Wow, since we have actually launched the gelato business we
have received tons and tons and tons of advice. One of the most common is for
us to try to get on Dragon’s Den/ Shark Tank. I haven’t actually watched much
more than part of one episode and those people are mean! Couldn’t make me have to
go thru that experience. I don’t want to sell part of my company either, not
now anyways; I am just getting into the whole ownership thing myself. In
addition, I like not having someone tell me what to do. Those are pretty
successful people on the programs and you don’t get successful without being
able to order people around.
Many people are giving me advice on flavours as well – I
think they want their own favoritesJ. However, I just love
hearing new ideas for flavours – I can imagine what it would be like and just
salivate at the thought. Chocolate with raspberry, chocolate with peanut
butter, chocolate with… anything. Shows where my flavour favorites are, doesn’t
it.
Growth and distribution are another theme that we are
hearing about all the time. My views on expansion and growth are quite
different from the majority of folks. I don’t believe that growth, especially
at a large scale (province/country/world) is sustainable. The news is rife with
statements about “new markets” and growing industries. Does anyone else see
where expansion of our society and rampant consumerism has gotten us as a
species? Bigger everything has led to a loss of sense of community, a loss of a
sense of dependency on friends & neighbours and a huge loss of self-sufficiency
for a family, community, town, area and country. If you don’t believe that our
country has lost its self-sufficiency, try to shop without buying anything from
Asia, never mind just from Canada or just from the U.S.A.
My gelato business isn’t about becoming a national force. It
isn’t about having our product in every grocery store. The business is about
making a living from our small farm. We have a limited amount of acreage and
there are limits to how many animals you can care for (and care for properly,
humanely and with love). My business model doesn’t have us hiring staff.
Occasionally we will need help but no employees. To me, a successful business
doesn’t have to grow and grow and grow. I think we need to reach a level where
we are happy with the business and just keep on refining the business and
making it better. It will change over time and that is inevitable but not “grow
or die”.
I don’t think compound interest on money is right either.
When you invest in a business and that business is successful, makes a profit
and you get a slice of the profit – great. But compound interest is creating
money out of nothing. And doing it over and over. I understand the math and the
principles behind the concept – I just completely disagree with doing it. It
should be illegal. Compound interest depends on everything growing and
increasing and growing – forever. That concept & mind set is wrong. Nothing
natural works this way – Nothing.
Even nuclear fisson (or fussion/whatever) runs out – nothing is sustainable
forever.
If the world economy is an animal, it feeds to grow.
Eventually there will not be enough to feed it. The number of people that can
survive on the planet will hit its peak and start to drop off. We run out of
food or water or medicine or whatever it takes and the population declines and
the economy shrinks, and the “unlimited” growth stops and the entire house of
cards built over the last 200 years falls apart.
I hope that if we start to change now, and pull back on growth
and fill in the gaps that have been created in our communities and become more
self sustainable. And become happier as well.
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