Wednesday, March 20:Began listening to Dan and Ian from the lifestyle business podcast. Started my journey down the road of income independence. Everyone should give these dudes a listen and absorb the wisdom the is Rip, Pivot, and Jam.
Friday, March 22:
After a frantic couple days churning out an endless stream of flowcharts for my operations class, I finally had time to sit down and apply some of what I had been hearing from the podcast. Leveraging my existing skills and contacts, I noticed a potential opportunity doing lawn and garden care. That night I sat down with my assistant entrepreneur Scott to start putting the pieces together.
Sat. 23rd - Mon. 25th:
With ADD hyperfocus kicking in and coffee coursing through my veins, I spent these 3 days re-learning Wordpress and developing the website, with Dan and Ian feeding me their ever so satisfying knowledge in the background. The logo was developed during this time as well as registering as an llc.
Wed. 27th:
I used this day to take a shot at deal-making with the owner of a garden center I've worked for over the last few years. She is the now owner of a bunch of beaten up lawn care and landscaping equipment from the previous owner. I've used the equiptment before and it works alright, but more than anything I was wanting to provide some value to her in hopes of further developing what could be a profitable relationship.
Thurs, March 28th - Sat, March 30th:
Started fussing over SEO and online marketing strategies. Not a good use of time this early in the game.
Sunday, April 1st:
Last year I tried pitching an idea for a new website for the garden center, built by me and for cheap. I wanted nothing more than a quick buck and some experience building Wordpress sites but every time I brought it up to the owner I received the same response, "we don't have the budget for a new website." No. You don't have the budget to keep the maintaining that website you already have that looks like it was pulled straight out of a 1995 html how-to guide.
I went in to the garden center again this Sunday to speak with the owner about building the website again but I took a very different approach. Last year I came to the owner asking to be paid for a service that she didn't request and I wasn't able to establish a significant enough value proposition. This year I offered to build the website for free. Offering such a valuable and time consuming service at a time when I have no income to support me was a challenging pill to swallow, but it serves to advance a larger set of goals. Building the garden center a free website such a his accomplishes several things for me.
1. Sets a concrete goal forcing me further develop my Wordpress skills.
2. Creates value for myself in that I will be the only one who knows how to operate the website.
3. Builds an avenue where I can pursue other projects like developing their mission and vision and developing effective marketing strategies.
4. Allows me to strategically position myself as an essential piece of their process of doing business.
5. Gives me leverage if I can show the website is producing income.
After listening to Dan and Ian on the lifestyle business podcast, they hit a home run when they made the point that an entrepreneur is a giver. He creates ten times the value that he earns on any given day. I tried to sell my website design as a freelancer and it didn't work. Now i'm going to help them grow their business.
elevationyardcare.com
elevationyardcare.com/shellysgardencountry/home
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