Day 9

Start of week 3. I have a big meeting Tuesday which could be my first contract for 88MS. Website should be done this week. It may be a big week for SAD as I find out if I go ahead with it or shelve it.

Day 8

It's looking more and more like SAD is going to be delayed. Have a job offer coming down the pipe from an old competitor. Just waiting for the final part of their interview process. I may not even go in that direction though. One of my old clients has invited me to lunch on Tuesday to talk about an opportunity. I'm actually a little more excited with that one cause it may be ran through 88MS and be my first big contract. Not bad for a company with no web page or business cards yet lol.

Speaking of which, finished out the lay-out of the web page. I just need to clear the financing of it and it should be up and operational soon. Pretty basic lay-out but man was it fun putting some of my ideas down somewhere that people will be able to read them. Very exciting times.

Day 7

Yesterday was a good one. Met with an old volleyball friend of mine. Spent some time teaching her how social media can help perk up her business. It was great cause I was doing what I actually want to. Had a phone conversation with an old competitor that may put SAD on the back-burner. It's really going to depend on what package they end up offering. He mentioned working out of an office, and as stupid as it sounds, that may be a dealbreaker. Working on the final lay-out of the web page for 88MS. Slight chance it might be up and running by next week. Today I plan on tying up some loose ends. It'll be nice once everything is up and running and I'm being productive (financially anyways).

Day 6

Yesterday was a pretty blah day. Set up a couple of appointments but otherwise nothing major. Not every day is going to be gold.

Day 5

Big day yesterday. Logo's complete and domains are registered. SAD may be on hold for a bit as a potential job offer has come in from a competitor. I'll know more about that tomorrow. It's gonna take a pretty damn good offer to convince me to jump on. As for 88MS, I have a couple of potentials already in the wings. Web design and hosting is next. Found a decent site for both that'll cost under $300. Not bad to start.

Day 4: Week 2

I'm only going to be blogging on weekdays unless something massive happens on the weekend. This is going to be a potentially huge week. Branding is nearly complete. Logo's are 95% ready which means business cards may be ordered this week. One big decision was made regarding launch. Rather than launch both at the same time, I plan on getting 88MS up and running first and put the time into SAD. I want to make sure I research my hosting options as well as template build. I'll be completing my social media builds for both companies as well as the build for one of my friend's social media presence for her company. Also decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to find part-time work so I have cash coming in.

As for super secret stuff, Kyle and I got together on the weekend to brainstorm. Had a couple of ideas pop up that could that may be big moneymakers. It would take an investment in tech development but we both think it could be well worth it.

Day 3

Yesterday was a productive one. Got 90% of the financial set-up completed. The logo for SAD is nearly complete. I really like the look to it and the branding potential is huge. The tough one will be 88MS. So many ideas kicking through my head. Just a matter of sitting down with them. The ideal goal is to have branding for both companies ready for Monday. I have a crazy strategic idea for 88MS but I want to kick it around to a couple of people. Either way I'm pleasantly surprised with how well everything is coming together.

The big challenge will be website design. I'm not worried about SAD cause the template comes with hosting and design options. 88MS however will be my baby through and through. Some bigtime brainstorming this weekend methinks.

Day 2

So day 1 is in the bag. Officially registered both companies. Their names respectively are "88 Marketing Styles" and "Sustain-A-Deal". Worked a little on branding and set up their Facebook pages. Got a surprise call from an old friend who gave me some great advice and may even help with logo and branding. Totally not expected but completely appreciated. Also an offer for help on the accounting side of things. Definitely something I'll need down the road. As for the Facebook pages, if everything goes according to plan, launch day should be Monday.

Today will be setting up the financial side. Company bank accounts as well as e-com set-up. Narrowed down the choices for web host. Theoretically I could be ready by tomorrow but why rush it. I still have to go over the template for SAD which is a kind of important thing lol. I'm not sure if it's a good sign or not but I have yet to hear even one negative comment. I was always told that people would call me crazy or stupid for taking a risk like this but so far EVERYONE has been super supportive and told me it's what I should do. Maybe the fact I'm a little crazy makes this idea not seem so crazy lol.

Day 1 - The Beginning

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. How overly dramatic lol. I don't think I need to recap what got me to this point. What's important is the future and whatever happens from here on. Today is officially day 1. Jumping in with both feet and I'm ready to pour my heart and soul into this. I'd say wish me luck, but luck is for losers.

Today's goals are to register my two businesses with the province of Alberta and set up my online content. The primary business will be "88 Marketing Styles" focusing on helping businesses set up a basic online presence through social media. The secondary business will be "Sustain-A-Deals" - a new take on the highly popular daily deal industry. I figured if I started with 2 intellectual properties I can cross-promote as well as not worry about overhead like inventory and such. Being a one-man show for both may be time consuming, but I'll have complete control and the ability to switch gears as needed. If I can get the daily deal portion up and running within 30 days, an expansion into Winnipeg would not be out of the question. Otherwise sticking within Alberta will be my primary goal.

Once Kyle gets through his education, the plan is to bring him on as a 50/50 partner for the big picture goals (provided Barrett and Angie aren't already partnered in). Well time to start this bad boy. I'll update later with news on how today went.

Cheers!