Welcome to Chez Cliff!

My first meeting with a potential second investor went well.

Numerous articles crossed my desk regarding these start-up businesses presenting in front of Venture Capitalists.  I’m envisioning something like the movie “Contact” where Jodi Foster is presenting to group after group of stuffy shirts, getting shot down again and again.

The second investor was an introduction.  When we arranged the meeting, I decided to keep it low-key.  Why create a big dog and pony show if one isnt warranted?

I knew I had to fill an hour.  Since I’m passionate about my project, I could talk for days about it.  But conveying that excitement, that enthusiasm and then convincing others to believe in that vision is an entirely different story.  To do this, I lost a bit of sleep wondering about what my opening hook should be.

Standing in front of a 10+ story building in the center of Irvine’s Money-Making district, several deep breaths helped calm me down.  A scotch would have helped but no flask.

We had our introductions.  We sat down.  He looked me in the eye and said “So, what are you working on?”

My gut spoke out.  “Let me start this conversation by telling you one thing:  I love real estate.”

He smiled real big.  “So do I,” he replied.  From there, he proceeded to tell me all the members of his family who deal with real estate on a daily basis including his wife who is a broker.

From there, it was all down hill.

Our second meeting will be a bit more formal.  It will involve a presentation in front of several big wigs he knows.  Fortunately version 2.0 of our software will be ready at that point.  That’s what will be demoed.

My challenge:  I have to get the application interactive on a big screen so we can all see it.  No idea how to do it but I’ll figure something out.  I always do.

Last week, the blogosphere erupted with the release of the book “I”ll teach you to be rich.”

My gut reaction was “Great, another book on how you can make the author rich.”

Undoubtedly, Ramit is going to make money.  His book briefly hit #1 on Amazon.  When Tim endorsed it, via Twitter, I decided to give it a second glance.

This book is targeted for the twenty-something crowd.  A demographic I left behind long ago.  It’s a simple manifesto on how to control your finances and begin building wealth.  This isn’t anything new except in one aspect: it’s written by a twenty something guy.

I seem to recall these television shows about people speaking about wealth.  Typically, what comes to mind?  For some reason, I always envision some clueless reporter asking questions to some grey-haired, Warren Buffet type and talking about concepts and plans I could never do.  My reaction was “This person hasn’t seen 25 in 50 years.  How can they possibly understand me?”

With that in mind, I think there’s something to be said for someone who is twenty-something ,teaching other twenty-somethings about money.  But only if the advice is valid.

I read over the generous amount of pages he offers for free on his site.  His ideas are right in align with what I’ve learned over the years.  In some aspects, it’s funny how his suggestions mirror my own.

His talk about an automatic savings plan into ING reflects my Bread Crumb Savings Plan.

His talk about automating the bill paying process mirrors my own.

His discussion of how credit cards work is reflected in my treatise here.

While I have no designs to purchase his book, I do think this may be something twenty-somethings can grab onto.  When you read over the comments on Ramit’s blog, and Tim’s, you can see how many twenty-somethings are starving for this type of knowledge.  And if something like this can help them, how can it be a bad thing?  Especially if it’s someone they can relate to.

“Men of Action are favored by the Goddess of Good Luck.” - The Richest Man in Babylon.

I’m off until next Monday.

Do something to make it count.

I’m now applying the 80/20 rule across the board.

For those of you still paying attention, the 80/20 rule is a simple concept that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  This concept swings in a negative as well as a positive way.

In my case, 80% of my business’ income comes from 20% of my ideas.  The other 80% are producing exactly squat.

For my business, the bulk of the income is coming from sales of software.  My eBook has become more of a promotional item rather than a sales item.  The blog is now trimmed back with only a few articles per month.  There will be no site redesign, no writing articles for other sites, nada.

My primary focus: increasing sales of software.

I’ve been tasked by my board to develop an effective plan to achieve $10,000/month in sales.  Once we hit this point, then the magic starts.

My first item was to trim back all of my non-money making activities related to the business.  By focusing on the 20% which generates the income, I can better grow that area.

Second on my list is to get our 2.0 version completed.  To be honest, we kind of thought that our first 1.0 version and up were kind of “betas”.  Put something out there and see what the response was.  So far, it’s been very positive.  With the exception of a few bumps we’ve learned how to navigate the mobile waters.

Once 2.0 gets shoved out and the bugs get ironed out, we can focus on expanding inside of this vertical.

I’ve added something to my schedule.  Something which completely shocked friends and family.

One day per week, I completely unplug.

No computer, no internet, no television, no radio.  The outside world could fall completely apart and I would be clueless.  Publishers Clearing House could announce I’m the next $21 million winner and I wouldn’t know.

While it may be a detriment to my online business, I don’t care.  I need some mental time to myself and taking care of me.

During this unplug, we go hiking.  Laguna Niguel, Crystal Cove, Aliso Viejo . . .

The amazing aspect is that by about 5 in the afternoon, my head is amazing clear.  My brain isn’t being bombarded with messages, information, opinions . . . it’s great!