Long time reader, first time poster

[JayODC]

Hi Fastlaners,

A quick intro from me, before I move over to the progress thread and start posting there.

Read TMF about ten years ago while I was still in college, shared the good word with friends over hushed tones.

After we all went our separate ways, what followed for me was pretty much a ten year odyssey into business, corporate land, startups and everything in between. While I felt battered and bruised coming out the other side of my 20s, I did at least explore a wide spectrum of work, lifestyle and personal challenges.

Now it's time to put all of those lessons to the test, figure out what value can be created, packaged and presented to others in a meaningful way.

Or apply the lessons to a new business, follow the CENTS framework and keep at it until it works.

What else is there to do, but to keep trying? Go back to corporate land? I think not..

It's the end of a chapter and the beginning of another.

Thanks to MJ and everyone who has contributed over the many years, it's time I also gave something back.

- Jay

 

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[JayODC]

Well naturally the progress and execution thread is for those progressing and executing on fastlane businesses, so I'll provide my update here instead.

Also will open up a mindset thread, since that is where there is some resistance right now.

Resistance stemming from the main question I'm sure that crosses the mind of most who come across intro threads like these:

"Why did it take you 10 years before posting on the forum and getting involved?"

A fair question, one that can be answered with a combination of things, but we are not here for excuses, to lets move on.

Since there is no fastlane business in the works, I'll explain the approach I have in mind, see if it matches with the fastlane philosophy, or if the resistance I'm experiencing is a fundamental difference in approach.

---------

The Story

So I do in fact run a business now. After my 10-year preamble, I landed on a business opportunity through a connection I had made prior. It's been operating for almost 4 years now, with wild swings in yearly revenues, depending on the contracts we win. Last year we in fact did not win a single contract and so were running on fumes. Anyway I'll likely have to detail more about this company in a future post, just to give some context to the next section.

The Mindset

Where I'm at now is honestly an 'employee owner'. I don't know the commonly used term here, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Due to how the business works, I don't see it becoming fastlane in the near future, with a higher likelihood of reducing my hours, delegating tasks, and freeing up time for another venture.

The Difference

I'd like to investigate if there a fundamental difference in approach here, between fastlane objectives and those that run businesses like mine, that may be useful within their niche, but not remarkably profitable.

I'll write more about this difference in a follow up post soon.