Somehow in the adorable family, suburban home, and picket fence of the American Dream, we got tricked. We wanted security, and we thought American industry could provide.

But when you think of Donald Trump, what are the two nasty words you also think of? “YOU’RE FIRED!”

Where’s the security in that? I’m starting to wonder if being self-employed isn’t really the most secure option out there. Think about it: you sure can’t be fired or laid off. Self employment is risky at first, but if you work hard enough at the right business idea, you’ll succeed. You’re the boss, so you don’t have to deal with the dirt to move up or fight your way through the muck for raises and promotions. Heck, when you’re the boss, you the only people you work with are the people you want to work with.

The greatest bonus, I think, is that your ideas get heard and get implemented. The harder you work, the more money you make.

One of my greatest friends spent his entire life focusing on aviation; he felt bound to be an airline pilot. Yet when he landed his dream job, he found the position wasn’t such a dream. He was barely home, barely sleeping, and barely breaking even. He was paying rent in several cities, eating out when he stayed at hotels, and getting paid little by the hour… but only for certain types of hours that he worked.

He was put on part-time, dashing his dreams. He started becoming an independent airplane mechanic. No one thought “airplane mechanic” sounded prestigious. But he LOVED it. He was making far more money, setting his own hours, and doing the work that he chose to do. Now his dreams always consist of self-employment, never the airlines.

How come we never think that being an established self-employed person is secure?

I told Aridni that I didn’t know anything about getting wealthy. I didn’t know anything about money and finance and that stuff. They said that I did. I started writing article ideas over and over for today’s Aridni guest article, and that’s when I realized that maybe I do know something about money–that we all do. It’s all a matter of if we take time to recognize our money status and direction. And if we take time to keep learning more.

I set a goal for myself: I will make money while I sleep.

Not sure how to fully achieve this goal. I’m not good at the stock market. So I admit that, and I start researching. Some ways to make money while you sleep:

-Commissions
-Home ownership of an appreciating property
-Network marketing
-Royalties
-Marketing consulting or something where you get a percent of the revenues that come later

I commute to work every day and it drives me insane. When you work for someone else, you are only making money when you’re at work. You stop working at the end of the day, and you stop making money. I think that idea is silly. I’m tired of doing it. Almost everyone in America does it. Why do we do this? Well it’s easier. It’s less risk. And you know what? It’s stupid. Make money while you sleep. Now we’re talking. Then hire other people to work 9 to 5. Their work gives them a set pay. Everything above that is profit for your pocket.

Our guest writer this week is Alex the Great. Well Alex admits to not being great quite yet… but Alex is working toward greatness. Add Aridni to your resume, Alex! And if you know anyone who might be interested in writing for Aridni’s Saturday Strategy column, let us know.

Right now where I work there are a lot of extra steps in order to check someone out. The system was not built with usability in mind at all.

Let me take you through the steps to help someone with the register. For this example we’ll say they are buying a bottle of perfume for $37.50.

The Keys you would press would be as follows

F1
-enter your user number-
enter
enter
-enter where they are from-
enter
-enter the customer’s name-
enter
Scan barcode on perfume – or type in product number
Enter
Esc
F3
1
enter
-perfume seller’s user number
enter
enter
37.50
enter
PR
enter
A
Esc
US
40.
enter
F5

Now I have seen systems before that take extra steps to make a sale before, but never twenty seven of them.

Checking someone out should be as simple as scanning a product and entering the cash amount. Granted because of where I work I have to take the customer’s information and name, but that should not entail a huge plethora of steps.

So you’re homework for this weekend to identify the places where your business could benefit from a streamlined operation.

Do you want to get some financing for your new product, invention, or company? Lets take a look at what some of the standards seem to be, based on the Venture Capitalism’s three c’s for loans. This article is essencially geared towards taking your business and expanding or improving it by taking out loans.

And of course those three c’s would be cash, credit, and collateral.

1. Cash - It is important for you to be an investor in your own project. If you are throwing down a good portion, say 20% for example, then you are laying the groundwork of good faith. If people know that the person they are investing in cares enough to lay down his own money, they are more likely to invest.
2. Credit - Even though as they say on the investing commercials ‘past performance does not guarantee future results’ it can give you a clue. If someone’s FICO score is awful, there is a good chance that they do not know how to manage their funds. Then on the other hand that person could be great from then on out.
3. Collateral – What happens if you spend the money expanding the business, only to find out that your idea was a flop. The investors are not going to be particularly happy about that. With good cause too, you could have just lost all of their money without anything to show for it. By having collateral, you are saying ‘If I can’t make payments, I’ll back it up with my house’ Could be risky for you, but if it means getting your loans you have to be able to take that risk.

These c’s can be basic rules of thumb for any type of loans. With that, you are one step closer to getting your business set for growth!

Having taking a few seconds to read a post about lattes, I believe that I too am prepared to share my fiscal advice with the Aridni world and its denizens, whoever they may be. Though I have no formal training in any sort of business or economics, I do possess one thing that these other high and mighty posters do not: The Knowledge of the Streets!

Too many people today get caught up in finding the best compromise between the quality and the value of the products they purchase. Is it better to purchase something mediocre if it comes at an exceptionally low price, or does the deliciousity or neatoness of an item justify its high cost? Both carefree indulgence and stern frugality come with many troubles attached, whereas the mean between these two shows many obvious benefits without putting too much strain on the consumer. But I don’t care about any of that crap! I said this knowledge is from the streets! Ya feel me, cuuuzzz?!?!

When you’re living on the streets, you’re not choosing between Grey Poupon and Sam’s Choice Deli-Style mustard; you’re choosing whether mustard is worth giving up your life for. You’ve gone dumpster to dumpster to acquire the necessary elements to make a scrumptious Dagwood, all except the mustard. Mustard almost never goes bad, so what business would it have in a dumpster? On the other hand, what good is a Dagwood if it doesn’t have that tangy, semi-spicy goodness to glue together your newly found provolone and salami? It ain’t nuthin’! IT AIN’T NUTHIN’! But are you willing to go that extra mile? Are you willing to run from an underpaid, overfed security guard whose livelihood depends on whether he can effectively hunt down your condimentally deprived kind? That’s business on the streets! You wanna earn sumthin’, you better be ready to put it all on the line.

And really, this can serve as a metaphor for the whole business world. One shouldn’t worry about how good a product is, or how expensive it is, but instead should focus on whether it’s worth taking a risk for. For instance, maybe you feel like your lobby needs some comfy new chairs which would not only serve to keep clients happy while they wait, but would also add a certain panache to the lobby which screams, “We are serious business!” Instead of thinking about what kind of chairs you need, think about whether these chairs are even worth the initial investment. Are they really going to add to the office, or are they just an extension of your needy ego? Remember when making any business decision that the fat, sweaty security guard of financial failure is always just around the corner, and that maybe, crazy as it may seem, that delicious Dagwood of success would taste just fine without any mustard.

Of course, if you do decide you need the chairs, you then still need to make the decision of what kind, but you’re on your own there. Not my department, foolish honkies.

Today’s guest article comes from Nick, a young man who recently graduated from the University of Montana. Nick often writes for a comedy website, and wanted to help spread his dose of humor over here to Aridni. So now, what kind of mustard do you like?

In case you weren’t aware, Microsoft recently stated that there is a 20% chance that they will delay Vista again, and not be ready for the anticipated January 2007 release.

A software company missing their own deadline multiple times isn’t a new thing at all, they’ve been doing it for years! Granted there is a lot of work involved in creating any software, let alone an operating system, but is there a logical reason to let down your customers?

If I wanted to run a circus, I wouldn’t start putting up flyers right off the bat that say “Circus coming on Saturday!” and then start working on the logistics. Instead I would start gathering the people, animals, and supplies I need to make the show happen. Acrobats, clowns, daredevils, lions, elephants, tents, and everything else would need to be rounded up and trained or tested.

Once my circus has an actual show to it, I might think about printing up my flyers and announcing the show.

It’s hard to name companies that actually do this, outside of the obvious Google. They practically wait until they are launching their new software before they even think about telling anybody it is being developed.

So are you telling people about your circus now? Or waiting until you actually have made it functional?