So true

Be grateful for the doors of opportunity--and for friends who oil the hinges. Author unknown

Why?

People have been asking me why I wanted to start my own business. There are a lot of different reasons. I don't want to assimilate myself into someone else's overly complex business, I don't want to get stuck in a cubicle all day doing mindless work, and I want to be able to have control over how much money I make. I have had dozens of interviews that all result in some variation of "you're not good enough". I'm tired of it because I KNOW I am good enough for any job I apply for.

I've been doing a lot of reading on how to start a small business, and one of the first things that I needed to determine was my view on how my business would be run. My view is that business should enable freedom. Freedom with regard to scheduling, finances, clientele, and my personal lifestyle. If my business helps me to accomplish this, then I can consider myself a success.

Also, I have been thinking about where I am in my life. If you look at it from a pessimistic point of view, I graduated from college after 4.5 years and I am still living at home working at a fast food job making 6.75 an hour. It's like I should have never gone to school in the first place. However, if you take an optimistic view, I have returned to my roots, strengthened my relationship with my family and friends, and I made a smart financial decision by starting my business from my parent's house (free rent, food, and internet access) and I am using my first client to learn essential skills and practices that I will need for my future clients.

So what is in my future for 2006? I will gain all of the necessary certifications to become a part of the Apple Consultants Network, I will gain 3-4 more clients through word-of-mouth advertising, I will establish a web presence as a business, and I will start formalizing Michael Sassman Consulting. It should prove to be a very interesting year.

And now for something slightly different

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a very independent person. I sometimes have difficulty following rules that don't make sense, and I have a hard time working in situations that restrict my personal and professional freedom. I have been playing the "HR Game" for over 4 months now. I have had dozens of interviews and spent hundreds of my hard-earned dollars on gas driving to these interviews. I have never found a job or company that I am passionate about. I have found plenty of positions that I am well-qualified for, but nothing seems to pan out. I think this is because the interviewers all sense that I didn't really want the job they were offering, I just wanted to get paid to do work that I am qualified to do. To date, I have heard at least 6 dozen variations of "No".

I'm done with my job search.

I am fully intent on going another direction. I am starting my own company. I have done my homework, and the ball is already rolling. Mike Sassman Consulting has been born. I already have one client who has hired me for a technology overhaul of his office. Once I have one success under my belt, hopefully word of mouth will take hold and I will get busier. The bottom line is that I am never going to get rich working for anyone else. I have to work with myself. I have the work ethic, and the business sense to get it done.

For now, there is a ton of work to do, not only on getting an identity for the business, but also getting the work done!! Does anyone have a suggestion for a slogan/motto/marketing thingamajig that I can use?

Male mentors needed....

I received a message from Keith Klein who is very active with DeMolay International, which is a young man's fraternity. See what he had to say about the state of boys in our society.

Please read the following excerpt from the January 30, 2006, issue of Newsweek carefully. Please note the sections I have bolded and colored blue.
Yes, the article speaks to issue of education - but you cannot escape the presence of the word mentor. For my purposes and for DeMolay, read the word mentor as - Advisor.
I have been spending a great deal of time of late thinking about change and what we (DeMolay) and the rest of the Masonic Family can do to embrace the times in which we now find ourselves.
For DeMolay I would say - stay strong...grow and welcome as many young men as possible. In DeMolay's key active member and initiate age demographics there is a definite parallel with a crucial time in a young man's life. A time when, as is noted in the complete Newsweek article - young men (boys) need to be with other young men (boys) of a similar age. What better argument could there be for the need for, and a purpose for, DeMolay - TODAY.
For the Masonic family which has numerous wonderful causes - what better purpose could the Adult members of the Masonic Family have then to assure the highest quality possible next generation and the one after that and the one after that.
We need Advisors. Young men (boys) need role models. If we truly believe in what the organizations in the Masonic Family are about - then there could be no higher calling or purpose than to make a difference in the life of a young man.
I strongly urge you all to read the entire Newsweek article and think DeMolay as you do. I'm willing to bet a light will come on when you do that. It smacked me in the head and maybe that is what we need - a jolt of reality and a new purpose to an old mission.
Keith

Newsweek, January 30, 2006 issue
The Trouble With Boys
One of the most reliable predictors of whether a boy will succeed or fail in high school rests on a single question: does he have a man in his life to look up to? Too often, the answer is no. High rates of divorce and single motherhood have created a generation of fatherless boys. In every kind of neighborhood, rich or poor, an increasing number of boys—now a startling 40 percent—are being raised without their biological dads.
Psychologists say that grandfathers and uncles can help, but emphasize that an adolescent boy without a father figure is like an explorer without a map. And that is especially true for poor boys and boys who are struggling in school. Older males, says Gurian, model self-restraint and solid work habits for younger ones. And whether they're breathing down their necks about grades or admonishing them to show up for school on time, "an older man reminds a boy in a million different ways that school is crucial to their mission in life."
In the past, boys had many opportunities to learn from older men. They might have been paired with a tutor, apprenticed to a master or put to work in the family store. High schools offered boys a rich array of roles in which to exercise leadership skills—class officer, yearbook editor or a place on the debate team. These days, with the exception of sports, more girls than boys are involved in those activities.
In neighborhoods where fathers are most scarce, the high-school dropout rates are shocking: more than half of African-American boys who start high school don't finish. David Banks, principal of the Eagle Academy for Young Men, one of four all-boy public high schools in the New York City system, wants each of his 180 students not only to graduate from high school but to enroll in college. And he's leaving nothing to chance. Almost every Eagle Academy boy has a male mentor—a lawyer, a police officer or an entrepreneur from the school's South Bronx neighborhood. The impact of the mentoring program, says Banks, has been "beyond profound." Tenth grader Rafael Mendez is unequivocal: his mentor "is the best thing that ever happened to me." Before Rafael came to Eagle Academy, he dreamed about playing pro baseball, but his mentor, Bronx Assistant District Attorney Rafael Curbelo, has shown him another way to succeed: Mendez is thinking about attending college in order to study forensic science.

Youth Protection Online

Protecting your kids online
By Mike Sassman

The internet has taken out lives and propelled them to a whole new level. Now, children are setting up their own web sites with the help of companies like myspace.com and facebook.com. These sites are useful for social networking and for making new friends. However, predators also use these web sites to set up meetings and prey on children. Police regularly pose as 9, 11, and even 18 year-old boys and girls to catch these criminals. However, it is not enough. You, as the author of the site, or the parent, need to stay vigilant when it comes to online safety. Here are a few tips to get started.

Parents
1. Limit your kids time online. Monitor what your children are doing when they are using the computer
2. Ask what your children’s screen names are. Have them show you their sites.
3. Install monitoring software on your computer

If you have a web site
1. Never put your address or phone number on any web site.
2. If anyone chats or emails you and you do not know them (personally), do not reveal personal details like where you go to school, what kind of car you have, address, or phone number.
3. Do not post pictures that could lead a predator to your house, school, or work.

Stupid Government

Sometimes our government can just be plain stupid. They have passed rules that actually make it HARDER for people to get a job online. We have gotten to the point where people are going to have to update their resumes every week or so in order for employers to even look at them.

Do yourself a favor, find out if your senator voted for this...and if s/he did, slap them on the back of the head for being stupid. Finding a job can be hard enough without the government getting in the way.

Story Link:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/06/news/economy/annie/annie_0206/index.htm?cnn=yes

new cafe!

While running errands with my mom today in Highland, we found a new coffee shop called the Blue Room Cafe. It is a very nice, laid back atmosphere where you can bring your laptop, surf the 'net and enjoy a cup of specialty coffee or one of their WONDERFUL fruit smoothies. It is located on Highway Avenue in Downtown Highland. Definitely worth a stop if you are in town.

www.theblueroomcafe.com

cool job

You know what a cool job would be? Wall Street Analyst. Think about it. You get to have major impact on stocks by making up stories and publishing your opinion on what a company is going to sell in a quarter or year. IT'S ALL MADE UP!!

It really wouldn't be a bad job. All I'd have to do is say "Company XYZ is going to have 1.5 billion dollars in sales and have a profit of 324 Million for the quarter". If I am close, people will pay attention to me. If I am way off, I just adjust my numbers a bit and wait for the next quarter to come around.

Am I wrong? I am sure there must be some complex business formulas to work with....or something.