The Cincinnatus Kidd, a local street artist, came to mind immediately. He works anonymously, like Banksy, but with an optimistic, Midwestern twist and he's nuts about our city. The way he uses shape and color reminded me of something wordless I wanted to tell you about investing.
So I messaged him on Facebook.
That's the way things work these days. You don't really have to know somebody to know somebody. You just have to follow them. I told him what I needed and asked if I could afford his services. Five minutes later he replied. "Come on up to the frameshop," he said. "We'll be here until five."
It was Saturday afternoon and we talked while Jake and Jake, co-owners and friends, finished a framing job in the back room, every once in a while one of them ducking out to go up front to help a customer. In addition to the location in Over-the-Rhine, they've opened a second store in Lexington and have plans for Columbus, Indianapolis, and Dayton. Small operations with personalized service, intimately connected with the communities they serve. This is what today's entrepreneurs look like.
I explained that I was mad at the financial services industry and that it was my intent to try to change it single-handedly. They charge way, way, way too much money for mediocre results and I thought if I could walk people through the way I make my decisions, most folks are smart enough to do it themselves, that they'd be better off financially, that it wasn't something to be scared of. It's fun. And I felt so strongly I was going to give everything away for free and hope something catches fire.
One of the Jakes looked me in the eye. "You know I used to charge $3,000 for this kind of work," he said. When I winced he quickly added, "But I'll do it for a $100."
Which was ridiculous and embarrassing, to both of us, I thought. I'm not P&G, but I could certainly pay him more than that. He wouldn't hear of it. Liked my idealism. He said maybe I could help him with his business someday. Two days later he sent me the file you now see at the top of the post, lines that look more like a roller coaster ride than the jagged, escalating peaks I'd imagined, with a building tucked behind to represent lives and communities, all of it balanced on top of a book of shared knowledge. Perfect.
This is how business works these days in the Sharing Economy where we come out and play on the Internet of Everything. There's a new generosity to capitalism, a sense of responsibility that goes beyond shareholders to the kind of world where we all want to live. And everything happens so fast, no excuses, just get it done. One of us gets an idea. Friends help. You don't need to be rich to try out something. Multiply this experiment in connection over and over, by hundreds of thousands of talented, creative, energized, excited people who believe in something, and you get an inkling of where our economy is heading. Millions of us all over the globe.
When we talk about the stock market, that's what I'm investing in and, have no doubt about it, our returns are going to be amazing.
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