I recently made a little chart distinguishing a few common perceptions from contrasting facts on the ground. It occurred to me that these are related somehow, that something lies in them to be learned: Portland, Oregon is widely considered to be one of the hardest cities in the US on small businesses, due to taxes, [...]
One of the fringe benefits of both self-employed and contractor life is enhanced ability to maintain one’s religious traditions. For a lot of people, this is a ‘Sunday’ issue and not really a big deal. Even then, though, there are places that say ‘Joe likes tennis on Sunday, and that’s the same thing, so no, [...]
Where the documentary “The Corporation” really shines is in analyzing corporations as legal persons in terms of psychology. It starts with the point that the 14th ammendment was designed to protect freed slaves, but was turned by the Supreme Court into an attribution of personhood to corporations. It then clarifies that we need a way [...]
Driving is the best modern test of intelligence – so goes a maxim of mine. The tailgater, cell phone weaver and dodger, bad merger – these have simply failed a test of basic sensibility, priority, and correct assessment of cause and effect. Something else occurs to me about driving, though – specifically about rush hour. [...]
Usually, I won’t make political comments, but in this case, they’ve walked into territory we’ve claimed as our own, so here goes: Image via Wikipedia The latest move by the Supreme Court to lift all corporate limits on campaign contributions is clearly aimed at preventing a repeat of the Obama election, who didn’t put them [...]
I tend to solve problems like Sherlock Holmes. Negatively. By removing things. By denying and rejecting things. As Sherlock said he did, I eliminate all the impossibilities and am left, for whatever it may cost, with the truth. But sometimes, when you’ve eliminated all the impossibilities, there’s nothing left. The problem is simply impossible. At [...]
I’m not a believer in discounts, unless they are part of a marketing campaign. Half-hazard discounts, just because someone asks for one, force you to work harder for less pay to justify your normal price. And you’re not giving them a reason for the discount, so what does that say about what you were going [...]
Your local NPR or public radio station “The Take Away” is running talk about how freelancers are treated unreasonably (I’d say prejudicially) for mortgage loan applications vs. job holders. Got an offer letter or a couple of pay stubs from a job? You’re on the fast track for refinance or a new mortgage. Freelancer? They [...]
A colleague and I are constructing a new type of organization, and at times at the outset I felt overwhelmed and a bit paralyzed. It comes with having an enormous vault of ideas, and a need for speed, while needing also to quickly put up an infrastructure (in this case a marketing infrastructure) that is [...]
Here it is, time to write another resignation letter for a family member. This is sort of my role in our family. The reasons for leaving are employer incompetence, but naturally I reach for the most tiny, most dull, most trivial format there is. Yes, I’d like to say, “you people are tards who are [...]
One of the things I like seeing about this economy is the spirit of resistance and, often enough, of triumph that is coming in response. You can see it in the blogosphere. There’s a lot of BS out there, about how it’s going to be ‘over’ in a few months. I don’t think so. We’re [...]
What is home-worker fashion? One of the things I’m curious about, for those of you who work from home all or part of the time is: what do you wear for working? Pajamas? Overalls? Tuxedo? A speedo? Image via Wikipedia One of the wonderful things about working from home is that you can eat what [...]
So when I first started building my business, I took a ‘day’ job. It was partly fear. It was. It’s hard to turn down a steady paycheck, healthcare, and the lascivious knowledge that somehow society supports your decision, where they seem to be bewildered by people who break away from corporate life. It wasn’t a [...]
The trend is corporations increasingly substituting contractors for full time employees. Besides not having to pay benefits, there is no unemployment security, fewer rights (e.g. medical Leave of Absence), and diminished job security. Use them and drop them – that’s the new mantra. It’s not just the economy, either, as though it’s coming back. There’s [...]
I’ve noticed a lot of people describing getting several interviews, even multiple interviews in person, only to get a form letter rejection. Sure, sometimes it’s a fake listing. Employers do it all the time – a listing to invite external candidates when really an internal one is what they want. Often, it’s that they have [...]
I’m not officialy a social entrepreneur. I aspire to be, but I’m not, yet. As a micro-entrepreneur, it’d be a stretch to suggest otherwise. I do have people that work for me all over the world. And my contribution is to treat them with justice and fairness. To be honorable. Arguably, I’m not changing the [...]
Thomas Friedman’s book, “The World is Flat” has been filling my mind for some time now; I bought the 33-CD latest edition. It’s been completely worth it. I really don’t like the writing style. It’s always either too precious, too patronizing, or just too slow and laborious, if not pained and redundant. The fake ethnic [...]
The World is Flat is one of those lovely life-changing pieces of literature that, if you can get past the author’s infuriating writing style, is worth the significant time investment. If you’re an entrepreneur, at the least, consider it brain-food, that unique energy that courses through the dendrites of our neural networks, and comes out [...]
Projects can swiftly get out of control, and can easily lose momentum. By that time, however, they’ve already started to take a toll on the confidence of stakeholders, participants, and clients. Because of this, the ability to implement effective projects requires excellence, support, and commitment at each stage of the build. The things project leaders [...]
Daniel writes prolifically about subjects ranging from work to social justice, does literary writing, and is Marketing Director of Free Agent Source. Daniel founded JobHacker (formerly the Rules of Work) blog when the bottom fell out of the mortgage market, and the US economy started its death rattle.
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