The Other 8 Hours serves as a great reminder that everyone on earth starts with the same input (time), yet we achieve vastly different outputs based on how we spend that time.  Ideologically, the book falls somewhere between Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Timothy Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Workweek.  All three begin with the near-universal truth that nobody gets rich working a 9-5, and then branch off on their different paths on how to overcome that.  While Kiyosaki focuses more on investment strategies and Ferriss discusses automation and mandatory ignorance/isolation, Pagliarini offers some concrete actions that everyone can take to improve their personal and financial lives.  Since he’s not as extreme as Ferriss, I think this book will find a broader appeal.

I found the book full of inspirational stories from entrepreneurs and others who have escaped the rat race.  Pagliarini shares a lot of tips on how to free up more time, leverage your talents, and squeeze more productivity from each day.  He gets a little preachy toward the end, but it’s hard not to after 200 pages of rah-rah motivational, take charge of your life prose.  Even if you take away just one positive idea from the book, it’s well worth the read.

Every minute that goes by is one you’ll never get back.  Are you doing what you want to be doing?

And if you read nothing else, read page 183.

FTC Disclosure: If you buy The Other 8 Hours through the above link, Amazon will pay me 4% of the purchase price.

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Cash Accounting

Cash accounting is the more common choice for small business accounting.  Income is not reported until the money hits the bank account, and expenses are not reported until they are paid.

If the company earns $50,000 in revenue during November, but doesn’t actually receive the money until January, that income would not be reported until January.  But say the company had $30,000 in expenses related to that $50,000 in revenue, that they paid in November.  They would report the $30,000 expense in November immediately when it was paid.

For companies that are growing, cash accounting is beneficial for tax purposes because it can defer income.  In a sense, using the cash basis offers a more accurate picture of the cash-flow situation of a business.  Accounts receivable may be considered an asset, but money only becomes real once it hits the bank account.

Accrual Accounting

For companies that use accrual accounting, income and expenses are reported when they are booked or when the sale is made or delivered.  In the above example, the company booked and delivered a $50,000 job in November, but wasn’t paid until January.  Since that income represented November work, under the accrual basis, it was accounted for in November.

The benefit of accrual accounting is a much more “real-time” look at how the business is performing.  Income and their related expenses are often booked in the same time period, so business owners can get an accurate look at their margins.  The downside is companies may be over-reporting their income if some receivables don’t materialize when they’re due.

Enron is the famous example of accrual accounting gone wrong, banking millions of dollars in revenue on their financial statements that they were many years away from receiving, if they received it at all.

Which is Better?

Both the cash and accrual methods have their pro’s and con’s.  I use the cash basis for tax reporting because it allows me to defer a lot the income that was “earned” in Q4, but not paid until Q1 of the following year, while still deducting the expenses related to those earnings because those are paid right away.

But I also keep a separate set of books on the accrual basis, to see a month-by-month snapshot of income vs. related expenses.  There’s no reason you can’t do both, because it’s important to see where your business stands both from a cash-flow perspective and from an ongoing profitability perspective.

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And just like the list of actual customer service emails, it goes to show that people really are funny.

There’s no shortage of humor out there, and sometimes it finds you when you’re not even looking for it!

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Mezrich tells the story of how Facebook got its start, from a Harvard dorm-room operation in early 2004, to the world’s largest social networking site with over 300 million members.  His narrative is compelling enough, but it lacks real teeth because the principal founder, Mark Zuckerberg, did not agree to an interview for the book.  It would be like trying to tell the story of Microsoft without Bill Gates, or of Apple without Steve Jobs.  It can be done, but could probably be done more accurately with their input.  In fact, the source Mezrich relies on most heavily is Eduardo Saverin, a Facebook co-founder who was ousted — unfairly in his opinion — from the company just as it was blowing up.

Still, Billionaires is labeled non-fiction.  Zuckerberg is portrayed as an aloof, socially awkward, and eccentric genius.  He wasn’t out to make a fortune, just to build something cool that people liked.  He built the initial, Harvard-only version of Facebook in just two weeks, and just 14 months later, achieved a valuation of $100 million.  Facebook was his baby, and now is part of the daily routine for millions of people around the world.  It has helped fundamentally change the way we communicate and interact with other people.  At one point, the company was valued at $15 Billion, making Zuckerberg, not yet 26 years old, the youngest self-made billionaire in history.

What I liked reading about was the stories of venture capitalists crashing lectures at Harvard trying to get some facetime with Zuckerberg, the rapid viral growth of the site, and how exciting it must have been to be a part of, on the cutting edge of something really revolutionary.  And like any financial rocketship, there were people, Eduardo and others, trying to hang on and not get burned.  If you’re into Facebook and start-ups, its an interesting read.

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Over 100 years ago, Henry Ford was tinkering in the shed out behind his house.  He was building his first car.  But when he finished, he realized he’d made one critical mistake: it was too big to fit through the door.

Undeterred, Ford actually knocked down a wall of his shed to take his new invention for a test drive.

Moral of the story: If you’re out to the change the world, you might have to knock down a wall or two along the way.

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We have tons of products from more than 1000 name brand manufacturers at all the top stores.

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Up until about 15 months ago, I was doing all this manually, individually checking each link.  It was a very slow, tedious process that was never fully complete.  Then I had a tool developed to automatically tell me which links were broken, which saved a ton of time and money.

The tool uses an Excel file that has to be in a specific format to work properly.  Formatting the data only took maybe a couple minutes, but it was the same repetitive functions every day.  So I was pretty proud of myself when I created and successfully debugged an Excel macro to accomplish the formatting for me.

What used to take 2 minutes now takes 5 seconds.  Why didn’t I do this a year ago?  I think it’s a good example of “being too busy chopping down trees to sharpen the saw.”  I still have to manually fix the broken product links, but at least it’s getting faster.  And before too long I think that task could be automated/outsourced too.

So here’s to more saw-sharpening and working smarter not harder!

No related posts.

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This quote was from a recent issue of Inc. magazine, but I don’t really like it that much.  It takes a pretty negative outlook on both start-ups and “normal” jobs.  And it’s even more surprising because Mr. Graham’s company is a venture capital fund / start-up incubator / consultant specializing in fast-growing start-ups.

There are plenty of ups and downs in both the entrepreneurial and working worlds.  But when the “downs” start to outnumber the “ups,” maybe it’s time for a change.

Some of the best “ups” of entrepreneurship are the little things:

• Not having to commute in traffic
• Not having to wear a shirt and tie (especially good when it’s 100 degrees like today)
• Not having to shave everyday

The pessimistic quote above is also surprising since entrepreneurs are almost always optimists.  We have to be optimistic to look past the 90% failure rate of small businesses. Optimistic about a better future, better technology. Optimistic about changing the world.

I remember a poster from my 6th grade classroom that does a much better job of capturing the start-up mentality: “Success comes in cans, not in cannots.”

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Last summer for example, I fell victim to the “Google Slap” and lost 75%+ of my traffic and revenue for three months.  Stressful.  Hopefully we’ll stay on better terms this summer… maybe I should have bought something from their gift shop.  Either way, that’s why I’m working on diversifying the business and investing for the future.

I miss the people I used to work with, and my company cars.  But the work itself, not so much.  The self-employed lifestyle affords too much freedom to go back.

With any luck, I’ll be able to add a “Celebrating Two Years of Retirement” post next year.  But I’m probably jinxing myself by writing this, so until then, I’ll just take it one day at a time.

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I just purchased a pair of Drew shoes from you and paid with PayPal.  PayPal did not return me to your site and I never gave you my name, address, etc.  I’m assuming that PayPal provided that to you.  Is that correct?

Nope.

Do you have an 800# I can order from?

Nope.

Do you wholsale at all, thanks.

Nope.

I have found the Caine shoes at Elderbeerman in Paducah, Ky but not avilable in my size (7 1/2). The sale price is $54.99. I would like to purchase them in that size.

Go for it.

I purchase a Florsheim Joaquin boot but unaible to get my reference number. Please fax the reference number to:  d*******05@yahoo.com. How long will it take to receive the shoe.

Check your email / fax machine.

WHY IS THERE A PRICE DIFFERENCE IN THE  DARK BROWN AND THE BROWN IN THE CLARKS HIGH SURF SHOE ? THANKS

Supply and demand?

I have purchased a pair of shoes and I would like to cancel the order The purchase was made late last nite

Oh, that morning-after feeling of regret.

I sing is a band in New Jersey.  I purchased a pair of STACY ADAMS shoes and would like to purchase them for all the guys in the band. My retailer (K & G) did not have all the sizes available that I needed. It is a black and white shoe 213611 111 vendor = 7198 Season = 207.  Top number on the box is 4004-0896. Down at the bottom it says 804077 IOG. Hopefully you can direct me to where I can buy these for the rest of the guys.

Sweet, I’m capturing the rock-star market.

I like Asics Gel Crossover 2 Baskeball Shoes White/Red color. How can I purchase this item,since no available here in Qatar.can you give me a full details of information, i want to pay it by cash.see my address below

Um, how exactly would one pay by cash for an online transaction?  And no, nobody’s going to ship to Qatar C.O.D.

I am looking for a pair of shoes/boots that do not have these pronation bumps in the midsole

And that was seriously the entire email.

I was just wondering if you could help me find a pair of Classic Cardy Ugg Boots for my wife for Christmas. I dont know if you are able to or if it is well out of your responsibility to do so but i am grasping at straws right now so i figured i would give it a try.I figured if any could help me it would be Shoesrus. Thanks for your time.

I appreciate the flattery but Uggs are sold-out by like October every year.

Hi. I just want to know if the Naturalizer Carlo (Women’s) – Oxford Brown Soft Buck Leather/Leather are non slip. Please let me know ASAP to make the payment. Thank you.

They look non-slip to me. I guess it depends on what you plan on walking on.

Your advertisement for Mephisto Elka in size 8 appears to be a dark brown rather than a tan.  Please tell me EXACTLY what color they are.

That’s the beauty of free shipping and free returns. Don’t like the color, send ‘em back.

I am looking for Jamie Pettit.  I believe she is the person whom buys the shoes. I received an order for Shoes R Us, but I need more information. If I have the right place please call me back. Thank you

Sorry, no one here by that name. No buyers at all truthfully.

CALL ME AT 13345550095 ABOUT DREW PARADEII DIABETIC SHOES… TOMMOROW.

Now’s not a good time?

Sir, can i buy a pair of tennis shoes one shoe with a 2″ lift and one regular. If you can please send me a catalog.

I don’t even know.

I have bought and worn the Covington Shoes for years now.  Why don’t they make these shoes in pastel colors?????  I wish they could.  I would be very happy if they could.  Please respond.

I wish they would too!

I am trying to replace a pair of shoes for my husband – the Allen-Edmonds.  He has a pair now, loves the shoes, but one of them met with an untimely interaction with a product that soaked the toe and actually removed the leather itself in a spot about as large as a 50 cent piece.

Those untimely interactions are the worst.

Are the Florsheim Dustin men’s shoes advertised for $39.99 (brown or black) through Shoemall.com at $39.99, per your web-site, the same as the Dustin men’s shoes priced at $89.96 for the Shoebuy.com site?

Ah the power of comparison shopping.

But it’s not all bad. Sometimes you get ones like these and it makes you happy:

I have these shoes in white and can’t say enough about how much I love them. I work in a warehouse and am on concrete all day. These shoes have saved my feet. I have worn them for the last six years or so and this past year when I needed to reorder a few more pair, I had a horrible time finding them. I’m am elated that I came across your site. Thank you!

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