A few weeks ago my wife and I acquired a couple of watches from my father that he had been given for free. Our first thought was let’s take them to the local pawn shop to see if we can get some money back for them. I know… what can I say it’s the entrepreneur in me. When we got there we saw what I think is a blight on pawn shops. A lady who was white, shaking and clearly in need of a fix was standing at the counter with a pile of DVD’s. I looked around and it occurred to me… what kind of business profits off the failure of society more so than the pawn shop? That aside, I noticed something else. And yes, considering I am on dreams, the heart and so on at the moment (for some reason) I noticed that I was standing in the house of broken dreams.
When you travel into a store like the one I went to you notice the guitars, the drum kits, the stereo systems and the like on display. How did they get there? Drug users, failed musicians, trades people who can’t get work and so on put them there. Where do the desperate, the failures and the like go when there is nowhere else to go?
The pawn shop is a business that makes it’s profit on broken dreams
The world is a harsh place. For every success there are a hundred failures. If you don’t believe me take a trip to any major city and have a look at a pawn shop. It’s the place where the end of line has been reached for a lot of people. People who had dreams of their own, desires but somehow missed out. These are the ones that didn’t make it. When I went to the store it really struck me how heart wrenching it is when you have had a dream in your grasp and it was ripped out of your hands. You do get desperate. You do begin to think… what did I do to deserve this? The answer to that is beyond this post… sure I could reason it out… blame people, God, whoever. But at the end of the day the broken dream is still there isn’t it?
Should we blame the pawn shops for cashing in on broken dreams?
The question perhaps should be framed this way: Why do pawn shops exist? They exist because there is a demand for them. This stems from the need for people to sell something or offload something in exchange for something else. Eventually as a meditated on the situation I came to the point in my thinking where I reached a paradox. Here we have a business that takes away things in exchange for money because people have a need. The businesses like Cash Converters exist because someone is there to feed them. The need is the problem not the shop. Take away the need and you take away the shop. This raises another question:
Why are there so many broken dreams?
What happens to a life when it falls short of it’s potential? I don’t really know. I can say that I was reminded of it at Cash Converters the other day when I saw all of the lost hope in the eyes of the people there. The reality is why does a business decide to profit of broken dreams. I am not one of those people who believe that businesses can sell whatever they like. Greed is not good.
Businesses need to bring the heart back
Making money can be done in a way that society is improved and not devalued. I think establishments like Cash Converters elevate the status of the dollar above human worth. As Gordon Gecko says: ‘Greed is good’. A business that profits off broken dreams and people who do the same have lost their heart. Business can be conducted in a way that it profits both the owners and the customers without destroying lives. So, I hear you say: What about some examples?
Examples of businesses with heart
The first place that comes to mind for me, is Gloria Jeans coffee. On this page you can read about the things they are doing to build a better future in various communities. W.I.S.E is another example of what I am talking about and you can watch this video below to explain it better than I can:
This is social entrepreneurship. A more recent famous example can be found in Richard Branson’s decision to invest future profits in reducing global warming:
What about another example? Imagine taking over a company at a young age and running yourself into the ground with stress? That’s exactly what Ricardo Semler did. To combat that he set out to build a democratic workplace where people got to vote for their managers, negotiate their pay scales, choose their work hours and so on. If you are ever in the mood I would recommend reading the book called Maverick or the Seven Day Weekend. Recently the 7:30 report ran this story on him:
I could go on for hours citing examples of people who have changed their businesses by putting the heart first. For me, a business should be about building dreams not destroying them. It should be about letting those who make it help build something for those who can’t. It’s a two way street that goes beyond personal wealth into the area of social wealth where we build this world as well as success. I don’t think there can be anything wrong with that?
This post is the first in a number of posts on bringing the heart back to business. It’s the theme of the month at the moment!
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January 25th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
[...] This part two of an on-going series of articles about bringing the heart back to business. Click here to read part one. [...]
March 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I can understand where you’re coming from when talking about broken dreams, but you have to realize that people are not throwing their lives away by doing business with a pawn shop. When you say that this Cash Converters place is destroying lives, I think you’re very wrong. Unless of course you’re materialistic and attach importance and stature to items that you own.
I work at a pawn shop (if you haven’t guessed that already) and most of the customers I work with aren’t coming in for their next “drug fix” or a twelve pack (not denying that it does happen at times). Most of them are just people like you and me that have less than great money management skills and need a loan for a couple of months to get back on their feet. And their credit rating won’t get ruined if they let their item go like it would if they don’t pay back a cash advance.
I’m not trying to bash you, I just think you are jumping to conclusions a little too fast because of one experience. If you want some more insight on the workings of a pawn shop, I just started a blog at http://www.pawnlife.wordpress.com. Feel free to check it out, I’m hoping that it will change some opinions of a business that is stereotyped more than almost any other.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Hi Derek,
I considered not posting a reply to your comments because I felt they spoke for themselves. Good points, I take on board what you said. You are right of course. I shouldn’t generalise from one experience. I did actually try to change the title from Cash Converters but I am not that tech savvy… I couldn’t change the post title back one I posted it. I am not necessarily stabbing at them with my comments.
That said, it was my experience and while I take on board what you said I am only reporting back what I saw. So yes, you are correct in that aspect but it’s still my experience. The article in my mind at least is more about the embodiment of ethics in business. On this one occasion (granted) what I saw shocked me.
I wish more comments were as insightful as yours Derek. You should see how bad things have gotten on my of my wife’s posts. I wish you all the best with your pawnbroker blog. Thanks for your great comments.