Welcome to the Internet Rest Stop!
Help me out here...was it Socrates, or perhaps Don Knotts, who counseled that the best time to start a business is after you have been an AARP member for a few years? You know, well into your 50s, when your energy and mental acuity levels are at robust all-time highs?
Yep, that's me, once again striking at an optimal time, while the iron is hot. The guy with a Ph.D in Procrastination, for whom Analysis Paralysis has been a way of life, is finally getting serious about focusing more on the things he genuinely likes doing, and not just repeating the "...but the money is good" mantra to justify his vocational malaise. (He'll also work on 86'ing the third-person self-references and run-on sentences, LOL.)
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Don't get me wrong, to paraphrase a longtime friend, "Making Money Good, Not Making Money Bad". But within that pearl of wisdom lies a great deal of latitude in finding one's optimal mix of job satisfaction and compensation. And as I have learned, if you don't plant yourself firmly in the driver's seat of your own life, you'll find you're far less in control of your future.
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And I must stress that I have had many wonderful experiences in my 30+ years in the corporate world. While the happy memories are skewed towards the personal relationships and smiles/laughs I have experienced, there have also been very interesting projects and tasks of which I am extremely proud. And I certainly could see myself back in the corporate world under the right circumstances.
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These days, however, I am more aggressively pursuing the things I expect will make me happier overall, such as teaching Math. On this topic, I faced a vocational fork in the road back in 1993; namely, whether to continue in the actuarial field at an insurance company, or become a Math teacher in the New Jersey public school system. If you'll allow me to paraphrase twice within the same letter, two roles diverged, I took the one more moneyed, and I'll never know how much difference it made. But I do know there are no regrets, primarily because I wouldn't want to forfeit any of the friendships I made by altering the past (and it's not like I could anyway).
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Okay, back to the more recent past. Earlier this year I filed the necessary paperwork to start a business, "PAGE Concepts LLC", as well as four DBAs:
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(1) "The Math Of John"
My virtual and in-person tutoring business, primarily SAT Math but also other topics in Math and Statistics, the corporate name of which is reminiscent of a 1982 movie that updates an iconic 1960's science fiction TV series. It should also be noted that the two main characters in conflict in that movie probably belong on the Mount Rushmore of hammy acting. Any enterprising readers care to guess the movie's name from the comfort of a corinthian leather couch?; and
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(2, 3, and 4) "Bentley Avenue Business Services", "Bentley Avenue Creative Prints", and "Bentley Avenue Memory Vault"
Some of these are still works in progress, but the offerings will include printed products such as mugs and shirts, and a service that digitizes old videotapes to preserve the memories. Oh, and if you're wondering, Bentley Avenue is a street in my hometown. I was finding it very difficult to come up with business names that hadn't already been taken, so I went Old School.
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So that's my story. I hope you have taken some time to peruse this website, and you are cordially invited to participate as much as you like, whether it be by sharing your thoughts in the forums, or perhaps sending me an email. This will continue to be a dynamic website, so your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated, with the negative ones to be valued at least as much as the positive.
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In closing, I promise to be authentic in all my business activities, and if I write something it's because I believe it. For example, one particular topic that is trending (as the kids say) is Artificial Intelligence, or "AI". I fully intend never to use ChatGPT or similar AI to produce any of my website content. So if you read something here that sounds like complete gibberish, you have my solemn vow, Dear Reader, that it is my complete gibberish. Thank you so much for being here, and I truly hope you enjoy your time visiting this website.
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With Regards That Couldn't Possibly Be Any Warmer,
John
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P.S. With all due respect to Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston, please know there is a far better chance that I will always love you.
