DH> It all goes back to that single word "FREEDOM"
You leave me no choice but to add my agreement to your synopsis....
 
 DH> Oh so true...
At the storefront operation, I spend more after-hours time there than anybody
else. * I'm * the guy that "finishes up" the stuff that our employees seem
not to have time to complete ! That, plus the fact that * I'm * the guy with
all the hopes and aspirations for the operation's success. * I'm * the
"administrative guy"...the "idea guy"...the "solutions guy"...the "systems
guy"...the "office manager"...the "ogre guy"...
I let the Better Half manage it daily: she's so much better than I with the
people that visit the place anyways. When we first began, I _knew_ well ahead
of time that being a "merchant" meant 12 and 15-hour "days" but she, alas,
had it figured that she could be a "9-to-fiver" and that would be that ! 
ind,
she's learning - fast - but she's _not_ "liking it" one iota. So far, she's
managed to "remain standing": it's not been easy for her to break away from
the "9-to-5" attitudes that she'd become used to over her lifetime !
I wouldn't want it any other way, though ! Though I do have my other (active)
business interests, I recognised that I was simply not the best person to 
ave
to meet with our buying public, and not just because of my own temperment, or
my (past) business background, but because I cannot "enjoy" meeting 
onstantly
with "strangers". So, I _deliberately_ took myself away from the "limelight"
aspects to work behind the scenes. Why ? Because I have a hearing condition
fraught with "strange" medical difficulties that literally prohibits me in
dealing with the many diverse vocal characteristics possessive of 
strangers":
it would not be a "responsible act" on my part if I even attempted to inter
-face - regularly - with our customers.
 DH> Some people never learn...
Sad but true...
 DH> I would think so, such conduct by staffers can be very costly, in more
 DH> than one way...
Expenses are _always_ on my mind. I learned very early on that if I can't
_earn_ at least TWICE the amount that something costs me, it is not worth
-while having around. Yes, ROI's _are_ important to me, and when it comes to
a tool like the phone, I _want_ that tool to be used effectively to _make_ me
a profit ! If only employees could think this same way...!  I suppose
that makes me a "hardliner", and sobeit !
 
 DH> Are You A Prospector Or Miner?
 DH> Maybe I did not make my point clear enough. A miner is a 9to5'er, a
 DH> wage earner, employee. They follow the instructions laid out by the
 DH> prospector, entrepreneur, business owner...
The first description sounds very much like Dale (my Better Half)...Speaking
for myself, well, I'm just a businessman, 24-hours a day...
FWIW, I've been self-employed for longer than I've worked directly for 
nybody
else. My first business was in the radiocommunications field, and I saw that
business through several stages of diversifications before being forced to
quit altogether. My second attempt at being self-employed put me in the
"office automation" field, but it soon became a position of "business 
anager"
for a friend's two businesses, the first that of a go-kart track and the
second in real estate and property management. My third - and one of my
current interests - led me to become a PC Systems Consultant and Desktop
Publisher. Today, I divide my time between these interests and the storefront
that we acquired late last year.
I'll be honest here and now, and tell you straightforewardly that I _don't_
have an MBA from Harvard...or any other business school, for that matter. My
"training", for the most part, has been the old School of Hard Knocks, with
the exception of a few advanced courses taken at the local college at night
over the years...and the lessons I learned with/from many of my hobbies. I'm
not really "cut-out" to derive benefit from any formal, classroom-type
training, but I am a very keen observant of what others do... So far, I've
been kinda successful...I think...
 
 DH> True, True, True, It's been nice. Let's keep in contact. Thanks for
 DH> your thoughts...
You're welcome, Dave ! The pleasure was all mine.
Semper Fi
RTP
~~~ PGPBLUE 3.0 
... Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.
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