recent stepping stones:

• name change complete, we are now Question Collector Inc.
• happy executive leadership. feeling much more balanced.
• website is not mobile friendly (working on a new splash page with less prezi)
• advisers keep saying focus, another place I need Your help
• consultancy going well, collecting points for future pitch vacations
• quarterly bonuses paying down debt
• paying for the “garage”, switching to sole title soon
• paying for my education
• paying for my past life
• paying for my last relationship
• i’m supporting my local art and business community by funding startup costs and being a good customer.
• about to buy our first car. custom paint job? i think so.
• dance work is progressing. root healing slowly
• poetry is going well. rebellion under control?
• making friends, who ask great questions! check out http://SocialEconomix.com or watch
• annoying hero peers with tweet mentions
• not asking for enough help
• not hearing ‘no’ enough
• buying a smart phone soon
• remodeling the office soon
• new email address and hosting soon
• new screenshots soon

Thanks for reading! Please sign up: http://www.questioncollector.com Peace

name change complete 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.

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.

Are you a rebel?
Definition #2 To resist or defy an authority or a generally accepted convention.
Rebels want freedom.  They want control over their destiny and choices.  They want freedom from authority, rules, and restrictions.  We love freedom and think our democracies would be much better served if we promoted and valued our rebels more.  Marc Emery is a rebel who is currently locked up for selling seeds (a heinous crime indeed).  What rule or authority are you railing against?

Are you a jester?
Definition #3 a professional clown employed by a king or nobleman, esp at courts during the Middle Ages.
We do not want to suggest that you are a pro clown from the year 711 AD.  We do want you to be a person who pokes fun at serious stuff.  Society has modern jesters.  They host shows like The Daily Show or This Hour Has 22 Minutes.  They just don’t get their paycheck from the magistrate anymore (though technically the Queen does dole out the cash to the CBC).  If you like ripping on stuff in a way that is comedic, you are a jester in my books.  No, we cannot pay you, but if you are that funny we’re sure someone will help you go pro! :-p

Are you a believer?
Definition: #6 A person who has confidence in the truth or value of something.
This is our broadest category.  Most people believe stuff, but what we are looking for are people who believe very strongly in something.  If you have a cause, a religion, a conspiracy theory, or an opinion that you want to advance, we need you.  We need you to share that belief, so you can find others who agree, as well as, find where our values diverge.  Our belief is that questions hold the keys to peace.  What do you believe?

Are you a thinker?
Definition: #1 One who devotes much time to thought or meditation.
Philosophers, futurists, academics, and voracious readers.  You like broadening your minds and probably have thought this at least once about yourself: “I think too much”.  We definitely think too much, but meditation has helped. We need thinkers to examine and sift through the values we hold and ask the questions that will drive humanity to resolve our differences.  Without you, we get nowhere.

ACTION STEP:
1) Choose your faction
2) If you use Twitter get listed by us. Mention me and which list you want to be on.
“I am a rebel! @wizard_71 ”
“I am a jester! @wizard_71 ”
“I am a believer! @wizard_71 ”
“I am a thinker! @wizard_71 ”
3) Comment! Share your thoughts. critical feedback is what will make us great.
4) Consider following us on twitter, becoming a fan, or subscribing to the blog.

Why are we sending out the call?  We need a community of passionate, sarcastic, unreasonable, and reasonable people to test the prototype with, in the coming months.

Thanks for reading and especially for taking action!

rebels, jesters, believers, and thinkers by jazzmann91; Encouraging you to Question Everything.