Deep Entrepreneur Thoughts…Dow 8,000 or 12,000 – Does it Matter ?

Posted by Howard
on September 7th, 2009

Since I am way more entrepreneur than market investor the last few years, I have had trouble blogging consistently. A play by play of my life as an entrepreneur has just never felt right. Looking back, that was a mistake.

Since I started this blog in 2005 I have written many times and through many different markets that ‘It’s always a good time to start a business’ and this Labor Day is no different.

While investors/traders worry about the next 100 Dow points, you should be focusing on your business and customers.

I still think back to the year 1999 when the Dow crossed 10,000 and CNBC had a party. Sadly, I remember where I was..on vacation…and watching CNBC.

We spoofed the whole idea on a Wallstrip back in 2006 when the Dow crossed 12,000:

Now the Dow has rallied 50 percent to get to 9,500 .

Now, Michael Moore will cash in on crashing the AIG offices even though we did this same stuff back in 2006 with Goldman Sachs $gs when few cared what went on behind those walls:

Timing is sometimes everything, but not something you can bottle or buy.

Basically we have gone backwards since 1999 yet billions have been made by entrepreneurs not focused on the stock market.

In a global sense, only a handful of people will make money on the Dow moving to 12,000 or 8,000 next.

The market is so fantastic because it is a great way to keep score. That’s why ESPN has been so successful and why the market moves towards 24/7/365 and not 2 days a week. I blogged recently that the world would be more productive if we closed our markets for three more days/week, but it’s just an opinion and would probably lead to further chaos.

Just because the market is open though, does not mean you need to watch it.

Just like time goes faster if you do not watch the clock, your business will grow faster if you stop staring at your present situation.

The opportunities are greater today than ever, whether the world is shrinking or expanding – where there is globalization or localization.

The chaotic and dire market and economic arguments are perfectly documented. To speak of opportunity is taboo. We have 24 hour television networks for EVERYTHING save entrepreneurs. That’s a shame, but also an opportunity (note to self).

Paul Graham had a great essay this weekend on ‘The Anatomy of Determination . If you are not out there making it happen for YOURSELF, than you are just in the prediction business which seems kind of sad. Predicting is fun and can be profitable, but rolling up your sleeves and making shit happen is the road to fulfillment.

The top 100 Entrepreneurs of the last 100 years had a lot of their fortune tied to the stock market, but it was their profitable businesses that made them rich.

Few get rich trading and fewer flipping their businesses.

It’s time we all got back to building and supporting great businesses and the entrepreneurs that will drag us out of this trough in the business cycle.

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.