House Hits Home with Fat Paychecks & Leaves a Few Lumps of Coal for Small Biz

Posted by George Cloutier on 12/18/09 | (8) Comments

Extending the current failed program of guarantees & fee reductions for small biz still means that the lending program remains 30%-40% behind the Bush Administration, which many think tried to kill the SBA anyway. Maybe we should cut the salaries & benefits in half of Congress, the Senate, and the Treasury Department and Small Business Advisors to the President until we get a real program that helps the nation’s 29 million small businesses. We bet they wouldn’t be leaving for break if that occurred.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on December 23, 2009

I agree.  It would be nice if those in governmnet would learn the word “accountability”.  When you get to know some of these people who work in Washington it is really scary.  Some of these folks know nothing execpt their own agenda without a clue of what it takes to operate a real business.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2010

I’m embarrassed at your recent post on entrepreneur.com. You are completely clueless about what really matters in life. Love your business more than your family? Are you serious????? At first I thought your article was a parody. I couldn’t believe that anyone would say such incontinent things. What would you have in life if you didn’t have a family? Nothing. What else matters in life? Are you bringing your pocket book with you to the grave? No. I am a an entrepreneur who makes “profits” and has a beautiful family who I love more than anything. Don’t go pushing your own familial failures on the world just because you can’t manage your life in order to achieve success in both. Really, it’s quite sad. It’s obvious you live a lonely life that’s void of meaning and substance.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2010

I agree with Seth. Are you even married? Have children? If you answered yes to both, I am surprised. Doesn’t the Bible say something about the “love of money?” Based on your article in Entrepreneur Magazine I am going to assume then that you are just plain evil. You may have more money than me, but I am willing to bet that I am far happier than you could even begin to think about being.

Just my thoughts, but I do not think that I am alone in this thought.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2010

I’m right there with Seth and Rick, shame on you. Completely. I attended my Grandpa’s funeral yesterday, it was a very sweet service. And guess what? His career was a blip in his life sketch, his children remembered more that he was always there for them, and for his wife, he was completely unselfish. Two neighbors spoke about his generosity and his character, nobody gave a rats about his financial situation. Nobody cared at all. Nobody is fighting over inheritance, the family is just as united as ever, and he died a very happy, peaceful man filled with joy because of his family.

Shame on you for being so shallow, and shame on entrepreneur.com for publishing such a disgusting article, that’s so far from the truth. The wealthiest people in the world generally have an amazing family surrounding them… you think Bill Gates treats his family like that?

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2010

Now this really all comes down to what you believe in.  Do you believe in God? An afterlife? Karma?

Only if you can answer “No” to all these questions does your article in Entrepreneur hold any water.  No success outside the home can compensate for failure within the home.  You can’t take your money with you when you die. And if you loved your money more than your family, it’ll ruin more lives than it ever helped.

No one will remember you for anything of any merit when you are gone.  Though from the looks of things there might be a few of us who remember some total ass that wrote the worst article ever for Entrepreneur. He must have been French.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2010

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” -Goethe-

I agree with Troy, Rick, Joel, and Seth. Your view on this article depends on what your priorities in life are. I, personally, love my family more than anything else. I lived in Mexico for a couple years and saw the poorest people I’ve seen in my lifetime, yet they were happier than a lot of families that I know here, who are financially free. If your success is based off of how much money your business makes, then I’m certain you are shallow and selfish. I really feel bad for you because true happiness will never come from money.

I am very disappointed that Entrepreneur.com allowed this article to be published as if it was given by some type of authority. I would never follow anyone who had the same views of those in this article.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 10, 2010

Having worked for you at Fred Locke and at AVL, George, I’d say that one thing the Jesuits never taught me at Back Bay was to make the most use of vendor credit possible. After all it’s all about leveraging OPM and the vendors mark up their product for risk anyway.

Even bad business models have their value. As these questionable models go bankrupt risk is adjusted throughout the system and if necessary consumer protection laws evolve and improve.

The article wasn’t parody. The best thing that can happen to a employee is getting fired. I’ve been there before

FWIW Bill Gates didn’t have a family until he semi-retired as the richest man in the world after educating wannabe entrepreneurs that lawsuits are a cost of business and that alleged patent theft and alleged monopolistic practices will pay off in the end. The Courts will only recover a fraction of the money leveraged if a business is successful. If the business fails? Who cares? Let the lawyers pick over the carcass.

From .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 11, 2010

I think George makes an interesting point.  He is right, if you want to make tons of money and be sucessful, it is often at the expense of a thriving family life (see any celebrity or millionaire and the number of divorces they’ve experienced if you want more proof of that).

But I think it all depends on what you value and where your priorities lie.  If making money for your family is more important to you than your actual relationship with them, then don’t be too surprised if your estranged kids end up feeling entitled, act spoiled, or use your hard-earned money irresponsibly.  If you value time with your family over having money, then yes, you may be poor, but you may just find more fulfillment and joy in life than your wealthy counterparts.