Old men for rent?

[unpinkpanther]

Didn't know what to think of this when someone shared a video on WhatsApp

About how you could rent middle-aged men in Japan

Turns out this service has been around for 12 years now.

Interesting story no doubt.

"For the first two years it was just [founder] Takenobu renting himself out, but now the roster of rentable ossan has expanded to 69 men of various backgrounds, skills, and personalities, ages 38 to 69 at the present."

Wonder what made the founder so sure of his idea to keep on for TWO whole years before another person joined the rental roster.

What do y'all think of this?

[Dien Rice]

I think this is a great idea!

Firstly, not every young person has a good mentor... We learn from our parents. Not every parent is the best role-model, unfortunately...

Those kids with great parents are very fortunate! But not all are so fortunate...

I remember listening to a podcast from a now middle-aged man. As a teenager, he joined the military to get out of his situation... He had terrible parents (I think his dad was always drunk and often violent, if I remember right). He ended up joining the US marines... He saw service in Afghanistan, Iraq, and also Japan, Germany, and a couple of bases on the US mainland... and after about 20 years in the marines and the army, he retired and now has a pretty good life... (He now lives in Indonesia on his military pension, with his Indonesian wife... his money goes further there...)

Some older folks may wonder...

"Is all my knowledge out of date, when I don't know the latest viral TikTok dance?"

Probably not knowing the latest viral TikTok dance is an advantage!

"Would any young person want my 'old man' knowledge?"

As a now old man myself (!), I know I have a lot of valuable knowledge a lot of the "youngsters" don't have!

I'm in an unusual position as I have a very precocious four-year-old daughter (we had a kid later than usual in life), so I'm looking forward to sharing my wisdom as much as I can with her...!

Thanks for an interesting topic, UnPink!

Best wishes,

Dien

Originally Posted by unpinkpanther

Didn't know what to think of this when someone shared a video on WhatsApp

About how you could rent middle-aged men in Japan

Turns out this service has been around for 12 years now.

Interesting story no doubt.

"For the first two years it was just [founder] Takenobu renting himself out, but now the roster of rentable ossan has expanded to 69 men of various backgrounds, skills, and personalities, ages 38 to 69 at the present."

Wonder what made the founder so sure of his idea to keep on for TWO whole years before another person joined the rental roster.

What do y'all think of this?

[Glenn]

Thanks UnPink,

The cost to Rent a Violin Playing IT guy is the cost of a Sandwich.

80% of customers are women.

Lots of repeat Biz.

Owner is thinking of Niching his 69 employees.

So IT guy can Raise his Prices.

Glenn

[unpinkpanther]

Thanks Dien: hadn't considered it from the mentoring angle

Because as an African proverb goes, what the elder can see while sitting down, the youngster might not see even from the top of the tallest iroko tree

(Maybe that's why I love the Gordon Jay report on planning for success. Reading the distilled wisdom of over 50 years of business directly from a veteran has been helpful)

Well, about being seen as "old-school"...

As a father, I have teen kids who I always have to remind that: I didn't always have graying hair. Didn't always have a beard. And a bald patch.

You see, I was once a teenager myself.

Yes, there wasn't YouTube back then, or TikTok, or the world wide web. Back then, much of the Marvel characters lived more in comic books and less on the movie screens.

BUT I went through the same rites of passage that all teenagers on earth go through

And I have an idea of some fundamental blunders that I can help them avoid.

Blunders aren't always as complex as people make them out to be. In my experience, most blunders come from missing the fundamentals. Usually by skipping a few key steps in the process.

Which is why I'm on a personal mission to help as many people as I can think clearly in their plans of action.

Thanks again, Dien, for the opportunity to share.

Originally Posted by Dien Rice

I think this is a great idea!

Firstly, not every young person has a good mentor... We learn from our parents. Not every parent is the best role-model, unfortunately...

Those kids with great parents are very fortunate! But not all are so fortunate...

Some older folks may wonder...

"Is all my knowledge out of date, when I don't know the latest viral TikTok dance?"

Probably not knowing the latest viral TikTok dance is an advantage!

"Would any young person want my 'old man' knowledge?"

As a now old man myself (!), I know I have a lot of valuable knowledge a lot of the "youngsters" don't have!

I'm in an unusual position as I have a very precocious four-year-old daughter (we had a kid later than usual in life), so I'm looking forward to sharing my wisdom as much as I can with her...!

Thanks for an interesting topic, UnPink!

Best wishes,

Dien