SustainableWork

I went to a business gathering last week. There were people from many types of businesses visiting for their monthly meeting.

There were about 10 people at the table I was at. As an icebreaker the host asked us to introduce ourselves to one another and tell everyone what your favorite magazine or periodical is.

As we moved around the table with these introductions, the magazine choices kept getting more financially heavy and more glacial in the entrepreneur sense. All the usual subjects, Barrons, Financial Times, stock market stuff.

I was getting a little nervous as my turn approached. I like to thumb through these and they sometimes have good, applicable stuff, but that's not the rule, at least for startup firms.

I thought about faking an interest in some dense financial journal, but couldn't bring myself to it. I blurted out, "You should see ReadyMade. These young people have got it going on. They're reusing, recycling, not buying into the same old-same old, and making the world a much better place. Not only that, they've got a rockin' web site."

My new business acquaintances nodded gravely, looked away, and after a few moments, the next guy said, "My favorite is The CFO Journal..."

I really do like ReadyMade. Their tag line is, "Instructions For Everyday Life." Another good tag line could be, "Great sources of new business ideas every month."

I quoted a cool piece from ReadyMade when I first started these posts, because I wanted to make the point that this writing was not about financial density but intelligent, good work, done in smart new ways by interesting people following their dreams.

Every issue of ReadyMade illustrates a wide variety of items that they show you how to create inexpensively. I always see several ideas in every issue that could be turned into a new enterprise.

I've got a long list of favorite magazines, to be sure, but ReadyMade is well entrenched there. I've got a secret hunch that a few of the fuddy duddies at my business table went home and asked their kids about it.

ReadMade Magazine

Labels: innovation, ReadyMade, startups

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I'm blessed with smart young friends. Without them I'd never even pretend to keep up.

With them I can pretend.

Friend E just sent me the following list from a magazine she likes a lot, ReadyMade.

The Simple Life
How to Shrink Your Worldview in Six Easy Steps
by Johnathan Kiefer

1. Don't travel
2. Don't read
3. Don't look or listen very carefully
4. If you must socialize, stay within your group
5. Don't eat what you don't know
6. Ban spirituality

This was printed in longer format in ReadyMade Instructions for everyday life. Jan/Feb. 2005
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Labels: diversions, ReadyMade