Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

How to get by with a little help from your friends

When I think about the vital necessity of networking, I do not view it from an academic viewpoint. Finding new friends and linking up with them for our mutual benefit is how I have supported myself since I left the mothership (Sun Microsystems) in 2001.

When I occasionally do career counseling and use the dreaded word "networking", it is not unusual to see the beginning of an eye roll or a curl of the lip as "networking" has been downgraded for many people to an exchanging of business cards at job fairs or business mixers.

The truth of the matter is that an independent business person selling directly to customers is always networking whether he delivers music lessons, custom framing, or handling bankruptcies. It is an attitude one creates that makes customers want to refer others to you for services.

It is an attitude that you carry with you of wanting to help others. If you truly want to help others, it shows in your conduct and it prepares you to discuss what you do at the drop of a hat.

When you meet someone, one of the first questions that gets asked on both sides is, "What do you do?"

The Droid X could be a game-changer for your business or your personal life

The Droid X is a timesaving gadget for anyone who operates a business in which he has to stay in touch with customers, make appointments, and travel to locations he has not been before. This could be a lifesaver for the busy homemaker who does all of these things and more.

I was reluctant to buy one at first because it seemed too good to be true. Its small size and virtual keyboard seemed like it would be difficult to manage with big fingers and aged eyes.

Once I found that I could use voice control for most of the important functions, that objection melted away. For example, to find comparable prices on a piece of equipment or  toy for Christmas, I only have to tap on an icon marked "TheFind" and dictate what I am looking for. Within seconds, the screen fills with prices for this product from the Internet and local stores.

Once I select the store I want to visit, I can turn on the navigation system and speak the name of the store and a map comes up which guides me to to the exact destination.

In my recent Christmas shopping in Christiansburg, the Droid X guided me from store to store using the most direct routes. When I was browsing in stores, I could even read the bar codes with the Droid X to see if any aother local stores offered comparable prices.

You can think of it as a little tablet computer which is a camera, a navigation system, and a phone. The fact that you can also send and receive emails, instant messages and images makes it a great tool for the busy business owner or housewife on the go.

It is very easy to use the camera function as you always have your phone with you and photo opportunities are constantly appearing, like a visit from blogger/photographer Colleen Redman. I was able to capture her before she could get her camera set up.

When you mount it on the dashboard of your car, it becomes a navigation system equal to almost anything available on the market today. It also functions as a hands-free phone and you can photograph or video what is happening on the road ahead of you.

Within the next few months, larger tablets will appear which will provide more room for viewing images and have bigger keyboards. For someone who carries a shoulder bag or purse, these larger tablets may offer more convenience while still being very portable.

Upcoming versions of these smartphones which have two cameras can be used as video terminals for conference calls and video calls. There are more than 100,000 applications already written for the Droid X and the game has just started.

I feel that the Droid X and the devices to come will create thousands of business opportunities for individuals desiring to set up or improve their own businesses. At the very least, having a device like the Droid X gives a small business owner a competitive advantage over a larger organization which is still using land phones and snail mail to communicate.

You can get the Droid X at Verizon, but it is cheaper to get them from Amazon.com as an upgrade to your current phone contract.

YOUR VOIP PHONES CAN BE LISTED IN THE CITIZENS TELEPHONE DIRECTORY

This is a great deal for a growing number of Internet Phone users.

If you have switched from a traditional landline telephone to one of the new Internet telephones (VOIP), you can still have your telephone number listed in the Citizens 2010 Telephone Directory.

Some of you may say, "Are you crazy? Why would I want to have a listed number?"

Those of you who have friends and potential customers trying to reach you probably know the value of being listed in the Telephone Directory White Pages and Yellow pages. You also know how much money you save using a VOIP telephone.

When I discontinued my land line phones and went to VOIP last year, I talked to Steve Mack of the Citizens Directory and discovered that I could have my new VOIP home phone listed in the Citizens Telephone Directory just as if it were a regular telephone and the listing cost me only $35 a year! Since my VOIP phone with unlimited calling cost only $24.95 a month plus tax,etc. this was just what I needed.

Steve called me today to renew my listing and I asked if this was open to everyone in the Citizens area or was I getting a special break. He said that it was open to those who wanted it and the only hitch was that the 2010 telephone book signups are closing as of February 5th.

If you want to be listed in the Citizens Telephone Directory and you are not now in there, call Steve Mack at 540-556-5003 to add personal and business VOIP listings to the new 2010 telephone directory for area codes 540 and 276. Business listings cost more than personal listings but I find them both to be reasonable.

I get nothing from this referral except a great sense of satisfaction sharing a real bargain for the small business owner.

I think the same opportunity must exist in other areas. Contact the people who publish your telephone directory, not your phone company.

How to make lots of money

Follow this link

Economics in a tightly-connected community

The Community as social network

In this county people get to know each other and while we may not be one big happy family, we share a lot of information on how people are doing, who needs help, and who can provide help. You also know who is out of work and can help you out on tasks where you need help

A few minutes of conversation in any spot where people gather will garner you enough information to buy or sell almost anything and can lead you to find employment or a helping hand when all else fails. This rural telegraph also carries news of illnesses and other hardships where you might lend a helping hand.

I lived for many years in communities where we did not know the last names of our immediate neighbors and had no meaningful contact with them. We rarely did business with or exchanged help with these neighbors.

Living in Floyd Virginia for the past 4 years has been a welcome change. This county has a network of people who expect to work with each other and look after each other in times of need. It adds a new dimension to life when you have someone to turn to other than immediate family.

The economics of a connected community

No community can support itself without exchanging labor and goods with the outside world, but buying local and hiring local talent provides positive feedback that can energize a community in many ways. Buying local is not just a nice concept, it aids the economic survival of the county and enhances one's own financial security. Money that is spend on local purchases increases the amount of money that is put in circulation in the local community.

My framing business exists because word-of-mouth recommendations keep sending customers to me. I was eventually forced to develop sophisticated framing techniques to keep up with expanding business volume and more complex requirements. Even so, I find that I am working longer hours than I ever expected.

As my framing workload increases, I need to hire others to do some of the chores that I used to do. Some of these chores are physical challenges that I am not able to deal with yet and other chores can be done better and faster by others who need the work.

When I can hire some one to help with repairs and minor construction projects, this frees me up to do work that I cannot outsource. The end result is that I can reduce my stress level and provide employment for others. We all benefit.

The circle gets completed. My business grows from recommendations by clients and their friends. As my workload increases, I can share in the economic benefits by hiring others who need employment and we all benefit to the extent that we can contribute to each other.

People who are helpful

Some people have been very helpful in many different ways. Here are a few whom I recommend highly:

Glenn Givens, small engine repairs, welding, household projects, just about any repair job I can think of. He does not require direction and has solved some really annoying problems that I could not find time to tackle. (745-4380)  He repaired a mower deck that I had completely trashed when I drove it over rocks one day.

Ann and Rodger Bower, they have helped us out whenever we needed a helping hand. They run a farm near us and have many different skills. Ann is an Avon Distributor and works for several businesses in Floyd. (745-3020)

Bob Eich is the contractor who built my workshop with its pine-paneled interior and finished off our modular home.  I have recommended him to others for challenging renovations and he does a great job. (651-3180)

Michael Shortt, Shortt's Excavating (745-2817),  was an incredible source of advice and encouragement when we were building our modular home. He cleared our land and put in our septic system and most importantly, he introduced us to the contractors who put the finishing touches on our home.

He also handled the takedown of a dangerous and crumbling silo at the Jacksonville Center.

I am sure that many of you know of others in the Floyd Community who are in a position to provide help to those of us who cannot always do for ourselves what we used to. Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments.

Finding an Ethical Employer

One of my readers is taking a break from corporate life and is living in a quiet corner of France to settle her nerves. She writes:

I am keen to return to work but having re-read my diary for 2003 I am determined NOT to fall foul of another bad position. ARE there ethical employers out there? And if so how do I recognize one?

The simple answer is that you need to look for an employer who does the following:

Promises only what he or she intends to deliver
Keeps their word once given
Follows through so as to meet expectations

A more useful answer is that you need to thoroughly understand both the company and the people you will be working for. For example, there ARE ethical employers which have some managers of doubtful sanity. There are also ethical and sane managers who work in insane companies. There are ways you can determine this during the interview.

The complete answer is that seeking to return to a job arena that has chewed you up and spit you out without reading Danger Quicksand - Have A Nice Day is foolhardy in the extreme. It is available as a FREE download, so there is no reason not to spend an hour or two reading up on the key factors in finding and securing the right job.

I wrote this unconventional guide to surviving corporate employment for hardworking people who have had career experiences that have crushed their spirits.

Chapters 6 - 8 describes exactly how you can find the right employer for you. The rest of the book will help you survive almost any career experience with your sanity intact.

It has produced some amazing results, but only when read.  :)

Serendipity plays a huge part in career decisions

Forty years ago when I was designing electronic systems to capture missile test data, I would have laughed uproariously if someone had suggested that I might end up framing artwork in a rural community in Southwest Virginia. My goal then was to live on the beach in California and drive fast cars.

Twenty years ago I was living on the beach in California and driving a Shelby version of the Dodge Charger. If someone had made the same suggestion, I would have carefully explained to them that I had a mission to change the world for the better and I could not see Virginia and picture framing as part of that goal.

Fast forward through numerous career changes to last year when my wife Gretchen asked me to frame some of her pastels for an exhibition. I found it to be more of a challenge than I ever expected. By the time her friends had asked me to frame their artwork, I was seriously engrossed in learning the ancient art of picture framing and I realized that I had an awful lot to learn.

It is now a year later and I am deeply involved in cutting-edge picture framing which marries computer technology, fine woodworking and many aspects of graphic design to enhance the presentation of every kind of artwork imaginable. At Floyd Custom Framing, I am using every bit of my technical and business training and am scrambling to learn more about design every day.

Custom picture framing is every bit as challenging as designing computer systems and is a lot more rewarding. In both cases, one has to think outside the box to come up with a viable solution and pedestrian solutions are not acceptable.

Successful computer designs may affect more lives, but there is a "wow" factor in completing a challenging custom frame design that creates a bond with clients and enriches my life.

Every day I have to solve design problems that test me to the limit and give me added insight into the complexities of making artwork "pop" without overwhelming the art with an overly elaborate design or intense color scheme. The technical and artistic challenges are significant. See floydcustomframing.com for more information on what is involved.

Fortunately the picture framing industry is a tightly-knit group of fairly small businesses and these business owners share business and design information freely on the Internet. Most of us have an abiding interest in art and in preserving and displaying it. We are beset by competition from big box retailers and few of us are computer literate.

My recent entry into the field has not hurt me in the least. There are new tools available this year which have changed the ground rules for running a framing business and have opened up new opportunities to give customers better service. The entire industry is in the throes of major changes and the playing field is no longer stacked in favor of old established framing companies.

I am receiving help from well-established framers and I can return the favor by helping them with technology issues. We are all working together for mutual support in this period of economic uncertainty. All in all, this is one of the most satisfying careers I have ever had.

It is also the most challenging in terms of creating a profitable business. Anything that involves custom work always carries the risk of discovering unknown issues and then having to solve them with style and grace. Great stuff! I wouldn't have it any other way!

How has serendipity affected your career choices?

Transferable skills - a big asset in post-corporate life

As a corporate employee, you tend to gain experience in relatively specialized areas. In fact, after a few years you may become unable to carry on a conversation about work with anyone outside your own industry.

The skills you accumulate in such a specialized environment will probably not be of much use when you are laid off or retire.

In a post-corporate environment, you may find that your ability to generate income comes from skills that you have never paid much attention to, because they fell outside your normal career activities.

The job skills which help you move from one career to the next during your business career may still be useful after your corporate life is history, but your real earning power may come from your ability to cook or to write or to entertain others in some way.

You may find yourself as a professional caretaker for people, or pets, or even houses. You may find yourself in the role of educator, or life coach, or in an administrative role in a non-profit organization far removed from anything you have ever done.

The possibilities and challenges are amazing and if you take full responsibility for your life, you may find yourself with more job satisfaction than you ever experienced as a corporate employee.

Post-corporate life is a different game than anything you ever did as an employee. For one thing, you may be self-employed and you will have all sorts of responsibilities and freedoms that you never had before.

You will learn to be very resourceful and you will eventually develop a network of people who may help you develop a business and will most certainly help you develop a lifestyle that maximizes your value to your network.

And the skills I mentioned at the beginning? They will probably be things that you have always enjoyed, but never figured that you would ever find use for them.

The way things are going now, you most certainly will need all of the skills you can muster.

Don't just dabble around with your hobbies. Try to do everything to the best of your abilities and to learn as much as possible about the techniques that you are employing. Try to gain a professional understanding of what you are doing, even if it is a hobby.

You never know, but your future livelihood may depend on that knowledge.

Are any of you earning a living from skills that were once a hobby?

House Concerts and 21st Century Touring

In response to my last post, Fran Snyder, a singer-songwriter based in Lawrence, KS, sent me a link to his website ConcertsInYourHome.com which is a resource for musicians and house concert hosts alike.

He also has a blog, house concerts and 21st century touring where he discusses the growing "house concert" movement  which creates meaningful and financially rewarding opportunities for artists and which brings neighborhoods and music lovers together in a common cause.

The music industry is changing and the old business models need to be re-examined if musicians are to thrive in a world where labels no longer control distribution and the economics of playing noisy clubs for tips is increasingly less rewarding.

Perhaps musicians can take a lesson from writers who have turned to self publishing in order to reach audiences and have successfully bypassed the traditional publishing industry and its insider network. Very few get rich, but most of the writers I know who have done this have managed to sell books and generate some income.

More and more musicians seem to be self publishing also, but what if they really got behind a grassroots effort to augment their income with performances in house concert venues?

One musician friend feels that playing for tips is demeaning for a professional musician. How about working for donations?  Working for a living always involves having to make choices and being able to draw an audience.

Providing background music in a club means that you are always interrupting someone's conversation. If you are good enough to command the attention of the crowd and willing to overlook the screamers in the front table, you may pull in enough tips and applause to make the day worth while.

How about setting up a few house concerts with congenial hosts?  Donations are understood to be the price of entry and you get an attentive audience. Your only problem as an entertainer is drawing a crowd through reputation and promotional activity.

I would be interested in hearing if there is a down side to house concerts from the musician's standpoint.

Let's have some discussion on the 21st Century touring model.

Generating income from your artistic efforts

(I am going to be quite busy for the next few days and will not be able to post new articles, so I am reprinting this post from October 2006 for those of you who would like to increase your post-corporate income)

Generating income from your artistic efforts is the first step towards supporting yourself. It is entirely different from technical expertise. Read on only if you like getting paid for your efforts.

Generating income as an artist may be more difficult than generating income as a business person because the answers to the following questions can be harder to answer:

What need does your product satisfy?

Who has that need?

What are they willing to pay to satisfy that need?

Like it or not, your chances of creating a viable career in the arts or any other form of business depends on how accurately you can answer these questions.

Before you throw up your hands and say, "He's trying to apply business logic to art and it won't work!" consider that every buying transaction involves satisfaction of a need. People buy books, hand crafted articles, and paintings because they want to be entertained, amused, enthralled, or validated. They also buy them for countless other reasons.

Generating income involves a customer exchanging money for something you provide. Trust me, it is a good thing and will do great things for your self esteem. It will also make others happy, which is always a good thing.

If you put attention on satisfying a need, you are putting your attention where it belongs, which is on a future customer and what this customer needs, wants and is willing to pay for. You are already thinking of your creation as part of a communication. It works like this:

(1)You create a work with a message,
(2) A potential customer recognizes the message,
(3) and admires it enough to purchase your work.
(4) You are validated by the acknowledgement and set about creating more work.

Now, you don't have to consider a future customer while creating your art but ignoring customers is a certain route to nonviability as a businessman or as an artist.

Here is a way to turn the first three questions inside out. Try asking yourself these two questions instead:

What problem do people have that I can solve?

How can I solve it for what they are willing to pay?

There are at least a thousand ways to exhibit your creativity. Doesn't it make sense to choose a few ways that people are willing to exchange money for?

If you would like to have people validate your creativity with cold, hard cash which you can exchange for food, housing and trinkets, try working through these questions until you come up with answers that make sense to you.

If it seems too difficult, leave comments and let's see what others can suggest.

Here's to your success!

(All of the items pictured are produced by artist/members of the Jacksonville  Center in Floyd, VA.  Examples of their work are on display in the Retail Shop or the Hayloft Gallery.)

Generating income from your artistic efforts is the first step towards supporting yourself. It is entirely different from technical expertise. Read on only if you like getting paid for your efforts.

Generating income as an artist may be more difficult than generating income as a business person because the answers to the following questions can be harder to answer:

What need does your product satisfy?

Who has that need?

What are they willing to pay to satisfy that need?

Like it or not, your chances of creating a viable career in the arts or any other form of business depends on how accurately you can answer these questions.

Before you throw up your hands and say, "He's trying to apply business logic to art and it won't work!" consider that every buying transaction involves satisfaction of a need. People buy books, hand crafted articles, and paintings because they want to be entertained, amused, enthralled, or validated. They also buy them for countless other reasons.

Generating income involves a customer exchanging money for something you provide. Trust me, it is a good thing and will do great things for your self esteem. It will also make others happy, which is always a good thing.

If you put attention on satisfying a need, you are putting your attention where it belongs, which is on a future customer and what this customer needs, wants and is willing to pay for. You are already thinking of your creation as part of a communication. It works like this:

(1)You create a work with a message,
(2) A potential customer recognizes the message,
(3) and admires it enough to purchase your work.
(4) You are validated by the acknowledgement and set about creating more work.

Now, you don't have to consider a future customer while creating your art but ignoring customers is a certain route to nonviability as a businessman or as an artist.

Here is a way to turn the first three questions inside out. Try asking yourself these two questions instead:

What problem do people have that I can solve?

How can I solve it for what they are willing to pay?

There are at least a thousand ways to exhibit your creativity. Doesn't it make sense to choose a few ways that people are willing to exchange money for?

If you would like to have people validate your creativity with cold, hard cash which you can exchange for food, housing and trinkets, try working through these questions until you come up with answers that make sense to you.

If it seems too difficult, leave comments and let's see what others can suggest.

Here's to your success!

(All of the items pictured are produced by artist/members of the Jacksonville  Center in Floyd, VA.  Examples of their work are on display in the Retail Shop or the Hayloft Gallery.)