live. work. dream.

This morning I awoke to a gnarly rain and wind storm. The lights flickered all morning, but nothing went out. Meanwhile all across the county, power lines were dropping like flies.

One of the perks about living here is that despite our wild winter weather in Humboldt, the power always stays on in our building. What makes us special? Well, we are on the same power grid as the Eureka Police and Fire Departments, located just a few blocks away. Rest assured, the power will never go out in this neighborhood.

Not once in 4 years of being in this location has it ever gone out, even during California’s infamous summer long rolling blackouts. Once on New Year’s eve we had a really bad storm. Power was out almost everywhere in Eureka but here. Guess who had the raging New Year’s Party?

So, with a brand new roof in place, we’re hunkering down all safe and sound. Bring it on!

The comprehensive online storefront, client intranet, and gallery that is the core of this business’ success resides at a dot com domain. (If you’d like to know what domain, please return our Non-Disclosure Agreement.) When we completed our trademark registration for the business name we also registered .net, .biz, and .info domains which we currently have set up to auto-forward to the .com website.

We are now tranferring all these forwarding domains to the same registrar and hosting provider as our primary website so they will all be maintained under the same roof. We have also extended the domain registrations so they won’t expire for a few years.

What does all this mean to the non-technical potential buyer? Simply that you won’t have to worry about it at all… This is just one step toward our goal of making this sale quick and simple for all parties involved.

With that goal in mind, we are preparing for an easy and seamless transfer of ownership that will be transparent to our clients so they will continue their dedicated relationships with the new owner(s). We are developing operational guidlines to support our training and transition to the new owners. All products on our website have been mirrored within Quickbooks to simplify accounting and inventory management. And we have prepared very detailed financials and other business information ready for review by serious potential buyers. We only ask for a personal financial statement in return to ensure that potential candidates are indeed serious about pursuing this unique business opportunity.

In 9 years, not one single day has been boring. In this business, every day is so different from the next. As long as you’ve got it in you to take each day and make the most of it, you’ll find that there’s never and end to things that need to be done. The biggest quality an entrepreneur needs is discipline, and motivation. Ok, that’s two qualities. But if you have those two things, you’re guaranteed to thrive.

But really, I’m not ever sure what to expect. For example, last Friday at 4:30 pm, just as we were getting ready to go to happy hour at the AA Lounge, a client who I’d previously sent a quote for, called with a huge rush order, worth $1k! Wow. Now that was worth being late for cocktail hour.

Then today, a guy who I gave lots of information and samples to about two months ago, finally placed an order directly through our website. He emailed his artwork, and it was perfect.

We did spend some time over the weekend working on fun production stuff, like cutting out mock boxes, but that’s because we’re taking a week off in two weeks.

There’s never an end to the variety and balls that we are juggling. And unlike the many jobs I had when I was a lousy employee, not once have I said “This job sucks. I’m bored.”

Here’s a sad but interesting coincidence … as if all coincidences aren’t interesting enough:

Last week we printed a 7′ Magic Pak banner display for the National Brain Tumor Foundation. They placed their order by phone after reviewing our website and approved the artwork I designed for them on Monday. As it turns out, just the day before my friend Don Wolski passed away after a long battle with brain cancer. We’ll miss you Don.

Don was the long time host of our local NPR radio station’s Bayside Hayride — a hokey yet enjoyable mix of old-time string band, bluegrass, folk and country tunes that airs every Sunday evening at 5:00 pm. He was also a founding member of the Redwood Technology Consortium — a local non-profit group serving as the primary information and educational resource on issues related to the technology industry on California’s North Coast.

What touched me most about Don’s struggle with cancer was the way the community turned out in full force to support him and his family. Once this tight-knit town was aware that Don’s treatments were financially challenging for his family, a benefit tamale dinner was coordinated with all the proceeds going directly to them. Hundreds of people showed up. Local businesses donated food, drinks, and services. And everyone had a great time dancing to the musicians who played pro bono. (more…)

Or, I should say one of the beauties … is that the bright idea we had one day a few years back for an online storefront full of graphic solutions has proven itself to be successful. Here’s just one example:

When I got to my desk this morning, one of the first emails I downloaded said “Thank you for your order”. I just love it when that happens, especially when it’s unexpected. When customers place an order on our webiste they receive an acknowledgement email and we receive a copy. So I immediately logged into the shopping cart admin area of our site and clicked on “check orders” to view a new job ticket complete with payment infmration and all the materials required to produce a new order for shelf talkers. The comments field included clear instructions for artwork we would be receiving from the customer.

While they could have chosen to submit artwork through our Client Intranet or via our FTP site, this customer chose to provide a link for downloading the files from their site. We will preflight the files, contact the client if there are any concerns (of which rarely there are), produce the job, ship it, and charge the card they provided. This usually happens without ever talking to the customer. Such is the beauty of e-commerce. (more…)

I just love this time of year in Eureka… Throughout February and March, literally tens of thousands of once endangered Aleutian Geese stop by on their migration back North to Alaska. I understand the annual Morning Fly-Off at the the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is quite a sight to see as flock after flock take flight from the grassy fields.

While I have not actually yet made it to the 6:30 a.m. gathering, I get plenty of pleasure just watching and listening to the flocks fly overhead from the fields in Eureka to the Arcata Bottoms and back every day to feed. Soon they will be well fed and energized for their long flight ahead. From here they will fly for thousands of miles to their home in Alaska without stopping to rest.

Now, I’m obviously no birder. But who could not enjoy waking to the distant sound of honking geese as they pass overhead. And the sight of so many huge flocks flying overhead is enough to impress anyone! Do you know why geese fly in formation the way they do?

No, their V-shaped flock is not an example of leadership and gagle hierarchy. It is, rather, a perfect example of teamwork in action. Birds immediately behind the leader take advantage of the updraft caused by the goose in front. Those behind them, do the same, and so on, and so on. When the leader tires it will work its way back through the flock as a goose from the rear will replace it in front.

Is it your time to take the lead?

Went on A Bike Ride on this Sunny Spring Day
Went to drop a job off at a local print shop. We print ‘em, they cut ‘em. We’ve got a great arrangement going on. They bill us at the end of the month for the variety of bindery service they help us out with.

We’ve known the owner of this shop for years.
He’s the guy you want to get to know when you come to town. Be nice to him; he’ll “kick ya around a little,” knock those big city ways right out of you, then make sure you get to know all the right people and leave a good impression.

So when I take jobs over there, I get to go for a bike ride.
I can usually just put our printed job on my bike rack, and pedal down the street to drop it off. On the way back, I’ll go pick up our mail, and if my partner’s really lucky, I’ll stop at the nearby chocolate shop and bring him back a treat!

Just another day in Humboldt.

“I’d Rather be the Captain of My Own Dinghy
than a Junior Officer on the Titanic”
– Dr. James Chan, founder and principal of Asia Marketing and Management (AMM)

We’re glad you’re here. Step into our shoes, and experience what it’s like to be a self-employed small business owner in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S.

You’ll learn about our everyday lives, working situations, client relations, and playtime, right here. We’ll share the “trials and tribulations” of being the captain of your own ship! So hang on.

For complete details, visit www.liveworkdream.com. We look forward to hearing from you.