Capitalism - An Ideal for Living

Many people want to write the eulogy of Capitalism these days. They beg us to create a long view and see that the ideological underpinnings of Capitalism are devoid of substance and emotionally unfulfilling. They tell us it can only lead to destrcution and ruin due to its vapid twists and emotionless turns.

They want future authors to write the follwoing eulogy in the RSS feeds of the future:

"They blindly followed an Ideological path that was deeply rooted in the consuption of goods and services; ultimately consumption became the sole "lubricant" for political and soical discourse, and the society crumbled.".

But I think they are just victims of a bad upbringing. An "Un-Capitlaist" upbringing. The Socialist movements of the 1920s and 1930s injected a remorse into this country. An obtuse social meme that created disgust at the idea of consuption for the sake of ideology. Some embraced this philisophy and others rejected it. That is the beauty of America. I think having the two co-exist is like mixing oil and water. There is no logical way one can compliment the other.

Fast forward to today. 2006 in America.

Many still feel as though "consumption" is a bad thing. They bemoan the "commercialism of Christmas". They lament the directionless "brand identities" that promise a euphoric experience, only to leave us hollow with an incredible lack of substance. I say this is the wrong way to accept Capitalism as an ideal for living. In order to fully appreciate the fredoms that Capitalism brings us as an ideology, Capitalism must be embraced as a balance of consumption and hard work.

Without the "hard work" part. Capitalism is vapid and devoid of substance. However if you throw the "hard work" part back in, consumption becomes the reward for achieving a goal. It is the exact format the human spirit needs to exist and fourish. Capitalism, in this way is the only true ideology uniquely suited to the human condition. All other ideologies pale in comparison to the strength of harnessing the human condition.

Fact is, Chrstmas really IS commercial. If it were not for the period of time between the day after Thanksgiving to the first of the year, I can think of at least 5 major business sectors that would not exist. The truth is (Virginia), Christmas is a Capitalist holiday. A virtual orgy of consumption and spending that lets the governing influences of capitalism know how to plan for the next year of spending and consumption. Thats a fact. Ask anyone in the financial services sector how that works.

So why can't we just relax and enjoy it? Why can't we just accept the idea that we vote with our wallets every day of the year? We live in a society that is the ultimate expression of he human condition. Our free spending and conspicuous ways are a monument to the true condition of human discourse and social growth. Like everything else "human" we want to deny it and hide it, but when you look around. When you really survey what we have created in America, the operative word is always "we". We are responsible for all this. We made it. We need to realize this and live with it productively or the Eulogy I wrote above will get written, and it will be true.

Is an Opportunity what you make it?

I've been coming up with an interesting conundrum while looking for my next gig. As I look at all the various startups out there that I would like to get involved with, many of them are run by smart, focused people who are destined to succeed. At fist blush, it seems like a very high percentage of them will achieve their goals. Scratch the surface, and you elminate some of them, but you always wind up with more than one. Which leads me to the problem at hand, "What is the determining factor in successful deals."

As an entrepreneur, I always want to create businesses from the ground up. The most profitable business is one that is based in a unique and compelling value proposition to a large enough client base. This always means starting up from zero. However, the theme I am pursuing as an overarching goal is "streamlining". I've always thought that if I didn't find a compelling deal while looking at things with partners, that I would eventually try my idea of "Streamlining an existing, wrote, service business using technology and advanced people management processes.". This means I would need to buy an existing, wrote, service business. Which is altogether more difficult.

There are so many and so many variations on the same theme that they all seem to get lost in the din. Car Washes, Building Management Companies, Dry Cleaners, Auto Repair, et al all exist at voluminous levels. But once again we have to answer the question....."What is the determining factor in successful deals.' and now, how do you do that in a market full of service businesses that all seem to be the same?

More as I learn it........

It is getting hard not to get discouraged

Today is day 10 of my due diligence effort on the state of call centers in the US, and it is getting very difficult to stay hopeful. I've spoken to entrepreneurs, politicians, lawyers, bankers, call center managers, and call center reps. Something that "jumps right off the page at you" is the complete lack of faith senior leaders have in the core workforce. When comparing India service workers with American services workers, the general consensus is that we (Americans) are under-educated, un-focused, and generally do not have the drive to succeed.

As an entrepreneur, I find it hard not to get outraged at something like this. It makes me want to change things, it makes me want to prove them wrong. However when you peel back the skin on that onion, they are consistently correct in the assumption. Why is this happening? Why is poker a career aspiration in the US? Entitlements. Government, state and local entitlements have truly formed a safety net in America, and many of my fellow countrymen have decided to take advantage of it.

We need less safety nets and more free markets. It seems that while we have been gleefully practicing the art and science of capitalism, we have simultaneously been undermining our workforce by getting them hooked on a socialist entitlement system. For the life of me I can not understand how this benefits us in the future. Look at the inner cities. The ONLY thing that works is free markets. Unfortunately, the largest free market in the inner city is drugs! Imagine what the person who organizes the intricate systems of runners, dealers, and enforcers that the drug trade plys could do if he/she were building a chain of auto supply stores. It surely isn't profit motive that should stop them. Running a multi-store chain is exceptionally profitable; much more profitable than the drug trade if you apply the risk premium of dying or going to jail!!!

It is this fundamental shift in perception that has to change. I advance that it is merely getting that drug dealer to realize the legitimate end to his/her organizational skills!!!

You can't legislate a living wage, you have to EARN it.

As I examine all the ways that US business could compete with Offshore BPO outsourcing, the one thing that keeps coming up is that American companies can't beat the pricing that Offshore providers can offer. Salaries of 20,000.00 per year are commonplace in nations that support offshoring. This makes stateside, labor for labor comparisons almost pointless. Clearly US business and Offshore outsourcers of business processes are taking advantage of the disparity between standards of living between two nations.

I think that right now, you are probably going.....duh..... However lets examine this trend. If you consider that there is a finite amount of wealth in the world, and that assets shift according to where free markets roam. The US is on the incorrect side of an ever-increasing curve. As countries that support Offshore outsourcing gain in terms of labor, wealth and market share, the opposite relationship must occur on the other side of the curve. This means that the US must prepare for deflation of wages in order to balance out the gap between nations.

So, when I see things like this It proves to me that politicians are not governing for our future. They are merely satiating the panicked crowd. The reality is that you can't legislate what the free market is creating. You can't just swipe a pen and balance the massive gap between the standard of living in India and the standard of living in the US. As long as the ability to exploit these two differences using the revolution of technology communications exists, it will continue to erode the ability for wages in the US to evolve. Forcing stores to support a living wage without chaining the economic landscape just means......Less jobs. As companies close stores in areas that require a living wage either through bankruptcy or intelligence.

Americans should fight offshore outsourcing

.....and I don't mean by endlessly complaining about politicians or crooked business people.

Why don't we COMPETE? We complain that we are losing thousands of middle and high tier service jobs to offshore concerns and I don't hear anyone tying to fight it! Why? Some say it is because we can NEVER compete with the wages people are willing to work for globally. But that just says that Americans are OVERPRICED! We say that about ourselves when we decide NOT to compete.

The answer is the combination of better, more innovative technology driving call center and BPO organizations combined with the active revitalization of inner city and low income areas. The truth is we can not count on the government to revitalize inner cities and low income areas. It is always the free market. Right now I see the same situation plaguing American inner cities and low income areas that was plaguing towns in India that were mired in the caste system.

It is five years later, and they are transforming while we are arguably getting worse. But that is when the Free Market comes in. There will be a point where offshore economies will begin to expand and their citizens will enjoy an ever increasing standard of living. Which is when the balance of opportunity will shift back American ideas and technology. The time to fight back is coming......I for one am going to be ready.

How to deal with a Venture Partner

Maybe it is just the type of blogs I read, but for some reason, everyone wants to tell you how to deal with a Venture Capitalist. I see things like "The Top Ten Things when talking to VC." or other "lists" that seems to suggeest that someone actually knows how to manipulate a VC into liking your idea. I have to say it seems much more organic than that.

I've seen people get funded, and I've seen a lot more NOT get funded. The ones that actually DO move through the maze far enough to GET funded seem to be getting there not on some swift sales pitch, and not even on a good cash flow model. They just "click" with the overall tone and tenure of the firm doing the funding. It seems almost magical.

So, I would say, if you have to read "lists" to get funded. Your idea needs more work and isn't immediately compelling.

Back and Blogging....Looking for the next Gig.

Nice to be back Blogging.

I took a bit of a vacation from blogging as I built my latest company, ReadyTechs (http://www.readytechs.com/). I've recently completed a transaction with my business partner to take control of ReadyTechs so now I am back at the grindstone looking for the next deal. Which, I currently think, is Call Centers.....or more specifically, Digital Contact Centers. A call center format using all forms of digital communications (VOIP, IM, Email, Web) to provide a higher level of contact to users.

If you are a call center owner or operator, please Email me. ethigent is interested in purchasing a tradtional call center to transform into a digital contact center, or partnering with an existing one to develop the technology needed to drive this.