In the post a couple of days ago I pointed out that a much likelier way of guaranteeing a regular income is to create a solid business with low overhead and consistent returns than betting the farm on the long shot flip or IPO. Astute readers will notice that this “solid business” typically requires that you continue to work there to earn that regular income, while in the dream exit after flip or IPO does not. This is true. That said, there are a few things I realized about myself that make this moot – for me at least.

• I don’t want to stop working. Ever. I couldn’t find the study I thought I read that showed that people with a place to go every day lived longer. But even if that was disproven I’d still want to work forever. It’s who I am. It’s how I want to spend my time.
• I don’t want to wait until I’m in my fifties, sixties, to spend extended time with my family, doing what i want, travelling the world, etc. To me the time to have those experiences is now. This is not a statement that having those experiences later in life is without value. It’s more that I don’t know why I should have to wait. I want to have those experiences now and later.

For most people this is an either/or choice. Since we’re just starting out here at Jackson Fish I can’t guarantee that it won’t be the same type of choice for us as well. That said, we are going to try and design our business so that the entire company (or as many folks as possible) can take extended vacations (think one month) at the same time every year (think August and December). This is no small feat and it’s a pretty significant wrinkle to incorporate into your cost structure. That said, I have worked at large companies where for the bulk of August and December most folks aren’t around anyway. And typically when you work as a team, if even a couple of members of your team are out it saps productivity for everyone else. Why not send everyone off to live their life, come back refreshed, and ready to kick some ass?

So I agree, that in the non-flip/IPO model, unless you’re an owner, you have to keep working to continue to earn that income. And I do understand that there are many people who want to spend as long as possible lounging on a beach, travelling, learning to surf, etc. But for me, I’d like to do those things and work. And since the flipping or going public is such a rare occurence in the first place, who’s to say that the people who pursue that path don’t spend the rest of their lives working anyway. (I like the lottery, but it’s not my retirement plan.) Hopefully here at Jackson Fish, we’ll be living and working our dream, rather than constantly pursuing a difficult dream that has a much smaller chance of occuring. I realize that this sounds corny/idealistic, but how else would you want to live your life.