Resolutions Of The Junk Biz.

I have been trying to decide what my  New Year's resolutions should consist of.

So far, the list is short.

VERY short.

Non-existent, actually.

I tend to try and work on things all year round, sometimes not accomplishing the resolution, sometimes blowing it away 100 fold.

So why should I create a special list just for New Years?

Working on yourself year round is your best bet.

So, what are YOUR resolutions?

Ah, I hear a number of you saying the same and similar things...

By next year you resolve to be a professional picker, professional storage auction buyer, thrift shop owner, antiques store dealer, etc, etc, etc...

Well, for many of you, my best advice would be to forget trying to keep that resolution..that is, for THIS year.

Accomplishing those sorts of things takes LONG TERM resolve...and EXPERIENCE....LOTS of it!

If you MUST make a resolution leaning in those directions, how about you resolve to WORK HARD AT learning to be a picker, professional storage auction buyer, thrift shop owner, antiques store dealer, etc, etc, etc...

Start small.

Why?

Those who start BIG crash even BIGGER.

*BOOM*

(There goes one already...)

"Bigger they are, the harder they fall."

It is true, very true. PLUS, those who go big, but start on a flimsy foundation, that consists of:

a lack of knowledge,
few connections,
little (or no) experience,
(etc)

crash hard...very hard....and tend to have a very, very, very slim chance of recovery in that field. They will likely have to go back to working 9 to 5 for someone else, if they haven't landed themselves in a psychiatric ward. For those going huge, without the background required, the crash will undoubtedly be far too traumatic for them to handle.

With all those folks I see and hear about, who are diving head first into the "junk biz", I can clearly and certainly predict that there is going to be lots of lost storage lockers, bankruptcies,  trauma, broken families, suicides, and yes, even murders that will result.

I know this sounds like doom & gloom, but it is fact.

Think about it. Any "fad" or "promoted" type of business will have essentially 2 groups, in the end.

(1) Those who (will) do well - IE: Those educated in that area already, are naturally talented/gifted in that area, those taking a step up, have already been mentored, taught, trained, did it as a hobby for years, etc, etc.

(2) Those who end up breaking even, loosing a little, loosing a lot, or...loosing EVERYTHING.

How many people bet their entire life savings on a stock tip that everyone else has heard, also?

"Get in on the bottom floor!" "Make billions!"

Some will risk it all, but not many, usually.

TV is a persuasive media. We really do know that we can not really believe everything we see on TV.  Then along came "Reality TV" as a mainstay in the TV world.

But, usually it is a pretty positive slice of "reality"....or, the opposite, a pretty negative - See: HOARDERS)

Boredom?

Naw, doesn't exist.

"Anyone can do this!" (ie: picking valuable items out of a barn in the middle of nowhere)

or

"It could  happen to YOU!" (ie: filling your home with 50,000 toilet paper rolls, newspaper, twist ties, rotting ferret tails, and of paperclips....but just the smaller loops of them, not the whole thing.)

But, I digress....

This is not a business for the feint at heart....or those looking for a quick buck or a fast way to get out of debt or  just to be "famous" on Reality TV or to find that "BIG SCORE" that sets them up for life......

The BIG SCORE...hmmm....

There are thousands...scratch that...heck, likely  millions of us junk biz vets out there who are STILL looking,searching,striving to find that "BIG SCORE" that will set us up for life.  The (sort of) sad fact is that many of us will (and do) find ourselves at the end of our lives never finding that score.

Ever.

So, if you have decided to jump into the junk biz, and you are certain you will succeed, well, congratulations kid, you do possibly have on trait required.....optimism!

Why do I say "possibly"?

Well, there is one other trait that you may be mistaking for optimism.

This trait will keep the facts from entering your decision making process.

With all the TV talk, you should have guessed it by now....

PLEASE, before you commit to your "resolutions" for the year, honestly ask yourself:



"Am I being REALISTIC?"