Fourteen Days into the Venture

Toward the end of 2015, I decided to try again in 2016 to start my own venture and to forge my own path. Originally, I planned to write a blog post each day (or every other day) chronicling the long, hard and lonely road, especially since information about the beginning of the journey is hard to come by. Everyone talks after they're successful, after they've made it and, most likely, after others hear about them and want to talk to them about what they are doing. Hardly anyone talks about the early days, before there's traction or product/market fit or paying customers or investments. But, I think those early days are some of the most important to talk about. I think it's important to be open about how shitty some days are and how much work it takes to get traction and product marketing fit. I think we really ought to talk about how deep you have to dig within yourself in order to keep going when no customers show up, when your product isn't working, when you're running out of money and when others tell you that you can't do it.

Then Why Didn't I Start the Conversation?

I don't have a good reason. I wondered what I would write about on those days where I have nothing to show for the fruits of my labors. What's there to say when I don't get the sponsorship deal, or when no one watches the stream, besides reporting that those things happened? Perhaps I would've figured what to write if I actually started writing instead of making excuses.

I understand now that not knowing what to write was a terrible reason, but better start now than never and start the conversation that I think should be had a little more often. It's a much more real conversation to have in my opinion, since success isn't overnight, no matter how much it seems to be from the outside. I also think a conversation likes this acknowledges failures and missteps as part of the process of success instead of the antitheses of success.

If All We Talk about are Winners, then What Does This Say About Losing?

Not everything is going to work. Not everyone wins. Not everyone wins every time. Not every step is a step in the right direction. This doesn't mean those steps were wrong or bad. This doesn't mean that those lonely days where no customers show up are indicative of anything personal or permanent. The days where it feels like you're banging your head against a wall are part of forging your own path, and a part of life. In hindsight, the tough moments are easier to canonize and incorporate into the larger story of success. But, on that day, without hindsight, it just sucks.

But, failures and missteps are okay. They only represent who you are if you choose to let them represent you.

So, before I can fit failures and bad days neatly into a narrative of victory, I'm going to start the conversation and document the lonely road on this venture. I know it will take a lot of hustle and hard work. I know the great things won't happen overnight.

I know a lot of people will tell my I'm crazy, that I ought to quit, that I can't do it, that it's not possible etc. Those comments are going to come. Shrugging all of that off is easier said than done. Sticking to your guns is easier said than done. I'm not writing this post and wanting to have this conversation because I'm delusional about myself and my abilities. I'm doing this, and want to do this, to showcase how hard it is not to be.

Honesty as a Competitive Advantage, Upcoming Necessity

Every Thursday, I will republish my best articles from Technorati.com. Since Technorati redesigned its website and is under new managements, tens of thousands of articles that were previously published on the site are no longer available. I have been given explicit permission to republish my work on my own website. Trust is an increasingly valuable commodity when it comes to doing business, one that some try to take advantage of with fake social media reviews and other strategies (old and new) that are meant to fool customers; however, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers Ph.D argue in their latest book it won't be long before the only successful businesses are the ones that are extremely trustworthy.

Their book, Extreme Trust: Honesty as a Competitive Advantage, says that the rising levels of transparency in society will mean that businesses will have to protect customer interests proactively. By investing in ways to preserve reputation and to build customer relationships, businesses will develop the extreme trust necessary to survive a world where the social domain and the commercial domains are constantly colliding.

"In the future, companies will have to do this because of competitive pressure," Peppers said. "If they don't do it, someone else will."

Peppers also said that the book is fundamentally about how business will change because of technology-driven innovation, and described extreme trust as the "inevitable evolution of business over the next generation or so.

We can probably think of many examples of how different companies and industries treat their customers as transactions, how they try to make money off of people instead of working with them to earn their profits. Below are some of the book's most noticeable examples:

• Banks will soon have to stop relying on overdraft charges, because so many of them are based on simple customer error.
• Credit card companies will have to coach customers on avoiding excessive borrowing.
• Cell phone providers will have to help customers find the cheapest calling plans for their usage patterns.
• Retailers will have to remind customers when a gift card or rebate card has gone unused or may be lost.

"[It's up to] companies to decide whether they understand that they have two goals now: make money this quarter, and figuring out how what they do and what they say is going to affect the long-term value of a customer," Rogers said. "Long-term value is determined today."

What makes a trustable company, versus one that will simply do what it says and follow the law? Peppers and Rogers say that a trustable company will do three things:

1. Do Things Right
2. Do the Right Thing
3. Do the First Two Proactively

Customers would be willing to pay $11 more a month for a mobile phone company they actually trust," Rogers said. "[A trustable company will] keep you posted on what’s good for you about the business, and offer things that are valuable to you instead of making you search for everything from scratch."

Therefore, current tactics used to develop trust, such as fake social media reviews and black hat SEO techniques, only tarnishes a company's long-term ability to gain trust for a small-term (if any) financial gain. Even though falsehoods can happen (like someone spreading misinformation or even leaving a bad, yet real, negative review), doing things so well that loyal customers come to your defense is a much better way to go.

"Social media takes care of [a falsehood or negative review] by burying it with more accurate data," Rogers said. "There are simply not enough lawyers to take everything off the Internet."

"Customers want to be treated the way their friends treat them," Peppers said. "The real solution is social credibility. As long as you have cultivated a reputation in advanced for being trustable, people will value your business and mourn if you go out of business."

The book may be considered a must-read for anyone leading an organization, but it is also a must-read for any consumer who wants to be a consumer of trustable brands, and not just another transaction. The only way for extreme trust to be the way we do business in the future is for people to demand it now, and to take it away from those who make their money by taking advantage of their customers.

"There have been radical changes in the last five years. This is not a fad," Rogers said. "There will always be more interconnectedness and never less. This is the way we will have to compete."

Why You Should Hire Me to Manage Your Social Media

Social media is a daily time commitment. If you, or your company, isn't willing to commit the time, then one of two things need to happen. Either limit the number of social networks you use to something that's manageable, or outsourcing your social media marketing. If you are choosing the latter, partly because you don't just want to use Facebook, then consider hiring me to do the rest! Here's why you should hire me to manage your social media:

I Have Proven Results

One of my social media marketing clients is a nitrogen tire inflation company called Nitrofleet99. When I started working on their social media presence, all the company had was a Facebook profile with about 15 fans. This was in June 2012. To date, November 2013, Nitrofleet99 has 383 fans on its Facebook page, an accomplishment based on some Facebook advertising but primarily on a content amplification and promotion strategy that focused on consistent and regular engagement. Part of consistent and regular engagement is updating your social media profiles every day while planning this content in advance. This strategy enables me to spend the day-to-day work engaging with followers while the research of appropriate content takes place well before this content is scheduled for sharing.

Since June 2012, I've also added a Twitter account and a Google+ account for the company. Not only do these presences exist, but both the Facebook page and the Google+ profile have ranked on the first page of Google for the term, "nitrogen tire inflation."

I Understand that Social Media Can't Work in a Silo

Part of what makes social media marketing difficult and time-consuming for businesses is that they consider it separate from the website and other marketing efforts. This is a huge mistake, as isolating social media means that your marketing efforts can't drive visitors and leads to the website (and the company), while eliminating a huge opportunity for the business to amplify the content and promotions happening on the website or in the email newsletter. My previous employer, for example, has a lot of great videos on its blog featuring different customers and services of the customer. However, these videos can only be found on the blog and can't be found anywhere on social media, YouTube in particular. Why my previous employer won't share these things on YouTube, or any other social network, is beyond me. Why are you creating this content if you don't amplify it through social media? By keeping these things to one or two platforms, instead of strategically using all of them to reach as many people as possible, you are essentially leaving leads and visitors on the table for your competitor to grab.

If You Need Content to Share on Social Media, I Can Do That Too

There's a 50/50 rule in social media marketing: 50% of what you share needs to be your own content, while the other half is the content of others. Most companies are surprised that their social media marketing efforts aren't entirely about the, but others do realize that your social media marketing doesn't matter too much if all you're doing is sharing other people's content. No one is going to be come a fan or follower (and they certainly won't become a customer) if you don't have any original research, or thought leadership, or helpful information of your own to offer. This is where I can come in. I can create blog posts, white papers, press releases, newsletter articles, essentially anything that would be awesome to share on Facebook or Twitter that you can slap with your company's branding. After all, the goal to accomplish with social media marketing is to show that your company is the one that can address the needs and pain points of your customers. By only sharing the content of others, you're really saying that it's your competitors and these other thought leaders who really know what they are doing.

I'm not an intern or college student whose a good fit for a social media role because I'm young or a digital native. I'm a good fit for the social media role because I know what I'm doing, and I've been doing this long enough to know how to understand a brand so that results happen on social media. I know how to use Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/Google+ to achieve the results the client wants to see.

The Value of an Accountability Buddy

In case you haven't yet noticed on this blog, Hacking Your Education: Ditch the Lectures, Save Tens of Thousands, and Learn More than Your Peers Ever, is a great book. It's worth checking out if you're interested in ways to continue learning, to get an education without spending a ton of money on college, or to do things that help you figure out your passions and what you want to do with your life, The idea of an accountability buddy also came from this book, where you have someone (or maybe a small group of people) hold your feet to the fire in regards to your goals and/or your to-do lists.

Losing Your Accountability Buddy is Tough

About six months ago, the coaching program with my business coach ended, and I think things went downhill since then. The most valuable thing that my business coach provided me was accountability, which is difficult to have by yourself when you're an entrepreneur or self-employed. You can't rely on your clients and customers to do this, and you may not necessarily have a boss or business partner to hold you accountable if you're an entrepreneur or self-employed. Without an accountability buddy, all you have is yourself and when you only have yourself, it gets easy to put off a task, to make an excuse, or to say that you're going to do something else that's equally productive instead.

I loved having a business coach to hold me accountable because I know that she cared about me, and I cared about her. When it came to my goals and to-do lists, I was much more motivated to get things done because I was left with two choices when I didn't do something. I could either tell my business coach I didn't do it, or lie to her about doing it. Since I never liked either of those choices, the best option was always to do what I needed to do and what I set out to do. After all, there's nothing to it but to do it! I lost much of this motivation when my coaching program ended, as I no longer had someone who was going to ask questions and to check up on these things.

I Have an Accountability Buddy Again

Starting in January 2014, I'm restarting my business coaching with my business coaching (I'm only putting it off because I need to save money for my end-of-the-year expenses, such as the holidays and my coworking membership). Even through I'm not officially under her tutelage for another two months, just knowing that I'm going to have to talk about these next two months in January and show something for myself is enough to keep me productive and pushing forward. I haven't been this motivated in a long time, and it's great to be energized with visions of accomplishment. What I really need is a trusted adviser who can keep me on track without micromanaging and who can who can ask the tough questions without being condescending or placing blame. My business coach fits the bill, and is also wonderful because she's shared with me several great resources that have helped me improve my business and business knowledge.

I do have a few goals set for the next two months, so it's not as if I'm wasting this down time. I do need to refine these goals and actually get them down on paper, but I at least have an idea of what I'd like to achieve in these last two months of 2013. I can't believe the year is almost over! I've come a long way, so I need to do what I can now so I can go further in 2014. An accountability buddy can help me with this.

Guide to Small Business Phone System Brands

There are many phone system brands and companies out there. In fact, there are no fewer than 50 different companies out there that provide business phone systems. Of course, there are the big, well-known brands like Panasonic, Cisco, Samsung, and Toshiba. Surely, they are good brands and can provide you with a good business phone system. But, are these systems really the best ones for small business? What do some of the smaller brands have to offer? This is a short guide to five business phone system brands that are recommended for small businesses. All of them are smaller than the big guys previously mentioned, but that doesn’t mean that their product or service is small on utility.

8x8

Formerly known as Packet8, 8x8 offers a hosted phone service solution, using the latest VoIP technology. All services are delivered directly over the Internet, so features can be accessed by employees who are in the office, traveling, or working remotely. So, 8x8 would be a good vendor for small business that has traveling or work-from-home employees, rather than one where employees need to be at the office regularly. With all hosted solutions, you’ll need a fast and reliable Internet connection to ensure that business demands are met for phone usage as well as other activities such as Web and email usage. The good thing about an 8x8 business phone system is that you aren’t sacrificing some of the features of a traditional phone system, like personalized voicemail, call forwarding, and three-way calling.

Nextiva

As with 8x8, Nextiva offers a hosted solution using VoIP technology. A Nextiva business phone system is better for a small business that would like a hosted phone service, but might not use the system all that much. Nextiva offers some very low rates – but for limited calling each month. Nextiva is also a good choice for microbusinesses, companies with fewer than 10 employees, as the three plans Nextiva offers are for one, four, and eight users. Features include holiday and after-hours greetings, voicemail to email, and number portability.

Vocalocity

Vocalocity also offers a hosted solution, but is also one of the most customizable business phone system vendors on this list. You’re cost will depend on how many features, and which features, you would like. Small businesses can choose to incorporate mobile phones into the Vocalocity business phone system as well. Optional features include call conferencing, call recording, and paging groups (where you can broadcast messages to your employees through the business phone system). Another good feature is that each phone comes with its own phone number, instead of just an extension.

Aptela

If you have a broadband connection, you can take advantage of Aptela's VoIP service and get big business productivity and mobility solutions—without the big business price tag. If you’re considering Aptela, the company offers a 30-minute test drive of their business phone system. Two great features about the Aptela business phone system include the support of green initiatives and administrative functions such as loudspeaker paging, password management, and call history. Payment starts at $25 a month per person, but a minimum of $50 per month is needed before your business can sign up for a calling plan.

Fonality

Offering both hosted and server-based solutions, Fonality has competitive pricing for the value. If you have over 20 employees, it’s recommended to go with Fonality’s server-based solution, although this solution requires more up-front costs and ongoing maintenance by your own employees, which can take attention away from core business needs (unless you already have a robust IT staff). Besides that, Fonality’s business phone system options are very flexible and have a per-person monthly payment that’s better suited for smaller businesses. A nice feature about Fonality is that the company provides detailed reporting for all extensions and search filters, in case you’re suspicious about your employees making personal calls while on the job.

Take Away

Purchasing that small business phone system can be a difficult process, especially since there are so many aspects of which to keep track. The number of users, the different features, hosted versus server, all of that makes a difference in pricing and in which vendor would be the best fit for your small business. Certainly, this guide isn’t meant to be an exhaustive one to what’s out there. But, it’s a start in navigating these complicated lines.

A Few Places to Get Your Tech Essentials (For Less!)

Sure, your business may not necessarily need tablets or the latest mobile phone models to operate. But, there are some technologies that are essential to running your business. You probably need at least one computer or laptop, a phone system, and a quality web presence. All that costs money to purchase and to maintain, but you couldn’t possibly run your business without them. Fortunately, there are a few places to go where you can get your business tech essentials for less than what you’d normally have to pay if you went to a retailer. Here are a few of those wonderful places of savings:

Newegg.com

Newegg is an electronics discount website with everything from computer hardware to cameras to home theater equipment. If you are okay with a refurbished laptop or desktop, than this is the place to go. The great thing about Newegg is that many of the products come with user reviews, so you’re still able to compare and to evaluate products without having to go to a store. Newegg also has tons of daily deals and additional promotions so going on, so you’re sure to find a bargain on this site. It’s also a little more reliable than going through an online wanted ads site like Craigslist. A site very similar to Newegg is TechBargains.com.

Daily Deal Sites

There are plenty of them out there that cater specifically to small businesses, such as RapidBuyr or OfficeArrow. The deals include much more than tech products, so you’ll be able to find discounts on everything else a small business might need, from virtual assistant services to a social media book to accounting services. These sites are free to sign up for, and OfficeArrow offers a lot more than daily deals. They also have articles and templates on every business topic and task imaginable.

Service Providers

If you already have a service provider in place, say for data storage or your phone system, you may be able to find a discount if you simply ask. Some providers have specials for startups and small businesses. You also may be able to save money if you use one provider for a variety of different services. In other words, bundle services. For example, 37Signals offers four web-based apps for small businesses: Highrise (customer relation management), Campfire (group chat), Backpack (internal communications), and Basecamp (project management). To get all four through 37signals only costs $99 a month, when getting all four through four separate providers could cost double that. If you don’t have any service providers in place yet, make sure to ask how the company can help you.

As a new business, you certainly aren’t in a place to be settling on any price. It’s in your best interest to find the best prices, since money saved means money that you can invest in other aspects of your business, such as marketing or hiring staff. You’re already going to have to work for the money, so let the money do some work for you by taking a look at ways to get your tech essentials for less.

Why You Should Hire Me to Write Your Content

Blogging for others is my bread and butter. It's how I've made a living and have built my professional reputation over the past few years. If you need content, whether it's web content, blog posts, eBooks, or white papers, then consider Allison Reilly as an option in getting those things done. Here's why you should hire me over anyone else to write your content:

I've Covered a Wide Variety of Industries

If you look at my portfolio, you'll see that my five years of writing and editing experience includes everything from identity theft to social media, from business answering services to small business technology. Even if I haven't covered your industry, or have only covered something similar, don't let that stop you from hiring a great writer. Industry experience is just one indicator of talent and success, and it's by no means an honest indicator of talent and success. My variety shows that I can be successful in any industry and that I can bring a fresh perspective to your content needs and content marketing strategy. Also note that most articles in my portfolio are at least 500 words, showing that I don't write short, fluffy articles that don't say anything at all. With every piece of content, I strive to provide something of value to the reader.

I Can Do Many Types of Content Marketing

Business blogging may be my bread and butter, but I'm not a one-trick pony. I can write things besides blog posts, such as press releases, white papers, case studies, web content, and email marketing campaigns. Although you may only need one type of content, it's best to have one versatile writer you can rely to do any type of content you may need in the future. It's better than hiring someone to do the blog, only to hire someone else to do press releases, and someone else to do SEO and web content. After all, content marketing is about all of the above, as you need multiple types of content across multiple platforms to maximize the strategy. You can get more out of your content if you do a series of blog posts, then turn that series into a white paper, then turn that white paper into a webinar.

Clients Love Me

My oldest client has been with me for almost three years! In that time I've written blog posts, press releases, and white papers with plans for additional content as well as no plans of stopping to write content anytime soon. Most of my clients have been with me for over a year, although I do have a few that have only become my client in the past two months. My clients wouldn't be my clients for this long if they didn't think I did good work and if they didn't think I could be trusted to deliver content on a weekly basis and to contribute to the business. To show you how much my clients love me, I have a testimonials from Nathan Strum, president of TelAssistant - Allied Offices:

I have been working with Allison for close to a year now and am extremely happy with her work. I was seeking a writer for our company blog about a year ago when I first contacted Allison. In the past when hiring a blog writer I have spent almost as much time helping the writer come up with ideas for the blog articles as it would take to write the article myself. Allison took charge very quickly and learned about our industry. She has been creating interesting articles for a year without the hand holding that most writers need. Our readership has increased and the arrangement is an overall success. We have doubled her work and will be adding more work to her plate soon. Her articles can be read at http://www.alliedoffices.com/blog and http://www.telassistant.com/blog.

The sooner the words are written, the better. Contact me today if you have a writing project for me!

Me and My Comfort Zone

I'm pretty much done with using SuperBetter to eat healthier, and as a whole, I think I've established a few more good eating habits. I'm conscious of including a fiber-rich food with each meal and of avoiding processed foods since they don't have fiber (or much of anything when it comes to nutrition). I've finished all the quests for the Power Pack, so I've started a new Power Pack on being awesome. One of my quests is to evaluate my relationship with my comfort zone. In a nutshell, I've always been in favor of coming out of my comfort zone and of avoiding the safe and easy routes as much as possible. However, I do think I could do a better job of coming out of that zone.

Falling into a Routine

In regards to my comfort zone, I think that it's very easy to fall into a routine or a normal way of doings things. This makes things that are out of that routine a bit stressful, even if they are small things or things that I've done before. For example, phone calls, meetings, and interviews are always stressful to me, even though I've done them many times before and have done them well. They're only stressful because I don't do them all the time, but because they overwhelm me, I might put off that phone call or find a way to email that person instead of calling them. I do need to work on this. I don't know if having them happen more often will help. I used to cold call people as a part-time job. It never got any more fun or less stressful with each day of work.

I think this is also the case in normal business operations and getting a startup going. It takes innovation to make something happen, but it's very easy to get caught up in what needs to be done with each day. It can also be tough to take chances since you don't want to lose everything you've built up to this point, or to waste money on something that doesn't work or that doesn't end up as successful as you hoped. It's true that starting a business requires a huge leap out of the comfort zone, but I do think it takes subsequent leaps and jumps to keep that business going and to turn it into something big.

How Often am I In the Comfort Zone?

Probably more often than I think, as you can jump out of it to do something, but then if you don't make any more leaps after that, you essentially just move the comfort zone instead of coming out of it. I suppose the tricky thing is keeping track of the line and knowing where your comfort zone is and whether or not you actually come out of it. For example, I put off going to the bank because my bank closed the branch that was closest to my office. To go to the bank, it's now about an hour one way by public transit to spend five minutes depositing a few checks. Now, I wouldn't call this an unwillingness to come out of the comfort zone, but a dismay regarding the hassle it is for me to go to the bank. I know i could just switch banks, but I just bought a whole new box of business checks. If I switched banks, then I'd have to spend more money on business checks. My point is that, with the comfort zone (and the way it can move if you choose to leave it from time to time), it can be difficult to figure out if you're back in it or not.

Seriously, Yo. Creative Work is Hard Work

I'm a writer, not a graphic designer, but I empathize with this graphic designer's attitude. I've come across my fair share of job posts wanting blog posts and articles for free, offering experience, exposure, or (the worst), a piece of the pie when the money starts rolling in and the online publication turns into the next Huffington Post (or something equally lofty). Of course, no one wants amateurs, even though the "payment" offered for these services are exactly what amateurs are looking for. Why this hasn't gone viral yet, I have no idea. With a tumblr like Clients from Hell, this attitude is a common experience among creative professionals.

I've also come across my fair share of clients who don't think this work takes any effort at all, who think that us writers and content creators are able to write 20 articles per day. Because they think we can write 20 articles per day, they also think that $5 or $3 an article is a fair price. Or, the worst, when clients only want to pay upon acceptance, or use those crowd sourcing strategies to give their own customers choices in content. These tactics often shaft writers because if our pieces aren't accepted, we're stuck with hard work that didn't get paid for (and that we might not have another use for) and, oftentimes, we are stuck without feedback to understand what it would take to get accepted the next time around.

What most people don't realize with this line of work is that you get what you pay for. If you're only offering $5 an article, then someone who typically charges $25 or $50 an article isn't going to be interested in doing work for you. The money isn't there for their time (and their skill and expertise). By offering $5 an article, you're only going to get those who are interested in working at $5 an article, which means you get those who blast through content to make a quota so the work is worth while, or you get someone who isn't all that good and needs whatever work they can get to earn a few dollars.

Creative Work is Hard Work

It differs from other services because it's very subjective, and it's not just a matter of picking and choosing a pre-manufactured product.  If that were the case with blog posts and logos and such, then there would be a lot more copyright infringement and plagiarism than there is now because it would mean that you are purchasing something that someone else is already using and claiming as their own. This work isn't as simple or as easy at seems because you've watched someone use Photoshop or you write a blog yourself, or you think you could do it yourself if you have another 30 minutes in your day. If this were the case, then you wouldn't be needing PROFESSIONAL HELP to get this done. This is why us writers and graphic designers TAKE TIME to create something new from scratch and something that is customized to your brand and your needs. WE CHARGE FOR OUR TIME because we don't just sit and whip something together. We think about what we need to accomplish. We do drafts before we hand something over, and most of the time, we are willing to do more drafts. Believe it or not, we don't want to put the 'starving' in "starving artist."

Creative work isn't free, and shouldn't be free, because it's a process. You can't pick up web designs and white papers at a garage sale or at the nearest Target. If you're not willing to pay for the process, then you should expect a horrible process. Much like in any other process or business: if you aren't willing to pay, then we aren't willing to deliver.

Today is Going to Be the Day

It's getting really close to midnight, so "today" could actually be up for debate here. But, today is going to be the day that I make a few changes for the better, that I do what needs to be done to build myself a successful business and to be recognized as an expert in my chosen fields. I need to get myself going and to make some progress.

I'm Going Back to the Office

It's been weeks since I was at Lab1500. I've been there once in the past month, and that was to do my VIP day. Other than that, I've been staying home and working. The biggest reason for this is that my sleep schedule is all screwed up. I've been going to bed at 1 a.m. for at least a week, which makes it hard to get up at a reasonable hour the next morning. Getting up late means that it's tough to get down to the office because they close at six, and I don't want to go down there for just two or three hours. Lab1500 did just announce that they were going to do 24/7 service, but I do think I need to get my sleep schedule fixed. It does mean spending one or two days completely tired, but I just need to bite the bullet and get it done. I also feel really guilty about being a night owl, sleeping when everyone else is working. Then again, I am working when everyone else is sleeping. I don't quite know what to do. I'll ask my business coach.

Working on My New Business Ventures

I haven't made much progress on my upcoming coffee blog either. I created a contact page today, and did research on how to write a review policy, but that's it. I will get the first coffees that I'm going to review, and find a good shop to review as well. However, I am starting to think that I might have to do a few reviews first, and then develop a policy. You know, figure out the system first and then put it into writing. Haven't had the funds to get everything started on the right first. I do need to buy the domain name, and figure out the hosting stuff. I also need to catch up on all the great stuff Sean Ogle has sent me.

Speaking of which, I do need to start migrating my pages off my site from HubSpot. I need to cancel my account because I can't afford it, but I don't want to lose the work that I've done so far. I'll put that on my task list for the weekend. I think I'll move them all either to my Stirring Standard blog or to my current Stirring Media site, which does need revamping also since I will be changing the direction of my business. I think I need to make another giant To-Do list.

This is What I Need to Do...

And today is going to be the day to do it. I've been slouching around a little too long, and perhaps I needed a bit of a break or impromptu vacation, but it's gotta end sometime cause I can't be this way forever. I don't think I'm going to get that successful business or accomplish any of my goals with this kind of schedule and this kind of pace. I'm getting things done, but I'm not getting enough done. Just doing what needs to be done and I'm going to end up running in place again. I don't think I got far with my previous business because I spent too much time doing what needed to be done today, instead of doing things that moved the business forward and put it in a position to grow.