Cameesa - The Blog

I came across this post at 200 Nipples, and it really struck a chord with me:

http://blog.200nipples.com/2008/12/why-is-effort-uncool/

I see this in myself and in others.  It’s definitely a defense mechanism: if I don’t succeed, then I can say that I wasn’t really trying anyways.  That way I don’t look like a less intelligent/capable/successful person.

But it is BS.  We are trying very hard with Cameesa, and I am most proud of how far we’ve come.

I am going to carry this attitude over into other things in my life.  If I am not trying hard at something, then I shouldn’t be doing it at all.

Choice quote:

“Now is a particularly good time to try most anything, in fact. The sheep are terrified, and resources are cheap.”

Thanks for the inspiration 200 Nips!

So you complain about your current full-time job and keep saying “I need to get out of here.” Do you actually mean that or are you just saying it.  Mind you, that I truly think that there is nothing wrong working for “The Man” as long as you are enjoying what you do.

I’m guessing that you have a full-time job? What time do you get home from your job?  6pm?  What do you do from 6pm until you go to bed? Do you come home and watch t.v.  and go back to work the next day and complain about your job again? Groundhog day?

This is the final advice that I am stealing from Jason Fried, and Gary Vaynerchuk (from 37signals & Wine Library TV).  They both said that you should always be working on something on the side.  Whether it’s a small project or a huge one. If you love these post-work projects then you will constantly be coming closer towards “Escaping the 9 to 5 full-time job.”

Always have something on the side (in this case, on the side of your full-time job) : this video says it all

The coolest software since sliced bread.  Why?  Because it solves my problem.

How many of you use more than one computer? Let’s say you have a file KamilIsCool.doc, and you are editing it on the PC in your bedroom, but then want to work on the file on your Mac laptop downstairs while watching tv.  How do you go about doing this?

Probably in one of 3 ways: 1)  you e-mail yourself the document and then open it on your Mac; 2) you save the file on a USB pen and then load it on your Mac; or 3) you share a drive on your PC, and map this drive on your Mac (this is the geek solution).

Well, I will list a problem with all of the above solutions: 1) you have to be online to receive email; 2) to save it on USB, you must own a USB pen, and this method is time consuming; and, 3) you have to be on the same network, and online to pull the file from the shared drive.

Dropbox to the rescue.  This software: a) allows you to share the same file between many computers, b) allows you to edit the files locally from your hard drive (you don’t have to be online to do this), and c) synchronizes the file when you connect online again (so you have the most recent version of the file on both computer simultaneously).

There is a 2GB limit on the storage for the FREE version of DropBox, which is plenty for me, and I just wanted to say that I completely love this software and highly recommend it for those with more than one computer.

Imagine this:  you are a beer enthusiast and can’t stop thinking about beer.  You love the way it smells, tastes, the way it is brewed and the entire process.  The problem is that there are no websites out there that tell you EVERYTHING you want to know about beer.  Once in a while, you go on a rampage researching a specific beer for days.  Last week, you spent four straight days researching how to brew a Guinness Draught, and perfected it.  Your friends tell you that you have a problem, and you agree.  You just can’t get over beer facts, it’s composition, smell and taste….if beer was a woman you would not be single any longer.

How is this related to writing your first web application? Well…..solve your own problems first.

So let’s visualize a little more. 

If your dream beer website existed: how would you want it to look? how would it smell? how would you use it?  why would you need it? how would it scratch your itch? why would you love your website?

My dream beer site:

Would be simple (like Google search) with a tan background (the color of beer), and would smell like a Guinness (it’s my favorite beer).  I would want to go onto the website and type in any beer name in the search and get EVERY detail about that beer.  I would need it because I could learn everything about any beer on one site, instead of spending 4 days researching beer on different sites.  It would scratch my itch by having all the information I ever dreamed of.  I would love my website because it would be simple, informational, and community-driven.

So the solutions mentioned above sound like a beer-wiki if you ask me.  So there are your answers of what your website should do and how it should look.

So, in chronological order, this is how you write your first Web Application:

1. Define your own problem (beer love)
2. Solve your own problem (write a web application that scratches your beer-love itch)
3. Try not to do too much (after defining your dream application, launch with only 3 features, don’t try to take over the world just yet)
4. Write your web application (should take a few months to launch)
5. Find people that are like you (other beer lovers)

In summary, you have to find your own problem, solve it with a web application; then, find people that are like you to use it.  Notice that other people don’t come into the equation until you have written your application (Step 5).  So, you should be focusing on solving your own problem and launching it with a few features, and then getting user feedback.  The main point is that you are not asking “what will people use?” from Day 1.

This advice is slightly based off of Jason Fried’s advice to solve your own problems first.

p.s. I’m not a beer enthusiast, although I do like beer, but here are some cool websites:

Beer Advocate

Real Beer

Rate Beer

My wife, Ariel, and I went to CarMax tonight to sell her 1999 Oldsmobile Alero.  We’ve had the car about 4 years, and it is fully paid off.  I’ve attempted to sell my own used car in the past, and it was a terrible experience.  The biggest issue for me was determining value, and getting someone else to agree with that value.  There are things like the Kelley Blue Book, to use as a starting point, but the unique deviations in a car’s history make the price vary greatly.

In general, the CarMax experience was very pleasant.  Disclaimer: I am not a natural salesman, and I don’t enjoy haggling.  If you enjoy the thrill of talking someone down (or up), then CarMax is probably not for you.  What I actually love about CarMax is how systematic the entire experience is.  There are soo many human emotions present in a private party sale which are absent with CarMax.  This makes the transaction swift and painless.

You walk in and a receptionist greets you, puts your name in a salesman queue, and you go watch TV.  Five minutes later, you meet Steve who walks out to your car with you.  Steve doesn’t actually do the inspection and put a price on your car, he just makes sure that you have the keys.  You go back inside with Steve and he tells you how they value cars.  He enters an inspection work order in the computer with you, and someone who you haven’t met yet actually performs the inspection to value your car.  You go watch Dancing With The Stars on an LCD TV.  Twenty minutes later, Steve comes back and you walk with him back to his desk.

Now this is the most volatile (and well thought out) point of the transaction, because, chances are, you will not be pleased with the offer.  Here is how they reveal their price: you sit down with Steve at his computer and he brings up your car details.  Then he clicks a button to reveal the offer, and it seems like he is now seeing it for the first time with you.  If you don’t like the offer, you can’t really be angry with Steve, he has just received the same information you have.  In addition, he is not the person who made the estimate, so it doesn’t make sense to project your disappointment on him.  And the best part: if you don’t like the offer, then tough crap, there is no negotiation.

The point I am getting at is that CarMax has successfully systematized a once soft and wild varying process.  In the past when I was selling my own used car, it took 30 minutes to advertise it, plus four 40 minute meetings and plenty of awkward negotiations to actually sell it.  Then I had to deal with actually getting the money in a guaranteed form and depositing it.  Such a waste of time and brain power.

I think there are huge opportunities in developing systems which remove the guess work and systematize traditionally “soft” markets.  I love the thought of data acquisition and data mining of areas with currently little metering.   CarMax’s appraisal system is just one example.  I know plenty of developers who work at futures trading firms here in Chicago who develop automatic trading systems.  Is there a CarMax for homes?  Would any company be so bold to assume that many liabilities?  Can the algorithm be developed?  Does it make sense to remove the human element from all transactions?

Just thinking out loud, incoherently.  Time to sign off.

Andy, Arie (Andy’s wife), Stan (former co-worker from Bank Of America) and I had a chance to see Jason Fried of 37Signals this past Tuesday night.  Jason is a simple, down-to-earth, intelligent guy who GETS IT.  Jason is the president of 37Signals, and the owner of 6 web applications that have overtaken the software world with simplicity.

The most important lesson I learned from Jason was to: “Talk. Share. Contribute. Teach.”  I believe that people are providers, and givers by nature; hence, we provide to our families, friends and then our children throughout our lives.  So, how can you improve your business?  Start caring about people….which translates to talking, sharing contributing and teaching more.

Of the four points mentioned, I believe that I Talk and Teach well.  I Talk about what is happening in my life, and in the Cameesa world; moreover, I Teach how to improve ourselves, and our businesses. However, I feel that I am lacking in the Share and Contribute points.  I don’t feel that I Contribute to the community and I don’t feel that I Share on a consistent basis.  What does this mean?  I am not really sure.  After Jason’s talk, Andy asked me “Kamil, what can we teach within they community?”  I answered Andy that we can teach the community whatever we are good at: art, self-development, software, and probably some other things that I can’t think of right now.

So, I will make it a personal mission to start sharing and contributing more…but what does this really mean?  How and what can I share and contribute?????

There are many different types of people in your workplace; however, all of these people use their time in only 1 of 4 ways:

First, you have Daniella, who gets into work early and leaves late.  Daniella is the type of person that averages a 12-hour work day, and is usually seen walking around the office making jokes and sending random e-mails, and IM chats. Daniella’s work habits, and time management skills, may be described as not-efficient and not-effective.  Daniella is rarely promoted and receives low-to-medium reviews on a yearly basis.

Second, you have Ricky who also puts in long work days; however, Ricky sticks to himself and is usually busy all day.  He usually ends the day off by saying “I was so busy today I just couldn’t seem to catch my breath, but I still didn’t get much done.”  Do you ever feel like this?  Ricky’s work habits are the trademark of high-efficiency, and low-effectiveness: lots of action, but lack of results.  Ricky receives medium reviews and is promoted at a rate similar to the majority of his co-workers.

Next comes Rob, who is a part-time DJ that loves to mix Hip-Hop. He is the guy who takes a couple of extra breaks every day, and takes a nap after his 2-hour lunch….every day.  After his nap, he puts on his headphones and gets in the zone for about 3 hours.  So, in Rob’s typical 8-hour work day he does about 3 hours of actual work.  The amazing thing about Rob is that his work is always of high-quality.  Rob gets phenomenal reviews from management, and is promoted more often than others in the office.  Rob is the epitome of a highly-effective, but not efficient worker.  When all is said and done, Rob gets his shit done and still has time to throw the Frisbee around.

Finally, you have Wayne who is known around the office as “The Machine.”  Wayne comes into work for eight hours, puts on his headphones, and takes care of business.  All of his projects are on-time, on-budget and always of high-quality.  Wayne is constantly being promoted, and is an amazing asset to every team that he works on.  Wayne is a highly-efficient, and a highly-effective individual.

     Efficiency: the process of staying busy all the time, with no idle moments.

     Effectiveness: the process of producing the maximum results, in the minimum time, with the minimum effort.

Which person are you? If you are not Wayne then you definitely have room for improvement.  So, you’re probably wondering, “How do I get to Wayne’s level?”

You become effective by working smart instead of working hard.  To double your effectiveness apply the 20/80 rule, where prioritized tasks always come first.  In your life, 20% of your activities will produce 80% of the results that you are after.  Just 20% of your listed activities will take you faster and farther than others.  So, focusing on these 20% is what transforms energy-wasting efficiency into results-producing effectiveness.

Our minds tend to take the path of least resistance.  I will be the first to admit that, on a To-Do List, I will start off by tackling the easiest tasks first.  I think to myself…”well, i’ll get more of these quick-hitter tasks out of the way, and then get to the important ones.”  This mentality is not following the 20/80 rule, and is incorrect.  In what order do you attack your To-Do List?  Therefore, in order to transform efficiency into effectiveness, you must write a To-Do list, prioritize your tasks, and stick to their order.

In my first few weeks working for Cameesa, I used to program every day because I wanted to improve the website. However, once I learned about, and applied, the 20/80 rule, I realized that programming was not in the top 20% of tasks.  Although, we needed to improve the Cameesa site on a daily basis, I found out that we needed to bring Cameesa to the world and, at that point, the 20% of my most important activities became: reaching out.  Communicating to the world, and spreading the word of Cameesa, will bring me 80% of the results that I am looking for.  Since then, I spend a lot more time reaching out to t-shirt blogs and other potential Artists, Supporters, and Shoppers.

The 20/80 Rule will allow you to do twice as much in half of the time, so start using it today.

This 20/80 Rules comes from Charles Givens’, SuperSelf.

This post was initially titled “Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs Who Work at Home”.  But after thinking it over, these tips could be applied to anyone who works at home, even Moms in Utah.  These “tips” are just things that have helped me be more productive and focused since launching Cameesa and going full time in July.  They all may not apply to you, but don’t knock it till you rock it!

#1: Put pants on.

I am all for a casual work environment.  I loved to dress casual back when I worked at Motorola, even though many around me were wearing ties.  I don’t think that putting on a tie makes me any more productive than putting on a tuxedo t-shirt.  I think suits and ties are good for enforcing a hierarchy among employees.  I generally prefer a flat organization, where hierarchies are constructed naturally based on respect and work performance, rather than fashion.

That being said, I think that there is such a thing as too casual.  I draw the line at wearing pants.  I work at home, and I could go around in my boxers all day long if I pleased.  However, I noticed that I am 17% more productive* when I take the time to dress myself in the morning.  Jeans and t-shirt do just fine.  Maybe a pair of Bonobos if I am feeling especially classy.

#2: Zone out.

This is something that Kamil taught me, and proves especially valuable when doing detail oriented work like programming or financial modeling.  The basic idea is to shut off your contact to the outside world to remove interruptions.  Being on the computer offers a myriad of interruptions just waiting to pop up in your face: Thunderbird pops up new emails upon arrival, Twhirl pops up new Twitter messages all day, Pidgin delivers instant messages from several networks (gChat, AIM, MSN, etc), Skype pings me for incoming call requests, and the list goes on…  Don’t forget the cell phone, which is always there to interrupt you.

It is not hard to zone out, just disconnect the internet and turn off your phone.  That’s easy, but you get the same feelings of anxiety that you do when holding your breath underwater.  You feel that you need to come up for air, but guess what?  You can actually stay under much longer than you think.  Just ask anyone in the Navy.  So the next time you need to use some real brainpower, I highly recommend completely disconnecting yourself.  Just don’t do it for multiple days in a row, people start to worry.

#3. Make Human Contact

Technology is wonderful for communicating over long distances, but nothing is more centering for me than a face to face conversation with another person.  Video chat comes close because you can look the other person in the camera and convey emotions, but still feels vacant to me.  The shared nervous energy and positive tension that comes with a real meeting has yet to be digitized.  I can’t place it exactly, but every time I get the chance for a face to face meeting I come away energized and focused.

When working at home, you often get too comfortable with the calculated responses of a chat conversation.  It’s good to keep yourself on your toes.  Sometimes you have to leave the spare room.

That’s all the time I have for now, and I plan to release tips 4, 5, and 6 sometime next week.  Stay productive, San Diego!

When studying successful entrepreneurs I always come across a recurring theme. I am probably very receptive to theme because I sincerely believe in it, therefore I may possess a bit of selective attention. The theme is create something you are passionate about. Randy Komisar, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins, in his book “The Monk and The Riddle” puts it best:

“Passion pulls you to something you cannot resist. Drive pushes you toward something you feel compelled or obligated to do. If you know nothing about yourself, you can’t tell the difference. Once you gain a modicum of self-knowledge, you can express your passion”

The problem is people usually work on something for some end goal. Once the end goal is achieved then they’ll do what they want. Randy gives this problem a name, “The Deferred Life Plan”. I have to do something really unsatisfying first so I can make the money to do what I really want. If you’re going to put in all the hard work and time why not devote it to something you give a damn about? If things don’t go as planned at the very least the time will not have been wasted.

I subscribe to Google Alerts for the terms crowdfund, crowdfunded, and crowdfunding, among other things. The other morning when I awoke I was alerted to an article on crowdfunding from the Sydney Morning Herald.

I checked it out, and noticed a few familiar names on the crowdfunding scene: Sellaband and MyFootballClub. But there were two other companies that I had never heard of: Catwalk Genius and BeerBankRoll. After poking around a bit, it appears that Catwalk Genius plans to use crowdfunding to sponsor fashion designers. A noble cause, but I didn’t learn much more since their website is not currently functional.

The other company, BeerBankRoll is much further developed, and aspires to be a crowdfunded brewery. They have received a fair amount of press around the web, and appear to be steadily signing up people who believe in the idea. As I lurked around the nether regions of the site, I noticed that they are actually located in a suburb of Chicago!

It’s rare to find crowdfunding companies, but even more rare to find one in your own back yard. It was encouraging for me to see that crowdfunding is starting to proliferate in the United States. Hopefully we can catch up to our UK/European brethren soon. I feel like the biggest challenge is education on the concept. Once people grasp the premise they start to feel comfortable with participating.