Echos From The Hallway In My Mind

January 15, 2008 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

Hallway Loud, crowded hallways. Smell of antibacterial cleaner. Rattle of locker doors. Craving for tater tots. Squeak of tennis shoes on those ugly tile floors. Oh how the memories flooded back this morning as I walked the hallway of a local high school in my area. I was invited to speak to an E-Commerce class about my online business and background. It was a cool experience as I tried to pass my entrepreneurial spirit to these kids who have their entire future in front of them. Oh how I wish I knew then what I know now. But then again, that would have made this ride we call life pretty boring. But nonetheless, here are some things that I tried to pass along to the students that I spoke with.

  • Just Start. I told the students that if they really had an interest in E-Commerce they should at the very least start a free WordPress blog and start blogging. WordPress is not only free, but it is quite powerful software that organizes, categorizes, and makes it very easy for search engines to index your blog.
  • Find Your Passion. Whatever it may be, fashion, golf, books, computer games, if you have a passion for your topic you will not burn out and the writing will be so much easier and more enjoyable. Do product reviews, have a stance on controversial topics, be original, be passionate. Your passion for the topic will come through in your writing. I also explained that content is king and if you can create a website that people not only read, but tell their friends about, then you really have something special!
  • Learn How To Make Money Off Your Blog. While making money is not the purpose of many who blog, since these were E-Commerce students I explained to them options like Google Adsense and Affiliate Marketing and how it was possible to monetize your blog.
  • Don’t Give Up. One student asked me, “What was the biggest challenge in starting your online business?” I thought for a moment and quickly remembered how I felt when I worked my tail off to create a high quality website and only 5 people a day would find it. I can remember wanting to throw in the towel and say “forget it.” Staying patient, not going to spam tactics, focusing on content, staying patient. Did I mention staying patient. Yeah I guess I did. Sustainable results don’t happen overnight, but if you work hard they will happen.
  • What I Wished I Had Said! As I walked out of the high school I wish I would have said the following: Don’t just dream, instead, dig for what you want to achieve. Stop thinking about what you want and put your plan into motion. Act now. Be courageous, don’t accept mediocrity. It is going to be easy? Probably not. But then again what worth achieving is. Will it be worth the hard work, the risk, the frustration? Absolutely. “Kyle, you can’t really make any money promoting online coupons.” I heard that more than once in the past 6 years. If I had listened I would have quit a long time ago. I knew I could do it and ignored all nay-sayers. Instead, I set obtainable goals that were stepping stones to my dream of a profitable business that would allow me to spend more time with my family, be my own boss, and give me a creative outlet.

What advice would you have given the students that I may have missed?

Share

Propane Bill Came Today – OUCH!

January 14, 2008 · Filed Under · 11 Comments 

So we live out of town about 6 miles and we don’t have access to natural gas out here in the “boondocks”. Instead we have a 250 gallon propane tank and a contract with Amerigas. They send out a truck based on last years usage, typically they come out 3-4 times per year and fill us up. It has been awhile since they last came and a noticed last week that our tank was down to 18% full which is the emptiest I have ever seen it. So they came out to fill it and a few days later we get the bill for the tune of $642!!! Propane gas, like regular gas has gone through the roof and is currently at $3.18 a gallon in our neck of the woods. Fortunately I do the following things to keep our propane usage to a minimum:

propane.jpg

  • Burn Firewood. I have a modern fireplace insert with an EPA approved catalytic converter. This baby really pumps out the heat. I have a fire going every night and almost every morning. I can get our family room up to 75 degrees and the rest of the house at about 68 degrees. Plus, I get my firewood for free from trees cut down on my own property.
  • Maintain The Furnace. On days and nights when starting a fire is just not practical we do use our forced air furnace which runs on propane gas. But I keep the air filters clean and I maintain the furnace system to keep it working at peak performance levels.
  • Limit showers and baths. Our hot water heater is also run with propane gas. So my wife and I make it a practice to not take long hot showers. This is almost impossible anyways with 3 small children in the house! Also, we don’t run the washing machine on hot. My wife will run it with warm water on certain articles of clothing but never on hot. Also make sure your hot water heater is not turned up to high, we keep ours at the recommended setting on the unit but I have a notion to turn it down a bit and see if anyone in the house notices the difference! 

FRUGAL TIP: When giving the kids a bath, plug the tub, then turn on the hot water faucet. I have seen people turn on the hot water, then plug the tub after the water gets hot. Total waste of water. It does not take much hot water to warm up the cold water you have added while waited for the hot stuff to kick in.

Share

Using Coupons – Frugal, Cheap, or a Waste of Time?

January 9, 2008 · Filed Under , · 11 Comments 

rather_dollarsign.jpgI got an email today from a lady named Kelly who was making the strong argument that coupons, both online coupons, and those for brick and mortar stores and grocery stores, are not for the frugal as they are a waste of time. Here is her email, curious what you all think.

Kyle,
You seem to push coupons pretty heavy and consider them a tool for the frugal. It is my experience that they are a total waste of time as my frugal lifestyle has a strong bend towards saving time. By the time I clip coupons, organize them, make sure I have the right product and size to get the discount, that time could have been used to make money by working or selling things on ebay. Even your online coupons are often expired and the retailers that offer them have high markups anyways and the discount received is often clouded by those facts. In other words, you can just go down to the local Big Box store and get it cheaper and not have to pay high shipping costs. But I guess talking about these facts would be bad for your business.
Cordially,
Kelly

I have not responded to her yet because I think she may have a solid argument for grocery store coupons, especially with the popularity of the grocery store Reward and Club cards where the discount is reflected at checkout rather than with a clipped coupon.  I would tend to disagree with her on the online coupons argument. I think you need to be smart and get the best price for what you are buying and if an online coupon gets you free shipping or 10% off your order then you might as well take the discount as it takes very little time to enter a coupon code into the box at checkout.

Your thoughts? Please leave a comment!

Share

More Kitchen and Food Hacks

January 7, 2008 · Filed Under , · 1 Comment 

Fat RatI have been eating like a horse or perhaps a fat rat, more on that later. It is amazing how you can get into bad eating habits so quickly. I was doing really well before the Holidays and then the temptations of the desserts and stuffing just overwhelmed me like an avalanche on Mt. Everest. My kids have been watching Ratatouille, and when I saw the fat brother rat, I felt like I was looking in the mirror!  I have got to get back to my exercise routine. All of this eating has sucked this blog into a Cuisinart of food related posts, this should be the last on food for a while. :-) Here are a few more easy kitchen and food hacks.

  • Hate soggy strawberries? When these delicious red guys come back into season try storing unwashed berries in a colander or open basket in the fridge so air can circulate around them.
  • Avocados need to be ripened at room temperature then put in the fridge. Otherwise, they get kinda slimy and nasty.
  • To sour for you? Sprinkle a little salt on your grapefruit halves to help take away some of the tartness.
  • Freeze extra potato chips to keep them fresh.
  • Any hot chocolate lovers out there? Before heating milk in a saucepan, rinse pan with cold water. This helps to keep milk from scorching.
  • Prolong veggie life! Wrap your cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers in paper towels to absorb moisture and place in a plastic bag with a few holes in it for air.
  • Easy Tomato peeling. Dip tomato in boiling water for 45 seconds, then rinse in cold water, skin should slide right off!
  • Keep your Guac Green. Leaving the avocado seed in leftover guacamole dip helps prolong its life and keeps it green longer. Looks kinds weird but it really does work.
Share

« Previous Page

Bad Behavior has blocked 367 access attempts in the last 7 days.