How to Win $100 Million And Not Go Broke.

(Photo: 401(K) 2013)What would you actually do with Powerball winning?  This was bouncing around my head, so I broke it down on paper.

First you gotta pay taxes.  To keep this simple, I'm going to assume I won 200 Million dollars, and 50% of that was lopped off for taxes.  Now we're at our clean $100 Million, with none of the Wesley Snipes worries.

10% to charity.  

I'm big on the give-back.  The question here though is am I donating pre-tax, or after tax?  I thought on this one about five mins.  Since charities are tax free, and the tax man is lopping this off of my winnings anyway, I'm resolved to dole it out post-tax.  That's $10,000,000 dollars to charities.  I think I'd have to split it up.  Actually, from the look of the number, I'd find 10 that I like and drop in a million each.  

One million to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, for sure.  A million in support of breast cancer, in honor of a few cherished relatives, and another million in support of testicular cancer just because I really like my pair.  One million to Khan Academy because I love their mission.  And then I'm liking Teach for America, or the Amgen Foundation.  Anything that is promoting literacy, math, and science in under-served American communities.  I'll let my wife pick five others that speak to her heart.

We got $90,000,000 left.

Pay off the house, pay off the truck and car, clear any outstanding consumer debt, donate the two vehicles, and buy two new modest vehicles.  I really dig the Chevy Colorado lately, and the wife can take her pick, as long as the purchase contributes to our national GDP.  Out total debt load, including the house is probably only 400,000.  Add in the two new cars, and that brings us up to $440,000 on this transaction.  $89,560,000 left.  This isn't really going fast.

Off the bat, I'd drop $10,000,000 on the friend that got me interested in Powerball, and inspired this thought experiment.

$79,560,000 Left.

Alright, this part is key.  I'm definitely going to give a ton more away, and then build my investment empire, but lets setup a revolving system of "safe" residual goodness first!  There's probably a smarter way to do this, and I'd be sitting down with a trusted accountant, and adviser, no question, but here is my initial thought.  CD's and Money Market account interest rates are abysmal right now, so my earlier CD Ladder schemes aren't amazing.  What I want is a trust, or ladder of sorts, that will deliver $80 - $100,000 a year indefinitely.  Set that up for me and the wife, and then crank away on more donations and investments.

I'm going to call that principal required $5,000,000.  Principal stays there, the interest returns are partially re-invested to keep up with inflation, and the rest distributed to the estate.

$74,560,000 Left.

Right away I want two multi-family homes to manage.  I'm going to buy these two outright, just to own the returns free and clear, and help with leverage deals in the near future.  Honestly, I could probably buy ten outright, and will quickly build up to that, before tapping into leverage.  

I'd scoop up the first two quickly, with the help of the real estate agent I've built a relationship with, and I'd partially mange them at first, before turning it over to her company.  I think she can handle 10 on her own, so it would make sense to build to 10 within one to two years.  Let's lock down these first two deals though and start learning!  We'll call them 600K each, to keep a capital reserve on each estate.  I think I can scoop them up here for 500K and less, though.

$73,360,000 Left.

I want to setup college funds for my nephew, niece, mom's second batch of kids, and my wife's kid-sister, but let's do some giving to those parents first.

I can think of 25 friends and family that I would drop a million on, real quick, not including our parents, which I'd drop 2 million each on, on both sides.  I'm sure the wife will have five more friends to add, that I'm not thinking of, so lets call that $38,000,000 doled out.  I'm going to have to let them take the tax burden, for the most party, unfortunately.

Down to $35,360,000.

Let's assume I can get my ten other multi-families for 500K each, on average.  I'm going to leverage this at 50% while I'm still getting the hang of the margins and associated costs.  So we're putting aside half of $5 million.

$32,860,000 Left.

At this point I want to pay off the debt of some family members.  I'm assuming that my grandparents' houses are paid off.  At least most of them.  I'd buy a house for my mother, one for my dad.  I'm sure the wife's parents would want a more suitable one; I can think of a handful of others, debt related, that I can either pay-off, or secure some property for them.

This one is really speculative, and the house are all over the place, so it's hard to estimate costs.  I think a million would more than handle it though.  We'll call it two, for good measure.

$30,860,000 Left.

Let's give five million to the Wounded Warrior Project, and five million to the two nearest VA hospitals, split evenly between the two.

$20,860,000 Left.

I'll give one million each to my two favorite local bar tenders.

$20,660,000 Left.

I don't know what criteria I'd use for this yet, but I want to host a contest for five high schools and give each winner a free ride to any college he or she chooses, and gets accepted to.  I'd like to do this ten years straight, and indefinitely if my enterprise remains solvent...it would be one winner per year, after the first ten.

Based on a quick glance at Yale, I'm going to call that 58K a year X's 4, for 5 kids, for 10 years of winners.  That's 11.6 million blocked off.

$9,060,000 Left.

Hmmm.  I don't quite know right now.  Let's let one million sit in a plain Jane savings account.  Let's see if the wife and I can blow a million on ourselves with absolutely trivial shit.  Let's make that a game actually, and see if another couple will do it with us.  Three million there.

$6,060,000 Left.

I'll see what a highly recommended money manager can do with three million.

$3,060,000 Left.

Ummmm... Let's fund some wishes.  A million dollars to cover as many Make A Wish projects as it can.

$2,060,000 Left.

I'm ok with this in the bank right now while I grow my rental empire, finish my computer science degree, go to grad school for an MBA or MIS degree.

I'd probably keep working at my current job for a while, since I'm learning a ton and the president is an inspiring entrepreneur.  I wonder if there is room for investment there actually.  Good company.

What does your list look like?

Why Does Tumblr Suck? Hint: You're Using It Wrong.

(Photo: Tumblr Customize and Advanced Settings)

People are calling Tumblr a micro-blogging platform.  Many suggest that it's not up to the task of real "blogging."  

I consider micro blogging more along the lines of Twitter, or Facebook.  While Tumblr is confusing as hell at first (like any online community), it's actually a pretty powerful blogging platform, and it's a big fat free a month!

While Tumblr definitely comes with its built in social network environment, and personality per se, that is actually a really, really good thing.  If you're just launching impromptu ideas, you can niche in on a topic, and instantly start connecting with other people that are interested in the same.  The built in network starts surrounding your blog, and interacting with it, as you participate within the platform.

I'm not saying there isn't a place for premium blog services.  I still absolutely love Squarespace.  But for what I'm doing at the Urban Self Reliance Project, Tumblr just makes sense.  

Tumblr is like an expanded Twitter field.  You can re-post ("re-blog") entries you found interesting from others, categorize your threads with hash tags, surf those same hashtags, and otherwise drop in your own nuggets of value.  It's the same rich conversation environment, without the 140 character restriction.

The Learning Curve

I will say it took me a good three days to really like it.  On Day 1 I thought the whole system was worthless.  Once you unlock the power of the theme customization menu, though, the bunnies really start dancing.  It's strong.  You can hack into all of your HTML, and append your own CSS mods.  You can create new pages, and integrate pretty much any blog accessory you need to run a full blog.  And... did I mention it was free?

Don't shrug the platform off.  It works.  There are some quirks like any system, but overall it's solid.  I put up a quick how-to, with screenshots, on the Tumblr blog I mentioned, that points out some of the differences in the front end: How To Work This Tumblr Site.

Since the consumption and delivery of information are intended to be different, some people will get tripped up when they're used to something more Wordpress-ish.  A quick explanation like above, though, and they'll enjoy using the site as much as you enjoy working on it!

Coffee in Deli's vs Coffee in Dunkin Donuts

(Photo: Libraryman)

Bell rings above as I walk through the deli door, near the train. A late-middle-aged Asian woman looks up from her paper, behind the counter. I check out the one remaining coffee thermos, 3:59 in the afternoon.

"How old is it!?"

"Excellent."

"No, when did you make it?"

"...I don' remember."

"Ok. I'm going to head to Dunkin Donuts today. See you tomorrow morning."

With much less deflation than I expected, she nodded and said Ok.

Can't do much with old dark coffee. The chain wins today.

New York City: How I Hate Thee. Some E.B. White with a dash of Whining.

(Photo: digital_freak)New York City is eating me up.  This E. B. White quote of eminent failure has always intrigued me:

"...sometimes in New York you run across the disillusioned—a young couple who are obviously visitors, newlyweds perhaps, for whom the bright dream has vanished. The place has been too much for them; they sit languishing in a cheap restaurant over a speechless meal."

I often warn friends that NYC will chew on your soul and then spit you out cold, empty, and talking much faster than you used to. I think frequently about how I want to leave this place, but 1.) I don't know where I would go honestly, and 2.) I'm pretty entrenched.

Being entrenched has never been a reason for me not to take action, I admit. I dumped a military career after 12 years, and tossed a private sector job with lots of "upside" after only 9 months. Something different keeps me in New York though. I can put my finger on it, but I don't like the reasons when I say them outloud:

1. I run a business here, 
2. I own a home.
3. It's the only place I've lived in for over three years, since I was 12.

I think the last reason keeps me the most. It almost feels like home, this jaded, over crowded, surprisingly lonely, and overpriced heap of bedrock and souls.

Oh, New York, how you've captured me. It's like an unhealthy marriage that neither party will leave, because the sex is good.

When 1,000 Words Won't Come... Fitzgerald, The Jazz Age, and The Harlem Renaissance

(Photo: Sharon Drummond)I find myself in an interesting predicament here where I'm actually fascinated by the subject matter, but really don't care about these essays that I need to crank out.

I'm familiar with the material.  Literary essays are sort of a different beast though because it's not quite enough to write an essay demonstrating that you've read the material.  You have to form some other opinion about the piece, or context, that someone possibly hasn't yet, and then support that argumentative statement with the remaining 970 words.

To read more about the Jazz Age, I checked out Bruccoli's, Before Gatsby: The First Twenty-Six Stories, for some supporting references.  Fitzgerald is actually a fascinating writer.  He describes things like, "Lips that looked like a remembered kiss." I wish I could just read his short stories all day and not have to write this.

Anyway, back to my ongoing point in the Writing Category of this Blog, writing is very much a process, and I had to take this essay on the ninth grade way: Thesis, Outline, now Mechanically Write.

I need 1,000 words to come from this:

The Jazz Age was a time of reckless abandonment for a young rich white American population, and it was a time of social ground taking for the black population of America, while racism still ran deep below the surface.

I. Intro. (What was so roaring about the 20's?)

II. How were white Youngins running reckless, and why?
    A. F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the term Jazz Age with a collection of short stories that chronicled the wild behavior of a carefree youth mingling in the upper class of society.
    B. Stories of partying in The Jelly-Bean
    C. Stories of partying in The Camel's Back
    D. Classist / Racist Overtones in The Camel's Back segueing into III

III. What exposure and mingling occurred between blacks and whites?
    A. Langston Hughes talks about the partying in Harlem.  While there was a period of broad acceptance between both races, the "normal" person didn't notice it.  "And if they had, it hadn't raised their wages any" (Hughes 218).
    B. While it seemed a period of tolerance, the black culture actually sacrificed real heritage to put on an act.

IV. Consequences of Both:
    A. Hughes mentions the crash of 29, everyone was in line for social assistance..."sent Negroes, white folks, and all rolling down the hill toward the Works Progress Administration" (Hughes 216).
    B. Fitzgerald in Babylon Revisited (how much did people lose?)

V. Summary.

That's actually plenty to work with. 

You can get at least 50 words from each citation.  This pulls in a resource from outside of class.  I think the thesis is acurate and edgy enough to keep interest.  It's not particularly original though.  It doesn't take much observation of the Harlem Renaissance to realize it was degrading to a beautiful culture.  I do think, however, that some great things came of it.

Like always, there only remains words to put on paper. 

I want to emphasize though that the outline is a tremendous lifeline, and if you are stuck you should not go to bed until you at least crank out an outline...even if a crappy one.  If you abandon creativity, and just stick to your outline, a paper will emerge.  You can doll it up later if it's even needed.

How Do I Set a Custom Size for my YouTube Video Embed?

(Photo: Image placeholder for Beauty Within TV website setup.)This is a pretty basic step, very basic actually, but another client was coming across a glitch in loading YouTube videos to her website.

When you click Share on a YouTube video, and hit the Embed option, there are a couple of default sizes to share it out as.  The smallest of those is 560px wide by 315px tall, though, and for many sites, that's too wide, especially if they have multiple columns setup.

After clicking Embed, follow these three steps below, using the accompanying screenshot with arrows.  I warn you, it's utterly simple.  Don't be insulted that I posted this.  It's just easier to pass a picture.

1. In the "Custom" box, near the size options, type in 500 in the "Width:" field, where I've placed the blue arrow on the picture.
2. That will automatically update the width and length in the code, as indicated by the red arrow.
3. Highlight, and copy the updated code, as circled by the yellow square in the photo.  That is the code you need to paste into your website content.  (Be sure you have changed any WYSIWYG editor into HTML mode.)

(Photo: Image Screenshot with 3-Step Embed Process)Take care,
Chad.

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Two Easy Changes to Get More Screen Space on Your Netbook

(Photo: Acer Netbook using Firefox Full Screen View)These are so simple, I feel silly for even posting them.  Worse, though, I feel silly that it took me so long to start using them.  Take a look at the three graphics here, starting with the one above, and notice how they go from best, to worst, to nice compromise.  It's a subtle change, but it has a huge impact on reading webpages and e-books on your netbook laptop.

I've had my Acer Aspire 11.6" netbook laptop for three years and it has been the best IT purchase I've made next to my iPhone.  My review of it is all positive.  I'm a Windows trained IT, so I'm partial to the OS (please quiet the Apple fan-boys), and with Windows 7 correcting most of my complaints with Windows Vista, this netbook combo has been my business power house!

The biggest hurdle with any netbook, however, is usable screen space.  This Acer is 11.6" diagonal, so that gives you a smidgen over 10" wide of viewing, and not quite 5.75" tall of viewing.  This is superb for media viewing, but is a nuisance when trying to read.  In netbooks, you don't have the luxury of turning your machine sideways and switching to Portrait aspect.

(Photo: Acer netbook screen showing 4.5" readable screen.)Even worse, if you add on an Internet browser's address bar, and one or two toolbars, plus the Windows Taskbar on the bottom, your up-down reading space is reduced to almost precisely 4.5".  I'm measuring it right now with a tape measure.  The number sounds bleak, and the lack of space is definitely not subtle.

Solution:

There are two wonderful ways to work around this, and three years later, I'm kicking myself for not using them sooner!

1. Embrace the Firefox Full Screen Viewing Option for Web Surfing.

2. Move the Windows Taskbar to the Left or Right.

This is so simple, I was reluctant to admit that I never did it.

The first one (see very top image) I discovered on accident.  My wife used my laptop, and when I got it back, my Internet browser kept toggling between full screen and normal depending on where I put my mouse.  Generally dynamic screen displays annoy the crap out of me, but I was reading something for a college course, and I found myself turning Firefox's Full Screen view on so I could read more.  After that, I got used to the dynamic URL bar popping down, and I rather enjoyed  having all this extra breathing room. 

At just about an inch, my Browser's tabs, address bar, and toolbars take up a significant 17% of readable up-down screen space!

The next one should have been much more obvious, but I guess I'm just a reluctant administrator.  With only 5.75" up-down space, every vertical inch matters!  With 10" horizontal, there's actually a good chunk of storage room to the Left or Right.  Move the Taskbar to the Left or Right.

(Acer with Windows Taskbar moved to Right.)I always resisted this because as an IT administrator, it was a pain to figure out every single user's "custom" configuration.  Windows was so cool when it first came out because people could go crazy with colors, shapes, and sizes.  Graphics were up-side-down, task bars were all over the place, and things were hidden here, and bigger there.  I was a fan of keeping that taskbar on the bottom where it "belonged."

This however is just stubbornness, and it was actually hurting the functionality of my business laptop.  It took me about a day to get used to grabbing my stuff from the side.  I found that I preferred the Right over the Left because on the Left it disturbed my reading more. 

How Do You Do It?

Again, the changes are ridiculously easy. 

1. To get into Firefox's Full Screen, hit the orange Firefox menu button at Top Left, and there's an option for Full Screen there.  You can toggle in and out of it by hitting F11. (F11 will also give you full screen in Internet Explorer, but it's not a true full screen.  The URL bar is still there.)

2. For your Taskbar, right click on any empty space in the Taskbar, click on Properties, and next to "Taskbar location on Screen:" select Right or Left.  Click OK.

Super simple, but the impact has been a joy!  Give these two modifications a whirl and let me know if they increase the value of your netbook.  I recommend netbooks to any business owner I talk to since they're small, portable, and lightweight, but pack a powerful Windows package.  I prefer Acer brand over the Asus, or eEe brands, for the durability of its keyboard.

You can buy a good one of all three though on Newegg.com for less than $400.  Feel free to run any options you're considering by me through the Contact forum.

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Twitter Makes a Great News Aggregator. Why I Don't Subscribe to #TeamFollowBack. (Plus: Pay-Per-Click Tweet Data)

(Photo: Coletivo Mambembe)Yesterday over coffee at Puccino's in New Orleans, I helped my Grandfather @DocTyree setup his Twitter account.  The irony is that two years earlier I helped him setup his Facebook account, and now I've sworn off the Facebook, and preach about the effectiveness of Twitter's open forum.  It's like a big chat room, with more specific features.

My argument for Twitter is very simple, and it completely circumvents the drama behind Facebook's privacy changes.  I don't care about Facebook much.  I go into great lengths about why I deactivated my account, and although it was tough bumping into all these family members, over Christmas dinners, that were still catching up via Facebook, I still hold to the principles I outlined in that article above, and am holding strong.

Twitter Makes a Great News Aggregator.

That's my number one case for using Twitter.  From my Twitter feed, I get distilled headlines (since their character limit is 140 per post) from media sources, companies, and people that I'm interested in hearing from.  I follow @TheMotleyFool, @Gizmodo, and @CurbedNY just to name a few.  I follow updates from some of my business partners, updates from investors in the city, updates from business icons I look up to, and also some about SEO, etc.  Most of these updates will include a link for further reading, if I want to dive deeper than the headline.

There's something for everyone there, and it's all distilled.  I'm hitting that point a couple times and will get back to it.  My Grandfather, for instance, flies small prop planes.  He can follow his local aviation groups in New Orleans, he can follow news sources he likes, and he's also a fan of Engadget.  They're there too (@Engadget).

Why I Don't "Follow Back."

This brings me to my headline point.  It's become popular on Twitter to "follow" someone just in hopes that they will follow you back.  I find the idea ridiculous.

When you read crappy SEO articles, or "How To Get More Twitter Followers" articles, that's usually the number one piece of advice.  Follow a TON of people that are related to your topic, and they will follow you back.  It's become a popularity contest, which was my biggest beef with MySpace, and my second biggest beef with Facebook.

One big name comic that I run into often even lamented, almost offended, that he was going to "unfriend," and "unfollow," anyone who didn't follow him back yet.  He was gonna do it!

I think that's missing the point of Twitter. 

If you follow 2,657 people, you will never be able to catch up with all those headlines!  Now your Twitter becomes one way, where you just use it to post about your most recent blog post to your 2,000 followers, without considering the fact that they're really not "following" you since they have an equal 2,000 "followers," that are only following since you all played that stupid #TeamFollowBack game.  Nobody is reading anything there.  It doesn't create any value.

Data Based on Cost Per Click Tests.

I've tested this, and measured this from two angles.  I recently started pursuing paid, or sponsored Tweets as an avenue to drive traffic to this blog.  The method does fit into a larger marketing scheme, but the way it's advertised it misleading until you see the actual data.

I used an acquaintance's account to Alpha Test the idea.  He has over 20,000 followers...but he also follows over 14,000 people.  Him and I have discussed the fact that he in no way can keep up with the people he follows.  He just goes to specific accounts that he knows he wants to read now.  Unfortunately, that negates any real use of a Twitter mobile app, or website experience.  Where I have all my data in one aggregated news feed, he has to browse to different pages.

Data wise, we ran a series of Tweets using Google Analytics to track incoming traffic.  The numbers are much lower than advertised on major ad platforms that will let you buy a Tweet.  One Tweet brought in 18 clicks, another 30, and another in the 40's, but it was much less than the advertised 75 to 80.  Granted this varies wildly based on content and headline, but I feel like the four or five trials we ran setup a good base.

If the cost per Tweet would have been a flat $30, that cost per click would range from $1.66 to $.75.  For this blog, I really can't justify more than .30 per click.  My only point in that data though, is that number of followers really doesn't say much without factoring in the ratio of followers to following.  If someone is following 2,015, and they have 2,040 follower, I would rough estimate that they only have about 50 actual followers.

Twitter is Rife With "Follow-Me Spam."

The follow-me Spam phenomenon is my second observation for our data.  When I started getting more active on this blog, and on Twitter, more people started "following" me.  But not really people, per se.  They are marketers.  They have handles like "BestSEOman," or "AdsenseGuru," and their descriptions don't describe them so much, they describe a pseudo why-you-should-follow-me-back pitch.  They are propagating the one way Twitter.

Some people even put in their descriptions that they are a member of #TeamFollowBack, and this is where we disconnect.  I'm just not interested.

The result is a sea of Twitter users, Tweeters, that are Tweeting in the wind.  The dialogue aspect of Twitter is lost, and you get no real value out of your timeline, your news feed, when there is so much potential to digest small relevant bits of info on topics you actually want to follow, from people you would actually care to hear from.

The 140-Character Gem.

One of the most confusing aspect of Twitter to new users, right next to the Hashtag business, is why updates are limited to 140 characters.  I've always had a strong hunch, but I tried to dig into Twitter's blog archives for a definitive answer, and I can't find it.

Without corroborating my assumption, I believe Twitter's limit was based on the fact that the service was heavy on SMS text messages in its infancy.  When I was stationed in Bahrain for a year, there were extensive networks of texters.  We would text the crap out of each other...and these text always had low character limits.  Before smart phones came out, the text message had a definite length you couldn't exceed before it broke up into other messages, and that would start eating into texting plans.

No matter what the actual reason though, the 140-character limit is actually my favorite part of Twitter now.  It forces you to distil your message.  A headline like "Why #TeamFollowBack Drives Me Nuts, and What I Think is a Better Way to Use Twitter," has to be shortened to something more direct like, "Why #TeamFollowBack is Stupid, Use Twitter as an Aggregator," instead.

This is good for the writer and for the reader.

The writer is forced to evaluate his words, and boil points down to their most salient points, and the reader get's very precise sound bytes that they can act on or pass over.  As long as you keep your following to under 200, you can digest news and topics from all over the world in about 10 minutes of surfing your timeline on Twitter.

Twitter Fits Well with the Bigger Picture.

Twitter is great.  But it doesn't cover everything.  It's not as personal as Facebook, but at this point in my Internet relationship, I'm OK with that.  I don't want that.  Twitter does a fantastic job of distilling ideas, though, and distributing news across the world quickly!  It becomes a good part of the blogosphere when you use it for micro-blogging, and quick networking.

I use it as a news feed, but recently I've been using it as a bookmarking tool also.  When I stumble upon blogs that have good stuff, I'll look for the author's Twitter feed and follow that for a while to see if it creates value for me.  When I determine that the posts don't cover what I'm looking for, or that I'm getting it from a better source, I unfollow.  It's that simple. 

You can use Twitter for a variety of reasons, and it fits into a larger marketing and networking plan, but please don't fall into the #TeamFollowBack nonsense.  Use Twitter to glean valuable information from the world and Internet, and to pick up on emerging trends.  It's good for that.

Merry Christmas, 2011!

(Photo: Mellody tried dressing the cat in a Santa Suit. Didn't work well.)We're packing up the car and driving from New York to New Orleans in a few hours.  Hopefully on the road by 3AM to avoid the NYC traffic.  Should be a packed five days with family and parties.  I'm dragging Mellody reluctantly along.

This is my 11th Christmas since I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard when I was 17 years old.  This will be the third or fourth one that I've spent home in that time; I can't remember.  I'm used to it by now, but I always treasure it when I can make it down there. 

I was born in New Orleans, but truth be told, I've spent so little time there (about 12 years total) compared to away, that I don't really know what I call home.  The closest thing resembling any roots for me is here in NYC now, and over the years here, especially over this last one, I've come to accept it as my place of domicile.  ...a busy, churning machine where my Republican vote is tossed into a dark void.

Anyway, filed under the personal blog section of this weblog, I just wanted to lock some of these memories in.  A loving family is like a crisp spring in the desert.  It rejuvenates, refreshes, and your sister probably caught you trying to swim naked in it.  Hang on to the moments you get, and even if they're not frequent, try to make them regular.

In my first year in the Coast Guard, I was assigned to a 378' Patrol Boat out of San Francisco.  I was living aboard the boat that year, and remember swirling in the Captains chair, high up on the bridge, overlooking the estuary between Oakland and Alameda, talking to my family on my first cell phone.  It was Christmass 2000, and the sudden pang of wanting to hop into my car and drive home to see them took over me.  Then the big-boy realization that I would have to subdue that, and carry on, forced natural emotion back in its cage.

It's been there ever since through a LOT of travel with the U.S. Coast Guard.  I'm honored to have served such a great mission, but almost 12 years in now, I feel the dust settling around me.  I look forward to this visit, and I also look forward to growing deeper roots in my home, NYC, this coming year too, while preparing my separation from enlisted service.

Merry Christmas, everyone!  Enjoy your family.

Your Small Business Needs IT: The Original Business Power IT Landing Page

(Photo: Simple IT Solutions from original Business Power IT landing page, circa 2006.)

Prefix: This was the original landing page (photo and content) for a business venture of mine called Business Power IT.  It was a DBA in New York.  The aim was to sell an information product.  I explain why I abandoned that model in this article here.  All of the information offered in this package is now free on the blog through the Business IT category.  I have a similar IT Consultation offer, but it's focused more on collaboration with other small business owners.

I launched this business effort in 2006 or 07 on a custom Squarespace page, and for some reason thought it would be smart to turn all the "I" pronouns into "We."  I'm sorry for making you endure that!  I could change it, but this is up more for historic archive than anything else.  So suck it up.

What Are Small Business "Solutions?"

If we had 10 Algebra problems that stumped us in our business six times a week, what's the best way to increase our productivity?  Should we get our niece to help us out for seven of them and kick around the other three?  That's a bad example though.  Most people hate algebra, so let's try a different one.

If a wholesaler increased his shipping costs to you by 51% and you were within an hour's drive of his warehouse, what's the best way to keep up or (maybe even) increase productivity for your business?

1. Suck up the added costs and "roll with the punches?"
2. Murmur and mumble to companions about what a pain shipping is?
3. Or could you (now this is crazy here!) get comfortable driving a utility van and make two trips a month out there to visit your rate-hiking wholesaler? 

...two hours a month, a little coffee on the road, to increase profits by 51%?  Seems like a no-brainer to most of us, but who knows?  Small Business owners are still stressing about small computer glitches or paying geeks-for-hire $126 an hour to do fixes they're more than capable of doing themselves!

What's the Solution?

1. The solution to the first example is to learn a little algebra and stop letting a handful of terms and variables keep your business down!
2. The solution to the second example is to learn how to drive a utility van (which requires no special license) and stop letting logistics keep your business down!
3. The solution to computer woes is to... learn some basic computer skills (surfing the Internet is not "basic skills") and stop letting a computer keep your business down!

How Difficult is This?

From your Windows machine, hit the Windows Key + R.  Type in, Notepad, and hit Enter.  Now type a little note to yourself that says something to the effect of, "This is semi-cool.  My, that was pretty easy!"

Not Difficult at All!

Knowing one hot key certainly doesn't make you a computer whiz.  And it really didn't "fix" any problems.  But it saves you time and it encourages outside-the-box thinking.  Maybe next time an application locks up on you, you'll try hitting WIN+D to get the frozen application off your desktop and allow you to take further restorative measures.  That's a whole lot better than throwing your Medicine Balls at the screen!

What Else Should You Know?

• How do you recognize a good running IT system?  Does it meet your business needs?
• How could you better organize your files to increase business efficiency and computer efficiency?
• How do you ensure your computer isn't the easy victim on the Internet playground?
• What's the difference between Adware, Spyware, and Viruses and what can you do about any of them?
• How do you get your business back and running when the computer finally croaks?
• Why the heck is your computer dragging along when it used to run fine?

You Don't Have to Be a Pro!

It doesn't take a degree in Information Technology to know and utilize these things!  You don't have to devote countless hours in a week to stay on top the game!  Technology does change rapidly, but many founding principles stay the same and cross over between platforms!  You owe it to your business to grasp at least the foundation!

Your Business Needs IT!

You can't avoid it.  Technology can make or break the competition!  Here are solutions.  Here is understanding.  It is really within your grasp.  We introduce to you our simple, entertaining, and educating expose: Your Business Needs IT.  If you're ready to end the frustration now, get your copy here!  You've got nothing to lose but wasted time and resources.  Stop tossing efforts into the wind!  View our guarantee.

Included, is: [This was absorbed into this blog as the Business IT category.  It's free.]

• 14 Chapters, 126 pages, filled with insightful and simple instruction designed for small businesses.
• 5 bonus appendices on topics like the comprehensive Table of WINDOWS Hotkeys, or Top Seven Time Savers that every business owner should know and use.
• Detailed index for fast searching.
• Straightforward, on-target whit and instruction that you know and love from Business Power IT.

What are the Options?

Businesses require IT, period.  If your computer starts acting up and you require it for business, your usual options are limited.  You can:

• Buy a new laptop from $300 (at the cheapest) to $2,400 at the high end.
• Buy a new tower from $500 to $2,400.
• Hire a geek-crew support site to consult you over the phone (once) for $79.99.
• Hire the same crew to support you in person (once) for $129 - $350.
• Bring it in to a local computer shop for $50-an-hour repair.
• Get your nephew to help you for free and pray that he's around everytime your business IT glitches.

Those options are terrible! [See my current IT Collaboration Proposal Here.]

What is the Best Option?

This is so simple it's baffling:  Do it yourself!  You can't always do it yourself, we know, but if you can do one thing yourself, you saved $80 at the least.  If you can do two things yourself, you saved $160.  If you can do both of those twice during the life of your computer, you saved $480!

You don't have to be a doctor to keep your body healthy.  You don't have to be a mechanic to run your car well.  You don't have to be an IT to be a smart computer user!  Educate yourself and implement it.  Buy the ground-breaking Your Business Needs IT manual for $29 today (shipping included) and start saving money and time now!

Too good to be true?

• Download real sample pages from chapters of the book.  It's all there.
• View the Table of Contents.

Our Guarantee:

We're going to make this as simple as possible for you.  Write us if we can make the guarantee any more plain-English than this. 

• We guarantee that this course is original and rich with valuable content.
• We guarantee that this course will make you a better small business computer user.
• We guarantee that this course will make your business more efficient.
• We guarantee that you will learn and grasp valuable fundamental concepts that are critical to your operations!

Save the receipt.  IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED, if you do not love it, if you cannot use it, send it back to us just like you received it and include the receipt.  That's it!  We'll mail you a money-order with your money PLUS an extra $5 to cover your shipping expenses.  No questions asked!  Our genuine goal is to better your business.  If we didn't do that, we don't want to hold your money.

We have faith in this product!  It's 100% guaranteed.

Order Now and start you way to the head of the crowd!  There's no reason to curse at and boil over a piece of plastic and metal.  Join us at Business Power IT and let our partnership increase the value of your business!  We look forward to hearing back from you.  Order your copy now!

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[This business effort was rolled into this blog, This Blue Couch, and you can find most of the information in the Business IT category.  It your want a personal Business IT consultation for your small business, see those details here.]