Here is a short ad I just made for my friend who crafts and sells feather earrings. Check out her factory showroom.

This next video is of g-a-i-a headquarters, where the cats rule. kixxiPoo on fb

our home office by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.

If you are a rebel, jester, believer, thinker or curious planetary citizen, check out our concept for a game of debate and social values.

magic sauce prezi by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.

Going to clean up and get to work soon.  Can’t wait to find this magic partner anymore.  I suck at finding partners.  1 divorce due to sameness, 1 split due to fear, and that’s just my personal life.  I don’t talk to anyone who actually works in web development, who wants to take a risk.  I have a new friend who might help open some doors, but I have to prove myself to myself.  Why?  I still can’t figure that out, but I know it’s true.

I like to think I do what I say I will do.  Being silent makes this fairly easy.  I’ve been working on the “design” of this sociopolitical game for years, without realizing any MVP prototypes.  I thought I needed a partner.  I probably do.  But I clearly have weaknesses, and making friends out of strangers, is it for me.  This may be an excuse.  Or maybe it is a subconscious strategy, all i know is I have to trust where I’m going and what I can do.

The rest is destiny. or something.

A new phase by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.

Vote for the top 8 finalists! http://99designs.com/logo-design/vote-y1e3pm

The winner ->

Thanks for your feedback.

We want a new logo for our company too.  If you’re an artist and want your work featured.  We will promote your work and pay for your submission, if it is selected.

We could also use logos/splash pages for the following domains, but have no budget:

peacequest.ca
debatecolosseum.com (.me)
sevenkingdoms.ca
civassembly.com (.me, .net)
secretsociety71.com

Other suggestions for domains? we love feedback …

We aren’t made of money … yet, but we remember those who help us and love supporting talented artists.

$150 CAD on offer for Golden Age Information Architects new logo.

Here is a visual brain dump of what we have in mind for the next logo.  Message me with any questions or suggestions.  Choose your method.  The only required item is the color wheel/heptagram (as rotated). I have a high resolution psd/xcf of it, if anyone wants to work with a bigger one.

puzzle logo contest by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.

i know i can do a better job of it. and so i am.

for the first time in my professional career i feel very appreciated, trusted, and supported by the company i work for. which is great.

i have a hard time explaining to people what i do, because they don’t use these products … ever.

enterprise level ticketing, service catalog, change management, and process automation software, just isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. i understand it. i can figure it out. this makes me valuable. it feels good.

so i work away the days. i take this break to write this post. i’m still learning everything startup. working my online pitch. getting no feedback. my next spare time company task is v2 of prototype screens for what i’ve finally boiled my MVP down to. still wondering when my co-founder or two will show up. i need to make more friends.

speaking of friends … i keep making friends with women starting businesses. nothing like mine, but entrepreneurs all the same. hula-hoops, feather earrings, fashion, accessories, their ingenuity, creativity, and persistence is inspiring and i’m glad i can help them figure out stuff. analyzing their market, customer relations, recording metrics, and the pricing of top quality products (which is especially difficult for artists).

it reminds me of my first time investing in a company. as i’ve been dreaming up my own idea, i’ve also been participating in the business community. i’ve already been an angel investor, of a very small variety. 5 years ago i helped two friends fund their business making, and selling screen-printed leather belts. i’m wearing a prototype to this day and it’s still a great piece of art. i let them use my credit, i borrowed it on my low-interest credit card, and then charged them a slightly higher interest rate. the first loan went great, they made money and great products, and paid me back within a year and a half. we decided to go again, smaller loan, just to secure some hides for the next batches. which is mostly still outstanding, but it was worth it for me to take a risk and support my friends.

in the very beginning someone learned leather working, and then screen printing in the basement suite next door. then a factory lived downstairs from me for a while. then we all moved. then they got a workshop going. eventually they expanded to a much bigger and efficient space. along the way they got some employees. factory workers. assistant sales people. artists. it was going gangbusters. products in stores all over western Canada and available at select universities and many music festivals.

my biggest advice was always to raise prices. they wanted to sell to people who loved their work and it was working, but they were run ragged keeping up with demand at the price point they set. i shared ideas about creating training material, franchising their business, so it could spread organically, but i was thinking way out-to-lunch compared to their day-to-day hustle. i encouraged them to ignore my advice freely, and payments were mutually agreed to, and occurred when the money was there. i’d like to think i was a really hands-off investor, mostly i just cheered every time things went well for them.  i like cheering for people.

eventually, one co-founder split suddenly. i don’t know why, but i hope she’s doing well. we never really talked about it. the remaining founder kept going valiantly for a while and then a health issue sidelined the whole thing. we still chat now and then, she’s back full-time into teaching sky-diving or working a wind tunnel somewhere.

i enjoyed being part of their success. i understand how much work it was, i helped a little here and there. it was a little disappointing when it all blew up, but i am totally proud of their products. and i bet their customers still love them.  i know i do.

Thanks for reading!

prototype

storytime: now and then by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.

R U A? #rebel #jester #believer or #thinker

a debate arena: the seven kingdoms by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.

Victoria ~ The Garden City
Vancouver Island ~ Paradise North?

Are we Island focused or Victoria focused?

What is technology bringing to us?
Talent, community, wealth, information, … , gadgets, research, the future?

Garden’s are a very powerful symbol of growth and sustainability.

A “Garden of Tech” will be built around a few trees which have:
- roots research & development (universities, government funded research)
- a trunk: large well-funded development shops (CGI, Sierra Systems, Quartech, IBM)
- branches: community groups (VDevs, VJUG, VIATec, SocialMediaClub, and many more)
- leaves (geeks, nerds, programmers, technology experts, people who contribute to the whole)
- fruit/seeds (startups)
- if they’re lucky they become seedlings (funded startups) and a new tree is added to the “Garden of Tech”. … Or the wind picks them up and they get planted in California.

What other plants could we use to develop the analogy?

Is Victoria wild enough to swing for “Forrest of Tech”?

Add your thoughts here or at Dan Gunn’s original post!

Victoria’s Tech Sector Branding by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.