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MicahStubz

Creative Genius

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  • May 13 / 2013
  • 2
wheel-of-life-dan-miller
Career/Leadership, Self-Improvement, Starting A Business

Creating a Work Life Balance

48 Days To The Work You Love: Day 9

First, let me give you an update on days 7 & 8 since I didn’t write blog posts for them.  Day 7 I was supposed to identify 3-4 people who have been positive mentors for me and contact them for advice.  I reached out by email to Shay Carl and Adam Baker but have not heard back from either of them yet.  I will continue to consider other mentors.  I did just read Pat Flynn’s book Let Go.  It is his story of getting news about getting laid off from his architect job.  He then discovered his blog had substantial traffic and learned how to turn that traffic into a passive income.  By the time his job ended he had replaced his income and his first year on his own he made over $200K with a site and ebook that helps architects prepare for a special certification test.

wheel-of-life-dan-millerOn Day 8 I read chapter 4 of the 48 days book and evaluated my current life balance. Dan Miller explains that financial or career success isn’t enough to be happy.  You need to make deposits of success in all 7 aspects of life which are: Financial, Physical, Personal Development, Family, Spiritual, Social and Career.   My financial and family buckets the fullest.  I need to make a lot of deposits in the other buckets to get balanced.  Unfortunately, I feel like I’m going to be emptying the financial bucket soon.  Let’s hope that means I’ll be able to fill the other buckets and use that success to get momentum in all aspects of life.

Day 9 Questions

1. Are you a goal setter? Do you  typically set goals at the first of the year? If not, why not?

I do tend to set goals.  I’m not always the best at following through and staying accountable.

2. How would you describe your current focus on work?

Non-existant.  I am all over the place.  I have a full-time job plus a few clients I do work for, a golf website I’ve been dedicating a lot of time to.  My youtube videos that require a good chunk of time and a few other projects like thintopia that I answer emails and do customer service for but haven’t had time to make important improvements and fixes to the site.  So in any given day I am programming in PHP, doing AdWords and SEO work, updating wordpress sites, editing videos, promoting videos on facebook and twitter.  Plus plenty of market research (ie watching videos).

3. What hobbies do you have? What other skills and interest do you have?

I make a little bit of money doing the youtube videos but honestly it is more of a hobby.  I get a kick out of creating videos, reading comments on the videos and figuring out ways to get my videos in front of more people and grow subscribers.  Photography is a hobby for me.  I know very little but have a deep appreciation for good photography and love to toy with my equipment to figure out how to take good professional looking pictures.  I can see myself doing nature or sports photography.  I also enjoy coaching sports.  I enjoy the challenge of figuring out my player strengths and weaknesses and strategizing to put people in the right places and coach them to succeed.  I have now coached soccer, football and baseball for my son who is now 7.  I don’t know that I see myself coaching beyond regular youth sports.  My biggest interest is in learning “cool” skills.  Cool is a relative term.  It can be anything from solving a rubik’s cube to developing a mobile app or creating and editing a music video parody.

4. How are you involved in your community?

At the moment, I’m not very involved (besides coaching youth sports).  In the past I have been a Boy Scout leader.  I also participate in a few service projects each year with my church.  I also developed and maintain the website for a local non-profit that helps feed hungry school children on the weekend.

5. What was your father’s or mother’s attitude toward work and how has that affected you?

My dad is a hard worker and enjoys his work.  He changed careers after he had a family which seems to have been a good choice as it afforded him the opportunity to be very involved with our family.  Being a self-employed Chiropractor, he had a flexible schedule and pretty good income.  He always pushed me to find work.  I distinctly remember being asked daily to keep looking for work so I wouldn’t be sitting around the house wasting my Summer.  My mom is also a hard worker she stayed at home caring for our house and 6 kids and served in several big roles at church.  She has tried a few different jobs after her kids started moving out but hasn’t really found anything she enjoys more than being an awesome Grandma and fulfilling her church callings.  I like to think I have my dad’s work ethic but I have more of my mom’s attitude toward work.  I want to be doing something meaningful and important and money isn’t enough of a motivation to work a job.  I really appreciate that they both helped me learn to value work.  I did plenty of yard and housework and worked through college to pay for almost all my expenses for 3 of the 4 1/2 years.

Indecision

I am facing some choices right now that can impact mine and my family’s lives dramatically.  Miller gives a guide to making a quick decision.  In fact, he recommends deciding quickly.  I’ve heard it told before that no decision is, in fact, a decision.  Seth Godin talks about how successful people fail quickly.  Failure becomes not so big a deal if we learn to decide quickly and fail quickly.  In this case, I need to make a decision about the direction I think will be best now so that I can get on the path because  if it is the right path I don’t want to lose time an if it isn’t the right path then the sooner I can learn that, the better.  There really is no positive to waiting until you are 100% certain because, guess what,  that will NEVER happen.  You have to ACT FIRST!

1. State the problem

2. Get the advice and opinions of others

3. List the alternatives

4. Choose the best alternative

5. ACT

Problem:  I need to choose or create a career that will pay our bills and provide for a family of six.  I want to find something I can do for the rest of my life.  I want to do something that will make a difference to the world and impact people’s lives directly for good.

Options:

1.  Build my freelance website, marketing and video business

2. A golf deal site

3. Build a massive youtube audience with funny skits, music video parodies and vlogs.

2. Grow and improve thintopia.com to be the best weight loss challenge website.

3. Start something completely new which would be what I once called Micah 3.o   It is my idea to focus heavily on personal development.  I would do a 90-day makeover and focus on achieving big goals in all the 7 areas of life while I create guides that help people achieve their goals and overcome roadblocks such as Facebook addiction and lack of focus.  The end goal would be to create an ebook and have readers similar in nature to Tim Ferris but with my own angle as a family man.  I would work to publish a book and begin taking speaking engagements and traveling with the family doing workshops for companies and individuals.

I could also do any combination of these options.  I feel like what I will do is some combination of all of them or at least focus on a couple while keeping the others on a back burner.  The real decision is should I quit or not start any of these projects?

How many new projects will I come up with before I make a decision?  On YouTube I seem to come up with new ideas for that every week.

…

I just reviewed a couple posts from 2 years ago when I first read the book and I see a pattern and I can’t help but see that as a sign.  I think my decision is clear but there will still be a process of elimination.  The idea is that life is one big school and I will be designing my own PhD but you can’t take every class in one semester.  You have to start with the basics and build from there.  Stay tuned for the next post where I will begin to reveal the plan which is simply an evolved version of what I called Micah 3.0.

  • May 10 / 2013
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Create A Life Plan
Career/Leadership

Create A Life Plan

48 Days to The Work You Love: Day 6

Job, Career or Vocation

A job is what you do on any given day.  A Career is made of a series of job in an industry or line of work.  A vocation is a lifelong journey to create a legacy.  It is your calling in life.  The obvious goal for a life plan is to discover your vocation.  This chapter reminded me of a Ted Talk by Simon Sinek.  I’ll let him do the talking. A job is what you do. Career is how you do it. Vocation is why you do it.

Start With Why.

Chapter 3 Questions

1. In today’s rapidly changing work environment, is it realistic to expect a job to provide more than just a paycheck?

I haven’t believed this for myself up until now and I’m trying to get to that point. I think the trick is to identify what you want to accomplish first. If all I’m looking to accomplish is making money then that is what I will do. My fear is that if I don’t focus on the money I’ll be a “starving artist”.

2. Have you ever had a sense of calling in your life? How did you hear that calling?

I’ve had a sense of calling to promote families and fatherhood. I don’t like to see dads who spend little or no time with their family. Men who don’t play catch, go camping or even wrestle with their children. I find myself being a victim of this social change in manhood and fathers and feel the desire to combat it and promote being an active and involved husband and father.

I have also felt the need to help other people discover the right line of work. I think I have a knack for finding work and landing jobs and I could see myself helping people.

3. Does God call only a few people?

No. I think we are all called to do something but only a few answer the call.

4. Is it reasonable to expect our work to be part of the fulfillment of our calling?

Yes. It might not be 100% necessary but I think it will accelerate and enhance our calling.

5. Do you currently have a job, a career, or a vocation?

I have a job for 3 more weeks. I am trying to establish a vocation and a career to support that vocation.

6. What does success mean for you this year?

This year is a big year for me. I will be without a job for the first time as an adult. To me success is knowing at the end of this year that I am on the path to never having a job again. I would like to completely replace my income, find balance with my health, family, personal development and spirituality as well. I have set out a list of things I want to do this year and I plan to do them.

7. Are you where you thought you’d be at this stage of life?

Pretty much. I didn’t know for sure where I would be but I’m mostly satisfied with life to this point.

8. Do you go home at night with a sense of meaning, purpose, and accomplishment?

Not really. I feel like I’m being pulled in a million directions and struggle to focus on any one thing because I can’t decide where to put my effort so I end up wasting time.

9. If you want different results next year, what will you change in what you are doing now?

I am going to embrace who I am and determine a path that fits me and learn to say no to opportunities that don’t line up with my purpose. I am going to dedicate time daily to create and learn.

  • May 08 / 2013
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KeepCalmAndDFTBA
Career/Leadership, Thoughts

Pretty Good

48 Days to the Work You Love: Day 4

Family Member or Friend: “How’s work going?”

Me: “Pretty Good. I can’t complain.”

That is my standard response to just about the most common question I get.  And I think that sums up my career to this point.  This reminds me of a documentary that my friends Adam Baker and Grant Peelle made called “I’m Fine, Thanks“.  On one hand I’ve been fortunate to find work.  I have also been able to avoid bad commutes most of the time.  For the past 6 years I have even avoided almost all overtime.

Sometimes I wish I could be fine with “Pretty Good”.  My desire for something more is what causes most of my stress.  How do you turn that off though?  If I could turn that desire off I feel like I am killing a part of myself.  Yet, I also think it would be possible to kill that part of me to make room for something else. I was talking about this with Sarah and I realized that when I first started my current job they told me the group would be moving to Ohio within 2 years.  That was fine with me because I was already used to finding new jobs and I seemed to need the variety.  As the date approached for the move I decided I wanted to build my own business so I began taking on more and more side projects to figure out what would work.  For the past two years my desire to build a business has consumed most of my time outside of work so I feel like I need the closure of giving it a shot.  If my current job could give me longer than 6 months at a time I might feel like I could drop the other projects.

How has a company change affected you? How did it make you feel?

I have learned to not expect anything from my employer. I had big expectations at my first job. I expected the company to grow rapidly and to get plenty of experience.  I did get plenty of experience but that was because I pushed myself to learn new things.  Now I expect nothing.  When my company moved to Ohio I fully expected to be let go because I wasn’t willing to go.  But because it was difficult for them to hire someone before they moved they kept me on until after the move and when that worked out I continued working from home for nearly 2 years!  Every six months I would get news of a six month extension.  I can’t tell you how fortunate I am to have this arrangement.  I’ve set myself up to always be pleasantly surprised.

Have you experienced any failure in your career? If so, what did it lead to?

My biggest moments of failure are when I realize that I’m not experienced enough to complete my tasks.  Any failure causes me to first get down on myself but then I evaluate what happened and commit in my mind to avoid putting myself in those situations or to at least be realistic when committing to a project.

What were your childhood goals and ambitions for life?

I remember wanting to be a professional baseball player.  I definitely dreamed of being wealthy.  I definitely wanted to get married and have kids.  I knew which college I was going to attend when I was 10 years old.  I also knew I wanted to serve a mission for my church.  I for sure had those goals.  1. Go to BYU, 2. serve a mission, 3. get married, 4. have kids, 5. make lots of money.  I knocked 1-4 out of the park.  And relatively speaking, I’ve been very fortunate with finances.  So, now what?  I didn’t really plan that far.  I’m 31 years old. I still have a good 50-60 years to live if I’m lucky.  It’s time to establish some new goals!

Who are 2 or 3 people you know who seem to have accomplished their dreams? What do you remember about their accomplishments?

I can think of a few people.  My my parents and in-laws have accomplished their dreams in a sense.  I always think of my wife’s late grandfather as an example of accomplishing so much.  I also think of a few online examples such as Shaycarl, Pat Flynn and Leo Babauta. What stands out with all these examples is the balance they found with career and family.  They all are also people who strive to help other people at all times (hey! that’s part of the boy scout oath).  They all seem to enjoy their work as well.

What do you imagine your retirement will be like?

I mostly think about what my family will be like.  I imagine 12-20 grandchildren who we travel and visit regularly.  I imagine traveling the world serving church missions.  One thing I imagine is trying to be physically active.  The biggest factors in accomplishing my retirement vision is building a strong family, maintaining good health and having resources to travel and take 1-2 years off from work at any time.  I don’t plan on ever fully retiring.

Conclusion

The task for today was to complete the questions at the end of Chapter 2.  The task states that you should write out your answers. Your plan will come alive if you write your responses. Realize you are simply clarifying your past at this point – so you can then describe changes needed for the future you want.

I had read the questions a couple times and even thought of how I my respond but just now as I wrote out my responses something very important became clear to me.  It isn’t something new to me but it is a strong reminder of what matters most.  I thought I would be figuring out directly what career path to follow but my biggest priority isn’t necessarily my career although it may enable me to have a balanced life.  Whatever I choose I need to make sure that I can continue to

  1. Build a strong family
  2. Make time for my health
  3. Support future travel and mini retirements.

Is it wrong that I don’t want to settle for “Pretty Good”? I want an awesome life.  I only get one shot.  To be fair, my life has been more than pretty good.  Most days are pretty good with a few awesome days and very rare crappy days.  I just want to CREATE MORE AWESOME DAYS!

DFTBA

KeepCalmAndDFTBA

  • May 07 / 2013
  • 4
my jobs
Career/Leadership

17 Jobs in 12 Years

48 Days To the Work You Love: Day 3

My Work History

The average time an employee stays at each job is about 3.2 years.  I am averaging just over a year per job since earning my degree.  I have worked for startups, small sub contractors of large corporations and I have worked for 3 large corporations.   I have been around the block a few times and I think I’ve seen what I need to see.  If you include work while I was in school, I have had 17 jobs in 12 years! As I was making the list it was hard to remember them all. I’m not counting the 3 companies I currently own and draw income from.  I was also a day trader one semester in college and earned a couple thousand dollars.  Needless to say, my taxes can get complex sometimes.

jobsAssembling Industrial Laminators (~ 4 months), McDonald’s Cashier (3 weeks), Recycling Plant Worker (1 Month), Crop Dusting Wing Hop (1 Month), Roof Inspector (1 Month), Asbestos Removal (3 months), Dish Washer (1 Semester), Carpet Cleaner (1 semester), Landscaping (1 month), Teaching Assistant (5 semesters), Computer Engineer Intern (2 Summers), QA Engineer for surveillance systems (10 months), Online Marketing and Sales Manager (1 year), sub-sub-sub-contractor to Yahoo! (3 months), Software Engineer on an MMO game that was never released (1 year), and technically I work for YouTube/Google as a content creator (18 months).  I also make money from a few websites that I have created. I have been at my current job almost 4 years.  I won’t mention the name for privacy and legal reasons.

I am a troubled individual.  My wife feels very fortunate that I have stuck with her for 9 years.  I chose to leave each job for one of 3 reasons

  1. Found a higher paying job.
  2. Schooling.
  3. Hated the job or felt stifled in my personal growth.

“All Progress Requires Change, But Not All Change Is Progress”

Although my income has steadily grown over the past 12 years, I can’t say I have always progressed.  I have changed jobs plenty but there are key times when I knew the job wasn’t a good fit but rather than stick to what I knew I was hopeful that the work would become interesting.  Here is the rub.  My current position has allowed me to progress financially without progressing in skills and productivity. In fact, I wonder if I am less skilled and productive than I was 4 years ago.  There are many factors at play there but the lack of growth motivates me to move on.

What interesting jobs have you had? What has motivated you to make a change?  What is the average  length of the jobs you have had?  Can anyone beat me?

 

  • May 06 / 2013
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profilephoto
Career/Leadership

What Was I Born To Do?

48 Days To The Work You Love: Day 2

profilephotoWow, that is a good question and I’m not quite sure I can answer it. To be honest, I don’t think there is one specific thing I was born to do. I was born to be a man, husband and father. That much I know for sure.

Yesterday’s task was to get familiar with the schedule and commit to it.  Today the task was to read Chapter 1 and ask yourself what work has meant to you so far.  Then ask yourself what you were “born to do.”

What Work Has Meant

Work has always been mostly just a paycheck to me.  I have never really loved any job I have had.  My main motivation is dinero, cash, moolah.  Which isn’t entirely true because right out of college I had two job offers.  One as an Computer Engineer and another as a QA Engineer. The QA job offered less but it was a start-up that just launched their first product and the manager expected the business to grow rapidly and that there would be a lot of opportunity to grow.  The product seemed really cool and that was what really excited me about the job.  I would be working with something new and exciting.  I had big hopes for that job but none of them were realistic.

I wasn’t sure about what I wanted at that point.  I had just earned a BS in Computer Engineering but I was considering getting a Masters in Public Administration.  I thought it would be cool to be a city planner or something.  I don’t know!  I’m glad I didn’t do that.

My main criteria for each job I have taken is a salary higher than my previous job.  That hasn’t been too hard to do considering I started out on the very low end of the curve for software engineers.  Potential employers love to hear my current salary.  My current manager keeps trying to get me raises because he feels so badly that I make less than everyone else.  I try not to be too demanding and thank him but honestly I’m making nearly double what I was making 6 years ago.

I feel like work is very important.  I have huge responsibility to provide for my family and not be idle.  I have taken a few jobs just so that I wouldn’t go a day without work or benefits.  I’ve never left a job without another one lined up.  Even when one company was going under and paying us a month late I stuck around until I was able to land another job.  Insurance has been another big factor considering we’ve had 4 children since we graduated from college and each was born c-section.  Without group insurance we couldn’t have had the last 3.

What Was I Born To Do?

I have given it a lot of thought and looked at the patterns from my childhood, different jobs and hobbies.  I was born to analyze and create.  I love solving problems and being creative.  I enjoy programming only if I’m creating something or solving problems.  This happens a lot but not always.  I prefer to build things from scratch.  I also love to learn new things constantly.  I get bored easily and have to keep my mind stimulated with new projects all the time.  I like being artistic although I haven’t developed my artistic abilities at all.  I’ve never taken a single art class in my life.  I’ve wanted to but I never let myself.  Art electives seemed like a waste of time.  Art is supposed to be a hobby, not a career.  I have a grand appreciation for all art though.  I love music, photography, videography, painting and sketching.  I have just never given myself the chance to learn them in a formal setting.  What I would love to do is create something that inspires and moves people.

I was also born to make people laugh. I don’t consider myself a comedian and I come off as very serious to most people.  I have a side to me though that is very playful and goofy.  I almost like to keep a secret so that people are shocked when they finally see my crazy side.  And they almost always are.

A Match

Programming has provided me some creative opportunities but the truth is programming typically follows rigid rules and requirements.  Many times software is already developed and programmers are only fixing or making small improvements or creating tests for software.  I can’t think of very many projects I have worked on that have directly improved anyone’s life.  Programming is not fun and there is not much room for humor or artistic creativity.  I don’t really even consider myself a great programmer!  I am probably pretty average and messy.  When people ask me what I do I feel anxiety about saying that I am a software engineer.  To many people this just means I am the guy to go to for tech support for their personal electronics.

Yesterday was I feeling nervous about not having many of the benefits my current job provides but after this I am certain that I was not born to be a software engineer.  I value the fact that I know how to program and I am grateful for the skill.  I hope to use it when possible to help people but it isn’t something I would like to do for rest of my life.

I used to think that work was something you endured until you were 65 ( or 40 if you were lucky and invested wisely ) then retired from to begin enjoying life.  I no longer think that way.  The people I have seen that love their work and work until the end are much happier.  I no longer think retirement is a goal of mine.  My goal is to love working and keep at it until I am physically and mentally unable to work.

 

  • May 04 / 2013
  • 4
IMG_5456
Money, Motivation, Self-Improvement, Starting A Business

48 Days To The Work I Love: Day 1

IMG_5456I’m starting a little late considering my job is ending May 31st but that’s okay. Maybe I can stack some days. This is a book by Dan Miller that I read a couple years ago and back then I was motivated, or so I thought, to take control of my life and quit letting life happen to me. For the past two years I have made some progress and have pursued a few opportunities but overall I am not in control. I’ve been blessed or possibly cursed with good fortune.

For the past 3 1/2 years I have had a great job with no overtime ever expected, great benefits, annual raises and bonuses! It has been amazing. Even more amazing, I’ve been working from home for almost half that time. Those last two sentences almost make me want to reconsider my decision to quit but I think it is too late now. I have this insane notion that I can do better than that!

When I read the book the first time, my job was moving to Ohio and I decided to not move with it. We had a house we couldn’t sell and a lot of family near by that we didn’t want to leave.  I was preparing myself to pursue my own course whatever that would be. But then my boss said I could work from home and they extended my job to the end of 2011. Then as that date approached I was extended to June 2012 then to Dec 2012 and finally this last extension was determined to be my last. I kept waiting for them to stop offering me more work but deep down I was grateful.  I kept accepting the extensions even though I really wanted to build my own business, but  I didn’t want to fail.  So I put my dreams on hold.  It would give me time to make things happen in my “free time”.

So I began to grow and expand the work I do on the side but because there was no risk of failure I haven’t been very focused and have spread my time across at least 4 different projects or businesses! Now, two years have passed and I still don’t have a clear direction.  In fact, I’m more confused than ever on what is the best direction to go and my discipline and focus have deteriorated to the point where I can’t seem to get myself to bed due to an overload of items on my todo list yet I still find time to browse facebook, youtube, twitter and reddit all at the same time!

So, now I have the need to decide, get focused and move forward. I thought of this book and decided to use it as my guide. I found a 48 day checklist to accompany the book and I will dedicate at least 30 minutes each day performing the tasks as the book suggests. Today my job was to review the schedule and visualize myself completing all the steps. The big thing I am doing today is beginning my plan to achieve a career that is in line with my talents and passions.

LET’S DO THIS!

I would love to get some participation. Maybe you’re not quitting your job any time soon but this book is just a way to look inward and learn about yourself and make adjustments in your life to make it better.  If you are out of work and searching for a new career leave a comment and let’s help each other get on course.  This book is highly recommended by personal finance guru, Dave Ramsey and was recommended to me by my YouTube inspiration, Shaycarl.

 

  • Feb 25 / 2013
  • 2
On Top of a Mountain
Physical, Self-Improvement, Videos

On Top of a Mountain

Saturday I completed the first item on my 2013 to do list. I climbed to the top of Squaw Peak in Phoenix. I met up with a new friend, Steven, who suggested the hike a couple weeks ago.

Hiking is an awesome experience. It was physically challenging but not overly demanding. I broke a sweat but was still able to enjoy good conversation and get to know Steven. When we reached the top we had a great view of Phoenix and the surrounding area. I look forward to climbing even more peaks.

  • Feb 22 / 2013
  • 1
2013 To Do List
Self-Improvement, Thoughts

2013 To Do List

Rather than having New Year’s Resolutions because, face it, it is February and by now most people have already given up on their resolutions; I decided to make a “to do” list for the year. There are things I should do, things I have to do and things that I THINK I should do but I wanted to make a list of things I WANT to do. Decide what you want to do and do it. It is a simple concept. I want and need to get of the computer and outside. I also need to learn new things and produce or create stuff. This is basic human needs. I want to be in nature more and make more cool stuff.

So here is my list and a video where I talk about this list.

  1. Take a roadtrip to the Midwest. We’ll probably end up driving through 13 states.
  2. Go camping at least 3 times.
  3. Play on a sports team.
  4. Learn a song on the piano.
  5. Hike to the top of a mountain.
  6. Explore a cave.
  7. Perform at open mic standup or improv
  8. Sell a photograph.
  9. Make a mobile app.
  10. Give a $100 tip.
  11. Run a 10K race.
  12. Write a song.
  13. Make a music video for my own song.

It may seem like a lot but a year is plenty of time to do it all.  I already have 5 and 6 planned.  1 and 2 are being planned.  I could be half way done with the list in 3 months.

I want to hear your thoughts.  Think about what you want to do.  Do you have a bucket list?  Don’t put off what you want for what you think you have to do.  You don’t have to do anything. I would love to see some video responses or comments sharing what you want to do.

  • Feb 09 / 2013
  • 1
What Is The Harlem Shake?
Videos

What Is The Harlem Shake?

… and why is everyone and their dog doing it?

A couple nights ago I was on reddit and on the front page there was a video of room full of teenage boys just hanging out and one of them was wearing a motorcycle helmet dancing to a catchy song.  15 seconds into the video the beat dropped and the video cut to everyone in the room with their shirts off and shaking/seizing in random places around the room.  I have to say it was dumb but the kind of dumb that made you laugh.  At this point the video had around 50K views.

The comments on the video led me to find two other short clips with similar content. But that was it.  This video I saw was the third one made and they were all made within the week.  I thought to myself, “I should make one with the kids.  That would be fun.” The next day a thousand other people got the same idea.  The first video I saw was now over 1 Million views.

The way it played out was a guy named Filthy Frank made a 30 second video dancing to the song with his friends while wearing spandex suits. Then a channel called TheSunnyCoastSkate made the second video where they added the feature where the first 15 seconds only one person is dancing with a helmet on. The video I saw was the third video and has almost 3 times as many views as the first two.

I had witnessed a movement.  An internet meme forming right in front of me.  By the end of the day yesterday a new subreddit had been made and you could watch families, firefighters, offices, the peanuts characters, carlton (fresh prince of belair), a banana and MY DOG doing the Harlem Shake.

The Harlem Shake is actually an old dance move and you can find instructional videos for it.  The song that everyone is making the videos to is called Harlem Shake by Baauer.  The song is over 3 minutes but the meme is only the first 30 seconds.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

  • Jan 18 / 2013
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chump-money
Money

Financial Summary: Oct-Dec 2012

chump-moneyI’m way behind on this post! Leave a comment if you would like to see these statements monthly.

I mentioned in my September statement that I am tracking 5 key stats for my side business income.  This does not include income from my full-time job. Pageviews are actually the total of monetized views from all websites, youtube channels that I operate. Salary usually ends up being from expenses that aren’t related to business usually because my paypal account is tied to my business checking account.  Also, if clients pay me with check it is easier to deposit in our personal checking since my business account is an online bank.

Oct-Dec 2012

Net Profits: -$396.68

Salary: $232.16

Pageviews: 73140

Subscribers: 3759

Breakdown

Net Profits

Freelance Work: $609.82

Ad Revenue: $615.78

Interest:  $0.88

Affiliate Revenue: $0

Expsenses: -$1623.16

Subscribers/Followers

twitter: 597

facebook: 216

youtube: 2925

blog(s): 21

 

Summary

I lost money in the last 3 months of 2012? Oh no! Okay, what happened? A couple things. I started outsourcing some of my freelance work! That was a big expense for me especially because I had to purchase some software for the person I’m outsourcing to. Then I didn’t bill one of my clients until January for work done for November and December, so the numbers don’t reflect what happened very well.  You will notice my ad revenue was much better.  A big success in November was the Mormon Daddy Style video.  From that video I got a lot of views on my other videos, more subscribers and more Facebook fans.  The video itself wasn’t monetized due to copyright on the music. My net profit doesn’t reflect it but Nov-Dec were big months for the growth of my business. I am learning to outsource and manage another person’s work and I successfully made a parody music video that went semi viral!

I suppose I should set some goals for January.  Ha! There are only 2 weeks left.  I already know I’m going to do much better with freelance work. My goal there is $2K.  My ad revenue is from previous month so I already know what that is and I think it was between $200-300.  Expenses are probably around $420.  Let’s see if I can get $1800 in net profits.  I’m hoping to hit 600 twitter followers,  225 Facebook fans, and 3000 YouTube subscribers!

Let me know if you have any questions about these numbers. I am always open to your feedback and advise. My goal is that this helps some of you and that some of you can help me move to the next level.

Enjoy a video of me falling asleep in the baby crib.

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