NevBlog

Neville's Digital Surrogate Brain

Neville

Graduating – Outsourcing – Goals

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I’m graduating in December and I couldn’t be more excited.

Instead of finding a good job, I’m taking a road I find more interesting and exciting: making my own way.

Of course a lot of people would like to do this, but many cannot. I feel I’ve worked enough towards this goal to allow me to do this successfully:

  • Supposing EVERYTHING goes wrong, I’ve built up a modest amount of money to live on.
  • I’ve expanded my network of people to a very healthy level which means more opportunity, and if I DO need a fixed income job, I could get one.
  • I’m young, unattached and able to rough out tough times if needed.
  • I’ve built up my arsenal of experience to make small amounts of money here and there in case everything goes completely wrong.
  • My income currently exceeds my expenses + monthly savings + then some.
  • I’ve already split up my accounts to help see exactly how much money is allocated to each type of expense.

Not only have I setup the foundation for being a full time entrepreneur, but it also suits my personality: I love uncertainty, I get bored very quickly and I like dabbling in many things at once.

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Lately I’ve been exposed to a lot of oversees computer work. These are basically freelance computer programmers and web designers who work from India, Russia or other countries. I must say I’ve been very impressed with the quality and speed of their work.

People complain about outsourcing, but I’ve found it very difficult to find skilled people in the United States with the same amount of computer knowledge and quick service.

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I’ve missed a few goal deadlines including a new business I am pretty excited about. I’ve been redesigning a whole new backend and ordering system for it. There are some unique features I need, so custom programming must be done.

I’ve also missed my $7,500 p/month by 11-17-2005 goal, however I am not too far off. On this site, I only list personal income sources. If I make money from someone else or with someone else, I do not document it on this website. I have a strong feeling that 2006 will be a great year for me!

-Nev

New scooter, Paid Writing, Increasing HoR Sales

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I bought yet another scooter, same year, same brand. I saw it on Craigslist going for a great price, so I withdrew cash from the bank and bought it.

It hardly had any miles on it, and it runs like brand new. The guy selling it was a successful lawyer who stopped riding after he and his wife had a son. He just wanted it out of his garage, hence the great price I got.

I now own two 2003 Aprilia Scarabeo 50’s. My original one is awaiting a part from Italy that will arrive sometime this month. Once the work is complete, I will sell one of the scooters. I might also wait a few months for it to get warmer and then sell it (You get better prices).
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Recently I have been getting a lot of offers to write for stock market websites. One offer I got was from ADVFN.com that pays $500 a quarter or $2,000 a year. According to their agreement I must write a one paragraph post on their website about the stock market every day.

SO I would get $8 a day for writing one paragraph a day, 5 days a week….this sounds too much like a job.

…and honestly, I don’t want stock advice from someone doing it for the pay. I’d rather get advice from Kirk. He’s one of the few stock market writers that makes his money by actually trading stock. I’ve done ADVFN a favor and disqualified myself by discussing the terms:

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Ever since I made up my mind to increase profits for House Of Rave, it has worked.
Here was my hopeful profit chart:

I set my October profit goal at $975, and I slightly surpassed that goal with a total profit of $1,120 for October. Over the next three weeks I will be making more changes that should hopefully boost my profits even more. I enjoy the ease of running HoR, and I know I can increase profits enough to completely cover all my monthly expenses after graduation.

Meeting Michael Dell and Lance Armstrong

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7:00pm my phone rings and “Bob” calls me from his regular hotspot, a swanky hotel, saying he happened to notice a large number of high powered individuals heading to the ballroom downstairs. Party crashing time. I took a quick shower, threw on a suit, got my roommate to tie my tie (because I still don’t know how) and drove to the hotel.

I met “Bob” in the lobby as dinner was being served. The place was packed and every seat was taken except at one table. We went up to the table, “Bob” did a little talking, and in an instant we were having a conversation with people we didn’t know, at an event we knew nothing about, and having a delicious meal.

After scoping out the room, it became very apparent that this was a big event with big people. In fact, while opening the bathroom door, I literally bumped into Lance Armstrong!

The event was in honor of Michael and Susan Dell for their philanthropic contributions. There were three billionaires in the room, the biggest being Michael. There was a movie about the Dell charity, several speakers and then they both gave a speech after being honored.

Michael Dell’s wife, Susan, is a tri-athlete and frequently goes bike riding with Lance Armstrong. Here is a picture of Lance, Susan and Michael together….well, their backs at least:

Later in the evening I got to meet Michael Dell, the famed founder of Dell Computers who started his company from a dorm room at the University of Texas. I talked with him briefly and found him to be a very approachable and extremely nice guy.

After the event was over, “Bob” and I headed back upstairs to the hotel lounge to finish up the night with an evening cocktail. That suit cost me $200 and the drinks cost me $25, but now I had the opportunity to meet Lance Armstrong and Michael Dell.

Thanks “Bob” for another great event!

Henry Juszkiewicz – CEO of Gibson Guitar

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The Texas Union frequently brings CEO’s and other speakers to UT, and this Thursday night was a speech given by Henry Juszkiewicz, the CEO of Gibson Guitar who took the company from small and unprofitable to the most recognizable brand of guitar in the world.

He claims his passion for music coupled with his love for electronics since he was a kid helped him excel at running Gibson. He strongly emphasized that true success is best accomplished with passionate leadership.

In his third year at Harvard Business School he became curious about buying/selling companies. His professors told him, “Just find a good lawyer.” Not satisfied with this answer, he went into investment banking for a few years to learn about buying and selling companies. He later tried buying several at-risk companies and restoring them. Like most successful people, he failed at some and succeeded at some.

A while later he was informed that Gibson Guitar Corp was for sale, but no one would buy it because it was a financial disaster. He moved to the Kansas to live near the company headquarters and observed the operation for a full 6 months while drawing up a concrete business plan. Once he purchased it, the company became profitable within 30 days because of his hard work and research. Since 1987 he has grown the business 20% every year.

Some of the main pieces of advice he gave were:

  • Have the tenacity and boldness to do things others won’t.
  • What’s possible is only what you think is possible. He said he wanted to grow the company to impossible levels. He has now far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
  • Only allow people in your company who believe in your vision. If they don’t believe in the company, they must go.
  • Constantly grow and innovate.
  • Give back to the community that helped build you.

Of course I had to get a picture with him. I actually brought my own guitar I’ve had for over 10 years to the speech to take a picture with:

The pictures came out….interesting. He covered the head of my guitar in both pictures because it wasn’t a Gibson!

Mike A. Myers – University of Texas

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I had the opportunity to listen to Mike A. Myers, an extremely successful business man and community developer. He has developed many high-end neighborhoods and golf courses all around the nation, especially in Texas, including several by my home in Houston. He owns several banks and has been involved in tons of other investments. He gave a large donation to UT to help construct the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium:

He is also on the board of many companies and is very involved with the university.

A Quick Background on him:
-He attended UT and later went to law school here also.

-One summer he moved to Michigan to sell books door-to-door. He said still to this day he has never experienced so much rejection as his door-to-door days. He also said learning how to handle rejection helped him immensely in the business world.

-In his junior year of college he started a mobile catering service which ended up being pretty successful.

-He then opened two restaurants, including one very speculative property inside a military base. Both were wildly successful and he had over 40 employees.

-At a very young age he got several high-up internships in Washington D.C.

-After making loads of money from various investments, he decided to build a 750-acre luxury community in Dallas. He put up much of his own money, totaling about 25% of the total capital. He raised the other 75% and got started with the project. One of the largest oil price spikes in history struck and vastly increased the cost of the project, nearly wiping him out completely. In the end he came out successful.

-He later started a bank which has since expanded to several banks.

Towards the end of his speech he said the following five things were his own rules for success:

  • Find a mentor.
  • Keep your options open.
  • Have as few responsibilities to other people as you can.
  • Stay focused.
  • Get Lucky.

He was a great speaker and I definitely learned a lot from his talk (especially some very interesting facts about real estate development). At the end of the speech I spoke with him for a while, discussing his developments around my area and joking about Herb Kelleher. I also got a nice picture with him to add to the collection:

Party Crashing Fashion Show

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I was informed about another charity event where many wealthy Austinites would be Saturday night for drinks, a fashion show, dinner and dancing. I always jump at chances like this to meet powerful people, so naturally I decided to crash it.

Crashing this party was a little different because it was black-tie attire only and held at a secure venue. Three days before I had a tuxedo tailored at K&G Men’s store. The entire ensemble including the tux suit & pants, cufflinks, bowtie and cumberbund cost me around $200 after tailoring. Not too bad, especially since there will be lots of black-tie events during the holiday season.

Now that I have a suit AND tuxedo, I’m properly outfitted to attend upcoming events. Looking the part really helps when attending a fancy-shmancy party. When I was checked at the front of the base, they checked my ID, saw I was wearing a tux, asked me if I knew where my table was (I said yes) and they handed me a gift bag filled with Grey Goose, assorted bottled waters, pens and all sorts of other goodies. “Bob” had given me a table name to use, I was wearing a tux, sounded like I knew where I was supposed to be and acted as if I belonged there…and it worked.

I pulled up to the event, and my car was valeted because there was no self-parking. A photographer at the front entrance took my picture by one of three huge tanks, and I asked him to also snap a picture with my own camera:

I ordered a martini, Grey Goose of course because they were partly sponsoring the party and began to mingle. I found the crowd very easy to talk to, and striking up conversations was simple, especially since UT had just won a football game an hour earlier.

After cocktails, the crowd entered a large aircraft hangar (I think) which was converted beautifully into a large fashion show runway. There was loud music playing and the whole place had a very New-Yorky feel to it.

After the fashion show, which was actually pretty cool, everyone was ushered to several enormous and connected tents for dinner, dessert and dancing. There was a silent auction, a live auction, and raffle. The main prize for the raffle was one of three Mercedes cars. I found out the event was being coordinated by the Four Seasons, so it was very nice, and MUCH more elegant than the pictures show:

I knew a few people before I came to the event, but their table was already full. Also, my whole goal of attending this was to meet NEW people, so after some mingling with the crowed I was invited to another table for dinner.

After desert, coffee and some dancing people started to leave. The valet area was around several M1 Abrams tanks….I couldn’t resist climbing on top of one and getting a picture!

I left the party with several contact numbers, new friends, some interesting business ideas, a full stomach and having had a great time.

I must remember to thank “Bob” who told me about the party in the first place. He’s one of the people “In the know” about all these events, and is always gracious enough to inform me about them and help me get in. He also introduces me to his well-established network of friends and mentors, he’s a really great guy…always smiling!

Bought a 2003 Aprilia Scarabeo 50 Scooter

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I wanted a cheap, quick and easily parkable form of transportation, so I bought a 2003 Aprilia Scarabeo 50cc last weekend.

I’ve been looking to buy a used one for quite some time now, but they are very hard to come by. I was ONLY interested in buying the Scarabeo because:

  • I wanted a big wheel scooter for more stability.
  • I wanted something quick enough to handle traffic, yet not fast enough to get me into much trouble.
  • Gas mileage. This is the only 50cc scooter in the world that gets 122 MPG.
  • 1.9 gallon tank x 122 MPG = 230 miles for every $5 of gas.
  • I can park anywhere. 2-foot wide parking spaces.
  • I can use sidewalks or small spaces to avoid stand-still traffic.

After some negotiating I got the scooter + tax + title for exactly $2,000 out the door. If I bought the same scooter out the door brand new, it would have been about $3,600.

Just like a car, the real cost of ownership is much higher. However, gas, maintenance and insurance are extremely cheap for the scooter unlike a car. The larger costs came in the form of safety equipment. In the end, this is what I spent:

  • $2,000 – Scooter out the door
  • $50 – Matching helmet found on Craigslist
  • $55 – Battery trickle charger
  • $13 – Chain lock
  • $40 – Motorcycle gloves from Craigslist

Commuting to campus or around Downtown during rush hour is a cinch now. I am doing everything I can to be safe and always take low-traffic roads to avoid cars. Small trips are much quicker since there is no concern about parking and they are definitely much more fun!

Gary Kusin – CEO of FedEx Kinkos

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I just saw and met Gary Kusin, the CEO of Fedex Kinkos. He was giving a speech here at UT and drew in quit a large crowd. He called himself a “Forest Gump” of business because his success was simply the result of hard work. In a nutshell he stressed the trick to getting ahead was outworking the next guy.

He is a UT alumnus who graduated one December with a degree in Government…..that description will also fit me this December. It was very interesting hearing him speak about some of his friends and mentors such as Ross Perot, Jack Welch and Bill Gates. I breifly talked to him after the speech and got a picture:

The reason I am wearing a nametag is because of an idea I stole from “The Guy with the Nametag” Scott. He’s a motivational speaker who has been wearing a nametag for three years. I like the simplicity and effectiveness of the nametag. Now when I attend an event I make my own nametag. It helps people learn and remember your name and is great for starting conversations.

So far it has worked quite well. I usually forget I am wearing it and get thrown off when strangers call me by name! I bought a pack of 25 nametags for less than a dollar. It’s one of the easiest and cheapest ways to aid in meeting people.

-Nev

Make a Cheap Photo Studio

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When starting any small business it’s best to bootstrap and avoid large costs. If you sell products online and need professional pictures taken of the products, skip that step and do it yourself. I’ve done this for a while by making a Cheap Photo Studio:

INGREDIENTS:
-2 pieces of white poster board (Regular white paper works too)
-Swivel Lamp
-Regular digital camera
-Basic Photoshop skills

Depending on what you are photographing, setup the poster board(s) accordingly. The goal is to take a picture with a clean, white backdrop without lines or interruption. Blemishes or lines can always be removed by Photoshop later.

For Example:
I took a picture of an old playing card.

With Photoshop I brightened the picture and removed all the red and white blemishes.

Playing around with Photoshop yielded this picture which looks nothing like the original. Point is: digital enhancements can make even bad pictures look good.

You can also do the same thing with less 2-dimensional objects such as this lock:

<-- before Photoshop

After Photoshop:

Just 2 magic eraser clicks in Photoshop and some cropping made this clean picture. The already white background makes Photoshopping very easy.

Pictures like this can also be used to enhance Ebay auctions or Craigslist postings. This is just one way to save money when running or starting an online biz, especially if running on a low budget.