Steve Jobs. Our economy. My suggestion.

Tonight Steve Jobs passed away. For hours I sat, feeling as if I lost someone I knew, when it occurred to me that, besides my father, Steve Jobs has been the biggest inspiration in my life. I remember, at 7 or 8 years old, reading books about Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak creating Apple in a garage. It quickly spiraled into an obsession of research into the likes of Gates, Allen, Ellison, Andreeson, Yang, Dell, Cuban, and on and on. The fact that these men, at such young ages, could make such a powerful difference to our world as a whole, inspired me to do the same.

Early on in my research, I remember reading that Steve Jobs said that he wanted “to leave a dent in the universe.” The second I read those words, my life had purpose. I wanted to do whatever I could to affect our planet and our civilization as much as I possibly could; I wanted to leave my dent. This post is dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs, for showing me that one lifetime can make a difference if you believe in it with every part of your being.

This post is part inspired by the Occupy protests and the frenzy of debate that it has stirred up. I would like to address the 99%ers who now stand in protest. I would like to say that I believe you are all doing the right thing, if only for the fact that a government must fear its people more than the other way around. Stand up for what you believe in, no matter what that is, and let your leaders know how you feel. As long as the protests stay peaceful, they serve an important purpose.

Now to speak to the problem, and a suggested solution. The reality is that the 99% and the 1% are both part of a bigger whole. The reality is that the 1% is only what it is because of the 99%. The 99% is not only the workforce, but also in most cases, the consumer. It is important to remember that the relationship is symbiotic; both groups depend on each other to survive.

We, as the 99%, can remove our dependency on the 1% and decrease their profits and power by learning to self-sustain. We need to stop kicking and screaming and telling them to change, to stop making so much money, to give us jobs, and we need to start creating our own jobs! The industrial era saw the rise of the corporation and the decline of the mom-and-pop businesses, but in the era of information technology, the trend is reversing. We can create jobs through entrepreneurship and the pursuit of small businesses.

Indeed the mass manufacturing, shipping, and receiving of corporations is hard to match. But as many of the service-sector industries have already seen, those processes are becoming easier and easier to fulfill thanks to the progress of technology and the Internet. During industrialization and the rise of the factory, mass production and mass management became a necessity. Without technology like cell phones, computers, and the Internet, it was only feasible to manage hundreds or thousands of workers through centralized factory-style management schemes.

But now, thanks to those technologies, we have decentralized production and fulfillment. You can order the parts necessary to build your own car from suppliers all across the country and then read about how to assemble them on the Internet. You can build wooden chairs in your backyard and market them to people on different continents. As the cost of production and fulfillment drops, small businesses that once were made obsolete by corporate efficiency during industrialization can now return by replacing the once-efficient bureaucracies the corporation has left behind.

Now, as soon as I start telling people to go start their own businesses, I usually hear the same retort, “but John, not everyone has it in them to start a business. Not everyone can run a business.” And that is absolutely true. Maybe one in 20,000 people has the desire, audacity, and naivete it takes to create a business, but the reality is that the majority of the other 19,999 people will go to work for them. Being an entrepreneur does not mean starting a business. Being an entrepreneur is about being part of something progressive, something you believe in. Every employee who decides to work for shit wages and bust their ass to help grow the company, for equity or options, is just as entrepreneurial as the founders. Without those employees, there would be no start-ups.

I know that using the word “entrepreneur” with the words “start-up” and “founders” comes with a connotation of tech-oriented businesses. However, I’m not just talking about tech businesses. Handymen, plumbers, landscapers, electricians, writers, graphic designers, physical trainers and salesmen are all entrepreneurial. You just need to find your skill and sell it, or find someone else who can. Stop looking to big business for work, and start looking to the people standing around you.

Many of you will contest, “But I have kids. I have a mortgage, I have overhead. I need money now”. And while I sympathize, you have to weigh the realities. Which is better for your mortgage or your family; standing on the streets protesting other people to give you jobs, or busting your ass to create your own jobs? I know that my suggestions might mean significant pay-cuts from what you expect to be compensated for your experience and value, but the reality is you are not being compensated at all, and it’s time to change that.

Don’t be afraid. Take the power into your own hands. Start your own company, join a start-up, or market your own skills. Commit to something you believe in and follow it. If it doesn’t work out, then try again. It is every one of you standing on the street protesting, it is every one of you with a degree and no job, it is every one of you who can’t get a loan to go to college, and it is every one of you who have been laid off and let down by the corporations, it is every one of you that has the power to fix our economy. The 1% is at OUR mercy, and NOT the other way around.

Always remember this. There once was a hippie, young, jobless, liberal-arts student who dreamed of a world where humans utilized technology to recognize our true connectedness. His name was Steve Jobs.