a year bald: Quarter 2

My Short Term list of opportunities was met; not without discourse and challenge though - I didn't expect any different. I did however (at least thought) put myself to believing that I might be able to enjoy some of my short term wins...(yeah wins...). That was a kind of a misplaced expectation.

So where am I currently?

I've got 4 partnerships and 2 small businesses, and lately it seems like, the harder I try and get better feedback - the worse off I'm placing myself. Or maybe I judge my position too brashly; perhaps things are all better from outside my perspective. Having High As Hell expectations for yourself can be very aggravating when you're not hitting your marks consistently. In addition to the fact that I'm branching out on some of the things I'd been putting off for quite some time. Being Conatantly Hungry has it's ups and downs - learning business requires patience, resilience, thick-skin and a solid sense of personal psychology (as well as being able to analyze situations and people).

Of course I'm going to reflect on my daily grind before I discuss anything relative to my project-

a year bald Quarter 2

This quarter was definitely more emotionally charging from a human standpoint. I actually pushed off the 2nd quarters release for an additional 2 weeks and then almost lost track of doing it.

I had a niece born and then 2 weeks later my Grandfather passed away. And as I mention in the Vlog; I've got a childhood friend getting married next month. So hopefully that's the extent of the human condition I experience during this project. Emotions can be quite the driving force between what you feel like doing and not - how you experience and interpret your surroundings (relative to the world at large).

For those not familiar with the concept of EQ (aka: EI: Emotional Intelligence) I would like to advocate you familiarize yourself (Primal Leadership: Daniel Goleman).

Last Month: Early April; something has been eating at me and I couldn't figure out why I had been holding back from asking every bald person in sight about their experiences being bald.

• I reflected on the concept that I didn't want to force people into a reluctant type interview; I'd gain their concent first

• I preferred not to become a public nuisance

• It becomes tedious to constantly seek out the bald, and discuss them. There's really no depth to the approach and it becomes aimless in a sea of social sensationalism.

So, as I maintained my original approach and just interact with people in my vacinity; I woke up on April 3rd and had my epiphany.

"I'm kinda tired of talking with people about what it is to be bald"

Bare in mind that the project has not run it's course; it's into it's 7th month now. I'm determined to make it happen.

Though, as of right this moment - I have poison ivy on my arms and hands. This next shave will have to be done by my wife as I'm not able/ willing to risk getting poison ivy on my head by accident; That's just not something I want to experience. Period.

So as you watch the vlog for Quarter 2 keep in mind that it was a more emotionally charged quarter for me and having had a couple of breakthroughs -

"I'd rather just be bald and live life versus constantly addressing it"

The Motions (American Pool and Spa)

So recently I've partnered up with American Pool & Spa in Richmond, KY.

They're interested in dominating their local space; can't say I blame them.

Beyond simply taking on the role of their marketing director (emails, social media, website); to me if you want to dominate a space you've got to be Hungry and Willing to try new things to grow your client base.

This starts by expanding your ideology for success. For Justin and Myself, we enjoy bouncing ideas back-and-forth on what's the NEXT cool thing we could do for the business?

Needless to say, we fill our pipeline up quick and then implement it too. 

As a small media business, this kind of opportunity came knocking at my door and I'd have been an idiot to pass it up. 

As I mentioned to Justin 

"I've been waiting for a business with the gumption to WANT to Succeed and double, triple and quadruple sales in the next year or two -  I'd love to help you guys dominate your market space!"

As we're both inspired by the likes of Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Adam h. Michaels, Tai Lopez, Marcus Lemonis, Mark Cuban and more - we decided to start "The Motion" vlog amid other Marketing Actions!

Check out the Pilot and Let us know your thoughts in the comment section of American Pool & Spa's Facebook page :)

[Join us as we install a HotSpring spa; from beginning to end we show you from a very transparent point of view of how we begin the day, things that can happen, how we handle situations and find solutions.

At the end of the day, we all go through "The Motions" rather it's at work/business or personal life.]

Check'em out:

Website
Americanpoolandspaky.com

Youtube (American Pool and Spa KY)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCOFTXXeCQ2FBy0UHRFVAgQ

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/americanpoolandspa_richmondky/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/americanpoolandspaky

Dancing for Goldfish

Why competing for shorter attention span's won't work in the long run of Marketing

Every day I get a  series of calls, Messages, emails, you name it. Generally there in regards to condensing a story that was produced- with the intent on focusing toward either a niche Group of people, or the general public; hoping that by throwing a bunch of darts one will stick to the board.

The current direction of marketing is oversaturated with the Industry consensus that the average person's attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish. Uniquely enough, The rate of information retention is even worse. Having dealt with this for quite some time; I've often ask myself, and then eventually my clients "if we make the story too short, we can't get all the ideal information in there effectively." 

The premise of a desired sales pitch is obvious, The call to action is obvious, but we're not connecting with the audience as deeply in the same way. 

This may lead to a couple of sales (which are only comparable in market percentages to that of impulse purchases at a major retailer), but your long run numbers are going to suffer. Which means you'll end up spending more with a cheaper rate of conversion. The problem is you didn't take the time to connect with your audience no matter how broad or narrow that spectrum is.

Now with any market, there's eventually a breaking point, A turnaround point, or a group that does things differently and gains a greater market appeal over shorter period of time because they take the TIME to tell a compelling story. While biting the upfront costs for long run conversion.

Content is key as many people have come to understand, but valuable content is the Holy Grail of Marketing.

When a company or group work with a client that is willing to take the time, energy and resources necessary to tell a good story. Their rate of conversion will ultimately be significantly more than those who tell a quick-cheap-story designed to raise adrenaline.

Most people are under the impression that the market demands: 

Money now. Results now.

When in fact the brand growing route is: 

Story now. Results tomorrow.

When you take the time to connect with people in a meaningful fashion- versus spitting out quick deals, for faster cash. The long run results yield better results.

Building a brand is a lot like farming.

You want to test the soil (market), 

you want to identify the season best for your crops (what's trending, what's not), 

then you want to prep the land (survey), 

you want to plant your seeds (market test), 

you want to water your seeds (share results and target audiences), 

you want to keep watch over your crop/ maintain (market fluctuations), 

and eventually you want to harvest (make sales).

By not following these procedures, reevaluating strategy, identifying

market fluctuations and learning to build a brand; this collection is likely to capsize unsynced companies. 

In addition, wasting the client's money at no avail.

So in essence, if you're not taking the time to connect clients and customers in a meaningful fashion. In the long-run, all you were really doing was dancing for goldfish.

And Goldfish don't Blink.

(If you're a blog reader or Vlog watcher: Let me know if you have any thoughts)

Have a Solid Day!

-Steve

a year bald (February)

So, February was an interesting month. Starting with a solid interview with Comedian Larry Starks, whom I was networked with by Joe Allen (work/travel colleague via Prepspin). So, I'd been trying to coordinate this interview about 3 times; the first was late November after we returned from the Trip to Florida covering basketball for bd Global. The Goal was December.13th; come the day for the interview - I also had intention to shoot the last scene for my short film: LIVE from Baghdad!

That was earlier on in the day. IF you've kept up with the Vlog, that didn't turn out how I'd planned and put me in a rut based on the events of that day. 

My drone took off on me due to magnetic interference and on top of that, it landed in a lesser part of town where I was flying it and was then stolen while attempting to recalibrate from a rough landing.

So I rescheduled the interview and then things came up again - work as usual.

So on the third attempt, we got it done. I got a full hour and 20 mins worth of dialogue with Larry and I cut it down to the prime points for the needs of the interview.

You can check out more of Larry Starks on: (StarksTV.com)

From there, I reached out to a group in Baltimore that I'm hoping to work with around mid-summer while I planned being out that way for Beast Coast 2017 (Parkour Event) anyway. I won't disclose whom specifically, but it's a larger project initiative for a small media company to tackle. Maybe not initiative wise; that's simple enough. But the audience I'd be able to reach with the message would be amazing; making that sort of impact on such a large scale would really be something else for sure.

In addition, I'm still training and doing my weekly parkour progressions and working on ShopTalk as well; training my body and mind with different activities to stay focused on the greater long-term game. 

I'm also getting way more fluent at shaving my head and can get it knocked-out in about 7 minutes flat now; much better than needing help and branching off on my own at 15-20min shaves.

The Basil Farm is coming along as I've been using every weekend to travel to Waynesburg, KY and get each next step in the process knocked out a little bit at a time. In fact, I'm excited that the last frost is coming soon and I've nearly got the pallet fence completed (heavy winds took out a few pallets this past weekend; we'll get it handled). However, it's coming along nicely. And I've got part of my seeds started in 72 cell starter kits; only have 10% of the basil and all of the tomato seeds started out of 4 types of basil, tomatoes, peppers, onions and radishes. 

My Basil Farm is Going to happen. :)

The rest of the month has been training, planning, networking and honing my skills in new facets for delivering more value to the world a little at a time. I'm Hungry! + I get into silly-antics still.

a year bald: First Quarter Video

I've made it the first quarter; 3 months of being bald and talking with people, engaging, and digging in like a shovel trying to figure out (at my own pace), what it is to be bald. I admit, my lack of planning has been my core setback in this project, but you can't plan for every aspect of life and my goal was never to be outlandish.

As stated in the very first opening scene of a year bald; I would be continuing my life as normally as ever, with the added addition of I would be delving into (what it is to be bald in society). This has basically caused me to be a catalyst in bringing up the elephant in the room (the one on the shoulders of bald folks who have a deep seeded concern with their bald heads); that's where my goal has become to be an example of what I seek to bring forth in understanding - 

Why people feel this way? 

What causes them to seek out remedies? 

What have they been lead to believe about baldness, by media, marketing, philosophy, business, social influences; you name it.

So, to move forward - I could write up a massive dialogue. OR I could just show you my point. 

I'm more of a visual aid person anyway:

a year bald: Quarter One

Success is a Mindset (ShopTalk 13)

In this episode, I discuss every entrepreneur's dream: Doing what they love for a living, every day.
However, I happen to notice that many people who do happen to be independent business owners, family owned practices, or even small collectives of individuals often Fail to Fly.
They set their sites too low or even worse; they only do enough just to get by, and paying their bills Alone leaves them feeling a sense of accomplishment to where they want to celebrate every Friday and Saturday at the bar.
This type of limited thinking is exactly what causes businesses to shrivel up and die in under 5 years.
Due to lack of Expansion. Lack of Hunger. Lack of Obsession.

I reference: Grant Cardone's (Sell or Be Sold) + (Be Obsessed or Be Average)
I also pull from: Robert Kiyosaki's (Rich Dad Poor Dad)

In addition, I pulled a quote from Gary Vaynerchuk's cast.
•I really enjoyed his book: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook!

In addition I reference an interview with Equity Group Investments CEO: Sam Zell discussing his early entrepreneurial discovery of supply and demand and cross reference his exposure to Economics and his business development while in College.


And finally I cover a presentation given by Peter Theil (co-founder: Paypal) as he spoke at Stanford University in 2014; his presentation titled: Competition is for Losers

As always, my goal is to enlighten, encourage and put out realistic information to spread positive vibes wherever my work happens to go.

If you enjoy the information I'm curating; have questions or ideas for future ShopTalks.
Shoot me an Email: ThreeGinsMedia@gmail.com
or message me on Facebook (#ShopTalkGuys)

a year bald (January) + Cottage on Main (6 Months Project) + Parkour 4 Everyone

And the title doesn't even describe 1/4th of my projects. 

I'm Obsessed. I don't apologize. 

But I will prioritize better this year; who knows maybe I'll get lucky and get a few more haters :D

I had a guy attempt to down talk me in my business expansion ideas and I bought him an extra coffee to go. I want him to remember the generosity of the guy he shit-talked, because at the end of the day, my goal will be to hire him.

I've maintained (a year bald) project integrity, though January has been a very inactive month. Mostly behind the scenes work and attempting to make bigger things happen (as Adam h. Michaels says: There's a lot of un-amazing things that take place in business that lead to the achievements stage of every series of seemingly Amazing feats). Having a slow month is really just a time to keep grinding, remind people of who you are and when they're ready to make something happen - they'll remember you.

I just wrapped up with a local furniture revamp and antiquing shop called: Cottage on Main
The kicker is that I started working with them on what was the verge of them moving from one location to another; an expansion. Massive expansion. A street side mom n' pop shop to a Large House/ Mansion; depending on how you look at those structures.
I had been working with them since July 2016 and we wrapped up 2 weeks ago (January 2017).

Their goal was to showcase the progression of their shop and the changes the business has progressed through. Overall, the Dedication and Perseverance of these ladies astonished me and I was pleased to help tell their story. In addition to the four spots we produced; we're already looking into 3 more commercial spots and some new marketing tactics as well. Really excited to continue working with them.

In addition to a year bald and my client work for 3Gins; I've always got personal projects on the sidelines that I'm ready to start planning, coordinating and producing when theres a little free space on the calendar. But to be totally honest, I also don't enjoy free space in my calendar. Boredom breeds the opportunity for old bad habits to get back ahold of me and I don't have interest in anything that's holding me back from being on fire. I enjoy being active, providing information to people and creating my own stories and path. I believe that's the concept of being an Entrepreneur; if not just a heavily marketed term for Capitalist.

The month before I started working with Cottage on Main, I was out at Beast Coast 2016 and being introduced in one fail swoop to the Amazing Community of Parkour - I got to travel to Washington D.C. and meet some of the top athletes of this practice; which would become an official sport only days before a Documentary I was producing on it was released (Good Timing).

Flashback:  April 2016: I'm sitting in my office at my old apartment and taking notes down in the middle of the day regarding my agenda. I was working on editing a beer review show I was producing called Brewmergency. I took a break and was looking about my notes; suddenly amid a clutter of notes I kept writing down the word (Parkour).

I had been putting it off for sometime (Imagine that a procrastinator; hell it's like I'm doing my taxes or something...), so I decided I had been postponing it or far too long; I was curious about Parkour - I knew nothing about it and I was looking to change that. I wrote down on each side of the word on the note: (Find - Group). It read (Find Parkour Group) and so as I stood there for a moment in my office just staring at the note - I kind of came to and realized, I guess this is the part where I actually get on Google and look this up huh...

I didn't find anything right away, I got distracted by pictures. But once I regained Focus, I found myself on a discussion forum reading through old posts for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Interestingly enough, there was a link embedded in one of the comments.

Once I clicked it, it took me to Kentuckiana Parkour on Facebook. I was both excited and skeptical; what if I found a group that was no longer active? As I started to scroll the page I noted a post from only 3 days prior that mentioned an open gym on Friday; I believe I reached out to them on a Tuesday or Wednesday and very uncertain of what I was really after when contacting the group.

So after a couple minutes of thought, I realized that there were no videos discussing the In's and Out's of what Parkour actually was - so when I first reached out I was only planning on getting a rundown and maybe creating a short explanatory video for beginners.

After 20mins; Marcus Sumner responded to me and his group was down with the idea and forwarded me a link to their Documentary that they had created the previous year from the event Beast Coast 2015.
The Documentary was still nothing I had planned to do at this point; it would come across the following week when I was visiting my folk's place.
Marcus called so we could arrange a meeting for my visit for the initial project concept and after about 40mins he had discussed Beast Coast (the annual event), that there was a supportive community of athletes, worldwide traction being gained monthly for the practice and so-on.

He wanted to meet up with me so we could discuss it further and so I could get started with training, because Honestly - I was really digging what Marcus was selling. I wanted to know more and how I could get involved.
I began documenting the meet-up and training on my smartphone and once we got through the process of planning, coordinating, traveling and just my immersion into Parkour, I was sold.

Parkour was definitely something I wanted in on. The Documentary was really not a planned thing; I just knew that I was compelled to collect footage of everything going on around me and whatever came of it would need to be something that told my introduction story as well as what I would want to see if I were in my shoes 7 months earlier without a clue.

So for your viewing pleasure, I bring you: 

Parkour 4 Everyone (An Unexpected Documentary)

So what's interesting is that the day after it's release, I was ready to move onto the next project I've been working on since May 2016; yeah, last May-July was a busy month for me. I started a handful of projects that had been getting postponed due to client marketing needs; as I really regretted telling Marcus for a couple of months after Beast Coast 2016. I had to focus on the paid work first because that was my income stream. 

Of course, now I'm looking into at least 5 income streams and the goal is to have the necessary bills (aka: monthly crap bills) covered by one avenue of income - where as one of my other streams can fund the things that are more valuable to my time investment. 

No one wants to work themselves to death on one job to pay reoccurring bills to barely get by - That's a load of horse shit and it's been marketed (along with many shitty ideas and investments) to the lower and middle class from the day their born until they day they die.

Myself, well. I plan on making a difference and a dent in the universe. 

And it begins with Parkour 4 Everyone :D