Buckaroo
New Contributor
I have just finished reading "The Fastlane Millionaire" book by MJ, and have been following the posts on this forum for the last 2 weeks and, all that i can say is - Where were you guys 40 years ago???? I know that i am finding this Fastlane information a little late in the game compared to most of the other members, but let me give you a brief intro of where i am and where i want to be.
I have spent the last 38+ years stuck in the slowlane, and let me reassure you that it is not somewhere that you want to be. I have worked all of my career for several factories, doing industrial process engineering and maintenance. Just like all of the other slowlaners, i would jump from job to job anytime someone would offer a quarter or 50 cent raise. I actually thought that i was getting ahead.
Yes, like the perfect slowlaner, i sacrificed and saved every penny and paid cash for everything - house that needed a lot of work, well used cars, put my money into investments and a 401K. All was seemingly well until 2002. The local economy started to dip, and the factory began laying off. Most of us were told that if we wanted to keep our job, we would have to become salaried employees. I was excited what seemed like another 50 cents per hour. Fastforward to 2010 - i was working 75 -80 hours a week, no days off, 1 week vacation ( one day at a time ) all for the same pay. I was thankfull that i still had a job, as a lot of my friends were out of work when many of the other businesses closed. Each day required more time to be donated. I dreaded going to work every day, and collapsed at night when i got home. June 2010 - my wife took me to the hospital to see why i was always so tired. The next 30 days were spent on an IV, followed by 5 months of medication and bed rest for what the doctors said was the worst case of adrenal system fatigue that they had ever seen.
It's 2011 and back to work i go. First 40 - 50 - 60 - then 70+ hours a week. I marched right along with all of the other slowlaners just to keep my job, and i needed the money. My investments were almost all wiped out with the stock market crash, my savings were vaporized to pay for my health care while i was off work, and the 401k now has enough money to buy a used car. In march 2012, several of us asked for a day off. The boss told us " It will be a long time before anyone gets a day off, and if you need one - you had better look for another job". What a great piece of advice. I immediately started networking with some friends and looking for guidance on how to solve my problem. July 2012 - I walked into the factory on a saturday morning for what was supposed to be a mandatory 10 hour shift. I handed the boss my letter of resignation, walked out the door, and never looked back.
I , along with a partner, started a contracting business that does design, installation, and maintenance for a local utility company. I have gone from 7 days working for someone else with no days for myself, to working the five and two like JM explains in the book. So at least i considered this a step in the right direction. After reading the Fastlane book, i now realized that what i actually did was just create another slowlane job for myself. The contracting business violates three of the five Fastlane CENTS commandments - control, scale and time. The utility company has the control over when the different services are needed, and the rate that they pay for these services. Our scale is limited to a very regional area with no prospects of growth unless we are willing to travel hundreds of miles to reach other utility companies, and they all have the same set rate that they pay. Finally - Time....... Yes i am now working five days a week for someone else and get two days off for myself. Human resource sedlings could be an option if the business grows, but i don't see it likely happening.
Like many of us here, i have tried several times to escape the slowlane without a map of which direction the Fastlane exit was. I bought the carlton course on real estate. After searching for nearly a year, I actually made some money on one property, and lost on another. I have tried Ebay. We would buy items at local auctions and sell them. We did good at this until everybody at the auctions started to think that they were the next Ebay millionaire. Finally... inventing. In 1972 i invented an illuminated christmas tree ornament. I made the prototypes, drew up a sales sheet of sorts, along with photos and a very detailed description, and mailed it off to a major ornament manufacturer. I recieved a nice letter in return, it stated that they were not interested producing an illuminated tree ornament. It's then 1979, and there they were on the shelf at the local hardware at Christmas time. Four years ago i entered an invention prototype into a state wide, university sponsored invention contest. I was a finalist in the contest, but i failed to be the top place winner because of low profitability although, i was told that it was the most creative idea that they had ever seen. I have also made several different products that i have sold at local fairs in the past. We have done well with these, but each of my marketing attempts have failed some of the CENTS commandments.
I have been reading many of the posts here to try and find which direction to merge into the Fastlane and, i have really had my eyes opened. I now realize that i have spent most of my life putting an update or spin on existing products, mostly for other people. I can now see where and why i have failed. I have ordered Stephen Key's book - "One Simple Idea". I have plenty of ideas dancing thru my head, and with your help i can make a difference.
Thanks / Buckaroo
I have spent the last 38+ years stuck in the slowlane, and let me reassure you that it is not somewhere that you want to be. I have worked all of my career for several factories, doing industrial process engineering and maintenance. Just like all of the other slowlaners, i would jump from job to job anytime someone would offer a quarter or 50 cent raise. I actually thought that i was getting ahead.
Yes, like the perfect slowlaner, i sacrificed and saved every penny and paid cash for everything - house that needed a lot of work, well used cars, put my money into investments and a 401K. All was seemingly well until 2002. The local economy started to dip, and the factory began laying off. Most of us were told that if we wanted to keep our job, we would have to become salaried employees. I was excited what seemed like another 50 cents per hour. Fastforward to 2010 - i was working 75 -80 hours a week, no days off, 1 week vacation ( one day at a time ) all for the same pay. I was thankfull that i still had a job, as a lot of my friends were out of work when many of the other businesses closed. Each day required more time to be donated. I dreaded going to work every day, and collapsed at night when i got home. June 2010 - my wife took me to the hospital to see why i was always so tired. The next 30 days were spent on an IV, followed by 5 months of medication and bed rest for what the doctors said was the worst case of adrenal system fatigue that they had ever seen.
It's 2011 and back to work i go. First 40 - 50 - 60 - then 70+ hours a week. I marched right along with all of the other slowlaners just to keep my job, and i needed the money. My investments were almost all wiped out with the stock market crash, my savings were vaporized to pay for my health care while i was off work, and the 401k now has enough money to buy a used car. In march 2012, several of us asked for a day off. The boss told us " It will be a long time before anyone gets a day off, and if you need one - you had better look for another job". What a great piece of advice. I immediately started networking with some friends and looking for guidance on how to solve my problem. July 2012 - I walked into the factory on a saturday morning for what was supposed to be a mandatory 10 hour shift. I handed the boss my letter of resignation, walked out the door, and never looked back.
I , along with a partner, started a contracting business that does design, installation, and maintenance for a local utility company. I have gone from 7 days working for someone else with no days for myself, to working the five and two like JM explains in the book. So at least i considered this a step in the right direction. After reading the Fastlane book, i now realized that what i actually did was just create another slowlane job for myself. The contracting business violates three of the five Fastlane CENTS commandments - control, scale and time. The utility company has the control over when the different services are needed, and the rate that they pay for these services. Our scale is limited to a very regional area with no prospects of growth unless we are willing to travel hundreds of miles to reach other utility companies, and they all have the same set rate that they pay. Finally - Time....... Yes i am now working five days a week for someone else and get two days off for myself. Human resource sedlings could be an option if the business grows, but i don't see it likely happening.
Like many of us here, i have tried several times to escape the slowlane without a map of which direction the Fastlane exit was. I bought the carlton course on real estate. After searching for nearly a year, I actually made some money on one property, and lost on another. I have tried Ebay. We would buy items at local auctions and sell them. We did good at this until everybody at the auctions started to think that they were the next Ebay millionaire. Finally... inventing. In 1972 i invented an illuminated christmas tree ornament. I made the prototypes, drew up a sales sheet of sorts, along with photos and a very detailed description, and mailed it off to a major ornament manufacturer. I recieved a nice letter in return, it stated that they were not interested producing an illuminated tree ornament. It's then 1979, and there they were on the shelf at the local hardware at Christmas time. Four years ago i entered an invention prototype into a state wide, university sponsored invention contest. I was a finalist in the contest, but i failed to be the top place winner because of low profitability although, i was told that it was the most creative idea that they had ever seen. I have also made several different products that i have sold at local fairs in the past. We have done well with these, but each of my marketing attempts have failed some of the CENTS commandments.
I have been reading many of the posts here to try and find which direction to merge into the Fastlane and, i have really had my eyes opened. I now realize that i have spent most of my life putting an update or spin on existing products, mostly for other people. I can now see where and why i have failed. I have ordered Stephen Key's book - "One Simple Idea". I have plenty of ideas dancing thru my head, and with your help i can make a difference.
Thanks / Buckaroo
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