A Closer Look…

with Anthony Newcombe

This month’s topic: Hotel doors … ALL of them!🚪🚪

Issue

Why do hotel doors cause so much of a racket when closing?

No matter the quality, rate, or general cleanliness of a hotel, they all seem to have one irritating trait very much in common: Their room doors make a ton of noise when they close! Be it coming or going, all we hear is BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Think about it: when’s the last time you visited even a 5-star property that, well, won’t wake you up with a better success rate than the cheap alarm clock or the unreliable automated operator call?

In fact, I just completed back-to-back trips in completely different cities (and hotels) and both times I was awakened by the constant slamming of some jerky in the hallway either having a really late night out or trying to get to the airport just in time to find out his flight was cancelled.

Solutions

Did the hotel chains ever consider hiring Rolls Royce to design their doors? RR has a pretty good reputation for designing doors that assure “soft landings.” Or, how about Sub-Zero? Their iceboxes (does “icebox” date me?) seem to be pretty quiet when I open (and close) them for my sleepwalking snack(s). I know, it’s probably a bit pricey. But you’d think that being in a copycat industry, SOMEONE might have already figured this one out. Spoiler Alert: they have NOT.

You’d think the hotel chains would be excited about this. Then, they have something better to promote than “free breakfast and Wi-Fi” offered! They really do need our help, folks.

Any ideas?

-A.N.

Happy fall quarter!

See you next month

Profile

Anthony Newcombe is a 4-time entrepreneur who has built companies in multiple verticals. He is also a published author and narrator (Sorry, 50 is NOT the New 30 – ©2019). Anthony spends his free time tracking his remote-controlled golf ball around various courses in the metropolitan area.

A Closer Look …

with Anthony Newcombe 👀👀

October’s topic:

The “Cottage Industry” has caught up with me (finally)

20-plus years working in a remote setting … and wouldn’t change a thing!

Well, it took a while, but what can I say: I TOLD you so! Well, not entirely. I spent much of my time since 1999 believing I had to keep some sort of secret or something. I asked myself:

Will they ever find out that I tend to wear shorts and sandals during my business calls and videos?
Do you they know that have no interest in driving downtown for any reason at all? Including closing giant deals?

Will they be mortified if one of my little ones barges into my home office and vomits mac and cheese all over my desk in real time? Did I care even if something like that happened?

The answer to the above and many other questions, is, well, NO. I didn’t care. I don’t care today either. And I probably won’t care at any time in the future. I mean, let’s face it: Nobody I know out-works me. In fact, I haven’t been on a real vacation since the end of 2017. Oh yeah, we probably shouldn’t even count that one because I was finalizing my book, Sorry, 50 is NOT the New 30, during that trip.

I look around and see Congress on break most of the calendar year. I see neighbors who can barely roll out of bed by noon and spend their weeknights getting high and drinking all night. I come across those on social media pretending they’re working, but still, can’t figure out what they’re even working on. Working on their tans?

I suppose, though, it took the Covid pandemic to convince more than a few professionals to “hang up their car keys” and settle into whatever makeshift workspace they could create within their 4 walls. And looking around, it’s hard to see many other benefits of this whole health scare period in the United States and beyond.

However, one thing I do know is the cottage industry is here to stay and that’s a good thing because it will keep me plugging along, my sanity in check, and, of course, my dry-cleaning bill will remain where it belongs – in the home office shredder! Ciao!

So, what’s your story?

We’ll catch up with you again in about 30 days … I’m out!

-A.N.

A Closer Look

with Anthony Newcombe 👀👀👀

A Closer Look … Stocks-Inexperience-Investors-Hedge Funds-Day Trading-

with Anthony Newcombe

Some Causes of the Stock Market Volatility Craze

Topic: That ‘silly, crazy stock market’ this month

Categories: Economics, Financials, and Social Psychology

Between a rock and a hard place? You probably spent some of the past few weeks rummaging through the onslaught of news concerning the stock market. In just a few days, there were swings from single digits to over thousands of percentage gains. What is the most amazing part? Ironically, these public companies did absolutely NOTHING different to cause this phenomenon. In fact, some of the biggest debt funds pounced on this situation to dump old, crappy positions they had. This generated some outlandish profits (for those who could get out in time!)

However, for those who don’t own any stocks, I hear you. Who cares, right?! Well, the rest of us care. Unfortunately, it caught our attention instantly. This might be due to many of a certain age recall being caught up in this “spin cycle” very similar to this in our investing past. In fact, if your stomach didn’t roil a bit, and your brow didn’t raise, you must be a first-time trader. You have no scar tissue built up from previous downturns. You haven’t been burned…yet.

Moreover, if you recall in spring, 2001, there was a ton of hoopla regarding “surging dotcom stocks.” It seemed like you didn’t even need an ounce of ability to make profitable picks during that time. Just buy, buy, buy (Thanks, Jim Cramer!) Subsequently, there was a different kind of BOOM! There was a “crash-landing.” In little time, the markets tanked. Everyone ran for the hills, and many brokers ducked their calls. We were shirtless, stuck, and scared!

Nevertheless, I’m not naïve enough to think that the ‘dotcom bubble of 2001’ is anywhere near the same as the last two weeks have been. But I tell you, when you see some of the publicly traded stocks like GameStop (GME) and AMC Theaters (AMC), it forces a reflection moment. These stocks went from (practically) zero to amazing heights. Then, they returned to earth again in mere days. Unfortunately, it rhymes with some of our tortured past like 1987’s Black Monday, spring 2001, and September 2008. I agree, all had different characteristics. We won’t get into them all, but each created a form of sheer terror in the marketplace at the time!

Thankfully, at least for today, it seems like the storm has mostly passed. We’re back to the “old, regular froth” that we’ve become accustomed to from the past several fiscal years. We’ll just keep our chinstraps fastened, our eye on the ball, and continue onward, right? I mean, what else can we do? Happy investing, folks!

Any ideas?

-A.N.

Supporting links

Bloomberg

CNBC Business

Business Insider

A Closer Look …

with Anthony Newcombe

Topic: The most important characteristics of an entrepreneur

Area: The impact of parents’ words on their children

en·tre·pre·neur /ˌäntrəprəˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝o(ə)r/

noun: entrepreneur; plural noun: entrepreneurs

a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

(credit: Oxford Languages)

Entrepreneur (my definition) – An entrepreneur represents many key elements wrapped into one. First and foremost, he or she must be a born leader, a person who yearns to be the most responsible party in any business decision to be made. An entrepreneur is creative, highly intelligent, and motivated to succeed at a level greater than the typical wage earner. He or she understands that decision – or indecision – could mean the difference between a great idea becoming a great product, service, or organization – or just simply one of many “brainstormed ideas” that go nowhere.

An entrepreneur understands that he or she needs a roadmap to success. By creating a comprehensive plan of attack, the entrepreneur will now be able to take educated and informed risks because all options have been weighed prior to committing one way or another. Once all the possible angles have been carefully thought out, he or she will have shifted the odds of success as much as possible in his or her favor and will know that the time has come to seize an opportunity.