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The joys of working for yourself

Posted on December 6, 2008 by Jawwad

In 1993 and 1996, I was too young to care or know the difference between a booming economy and a recession. In late 2000, I was too close.

Come 2008, this is my third down cycle. Things are hard. At one level they are much harder than what was eight years ago – the outlook is bleak all the way from Jakarta to Jordan. It doesn’t matter if you are big or small, the numbers are terrible and getting uglier. But then at another level things are also far easier than what we went through at the turn of the millennium.

And that is why I still have my toothy grin.

I may not have any money in the bank. I may be leveraged to the hilt in an environment where my friendliest banker will only lend at 22% compounded monthly. But I am still smiling.

I am smiling because I am lucky; luckier than I deserve to be…

You see I work for this bunch of crazy people at this really weird place called Alchemy, where people just won’t stop smiling. You can hit them with one bleak update after another and they will still carry on trucking.

We are in this together, dude, they tell me.

One way or the other we will make it through.

Then why be grim.

Do something worthwhile; focus on the pool

At the end of the day when they play counter strike and table tennis and I hear them scream and shout with outrage on a missed shot, I know that we did something right six years ago.

To my team, that makes it all worthwhile (even the 22% interest), Thank you.

Where would I be without you?

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