Bob and Debbie Conroy - Enjoying the Journey Together!

I have long believed that there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don’t.  As Steve Martin ironically said as a punch line, “enough comedy jokes”.   Approaching the end of my 58th revolution around the Sun, I am often as reflective as the back of Mikey’s head.  It is a dangerous game bouncing through the memories a la Billy Pilgrim but I like living on the edge. There is one memory in particular, about a youthful axiom in the 1960s that went “Don’t trust anyone over the age of 30.” and I believed it.   Older, and hopefully wiser, my new version of this axiom is “Don’t take anything out the mouth of anyone under the age of 30 too seriously”. It is hardly their fault with our culture’s practice of extending adolescence well into their 20’s along with constant exposure to the equal-outcomes-regardless-of-effort-or-ability political correctness mantra, bizarre political views that must have been formed by watching too muc...

We closed on the office condo on Friday! We live in a condo five blocks from a Costco and work in a condo five blocks from Sam’s Club. We started demolition on some items that need to go, e.g., this was formerly a medical office and we do not need the status lights above the doors or the 18 feet of receptionist counter space. The remodeling quotes continue to come back over budget so we are rethinking what we need to do versus what we what to do. We are leaning toward making a larger office (10×20) for each of us and moving access to a private restroom to the hall, installing new carpet and paint and then calling it a day. Or least calling it “Phase 1” and delaying “Phase 2” until our revenue catches up with our expenses. Speaking of expenses, starting an independent insurance agency from scratch is not for the faint-hearted or cash poor. Our original business plan and proforma are proving to be accurate on the expense side but income is falling short. Until everything is in place ...

Things are moving fast now.  Brokers, lawyers, escrow agents, contractors and subcontractors are in a scramble to the finish line.  It is possible that we will close yet this week.  To us it represents material expense with a potential for income, to them, it represents immediate income.  Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, our decreasing cash position seems to be a rising tide for many others.   I love capitalism!