The Joy of Entrepreneurship

Originally published June 22, 2008

Two weeks ago I had more fun than I’ve had in a long time. My son and I packed our van with baseball cards, World Series programs, and autographs and set up a table at a sports card show in Nashville.

I was first bitten by the baseball card bug in high school. I started buying cases of cards, pulling out the cards I wanted, and selling the leftovers to dealers. When I was a sophomore in college, I got my very own table at a card show and was hooked.

That was the point when I changed my major from chemistry to psychology. I became convinced that I could make a career out of buying and selling baseball cards. I changed my major from something hard to something interesting so that I could concentrate on my emerging card business.

Thankfully, the baseball card market took a sharp turn for the worse just before I graduated. That downturn gave me just enough time to come up with a Plan B that turned out to provide a slightly more stable career path.

Over the years, I’ve held on to a few cards and will occasionally set up at a show. Ebay, however, has largely made card shows obsolete. I decided to do the show in Nashville because I wanted to expose my 9-year-old son to the joy of entrepreneurship.

T.J. helped prepare everything leading up to the show. At the show, he decided how to set up his half of the table. He handled his own sales and did his own negotiating.

Just like I preach in my classes, I offered him a profit-sharing deal. At the end of the day, we counted up our revenue, deducted our expenses, and split the profit 50-50. I asked if he wanted to stop at Outback for dinner on the way home. He asked if it would count as an expense. When I told him that it would, he opted for Chick-fil-A instead.

Entrepreneurship is not only fun; it’s also one of the most important things parents need to teach their children. I honestly believe that my children will see completely different employment relationships twenty years from now. I believe more people will be self-employed and entrepreneurial skills will be critical.

FedEx provides a good example of what companies are likely to move toward. Did you know that the FedEx Ground deliveries to your house are made by self-employed independent contractors?

They look like FedEx employees, but they buy their own trucks, pay their own expenses, and don’t get paid overtime. FedEx likes this arrangement because it provides them with endless flexibility. If there’s a downturn in business, they don’t have trucks or employee benefits to pay for.

About 15,000 drivers apparently find this arrangement attractive. They have the freedom to buy multiple routes and hire employees to help them with deliveries. They’re free to take a vacation as long as they find someone to cover their routes.
FedEx, like many other organizations, is asking the question: Do we really need employees?

I’m not sure if this is a great long-term strategy, but companies that are driven by short-term results will certainly ask the same question and make a similar decision.

Even if he doesn’t end up self-employed, T.J. will definitely know how to increase profit for his employer. And he’ll actually do it if he gets to share the profit.