Neville's Financial Blog

Person: You're your own boss? That's awesome...it must be nice not to work for anyone.
Me: I guess so.

Since I've never had a real job it's hard to say it's nice since I don't know the other side.

I suppose it's nice I've never had a real job, but there's a big problem: I've never learned the procedures and discipline you get by working for a company.

I've always contemplated taking on a job just for the experience, but this obviously takes away a lot of time from doing my own businesses. Perhaps I can find a fair medium where I can get the experience, but further advance my knowledge.

When I was in college and heavily active in a lot of financial clubs, a lot of big companies would try to hire the active people such as me.....they didn't even care I was a government major instead of a business major. However these companies require you to be at the office at 8am or earlier and leave at 5pm or later. They also teach you relatively little about running your own company, or anything particularly interesting besides stock. Even then, general entry level positions at these companies keep you busy with all the boring work no one wants to do....this isn't bad, but if you're not learning from your surroundings whilst doing the grunt work, it doesn't seem worth it. They ALSO don't allow you to run businesses on the side. Seriously, the people at Morgan Stanley said they'd hire me, but I was absolutely not allowed to run businesses on the side. Obviously a deal breaker for me.

One of the places I ABSOLUTELY ADMIRE and want to be more involved in is the IC2 Institute and the Austin Technology Incubator. I won't go into much detail, but these two organizations are divisions of the University of Texas and spin out some amazingly interesting companies and programs worldwide. I think these two organizations do some of the most amazing things I've ever seen, but sadly hardly anyone knows about them except people in the entrepreneurial fields.

Being at one of these organizations, especially the Austin Technology Incubator would put me directly into a place filled with startup companies, investors, buyers seasoned industry experts and tons of accomplished and intelligent people.

I want to be around a place like that.

I'm thinking if I got some sort of small job or internship at one of these places, it would be immensely useful in helping me get the discipline and procedural training I want from a job, but allow me to run my own businesses at the same time. I would also be in a place swarming with ideas and innovation.

Ideally I would like to work or intern at one of these places for around 4 hours a day. A paid position would be fantastic, but I'd be willing to work for free, just don't tell them that!

Labels: Personal, Productivity

After I was done with college, I've always struggled with staying focused on my own businesses, websites and various projects. When you don't HAVE to wake up early in the morning and work, sometimes you don't.

I've always had some sort of excuse for not working or being distracted. Even my recent stint at the loft was mainly an effort to be more productive. At one point I blamed the place I was living for being "too boring" and not stimulating enough, and then in another place I blamed it for being "too distracting."

I would often go to coffee shops or various places to "Liven up the atmosphere" to get more work done, but most of the time the difference between staying home and going elsewhere was very little...and when you go elsewhere, it often means transportation time, buying coffee, being distracted by happenings around you, making a stop to a restaurant for lunch etc. etc. etc..

After a while of doing this and only being semi-productive each day, I got used to not doing much work each day. So what I THINK is a lot of work really isn't even 3 solid hours worth.


So as of the last few weeks I've come to the stark realization that there is no substitute for plain, dumb, hard work. All the people I've seen who've really accomplished something have simply just worked harder than the rest. The big trend in business books now is to say "Don't work hard, work smart." From what I've seen, most people who've achieved greatness have done both at the same time.

Of all the little tips and tricks and motivators I've used over the years, the only one I've stuck to for a substantial length of time is making a to-do list the night before. So if it's Wednesday night right now, I should already be whipping up Thursday's to-do list.

Labels: Goals, Productivity

For 2007 I've decided NOT to set any goals.

When I was reading the book Good to Great, some successful guy said that people around him would always say, "THIS is going to be the year that (insert goal)" and it would almost never happen. However when someone just shut up and handled their business, good things started following very quickly.

When I was trying to draft some New Years Resolutions, I wrote some down...but they just didn't sit right.... So I decided I didn't want any. I still have long-term directions, but for 2007 I shall be for the most part goal-less.

Labels: Goals, Productivity

It's nice to know how much you've spent each month in real time. This helps keep your spending in check and is just a good way to keep track of finances. For the longest time I've been posting receipts and writing amounts on this dry erase / cork board. No more.

It frequently gets cluttered, is a hassle to tabulate at the end of the month and doesn't go into much detail about expenses.

For about $200 bucks I bought this thing called Neat Receipts. This system is supposed to digitally organize all your receipts....I originally saw it while browsing Sky Mall in a plane.

I'vebeen using it for a few weeks now, and it's amazing! The whole system consists of a piece of software and this small scanner which fits neatly on my desk....it's about the size of a TV remote control:

I was originally going to buy it, try it, and return it...but I'm actually very impressed. Just insert a receipt and the software AUTOMATICALLY reads it, tabulates tax, total price, tells what store the purchase is from, keeps a scanned copy, shows date of purchase and categorizes it!! Online receipts are also very easy to enter in. I was very impressed at how much information the program accurately picks up from each receipt.

You can I can see in real time how much I've spent for bills, investments, fun etc. in real time without having to input each purchase in an Excel sheet.

During tax time this thing will be extremely helpful because it basically tells you how much was spent for groceries, investments, transportation etc, and you can easily search for receipts digitally which beats rummaging through a large accordion folder full of them.

I'm sure for most people an Excel chart would be fine, but anyone with a considerable amount of purchases per month would benefit from this little system. This is personal finance for the 21st century!

Labels: Productivity

Oye....staying focused on a task is hard when there are lots of different things going on.

Something I've really slacked on is getting all my House Of Rave videos on YouTube, like this section of the videos. This way viewers can watch the videos directly on the website, and it also garners free advertising from YouTube.

This transition requires the following for EACH video:

1. Uploading the video to YouTube. (approx 1-2 minutes)
2. Writing a new description. (approx 2 minutes)
3. Taking a new screenshot from the YouTube video and Photoshopping to correct size. (approx 2-3 minutes)
4. Uploading new screenshot and video (approx 1 minute)
5. formatting the More Info page with pertinent video information (approx 3-4 minutes)

It's probably the most mundane thing I've ever done. In the end it will pay off, but damn it's not fun right now! I'll have to find a way to streamline all this work.

So today ALL I WILL DO TODAY is overhaul the HoR video section. I have taken care of most of my daily work, and undoubtedly more will pop up throughout the day, but my ONE MAIN TASK IS UPLOADING THE ENTIRE VIDEO SECTION.

It's 11:50am on Tuesday right now.....

If it's not done by 11:59pm tonight, I've been slacking!!
-Nev

Labels: Productivity

In my effort to become ever more productive throughout the day, I've done several more things:

For starters, if I need to concentrate for a prolonged period of time and start to drift, I've found these things work pretty well:

Ear plugs. Blocking all audible input greatly reduces the amount of things to concentrate on, therefore helping concentration. I use them time to time if I have a large amount of "boring" work to do.

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When I work out now, I bring a checklist of exercises to do. I wish I had started this years ago!

There's a quote I like by Brian Tracy that says: "At the age of 24 I began setting clear, written goals for each area of my life. I accomplished more in the following year than I had in the previous 24."

Setting goals and creating plans helps accomplish more in any field, so I don't know why it took me so long to apply it in the gym. Instead of simply stopping when I get tired or unmotivated, I now finish long workouts, and I can see my progress in visual form on the checklist.

I got the initial checklist from this workout plan post at AskMen.com, then slightly modified it to be one workout with more sets.

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My latest motivational addition to my room comes in the form of a large poster I had printed out at Kinkos on foam board. It's a quote I stole from Stephen Stephanian's website.

I put this board right in front of my desk so I can't ignore it.

Labels: Productivity

There is a short video clip of Steve Balmer, the billionaire CEO of Microsoft, which has been out for a while now, but I find myself watching it everyday.

To get people motivated, you have to lead by example, and this guy DOES IT. This is a famous video from a Microsoft company meeting where he comes out screaming and jumping with unsurpassed energy, apparently he pulls stuff like this at all the speeches he makes...I love CRAZY business people!



If a guy 30 years older than me can show THAT much enthusiasm (or insanity) for what he does, as a 23 years old with all the opportunity in the world, what am I doing?

While looking up some more videos of Steve Balmer, I found some interviews with him by Robert Scoble:

(Video Link)

I was again enthralled with Balmers enthusiasm, but I picked up something else from this video....by watching it on mute. He NEVER crosses his hands or hides them, and he frequently uses them in combination with his speech in a very animated manner. Interesting.

Note to self:
Start working on developing better body language and becoming more energetic.

Labels: Meeting CEO's, Productivity

I'm currently involved with tons of different projects, and staying organized is a task all unto its own. After years of trial and error, here are my favorite ways for staying organized in different areas:

DAILY TO-DO's:
Favorite method: Sticky Note Chain.
I've experimented extensively in this area, and nothing comes close to a sticky note. I've tried Palm Pilots and computer calendars to no end....but nothing beats the sticky note.

Instead of setting my day hour-by-hour, I just write down TASKS. This way I can easily compensate for unexpected new tasks. If I don't finish the list, I don't sleep.

Alternate Methods: Outlook Calendar, AT Notes.


TAXES:
Favorite Method: Binder with transparent folders in conjunction with the spending cork board and Excel. When I have a tax write off I need to remember, I put it in the binder at the end of each month. Receipts are extremely important in this area.

EXPENSES:
Favorite Method: Cork board coupled with month end closeout on Excel.
When I get a receipt or incur an expense, it goes up here. I tabulate at the end of every month the total amount. This also gives you a real time visualization of your spending habits.

EMAIL:
Favorite Method: Outlook. I used to hate Outlook for a while, then was told by a mentor to start using it. I begrudgingly did so, and now I would never leave Outlook. As much as I hated it tying all my accounts into one, I now view it as a godsend.

For example, I used to view House Of Rave emails only when I got a chance or felt like it. Now with Outlook integrating all my email accounts in one place, order problems and customer inquiries get answered almost right away instead of in hours or days. This obviously improves profit and customer satisfaction which tends to = $$$

Outlook also allows me to sort all mail into different folders for future reference. I honestly don't know how I was running my businesses without this earlier.


Business Cards/Contacts:
If I am handed a business card, I almost always snap a picture of it with my camera. I then upload the picture to the Buinsess Cards folders on my computer. I also enter the persons information into Outlook.

My list of organizational techniques is always changing, but for now these are most efficient ways that work for me in particular!

Labels: Productivity

Things have been moving at a million miles per hour lately, and I'm loving it. School doesn't start till the 31st, so I am focusing on business only. Things are starting to get REALLY exciting.

The amount of reading and "studying" I'm doing right now for various businesses is more than I've ever had in school, but it's all for business so it's much more fun. The reading is mainly for another personal business project I'm launching soon. I've got three full books to read and take detailed notes on. It has something to do with:

I've got TONS of stuff on my plate, and recently we just added more projects to the table, but More Work = More Money. The problem here is not spreading resources too thin at the moment.

Speaking of moving fast, I saw my first on-the-road Ford GT during a business meeting at a hotel. This thing will set you back something like $180,000:

After paying $13 for 2 hours of parking, I've decided to step-up my efforts to buy a new form of easy-to-park-for-free transportation.

For about 2 months I've been seriously thinking about purchasing a new Aprilia Scarabeo 50 scooter. Everything I do is within a 4 mile radius of my new apartment, and parking before 6:00pm is the most frustrating thing around campus and all over downtown Austin.

After doing the research, the Aprilia is by far the best (and most expensive) 50cc scooter I've seen. It gets 122 miles to the gallon because it's the only fuel-injected 50cc scooter in the world. I've spoken to people who own them, and the consensus say they can hit a top speed of about 50mph with ease.....fast enough to be safe in traffic, and slow enough to keep me out of trouble.

A brand new 2005 model out the door after tax, title and 1-year of insurance is around $3,400.

-Nev

Labels: Productivity

I have a lot on my plate right now, and managing time has been getting a bit difficult. Since I am frequent user of my tablet PC, it's the perfect place to keep my to-do list.

Here is what my computer desktop currently looks like:

I made a wallpaper (download it) with a "Today" section and "This Week" section and used it in conjunction with AT Notes, a very efficient and free program that lets you put "Sticky Notes" on your desktop (The program was brought to my attention from TheKirkReport).
I've been using this system for a week or so, and it has been very effective so far.

I know what must be done everyday, but managing my time is difficult for me. To solve this problem, I bought this little egg timer.



Now I can set one hour for reading school work, the next hour for business, then another hour of school work etc.
Once the bell rings, I move onto the next thing on my agenda. The timer works well at work.


I also bought this big dry erase board to keep track of business projects. This way I can see the most important tasks on my agenda in one place. I hung it above my desk.

Hopefully this will make it slightly easier to manage my time between business stuff and school.

-Nev

Labels: Productivity

There is something about the city of Dubai and its "Big Thinking" that attracts me to it. Every new structure they build outdoes the last.

The newest additions to the Dubai coastline are two man-made islands in the shape of giant Palm leaves. They also have made 300 new islands in the shape of the world. A friend who lives in Dubai told me about this project and thought it was a bit crazy, so did I.

Now several years later the islands are nearing completion:


I'm sure when The World was proposed, many people doubted its feasibility. We'll see who has the last laugh when the hyper-rich people of the world start paying for some of the most unique real estate on the planet.

The Palm's are equally impressive. I never would have imagined such a thing:


-See time-lapse photography of The Palm construction here.
-More info on the Palms and The World: http://www.gizmag.com/go/3310/




One of the things I want to do in my lifetime is stay with family and friends at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai. To me, it represents MUCH more than a simple hotel stay.

Every time I see a picture of the Burj Al Arab, it motivates me.




Click to enlarge each Burj Al Arab picture from Dubai which can be used as desktop wallpaper:



The BurjAlArab at Night:





Just glancing at the interior pictures can make me shudder:





One day you will find me vacationing at the Burj Al Arab. Look for me, I'll be at the spa getting a massage.
-Nev

Labels: Productivity

One thing important to me right now is mobility. I am graduating pretty soon, and if an opportunity arises in a different state, or even a different country, can I attend to it easily?

I recently moved to a larger apartment right across the hall from my old one, and the simple move took much longer than expected. Since then I have got rid of some "junk" and started to unload some more bulky items like my monitors (I'm selling them on Ebay). My plan is to fit all of my posessions in two suitcases.

A drawback to this is a rather boringly decorated room:

Not winning any "best-decorated" reviews eh? After I send my guitars and piano back home, the only bulky thing I will own are my speakers. I am a high-quality-sound-fanatic and can't yet part with my THX certified Klipsch speakers, no matter how many neighbors they annoy!

Other than that, I can pack up my clothes and Tablet PC and leave town whenever I want.

Labels: Housing, Productivity

As things start to gain speed at school and I have more and more non-academic projects to attend to, I sometimes feel like there are not enough hours in the day.

If I kept a minute-by-minute log of my daily activities, I can see there are enough hours in the day, I just don’t use them efficiently.

At a few points throughout the day I notice large time wasting periods. I’ve found a huge factor in my laziness during these times is food. If I am very full, not much gets accomplished. I work at night some days, so sometimes dinner starts cooking around 1:00am, while other times I eat at a more regular 7:30pm. My dinner is usually very heavy, as I often don’t get much time to eat lunch on campus, so I get tired after dinner and laze around. I currently don’t have a roommate for the next few weeks, therefore I have no one to make me feel self-conscious of my laziness.

The time I spend on campus is always more productive, but I can’t spend whole days there without spending a fortune on eating out. I enjoy being at my apartment, but I just don’t get a whole lot done there.

My workout times are sporadic also. Sometimes I go to the gym at 3:00pm while other times I start working out after work, at midnight till 1:00am. For now, moving closer to campus is not an option. I am only 4 miles away, but rush hour traffic (5-6:30pm) through downtown Austin makes that 4 mile bus ride an hour long.

I need to start regulating my eating times and scheduling a routine workout time. This would help me have more energy and 'pep' during the day. If I could properly utilize the time spent at my apartment after meals etc, I would get twice as much work done in a day!

Labels: Productivity

Sometimes I will find myself with a great business idea and never carry it through. These ideas are put on the back burner when things get busy and then lose their steam. This is common among people who are busy or have other ideas to pursue....and unsuccessful people. I will not let myself land up unsuccessful in the longrun.

I've noticed what happens:

The stages go:
-Great idea pops into my head.
-Getting excited about it.
-Working out the details.
-Only partially following through.
-Putting the project on a temporary hiatus.
-Never completing the project.
-Regretting never completing the project.

What I do now is FORCE myself to get the project done. I should have fully designed Resumite's over 2 weeks ago, but haven't. So on Monday morning I will put up all my flyers around the UT campus, and be "forced" to design the rest of the site so people will not see a shody website.

I also did this to learn about stock. I simply bought some stocks, and since my own money was on the line, I learned VERY quickly how to valuate a company, read financial statements etc.

Writing NevBlog greatly helps. When I post my goals, everyone can see them and question if I have completed them in time. When people mention my name, I want to be known as some who can GET THE JOB DONE.

Labels: Productivity

My last semester of college starts tommorrow, and I am very excited. I also start working tommorrow. I love when everything is in full swing!

I need to concentrate not only on school, but meeting my $11,000 goal by April. I also need to have at least 3 or 4 steady side incomes by the end of this semester in May.

There is no excuse this semester to mosey around, because there is PLENTY of work ahead for me!

Labels: Productivity

I think everyday I should post what I have done to improve my fiancial situation or life. My goal here is to not let the days slip by.

Today was a slow day:
-Sent out a letter to all TX Entrepreneurs inviting them to get together and talk business.
-Went to the library to research business advertising.

At this rate, I am going nowhere. This list needs to expand, and quickly.

Labels: Productivity

One of the reasons I started this blog was to track if I was meeting, exceeding or falling short of my goals. One of my short term goals was:

By December 31st, 2004, I should have made $5,000 since September.

Am I close? I only have 29 days left, let's take a look at the money I've made and lost since September:

September Business Profit: + $468
October Business Profit: + $459
November Business Loss: - $9 (Server was down)
December Business Income: TBA
Profit from Wheaton Sale (WHT): + $567
Profit from Syntel Sale (SYNT): + $776
Loss from V.I. Tech Sale (VITX): - $316
Birthday Money: + $101
Parents: + $240
Work: + $1,398

Total Income: + $4,009
Total Losses: - $325
Total Money Made: $3,684

Money I have to make in the next 29 days: $1,316

I have some money owed to me for webpages, I have two more paychecks coming and I have 400+ profit sitting in stock with the possibility of going further up (or possibly down). The online business will also be rather profitable since it's the holiday season. Hopefully I can accomplish my goal of $5,000 since September in 29 more days.

Labels: Productivity

A million in liquid assets is an extremely lofty goal. Is it even possible? Of course. To make $1,000,000 in five years I will need to:

Save $200,000 per year
Save $16,666 per month
Save $3,846 per week
Save $549 per day

Keep in mind this is saving $X.XX per year and does not include expenses.

I mandatorily put away $400 per month for investing and permanent savings, and after I get paid (from any source) I put away 60% if not more. Since I started working, I have been putting away roughly $685 per month. My current savings per month needs to increase by 2,400% immediately to meet my goal by 27.

Labels: Financial, Goals, Productivity

This blog will be dedicated to tracking my financial progress. Today I turn 22, let's see how far I can financially advance by the time I am 23.

Labels: Blogging, business ideas, eCommerce, Events, Financial, Goals, house of rave, Housing, Learning, Links, Meeting CEO's, Money Experiments, Personal, Productivity, Quotes, Transportation