Free Parking

Everybody likes free parking. Well, everybody except parking garage owners. As someone who has spent most of his adult life living in urban areas (San Francisco and Seattle), I have grown accustomed to paying for parking. I believe that it is better to quickly find a secure parking space near your destination and pay for it than to drive around the block a number of times in hopes of finding the dream spot that is free. All too often, the driver looking for the great free parking spot spends 10 minutes driving around only to end up squeezing into a tight spot several blocks away from his destination.

This “Free Parking” blog was inspired by the notion that in business, owners face the same challenge when determining how to spend their time and money. Should they pay for convenience or expertise, or are they better off figuring things out themselves? I have a fundamental belief that information should be free. In my mind, all our lives the model has been upside down. We pay for information and the execution is left up to us. We pay for school, books, consultants, and experienced employees all who claim to have the information that will help us get what we want or need. Rubbish! What we know is irrelevant. It’ what we do with what we know that is relevant. Information should be free; it’s execution that has value.

When my brothers and I used to play Monopoly, we would put $500 on Free Parking. Landing on Free Parking was more than landing on the only safe spot on the board. It gave a person something extra and a chance to get stronger. At “Free Parking”, you are safe to ask any question on your mind concerning your business. It can be specific or general. I can be about product, inventory, leases, payroll, human resources, advertising, merchant services, cash flow, profitability, you name it. Chances are somebody else has the same question. No more driving around the block trying to find the free spot. A large free parking lot now stands right in front of your business….and that’s going to make you stronger.

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