all employees, there would be no businesses at all. What's great is that the combination of entrepreneurs and employees make it so that there are good jobs to be had and good business opportunities to pursue.

If you are an entrepreneur at heart, perhaps now is the time to take action. Now is when you decide what you want to do with your life and now is when you write the pages of your history book. Now is the time to live the stories you'll be telling to your grandkids some day.