Band Aid

I just started a band. I'm calling it 999 Megabytes because haven’t done a gig yet.

I can only imagine how hard it is to keep a band together and happy. It's tough enough to get 5 people to agree that it's Wednesday, let alone agree that someone's song is better than yours, someone's a better leader, three of the guys think the new guy has no talent; etc.

I think it's the same way in almost anything. Clubs, business, jurors, churches, improvisation groups, you get the picture. When one person is in charge, there is going to be trouble. There's a typical honeymoon period, when everyone thinks that they are going to be amazing, popular or rich or all of the above.

Reality sets in, at some point, and if it doesn't happen fast enough, people have a tendency to quit. I've had a few businesses in my time, and I have found that partnerships rarely work. In my case, I chose the wrong partners and that was a killer.

I must admit that I was the dominant partner in both businesses and I was pretty demanding. Those of you who have or run a business now know that you don't stop. Someone needs to be the leader, typically the one with the vision for the operation. I will admit that, at times, I was too pushy. I felt the need to be the best. Failure was not an option.

In one case, I was approached by the entertainment editor of the paper to renovate a showroom and make it a comedy club. I had the number one radio show, and since he was the entertainment editor, how could we lose?

As soon as we opened, the editor quit his job. I nearly killed him. He decided that since he had a business, he would be making more money anyway, so why not nuke the bridge.

I was incredibly angry. I yelled at him because now there was immediately case flow pressure. We had agreed to pour all of our profit back into the business until it grew enough for him to leave his fob. I would keep my job for ever, because I had the best chance of bringing in crowds.

Since this knucklehead quit, we were unable to make a profit because we had to support him too. So, we had no money for advertising, new products, better comedians, etc. My partner became very depressed, and stayed in his basement all day, playing Doom, which bothered me on several levels.

I could picture him snapping and wiping out the whole staff. My wife ran the kitchen, I handled the day to day operations. He played Doom. The club lasted five months. What a shame. I. Haven't opened a business since.

I taught comedy every now and again, but not on a steady basis and had no partner. Life was good.

I didn't have a partner either, which was good. I made all of the decisions myself. It was great, and I kicked myself for not flying solo in the earlier endeavors. Well, such is life.

It's like a marriage. It stinks. (just kidding, honey)

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to daydream about how great those businesses might have been

See you tomorrow.