Setting (or revising) goals

Stumbled upon a post on 30Sleeps.com this morning that talks about the most common mistake people make when setting goals. The trick is, according to the author, you've got to make it measurable. I've realized, after reviewing my bucket list, that many of my goals are kind of vaguely defined. Become fluent in French? Collect original art? How will I know when I can check these off and feel they've been accomplished?

Things like run a marathon, earn a Masters degree, and knit a scarf are clearly defined with a tangible goal that has either been met or not been met. I like to have goals that take a while to reach, because the harder it is, the better it feels to finally complete the journey. Going to a Canucks game is something I'd always wanted to do, but it in no way gave me a sense of accomplishment for having sat and watched some hockey players do their thing. It was fun, but it took no effort and really didn't teach me anything about the world or myself.

So, I may spend some time next month revising my list to reflect more concrete, measurable goals to have a better sense of exactly what it is I want to achieve with each one.

Hmn, now how to better define "earn a cool nickname"?

The Business Plan - Part 2

Okay, I got ahead of myself in the last post. After the business plan is done, yes, you can take it to the bank for a loan... but there are two parts to a business plan: the words and the numbers. Of course, I love the words part, but not so much the numbers, which is what we're working on this week in classes.

I had to use Excel and input assets, equity, loans, personal investment, blah blah blah, and it all has to add up and make perfect sense. With so many variables (and unknowns, still at this point!) I'm going a little crazy. I can see why people have successful businesses providing one service: business plan writing. It's a lot of work and a bit of a headache.

The Business Plan

So I'm finding out very quickly that it's all well and good to pick a fun name for your business but that's not the first step. The first step to starting a business is to write a the business plan, even if it's just a home-based business. And you'd better be ready for some real work 'cause crap, it's not easy to write. It's 30-odd pages of facts and figures and explanations and reasons for the explanations. I can see, though, that if you've got every consideration taken care of and written down, you can't help but have a solid business model once you're done, which will serve to guide you through your first year. It's like drawing a road map to a place you've only imagined, but once you've got the map drawn out the place becomes a reality. Kind of cool.

Actually, I lie. The VERY FIRST STEP TO STARTING A BUSINESS... drum roll... is MARKET RESEARCH. You have to know exactly what it is you're going to be selling (whether product or service), who you're going to be selling to, and how.

Also, very daunting. What is my business? Well, after having to answer that question on paper, in very specific detail, I've realized it's not what I thought it was when I first proposed it in my application to the program. What I thought would be a sort of all-encompassing creative marketing, writing/editing, freelance journalism, video/photo sort of thing has been narrowed to include promotional web video production and content writing for small businesses and non-profits in the Tri-Cities.

It's still going to be called Rogue Wave Communications, but the fun part of launching a website, getting a logo on business cards and doing the rest of the marketing doesn't come until the groundwork has been laid in the plan. Argh. I HATE having to figure out financials and sales strategies and boring stuff like that. In my head my business is running smoothly, with me doing creative, inspiring work that helps local businesses and people get their message out there, with me building an awesome portfolio on my website of neat video, photo and writing...

But that's all in the future. Right now I have to figure out who I'm going to bank with, and which bookkeeper (which I've learned is not the same as an accountant) I'm going to hire to keep my receipts and invoices in order after the first quarter.

Anyway, to sum up: start with market research. If you don't know what sea you're swimming in, you'll either be eaten by sharks (the competition) or find yourself getting washed up on shore (not get any customers/clients). Pardon the bad metaphor, I just couldn't resist. Once you've done your surveys, scoped out the competition and all that good stuff, get down to the nitty gritty and write yourself a business plan.

You can take this to the bank to get a loan... which is step two: show me the money!

Self-Employment!

Well my disappointment about not being accepted into the Douglas College Self-Employment Program last month was premature. I'd forgotten that waiting for the government to do anything requires more patience than for just about anything else. The Ministry finally got back to my employment counsellor a couple of weeks ago to confirm I've been approved for the 48-week grant and the six-week course at the college. First day of classes was yesterday, and I've been thrown in the deep end!

First step: write a 30-page business plan (which includes seven pages of financials). Ugh. I'm way more interested in registering the name and doing fun marketing stuff like creating a Facebook page...

Anyway, I've got six more days of classes in the next two weeks and the first draft of the plan due Feb. 2; so lots to do between now and then. Like getting a new laptop. Mine has officially bit the dust. I'm excited about the prospect of a brand new MacBook Pro. Only problem is how to include Word and Excel, which I'll need for the course.

But problems can always be solved with some creativity. I'm stoked to be self-employed, and be able to write off all my receipts next year at tax time. And, of course, being my own boss. Okay, it's time for a coffee break. And go.

Oldies but Goodies

So with the start of a new year I'm looking back at my bucket list and seeing a few things I'm happy to have completed. I have no particular desire to do any more jigsaw puzzles or go on another police ride-along, or read Moby Dick again (though I'm glad I experienced those things).

There are, however, a few things I've realized I'd like to keep up with, like knitting (just started another scarf), reading the Bible (I need to get a new one that's in more modern English though, for daily referral), bartending (planning to volunteer at Wild Rice weekly starting in February), and, of course, running.

After three months of being inactive, I finally got around to seeing a physiotherapist last week (Mark Hampton in Coquitlam, who is awesome). Turns out I pulled my IT band after the marathon and have scar tissue on the outside of my knee, which hurts like hell everytime I try to run. (The technical term, according to the physio, is ITB Friction Syndrome, or lateral retinaculum.) Evidently I did not train enough. Four months training for a half-marathon is great, four months training for a full marathon is not enough. Which, in hindsight, makes sense. If the distance is double, so should the training be. Four months just wasn't enough to get enough strength in my quads and glutes. They're weak as kittens. But that's okay, I know now how to build up the strength for distance running. And one day, perhaps in the not-too-distant future, I'll be find myself again in the middle of a 42.2 km race, feeling as good at the end as I did after a half-marathon.

So I've got a walk/run program with stretching/strengthening exercises to do now and today I got out there for half an hour without so much as a twinge in my knee. And oh, endorphins, how I love you. What better way to feel good about being alive than to move your body and feel your heart thump outside in the world for even just half an hour?

Check out this video that so expertly sums up this very concept. The best Rx in the world.

#28 - Try Bartending

Well, I may not have had the same flair as this guy:

But I did get behind a real bar last night to mix a few Dirty Shirleys for customers who had no idea it was my first time with a shot glass. 

Seriously, it's amazing how people take for granted you're a professional if you look the part and fake it. I was wearing black and happened to be on the serving side of the bar. 

The highlight, after using the cheat sheet and crossing my fingers behind my back half the time, hoping no one would send a drink back, was when I got to make up a new one. It's nothing fancy, but I'm a writer, not a bartender, so it was all about the name: the Screwycolada. Yes! Instead of a plain old screwdriver you mix equal parts orange and pineapple juice. I would have put some coconut in if we'd had it, but alas. We also didn't have milk, so I didn't get to make any White Russians; another favourite, and the only other cocktail I knew how to make. 

(Side note: it turns out people enjoy a cocktail no matter how you make it at 11:47 p.m. on New Year's Eve as long as it's got a shot or two of liquor in it. This is doubly true if they're already smashed.)

Anyway, I did learn a few tidbits of pouring, bottle opening, and general alcohol wisdom. What the hell is a Lotus? A Greyhound? How much wine do you pour into the glass to serve? Not as much as I wanted to, let me tell you. Holy Christmas it's not cheap to get a few drinks in your system, especially on the official alcohol night of the year. That being said, we were offering $5 bottles of beer, which happened to include my favourite, the Stanley Park lager. And for my service for the night, I got a nice Orchid (some kind of vodka, ginger thing) and a Stanley Park (oh, and a few sips of bourbon from the bar manager's personal flask). 

Bartending is as much fun as I'd expected it to be. People you serve are happy (unless they're very sad) and sometimes they flirt with you because it's expected that bartenders should be hit on. Also, you get tips. 

To be able to serve (or work within 100 metres of any alcoholic beverage) in B.C. you need to get the Serving It Right certificate. While it sort of seems like a good idea, I think it's mostly just a government cash grab. You have to pay $35 to do the course online. It's a multiple-choice quiz, 30 questions, and because you do it at home on your own, you can totally cheat by just opening up a new browser window and finding the answers on the website as you go. But sssshh, don't tell anyone. I still managed to get three answers wrong, thereby just squeaking in with the necessary percentage to pass. So now I have the confirmation code that verifies I've got the certificate (which, strangely, never expires) and I'm good to go as a bartender or sales person at a liquor store.

So I'm hoping to get some more bartending experience at Wild Rice, maybe weekly, and then once I'm as good as Tom Cruise in Cocktail ("When he pours, he reigns.") I'll be able to get pay-eeeed. Booyah. 

For now, though, a coupla free drinks, maybe some yam and rosemary potstickers and a bowl of hot and sour soup is A-okay in exchange for the mad skillz I'm picking up.