Comments on: Our Warehouse – Updated Pics, Order Packing, and the Future http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/ Musings of a Balding 29 Year Old Business Owner Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:23:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Scott http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-7418 Scott Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:08:00 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-7418 Outliers is a lazy and tasteless book. Outliers is a lazy and tasteless book.

]]> By: Rob http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4950 Rob Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:02:49 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4950 See, it's things like this that make me torn on what to do - I have a Nuclear Phys background, so will potentially become involved if I find a good opportunity. I'm frequently torn between what I'm doing now and heading that way, it crosses my mind at least once a week and usually enters serious consideration every couple of months. Not because I'm unhappy now, just because there's a lot of exciting developments. However, I just don't know what opportunities there are for small businesses to make great leaps with this - I think you probably need to be involved with a large corporation or research group to get anywhere, so I'm under no illusion that I'd be able to do anything other than try to join such an organisation. Maybe it's this kind of closed thinking that allows dorm-room kids to take over the world though? On the web business is very knowledge-based and so the barriers to entry aren't high in terms of finance and bureaucracy. Out there though.... See, it’s things like this that make me torn on what to do – I have a Nuclear Phys background, so will potentially become involved if I find a good opportunity. I’m frequently torn between what I’m doing now and heading that way, it crosses my mind at least once a week and usually enters serious consideration every couple of months. Not because I’m unhappy now, just because there’s a lot of exciting developments.

However, I just don’t know what opportunities there are for small businesses to make great leaps with this – I think you probably need to be involved with a large corporation or research group to get anywhere, so I’m under no illusion that I’d be able to do anything other than try to join such an organisation. Maybe it’s this kind of closed thinking that allows dorm-room kids to take over the world though?

On the web business is very knowledge-based and so the barriers to entry aren’t high in terms of finance and bureaucracy. Out there though….

]]> By: ayrshire plastering http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4949 ayrshire plastering Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:16:58 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4949 totally agree luck plays a big part in everything not just buisness ...no substitute for a good idea and hard graft though :> totally agree luck plays a big part in everything not just buisness …no substitute for a good idea and hard graft though :>

]]> By: Adam McFarland http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4933 Adam McFarland Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:42:23 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4933 Wow Rob really good points. I wonder what market is untapped enough to be comparable to oil or consumables or computers? Like Dave mentions below, if someone solves a big cleantech problem like clean electricity/fuels for cheap, it may become widely adopted and create great wealth. Even there though, there are so many people competing that it's hard to imagine one solution that trumps the rest. It almost seems like that opportunity will have to come out of left field like the internet...which doesn't happen too often. Wow Rob really good points. I wonder what market is untapped enough to be comparable to oil or consumables or computers? Like Dave mentions below, if someone solves a big cleantech problem like clean electricity/fuels for cheap, it may become widely adopted and create great wealth. Even there though, there are so many people competing that it’s hard to imagine one solution that trumps the rest. It almost seems like that opportunity will have to come out of left field like the internet…which doesn’t happen too often.

]]> By: Adam McFarland http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4932 Adam McFarland Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:35:49 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4932 Agreed totally on the cleantech stuff. I think I mentioned a while back that when I was listening to the entrepreneurial thought leaders podcasts that's what every single entrepreneur and VC said was the future, even those with tech backgrounds. Moving forward, that's where the biggest opportunity is. The hard part is getting involved. If you're entering college now, you can focus your efforts there. If you're rich now, you can invest in it. But compared to the web it's way harder to start a venture up cheaply and have the potential to become ultra wealthy. Agreed totally on the cleantech stuff. I think I mentioned a while back that when I was listening to the entrepreneurial thought leaders podcasts that’s what every single entrepreneur and VC said was the future, even those with tech backgrounds. Moving forward, that’s where the biggest opportunity is. The hard part is getting involved. If you’re entering college now, you can focus your efforts there. If you’re rich now, you can invest in it. But compared to the web it’s way harder to start a venture up cheaply and have the potential to become ultra wealthy.

]]> By: Dave http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4927 Dave Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:41:48 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4927 I'm positive there is plenty of opportunity for a new round of ultra billionaires...I think part of the the mindset here is the internet start ups. I think the next round of ultra money will come from CleanTech and renewable energy. If for example the Bloom Box (or another similar technology) could go mainstream, it will be a monster opportunity for something that everybody would use everywhere in the world: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228923n I’m positive there is plenty of opportunity for a new round of ultra billionaires…I think part of the the mindset here is the internet start ups. I think the next round of ultra money will come from CleanTech and renewable energy. If for example the Bloom Box (or another similar technology) could go mainstream, it will be a monster opportunity for something that everybody would use everywhere in the world:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228923n

]]> By: Rob http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4926 Rob Sat, 17 Apr 2010 23:33:07 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4926 Education's a bitch eh? So many of my friends are suck jobless, or in low-paying dead end jobs. They've got great degrees from great universities but nobody's hiring right now, so here they are, 1 or 2 years out of school and cold calling for credit card companies, or doing admin. We got screwed. Our parents don't appreciate the problems our generation faces - they simply can't comprehend it. My girlfriend is a financial adviser for students and their workload has increased tons. Usually it's assumed that students will work during weekends/evenings to help fund themselves, but there simply isn't the work going now, so they have to go for financial aid, contingency funds etc. I know someone that went for an entry level admin position with a salary of £15k ($23k). All it required was 5 GCSEs (tests taken age 15 - most people have 8-12). They got 1200 applicants for the post. I know someone who applied with 11 GCSEs, 4 A-Levels, a degree from a top university AND 3 years experience who didn't get shortlisted. It's staggering how far below your ability you have to go at the moment to find work. Adam - good point about keeping the similar items together. I suppose at the end of the day you need to do what's most efficient, both for loading and unloading. What do your warehouse employees think? Tim, gotta agree about the Bill Gates comment, though it's not as if he is the richest person in history either - his wealth pales in comparison to Kings, Queens and Tsars of times gone by, and Carnegie, Ford and Vanderbilt of more recent times. I think great wealth comes soon after a revolutionary change - whether that be oil, railroads, computers or something else. Everyone seems to think the next big money will be in Biotech, but I wonder if it's still so easy for one man to amass so much wealth? Most changes now are more evolution than invention and take many great minds. No longer do we have the cliche of the lone inventor or mad scientist changing the world - yes we have occasional blips, like twitter, but progress is much more of a collaborative effort. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily so. How useful is it to have a personal net worth of more than the GDP of many countries anyway? I've been thinking a lot over the past few days about success in business, what enables it and what prohibits it. I think someone's comments about Zappos got me going on it... Firstly, I think you need to have a large enough addressable market. That's obvious. Next, you need to execute really well and work your 20 years to become an "overnight success". But, could one have more (financial) success in a smaller market with less competition? Adam - let's say your addressable market is $X annually, and you get a 10% market share. What if someone else came along in a different industry which had a smaller market of $Y and got a 50% share, but their turnover matched yours; who would you deem more successful? Should this dissuade or persuade us to enter smaller/bigger markets? Is it worth spending your life carving out a 50% market share when you could work in a different industry with more room for growth? Could you realise that potential in the face of increased competition? Knowing that the companies with the highest turnover and individuals with the highest net worth generally work in the largest industries (oil, consumables, computers.. generally things that 100% of the worlds' population would like AND that have repeat purchases) should we assume that it is from a similar market that the next ultrabillionaire will arise? Education’s a bitch eh? So many of my friends are suck jobless, or in low-paying dead end jobs. They’ve got great degrees from great universities but nobody’s hiring right now, so here they are, 1 or 2 years out of school and cold calling for credit card companies, or doing admin. We got screwed. Our parents don’t appreciate the problems our generation faces – they simply can’t comprehend it. My girlfriend is a financial adviser for students and their workload has increased tons. Usually it’s assumed that students will work during weekends/evenings to help fund themselves, but there simply isn’t the work going now, so they have to go for financial aid, contingency funds etc. I know someone that went for an entry level admin position with a salary of £15k ($23k). All it required was 5 GCSEs (tests taken age 15 – most people have 8-12). They got 1200 applicants for the post. I know someone who applied with 11 GCSEs, 4 A-Levels, a degree from a top university AND 3 years experience who didn’t get shortlisted. It’s staggering how far below your ability you have to go at the moment to find work.

Adam – good point about keeping the similar items together. I suppose at the end of the day you need to do what’s most efficient, both for loading and unloading. What do your warehouse employees think?

Tim, gotta agree about the Bill Gates comment, though it’s not as if he is the richest person in history either – his wealth pales in comparison to Kings, Queens and Tsars of times gone by, and Carnegie, Ford and Vanderbilt of more recent times. I think great wealth comes soon after a revolutionary change – whether that be oil, railroads, computers or something else. Everyone seems to think the next big money will be in Biotech, but I wonder if it’s still so easy for one man to amass so much wealth? Most changes now are more evolution than invention and take many great minds. No longer do we have the cliche of the lone inventor or mad scientist changing the world – yes we have occasional blips, like twitter, but progress is much more of a collaborative effort. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily so. How useful is it to have a personal net worth of more than the GDP of many countries anyway?

I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days about success in business, what enables it and what prohibits it. I think someone’s comments about Zappos got me going on it…

Firstly, I think you need to have a large enough addressable market. That’s obvious. Next, you need to execute really well and work your 20 years to become an “overnight success”. But, could one have more (financial) success in a smaller market with less competition? Adam – let’s say your addressable market is $X annually, and you get a 10% market share. What if someone else came along in a different industry which had a smaller market of $Y and got a 50% share, but their turnover matched yours; who would you deem more successful? Should this dissuade or persuade us to enter smaller/bigger markets? Is it worth spending your life carving out a 50% market share when you could work in a different industry with more room for growth? Could you realise that potential in the face of increased competition?

Knowing that the companies with the highest turnover and individuals with the highest net worth generally work in the largest industries (oil, consumables, computers.. generally things that 100% of the worlds’ population would like AND that have repeat purchases) should we assume that it is from a similar market that the next ultrabillionaire will arise?

]]> By: Adam McFarland http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4921 Adam McFarland Fri, 16 Apr 2010 23:51:10 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4921 It's scary to think about Tim. It really can set back your career. I believe your loans kick in 6 months after you graduate. Once that 6 months is up, you're on the hook for hundreds of dollars a month (I know a few people with masters degrees that are paying almost $1k/mo!). If you can't consolidate, you could be paying variable interest rates or paying like 15 different institutions. Finding a job in any industry is hard. Imagine not being able to take a low paying entry level job in another city because you can't afford to live off of it and pay your loans! It definitely happens. You get tied to your parents house and have to get the best job you can locally, even if it's not in your field. You stunt your growth because you end up working at the mall or bartending, and then one day you wake up and you're 30 and you've still got 20 years left on your loans and no career. Or, even if you have a career, making $30k or $40k isn't enough in a lot of areas, but if you add huge amounts of loans on top of that it's impossible to live. We all have to be responsible for our actions, but I somehow feel in this scenario that a lot of 17 year old's are being guided horribly wrong by a generation of parents who don't understand our current economic climate and a bunch of greedy institutions who have inflated the value of a private school education for the average student. I think advanced institutions are great for engineers, scientists, lawyers, etc - but that's not the majority of people. The business, economics, and liberal arts majors of the world need a better/cheaper alternative. And yea, it's awesome that this conversation broke out on a post about our warehouse :) It’s scary to think about Tim. It really can set back your career. I believe your loans kick in 6 months after you graduate. Once that 6 months is up, you’re on the hook for hundreds of dollars a month (I know a few people with masters degrees that are paying almost $1k/mo!). If you can’t consolidate, you could be paying variable interest rates or paying like 15 different institutions. Finding a job in any industry is hard. Imagine not being able to take a low paying entry level job in another city because you can’t afford to live off of it and pay your loans! It definitely happens. You get tied to your parents house and have to get the best job you can locally, even if it’s not in your field. You stunt your growth because you end up working at the mall or bartending, and then one day you wake up and you’re 30 and you’ve still got 20 years left on your loans and no career. Or, even if you have a career, making $30k or $40k isn’t enough in a lot of areas, but if you add huge amounts of loans on top of that it’s impossible to live. We all have to be responsible for our actions, but I somehow feel in this scenario that a lot of 17 year old’s are being guided horribly wrong by a generation of parents who don’t understand our current economic climate and a bunch of greedy institutions who have inflated the value of a private school education for the average student. I think advanced institutions are great for engineers, scientists, lawyers, etc – but that’s not the majority of people. The business, economics, and liberal arts majors of the world need a better/cheaper alternative.

And yea, it’s awesome that this conversation broke out on a post about our warehouse :)

]]> By: Tim http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4920 Tim Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:35:36 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4920 I know I've derailed this topic enough, but that is an interesting subject, the skyrocketing costs of education. Could you imagine being 20-22 right now, getting out of a 4-6 year program to face this job market? Seriously, what would you do? Very limited applicable experience 95% of the time, tons of competition, and your network is in the same shoes as you so there is little your network can do to help you land a job. Factor in rising costs and it creates a very unusual climate, how do young people justify the expense if they can't apply it or capitalize on their investment? Who would have thought a blog post about a warehouse would take us in this direction! I know I’ve derailed this topic enough, but that is an interesting subject, the skyrocketing costs of education. Could you imagine being 20-22 right now, getting out of a 4-6 year program to face this job market? Seriously, what would you do? Very limited applicable experience 95% of the time, tons of competition, and your network is in the same shoes as you so there is little your network can do to help you land a job. Factor in rising costs and it creates a very unusual climate, how do young people justify the expense if they can’t apply it or capitalize on their investment?

Who would have thought a blog post about a warehouse would take us in this direction!

]]> By: Joshua Holt http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/2010/04/14/our-warehouse-updated-pics-order-packing-and-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-4919 Joshua Holt Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:53:24 +0000 http://www.adam-mcfarland.net/?p=1421#comment-4919 Adam, I definitely agree that the conventional wisdom was to "go to the best school you can and figure out how to pay for it later." Furthermore, the system can't support the unlimited bubble of the increasing costs of academics. As a lawyer, I took on significant debt to finance my education. I would still make the same decision today, but it's going to take a long time to overcome the student loan burden and it certainly does set your starting point back quite a bit. I'm curious to see how future generations will handle paying for an education. Adam, I definitely agree that the conventional wisdom was to “go to the best school you can and figure out how to pay for it later.” Furthermore, the system can’t support the unlimited bubble of the increasing costs of academics. As a lawyer, I took on significant debt to finance my education. I would still make the same decision today, but it’s going to take a long time to overcome the student loan burden and it certainly does set your starting point back quite a bit.

I’m curious to see how future generations will handle paying for an education.

]]>