The Brothers Who Stand A Century Apart

(Posted in Daily Chronicles)

(Continued from Waiting at the Doorstep)

I’d like to take a break from story time and touch on a hot button issue.  Still stay gathered around though, I’d like to hear your take on this matter.  This discussion is definitely something a president of a company wouldn’t want to comment on because of the potential microscope it could put their business under.  But, fortunately, I’m the idiot in charge and haven’t made any sells yet, so I guess I don’t know any better.  Or I actually care . . .

I rarely watch the news, but when I do, it seems as though the news pundits are always talking about how much money the U.S. owes China.  When I see this, I can’t help but shake my head at the complicated relationship we have with them.  It’s almost like two stubborn brothers who are trying to prove to their Dad that they are the one who deserves to take over the business once he retires.  They want to prove that their system works the best.  If they want to earn their Dad’s approval, they’d be wise to learn about what was going on in their “brother’s” country over a century ago.  They would realize that the predicament they find themselves in is eerily similar to their “brother’s” past experience.

Remember daydreaming through your world history class on the day your teacher talked about China?  Yeah, I don’t really either.  But, I do remember hearing them harp on about “The Boxer Rebellion“.  This, of course, comprised most of the lecture because the U.S. had some involvement.  Pretty much, the uprising took place because foreign influence was spreading at a dangerous rate within the country.  These foreign influences were dispersing their own ideals and they undermined Chinese values.

I’m not saying the exact same scenario is taking place in the U.S. right now.  However, I think the rebellion’s call to action to address the problem at hand is a strategy that the American consumer market needs to analyze.  There’s way too many foreign products in the U.S. market right now.  Just the other day, I saw a segment on CNBC where they would go to people’s houses and remove all of the foreign made products from the house.  All that was left was usually like a box of toothpicks and an old jock strap.  That is not a good sign for ol’ red, white, and blue.

Like the “Boxers” did, we need to start decreasing foreign influence in our country.  We need to import less and focus on domestic production.  (Americans are really starting to take pride in this movement and are going in droves to stores like this.)  Not only would this shrink the amount of foreign products on the market but it would also increase the volume of our exports.  Easy win-win solution, right?  Nope.  Not that easy.  Many domestic companies wouldn’t be able to do this  because of the cost of labor.  With all of their competition using foreign manufacturers that have low labor wages, they couldn’t turn a profit selling the product at the market’s price point.  Which brings me to . . .

China is looking pretty damn good right now.  They are the manufacturing powerhouse that America once was.  They’re relaxing poolside with a sh** eatin’ Jack Nicholson grin wiped across their face.  Their “brother” owes them so much money that they’re making him wear women’s sunglasses (guy on left) in public to rub it in until he can pay up.  Sure, China may have the hot blonde sitting next to them right now, but she just might be moving on to the next movie star here shortly.

If China really wants to maintain their “progress”, they might want to steal their “brother’s” American History book and flip to the section about the Progressive Era.  They might put two and two together and realize that a very similar movement is taking place within their country.  During the early 1900s, the American labor situation was in dire straits.  Workers were barely making enough to get by, conditions within factories and meat packing plants were unfathomable, the child labor rate was alarmingly high, and workers were dying at their job.  “There was great interest during the Progressive Era in investigation of hazardous working conditions. President Theodore Roosevelt had championed the conservation movement and broadened its scope to include the saving of human life.”
Including saving a life!  How crazy is that, only a 100 years ago . . .

Now, it isn’t as fatal as it was here a hundred years ago.  But, even the slight resemblance to a situation that took place a century ago says a lot.  Many of China’s workers are oppressed.  There is no denying that.  Much like the American workers during the Progressive Era, the Chinese workers are unionizing and organizing strikes.   They are fighting for better wages to improve their families life.

Once the cost of labor goes up in China, and it will, companies are going to move onto the next oppressed country for manufactured goods.  China might want to start thinking about a future strategy for their manufacturing industry.  Or they might find themselves owing someone money in the not so distant future . . .

The hot blonde is starting to get up; she says that she is just going to get a drink real quick.  The in debt brother lets out a vengeful chuckle.

These two stubborn bastards need to meet in the middle.  They need to come to the realization that the business will be better run by them working in unison; not against one another. It is vital that they lay the foundation for the centuries to come.  Before they know it, they will have sons of their own who will want to impress their Dad.

Continue to The Madcap Effect . .  .

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Do you think it’s plausible that America can once again become a manufacturing giant, like we were in the 1800s?  What do you think about American companies sourcing foreign factories to manufacture their products?  Let me hear your responses here, on twitter, on facebook, or within the MadCap facebook group!  Thanks, I look forward to discussing this with you!

Cheers to sharing!

Waiting at the Doorstep

(Posted in Daily Chronicles)

Yesterday, I rushed to the mailbox like a kid expecting Santa Claus.  The long awaited day had finally come; the delivery of the sample.  I’m on the cusp of being welcomed inside;  I will no longer have to be waiting at the doorstep.  My goal was almost complete.  I could almost taste the round of Big Bourbon that The Exec was to going to have to buy for our bet.

Tearing open the package like a rabid animal, I sensed that all of my frustration from the past couple months could finally be let out.  All of the struggle was worth it.  The countless hours of research,brainstorming, phone conferences, hundreds of emails, traveling, and thousands of dollars were suddenly paying off with each tear. And, oh yeah, some redemption for getting royally screwed by the Fox Bros. (I’ll get to this story later).

Damnit, this thing is harder to open than those stupid plastic packages for action figures.  It was sealed extra tight because it had been sent from a world away.  It boggled my mind that a couple days ago my sample was being crafted in a Chinese factory 8,000 miles away and now it was in my hands.  Fascinating times we live in. (We’ll be discussing this in the next post).

All of the mounting anticipation and difficulty of the package just added salt to the wound after I saw the sample.  It was terrible.  Not even close to being ready for the market.  There really is some universal law that everything has to be difficult, isn’t there?  We have come so far but are still so far away.  Now, I had to contact my consultants and be like the guy at Subway bitching about not getting enough salami on his sandwich.  This isn’t acceptable!  I hate being that guy.  But, it is a role you have to fulfill if you want to produce a quality product that people will buy.  I think. 

Of course, my consultant was positive as usual.  It takes a couple runs of samples to get it right.  The next one will be market ready.  I get that, but I can’t keep forking over money for crappy samples.  The budget is running dangerously low.  I am convinced, after these past couple months, that being successful in whatever field of business, half of it is being able to spin things. The ability to deflect dissatisfaction and spin a positive  solution is an invaluable skill to have.  Especially when dealing with clients.  Every client presents their own sets of demands, vision, and budget for what they want from you.  Being able to absorb their frustration and presenting a “its no so bad” speech seems key.

I thoroughly explained what needed to change.  Okay, great.  I’m telling you the next sample will be magnificent.  We’ll see.  Back to the waiting game.  Great, Madam Moola is going to be pissed . . . (that’ll make sense later on).

The guy who answered the door now looks confused and is asking who I am.  With my shoulders hunched, I respond “still just the Madcap.”  The door closes.  But, it seems as though he left it ajar for some reason . . .

Continue to The Brothers Who Stand A Century Apart . . .

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Have you ever been eagerly awaiting something and then were highly disappointed?  Please comment!

Cheers to sharing!

The Exec – Part 1: A Nightcap with the Madcap

(Posted in The Exec)

Pull up a seat my friend.  What’ll ya have?  I’ll get this one.  I’m August Chimera, nice to meet you.  What do I do . . . ?  Well, it’s an interesting time for me right now, to say the least.  I graduated from college a couple months ago and am starting a company in an industry I know next to nothing about.  I agree it’s crazy, but I always have been a bit of a madcap.

Well, I am forming a company to sell a product that I conceptualized during my senior year.  I just met you friend, I can’t tell you exactly what the product is.  Maybe further down the line I can . . . you seem trustworthy.  I’ve got to keep it sub rosa until I have the product ready to sell.  You see, I’m just a roadrunner in a desert full of coyotes, I have to tread cautiously.  There are products on the market that are maybe 50, 60% like mine, but nothing exactly like it.  If one of the big companies caught wind of my concept, I’d be royally screwed.

Well, alright.  I can tell you that the primary target for the product is girls in college. Your right, it is a big market.  Well,  I know college girls will want the product because that is where I came up with the idea.  Staggering around at a party, the idea hit me.  I put a couple muddled observations together and realized the potential the product has.  Yeah, I do realize that everyone thinks they have a million dollar idea, but I’ve got to try.

You know, the famous author Hubert Selby admitted that he started to write because he feared he would die before he accomplished anything.  Yeah, I know I’m way too young to be thinking like that but its motivation to see this project through to the end.  I want to be able to showcase at least one of my ideas before I kick the beer can.

Business plan . . . well I don’t exactly have one.  Kind of like a educated guess, I’m educated winging it.  I’m good at trucking along half knowing what the hell I’m doing.  It’s an acquired skill from all the years of figuring out the parameters to achieving the bare minimum in school.  I disagree.  The lack of business plan hasn’t left me like a chicken with its head cut off.  I’ve got everything together up here.  I’ve also got some people in my corner.  It’s funny the things in life you have to do to make things happen. After a long search, I finally found some reliable consultants.  Upon disclosing my idea to them, I oddly thought of Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire.  I had to depend on the kindness of strangers.

I’m putting together a website to sell the product on.  No need to hire anyone to do that, I’m going to build it.  No, I don’t know any of your secret mumbo jumbo codes but I bought a web design book.  Yeah, I’ll be able to pick it up, I’m a quick learner.  How hard could it be?  It might seem like I’m feeding you a bunch of bull, but you’ll see.  Mark it down . . . 6 weeks. In that time, the product will be mass produced and there will be a lot of buzz about the product.  Trust me, I know what I’m going to do.  That’s exactly what I’m planning on doing, don’t try to take credit.  I am going to launch a teaser campaign and generate interest.  Let’s see, around October 10th we’ll say, the site will be live and selling the product.  Alright, a friendly wager.  Winner gets a round of big bourbon.

What is going to get me from this in- flux state to heading a company and selling the product is my perseverance. My faith in the products potential.  My desperation to achieve something.  You can’t embody all of that in a plan.  You carry that on your shoulders and outlet it in your actions.  That’s going to be the fun part and where I’m going to be front and center.  I know exactly how I am going to market the product.  That was my major.  I know what works and what doesn’t.  No, I never have worked on an actual ad campaign, I just entered the real world remember. That’s a current trend that needs to be put to rest; people not believing you or wanting to hire you unless you have already come up with something amazing.  What happened to appreciating raw talent and good ideas?  Really . . . no way.  Fancy that, you’re an ad exec.  Now I get the Mr. skeptic shtick.  Let’s be sure to keep in touch so you can see the benefit of taking a leap of faith in someone.  I’d be forever grateful if you did that.  You spreading the word about my campaign would help out tremendously.  Don’t look now, but check out that girl over there.  In the red.  She could really use my product right about now.  Cheers to her and good ideas.  Clink.

Continue to A Moral Formal, Madcap Welcome . . .

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Have you ever randomly met someone who helped change your life?  Please comment!

Cheers to sharing!