'Our Destiny Remains Our Choice'

Obama remains as poignant as ever during State of The Union Address...

Photo of Obama during the State of the Union address from NPR.com, Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images.

It's no secret that I admire Obama and deeply respect the way he has commanded many of the hurdles during his presidency. Last night was no exception. During his State of the Union last night Obama made a number of profound statements that really spoke to me. These statements spoke of the current economic changes underfoot. According to today's New York Times one of the many things Obama did during his State of the Union was "challenge Americans to unleash their creative spirit...and come together around a common goal of outcompeting other nations..." Hell yes. It's about time someone said it.

Among all the hullaboo about jobs going to China, I can't help but think about how much we underestimate our abilities to create suitable employment for ourselves. It may not be the same types of jobs Americans have held before, but they are still respectable ways to make a living nonetheless. What I see rather than manufacturing is the emergence of the sole entrepreneur. This trend will be our comeuppance to out-compete China. While China is known for it's legions of cheap workers, it is also known for being short on innovation. This is the area where us Americans have a chance to succeed.

Photo of 2010 Bust Craftacular from Loop of the Loom blog.

This is a concept that can cross all social boundaries, classes, and education levels. You don't necessarily need a higher education to develop a skill and sell it. It can be as simple as making baked goods and using a website to advertise them. I will never argue higher education doesn't help, but I don't believe it to be necessary to succeed with this business model. This year I went to the Bust Craftacular, a one day craft fair that takes place in New York City in December, and saw many examples of this type of business model. Here, people who created things as simple as illustrated cards, soaps, and beaded jewelry sold it for a low over-head. Many folks left that day profitable. When I looked around that day I saw jobs that won't be outsourced to China.

I see the potential of employment for all if we stop focusing on what we have lost in manufacturing and learn to innovate. Instead of competition I see that more workers in China create a larger market for us to sell our products. Besides craft fairs, we almost every household now has access to the internet, our most powerful global selling tool. Obama is right, it is America's creativity that will save the day. Lets embrace the advantages globalization give us, and not what we have lost. It will be America's creativity be what that picks up the pieces of our fractured economy. I know we can do it. To quote Obama again, "Our destiny remains our choice".

Etsy: Creating A New Type of Employee? Or Making Dreams Unravel?

Yookoo Gibran, in her Oatmeal Soopascarf, who according the article says she knits 13 hours a day, then works on business related things when she is done. The article likens her workload to a law associates. Photo courtesy of NyTimes.

I recently read this article in the NyTimes. Apparently, some people have had so much success with their online shops on Etsy, a purveyor of handmade goods, that they now are the owners of bonafide businesses. Some generate 6-figure incomes. However, all of this has not come without a cost. Some of the women in the article go through periods where they are working almost 24 hours a day making, and then shipping orders that their customers have placed. One interviewee said it was the hardest job she had ever done. Some have argued that the fact these women think they can turn a hobby into an income generator is all fantasy. Sara Mosle, a New Times Contributer wrote an essay on the topic, was quoted in the article as follows:

“What Etsy is really peddling isn’t only handicrafts...but also the feminist promise that you can have a family and create hip arts and crafts from home during flexible, reasonable hours while still having a respectable, fulfilling, and remunerative career.”

Ouch. Have we really created the antithesis of our feminist dreams? If you are working every waking hour, is that really woman's emancipation? Harumph. Designing takes a lot of work. In a start up business you execute every function that exists in company yourself. But in the end at least you can say you created a product you believe in. How many people can say that about where they work?