Freecycle Experiment & Success Story #1
This weekend I cleaned out garage up. The process took quite a few hours and produced a large amount of trash. However it also produced a number of things I was holding on to and was ready to “release.” I thought it was an excellent opportunity to try freecycling to which I was introduced to by ContentLove. Monday night I posted a number of listings to the Freecycle_Cobb yahoo group. Most of it was computer hardware and software, a laser printer toner cartridge and some tape series including an abridged version of Cold Mountain. The result was 6 separate emails.
My first surprise was that after I posted the emails, they never showed up! In an effort to stop spammers from clogging the group, the moderators filter newbie’s posts I found out later. However, within a few hours they were approved. Tuesday morning I had a small number of emails about the items. Before I left work I left a box with the tapes and a box with the toner in front of my house. Over the course of the day I made arrangements with others to pick up stuff later last night. When I returned home the tapes were gone but the toner was there. The woman learned the toner was not the right one and emailed me. After about 7 PM a few people stopped to pick up some computer equipment. All were very nice. The last person though was exceptionally interesting.
He wanted “whatever PC computer equipment I had and was willing to give.” This was kind of a loaded request because I still have a ton of equipment I am slowly getting rid of. I took this as an opportunity to do some additional “house” cleaning. I gave him two sets of computer speakers, a UMAX SCSI card, cables, VGA to NTSC video converter, and other things, even a boxed version of Windows NT Server w/ 5 CAL. I was able to unload one whole US-Mail sized bin with cables and equipment, stuff I would have never taken the time to list on the freecycle group. The more interesting part though was that he was an electronics serviceman who repaired NCR type POS systems. He asked me why I had all the equipment and software. I gave a brief explanation of how long I have been consulting and working with computers. This opened up a series of questions that were out of the ordinary and very revealing.
He started asking where I thought the computer industry was going. I explained my ideas and they had significant similarities with his. We both expressed our observation of the polarization of computer industry jobs and how the electronics of it are becoming commodity objects. He lamented about the lack of technical education of incoming technicians and how no one ever does board level repairs any longer, everyone just swaps out components now.
His reasoning in asking all this is that he was worried about his future. Here he was, in his mid-40’s, and the industry he knew was disappearing fast. He did not know what his future held nor his options. He discussed his interest and ability to fix analog equipment, even the most technically difficult and high-end electronics. Then we started talking about the electronic devices he had invented for his company; over 50 in the last 15 years, of course they own the rights to them, he is just the inventor.
After discussing a little of his past and his future hopes, it seemed to me this was not a question of technical ability; it was a question of direction and business needs. He had to decide what he wanted to do. He could open up a business to service the high end stereo equipment for audiophiles. There is a definite need for this although it is a very vertical market (with this comment I had to explain to him the difference between vertical and horizontal markets). In his spare time he was already doing a little of this work and his main competitors were on the west coast so it was a realistic option. He could also set up an invention business and I explained how he create devices, patent them and then sell them or license them to other companies to produce. We discussed possible big areas in the future and I suggested RFID should be an area that he spends some time looking into.
Continuing, I explained how he could have any number of businesses based on his technical abilities, but there were things he had not considered. What about his time? What about his family? What are the costs involved? I don’t mean financial, I mean opportunity costs, time he could spend with his family and friends. At mentioning this, his body language changed significantly. I had obviously tapped a truth that I am willing to bet his wife reminds him of often. I also asked him about logistics; things like health insurance for him and his family, zoning regulations about his house and electronics, federal and state financial and legal requirements. These are things that never occurred to him because he was so focused on the technical side.
After introducing a number of other considerations, I asked if he had ever written a business plan. Not surprisingly, his answer was no, although he had tried writing a mission statement once and a few other similar things. I strongly suggested that he get a few books on business plans. Business plans are great because they help a person think through the whole process of creating a business, its purpose, its revenue streams, its competition, projected growth and costs, breakeven points, etc. They also help one to clearly articulate ones ideas. If one has a business plan one could just give it to a friend, possible partner or investor and clearly explain one’s plan. I also talked about the various kinds of options he had regarding partners, SBA loans and the like. These all required a good, clearly thought through business plan.
By the time we finished talking we had spent over an hour going thought these things and I could tell he was in an entirely different head space and had a whole new set of considerations to evaluate. He thanked me multiple times as I helped him load the boxes into his car. As he left I felt pretty good about the exchange. He helped me remove some clutter from my garage and closet and I hope I helped him remove some of the clutter from his understanding. Regardless, I can’t think of a better exchange.
My first surprise was that after I posted the emails, they never showed up! In an effort to stop spammers from clogging the group, the moderators filter newbie’s posts I found out later. However, within a few hours they were approved. Tuesday morning I had a small number of emails about the items. Before I left work I left a box with the tapes and a box with the toner in front of my house. Over the course of the day I made arrangements with others to pick up stuff later last night. When I returned home the tapes were gone but the toner was there. The woman learned the toner was not the right one and emailed me. After about 7 PM a few people stopped to pick up some computer equipment. All were very nice. The last person though was exceptionally interesting.
He wanted “whatever PC computer equipment I had and was willing to give.” This was kind of a loaded request because I still have a ton of equipment I am slowly getting rid of. I took this as an opportunity to do some additional “house” cleaning. I gave him two sets of computer speakers, a UMAX SCSI card, cables, VGA to NTSC video converter, and other things, even a boxed version of Windows NT Server w/ 5 CAL. I was able to unload one whole US-Mail sized bin with cables and equipment, stuff I would have never taken the time to list on the freecycle group. The more interesting part though was that he was an electronics serviceman who repaired NCR type POS systems. He asked me why I had all the equipment and software. I gave a brief explanation of how long I have been consulting and working with computers. This opened up a series of questions that were out of the ordinary and very revealing.
He started asking where I thought the computer industry was going. I explained my ideas and they had significant similarities with his. We both expressed our observation of the polarization of computer industry jobs and how the electronics of it are becoming commodity objects. He lamented about the lack of technical education of incoming technicians and how no one ever does board level repairs any longer, everyone just swaps out components now.
His reasoning in asking all this is that he was worried about his future. Here he was, in his mid-40’s, and the industry he knew was disappearing fast. He did not know what his future held nor his options. He discussed his interest and ability to fix analog equipment, even the most technically difficult and high-end electronics. Then we started talking about the electronic devices he had invented for his company; over 50 in the last 15 years, of course they own the rights to them, he is just the inventor.
After discussing a little of his past and his future hopes, it seemed to me this was not a question of technical ability; it was a question of direction and business needs. He had to decide what he wanted to do. He could open up a business to service the high end stereo equipment for audiophiles. There is a definite need for this although it is a very vertical market (with this comment I had to explain to him the difference between vertical and horizontal markets). In his spare time he was already doing a little of this work and his main competitors were on the west coast so it was a realistic option. He could also set up an invention business and I explained how he create devices, patent them and then sell them or license them to other companies to produce. We discussed possible big areas in the future and I suggested RFID should be an area that he spends some time looking into.
Continuing, I explained how he could have any number of businesses based on his technical abilities, but there were things he had not considered. What about his time? What about his family? What are the costs involved? I don’t mean financial, I mean opportunity costs, time he could spend with his family and friends. At mentioning this, his body language changed significantly. I had obviously tapped a truth that I am willing to bet his wife reminds him of often. I also asked him about logistics; things like health insurance for him and his family, zoning regulations about his house and electronics, federal and state financial and legal requirements. These are things that never occurred to him because he was so focused on the technical side.
After introducing a number of other considerations, I asked if he had ever written a business plan. Not surprisingly, his answer was no, although he had tried writing a mission statement once and a few other similar things. I strongly suggested that he get a few books on business plans. Business plans are great because they help a person think through the whole process of creating a business, its purpose, its revenue streams, its competition, projected growth and costs, breakeven points, etc. They also help one to clearly articulate ones ideas. If one has a business plan one could just give it to a friend, possible partner or investor and clearly explain one’s plan. I also talked about the various kinds of options he had regarding partners, SBA loans and the like. These all required a good, clearly thought through business plan.
By the time we finished talking we had spent over an hour going thought these things and I could tell he was in an entirely different head space and had a whole new set of considerations to evaluate. He thanked me multiple times as I helped him load the boxes into his car. As he left I felt pretty good about the exchange. He helped me remove some clutter from my garage and closet and I hope I helped him remove some of the clutter from his understanding. Regardless, I can’t think of a better exchange.