My Life After Retail

As an Internet entrepreneur I truly see the value of time.  Each and every day of my life I have to make decisions as to what I will do with my precious time.  Owning my own company allows me to do whatever I want.  If I want to take a day off and hang out with friends I can.  If I want to research for 16 hours a day I can.  If I want to get in my car and drive five hours to go fly fishing I can.  With that in mind I realize that the more valuable time I put into my business the more I will get out of it.

Living in Raleigh, NC, near three major universities, I have access to the ultimate group of individuals who know how to waste time – college students.  We all loved college because we went to class for 15 hours a week and the rest of the time we found entertainment.  I continue to have many friends in college and I could easily waste my days away much as they do; playing Wii or PS3, checking every profile known to man on Facebook and Twitter, drinking the nights and weekends away, or playing the dating scene with every college girl.

I am not going to lie, it greatly frustrates me to see my friends waste away the time that they do, especially my college friends.  I know I am wired a little bit differently but how can you spend hour upon hour without doing anything productive.  I guess we all define being productive in different ways but I refuse to believe that checking Facebook for five hours a day is being productive.  I have always made the statement, “if you would spend as much time monetizing something as you do wasting time you could be a millionaire.”

I truly believe this to be the case and I will continue to believe it as I am living proof.  I am, by no means, a millionaire but I assure you that I am very successful and that will continue because I make very good use of my time.  Some people might call me obsessive/compulsive but I would call myself an entrepreneur.  Colin Cowherd, ESPN radio host, makes reference to those who have created wealth for themselves and how their minds are always going 100 mph.  I think my mind is not only going 100 mph, it is going that fast in four different directions.

This is a blessing and a curse all wrapped up in one.  I will be the first to admit that very few females in my life can handle my entrepreneurial spirit.  No matter where I go or what I do I always see the value in the things around me.  I truly believe that I could find a way to monetize shower curtains (let females put their favorite company’s symbols on it and sell it for $25; a Coach, Target, Juicy Couture and Dulce & Gabanna shower curtain, tell me that wouldn’t sell?!?).  These are the ideas I think of each and every minute of the day. For some reason most females want attention rather than me pointing out that advertising on umbrellas could make a killing.

I have learned that I am who I am and no matter what that is not going to change.  I will always believe that time wasted is money lost.  When you are sitting around on a weeknight watching television couldn’t you be thinking of the next great business model?  Do not get me wrong, I believe there is a time and place to spend with friends and family.  This does not mean that I will take every single week night to watch reruns of Friends and Sex and the City.  In all reality, the only show I consistently watch is one that makes me think the whole time (Lost), go figure!

I am not suggesting that you should take every minute of your day to figure out the next Ipod but I would suggest that you consider how much time you truly waste.  Was it worth it to check Facebook for two hours?  Was it worth it to watch the same Sopranos episode you have seen three times?  The next time you are sitting around thinking of something to do, think about what you absolutely love to do and consider ways to monetize it.  You never know, you might be able to make that your living.

Please return to My Life After Retail to get daily inspirational stories as well as historical accounts of the success of Subprime Blogger.