Welcome, everyone to the new office of Parker Planners! She ain’t much now but we’ll get this thing rockin’ and rollin’

Big desk, encouraging stuff on walls, check. Rap forthcoming.

Well my 17-day adventure is coming to a close. I’m flying back to Provo tonight from what has been a great get away and family fun time. Being in S. Utah and Surprise, AZ has been great. It was really cool getting to know my brother-in-law’s business better. I’ve resolved to make a few changes to my own company based on some things they do.

# 1 Actually pay myself

Parker Planners is profitable and going pretty well but I’ve chosen not to pay myself so it could grow faster and be a stable concern. Because I’m out of school and I work there full-time it’s time to reap a little of the benefits and take things more seriously.

# 2 Get office space!

Stepping in the door at Secure Source at 6:15 in the morning really had some power. You’re the only one there and you can do your morning routine in complete solace and your mind is super clear so you can organize important tasks and do most of them before most people are conscious! For Parker Planners it will be a challenge to find the right fit but it will be worth the hunt.

Oh yeah, we acquired a competitor, RMDaily Planner. The owner is a current BYU student and a cool guy, we agreed on a price before I left town and are closing the deal when I get back. We’re really excited about it. Should boost online sales.

So one thing I helped my brother-in-law do was learn web development. I made their website a while back and he’s working on a few of his own. One of which is a T-shirt company called spooftee.com. He’s got some funny shirts.

So now to dating. Why not? Ahhh, peoples attracted to each other. So my sister has a friend here in town that she’s always wanted me to go out with. It hasn’t happened sooner becuase one of us has always been in a relationship whenever I was in town. Now that we’re both single and I’m here she set us up. Muy fun. I’ll skimp on the details but man it’s cruddy when you meet someone neat and and they live mucho miles away.

My first retail customer for Parker Planners was the BYU Bookstore. Pretty lucky because the BYU Bookstore is in the top 5 in the nation in both floorspace and sales. I visited with Paul this morning and he told me some interesting stuff. He’s been in the business 28 years. He said of the hundreds of people who have come to him with small mom and pop products only 3 have succeeded and I’m one of them. Whuh? I had no idea. I have a lot to be grateful for.

I’ll just have to quote my friend’s blog again here. Remember to have fun!

Recently I talked to an old friend and it was really fun! I went to the world’s largest water balloon fight this morning and it was SO fun! Recently Parker Planners received more orders than I thought would come so soon, that was fun!

This picture is on my grandma’s wall by the kitchen. I imagine my grandfather put it up there because he had that kind of humor. They have lived in the same house since I have been alive, so this picture has sort of been a constant for me. It makes me laugh but also makes me think. Maybe it’s where I get my entrepreneur tenacity?

“No” is never the end unless you give up. I say that all “no” means is that you got their attention. The second “no” means that you might be serious, the third one means you actually want it, the fourth “no” means that you’re determined to get it, and the fifth “no” means that you understand persistence. There usually aren’t more than 5 “no’s”.

Choke that bird!

This post is for one person and one person only. My brother-in-law Cooper. He reads religiously and just let me know just how vital a role I play in his daily routine. Cooper, you are also a pivital part in my day. If that random vacant mansion in Phoenix didn’t have 4 security cameras constantly watching it at all times, I don’t know what I’d do! Thank you guard dogs, thank you moat, thank you,  Secure Source

Today I contacted a business broker to get an idea of how easy it would be to sell Parker Planners if I so desired. I was a little surprised. I’m not selling for sure this summer but it would be interesting to see what someone would pay for a promising business with a growing future. At the very least it would give more credibility to our asking an angel investor for money based upon our valuation numbers.

I’ve been working on Parker Planners for the past three years and I guess I’ve forgotten that I’ve been building an asset this whole time. Turns out the asset could be worth something. It’s nice to know that at the end of the day a lot of hard work and thoughtful time put into something really pays off. I’m excited to see where this company goes and where life takes me.

Tomorrow morning it’s off to visit with a programmer about mobile apps. What an amazing industry- smart phones. Just watch this thing explode. Co-founder of Omniture, Josh James told us as a group of BYU students that the current smart phone and mobile app situation is like the internet was in 1995. Ha ha. Yup. Right now is one of those times you will think back to and say “darn, wish I would have thought of something like Yahoo or AOL”. Think of it and give it a go! Why not? Or at least find some kids who are working on the thing and buy a piece of what they’re doing. That’s just how I roll, though. Just trying to prevent future complaining.

That’s the BYU Marketing Association. I’ve been a member for about 1.5 months and it’s a great club. Very impressed with their events and people (especially because 2 of them work for me!). Today they had a closing social with a “yacht” theme. Pretty fun stuff, some sweet outfits.

One BYUMA event 2 weeks ago was a major executive for eBay, he came and taught us all about resumes. Turns out there is A format to follow. It’s what the top 10 business schools use and some call it the “Chicago” format.  Good to know. Here’s the thought of the day:

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Accepting limits

I just spent a few hours filling an order for BYU-Idaho. It was tons of fun and I love this stuff. It’s exciting times with Parker Planners. Lotsa changes happening soon! I love being able to live my own life and make my own choices. Isn’t it grand that we only have to be accountable for our own choices? Sure, the choices of others affect our lives, but we really can make of this life what-e-ever we want!! I choose to have a good attitude, to not fear, to ignore jargon and buzzwords, and to not be impressed by fake crud. I also choose to rock out and make music because it’s fun.

Seth Godin spoke at the Omniture Summit Benjie and I went to recently. This is from his blog:

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On self determination

I posted this eight years ago (!) but a reader asked for an encore.

…are we stuck in High School?

I had two brushes with higher education this week.

The first was at a speech I gave in New York. There were several Harvard Business School students there, invited because of their interest in marketing and exceptional promise (that’s what I was told… I think they came because they had heard that Maury Rubin would make a great lunch!).

Anyway, they asked for my advice in finding marketing jobs. When I shared my views (go to a small company, work for the CEO, get a job where you actually get to make mistakes and do something) one woman professed to agree with me, but then explained, “But those companies don’t interview on campus.”

Those companies don’t interview on campus. Hmmm. She has just spent $100,000 in cash and another $150,000 in opportunity cost to get an MBA, but…

The second occurred today at Yale. As I drove through the amazingly beautiful campus, I passed the center for Asian Studies. It reminded me of my days as an undergrad (at a lesser school, natch), browsing through the catalog, realizing I could learn whatever I wanted. That not only could I take classes but I could start a business, organize a protest movement, live in a garret off campus, whatever. It was a tremendous gift, this ability to choose.

Yet most of my classmates refused to choose. Instead, they treated college like an extension of high school. They took the most mainstream courses, did the minimum amount they needed to get an A, tried not to get into “trouble” with the professor or face the uncertainty of the unknowable. They were the ones who spent six hours a day in the library, reading their textbooks.

The best part of college is that you could become whatever you wanted to become, but most people just do what they think they must.

Is this a metaphor? Sure. But it’s a worthwhile one. You have more freedom at work than you think (hey, you’re reading this on company time!) but most people do nothing with that freedom but try to get an A.

Do you work with people who are still in high school? Job seekers only willing to interview with the folks who come on campus? Executives who are trying to make their boss happy above all else? It’s pretty clear that the thing that’s wrong with this system is high school, not the rest of the world.

Cut class. Take a seminar on french literature. Interview off campus. Safe is risky.

-Seth Godin

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GoOd GravY!?!? Those companies don’t interview on campus?! Every heard of a phone book? Ever heard of doing something because you want to? I’ll probably never go to Harvard Business school nor have nearly the GPA that person does, but they can have it! I’ll gladly, enthusiastically give someone my high GPA, test scores, and perfect attendance for a shred of creativity and passionate pursuit of something I choose to learn.

Last week Benjie and I worked at the annual Omniture Summit where top marketing executives from fortune 500 companies gather to learn more about internet commerce. It was lots of fun and we learned a lot.

I unapologetically post this food:

It was delicious and filled with two varieties of wonderful chocolate and vanilla mousse. Wow. Lotsa good food at this thing.

There were lotsa signs like this. It was in the Grand America Hotel, pretty sweet venue. The Killers played on Wed night.

Here’s Benjie and I in front of a kiosk thing. Omniture tells companies how many visitors on the web they get and also what people do when they get on their websites and buy things. Some of their customers are Walmart, GM, AT&T, and MTV.

Adobe purchased Omniture for $1.8 billion recently so their name is on everything. Here’s the first mobile devices (Palm Pre, Nexus One Google Phone) with Flash implemented and working. This will come out in about June. Cool! Apple doesn’t want flash (internet application that allows animations and online games) on the iPhone because they think it will do away with their free app game market. Silly Apple.

“Abini bini! Ali tranolio!! Mama Mia bonjorno principessa canoli!!”

These are the first words (estimated) I heard upon entering Nick’s establishment today. Phraseology of a true pizza place;  3 bona fide real Italian family members rambling, yelling, hand-waving like mad. For those reasons and so many more I love this place. Great pizza and great service!! Nick really is from Boston and has an amazing accent, too.

Howdy, just spent some fun times updating websites today. Please comment and be specific if you have a second (and can do a math problem), it helps. The first is my company website, the second is a website my brother-in-law hired me to make.

www.parkerplanners.com < the company I started over 3 years ago

www.securesourceaz.com < my brother-in-law’s rad company in AZ

Here’s an interesting article on how when super talented people join big companies, startups die:

Yesterday was our first meeting with both interns at once. It was fun! We talked about how we’re going to rule the planner world and do great things.

My friend Jeff Harmon recently was made CEO of a start-up company with a product called Orabrush. They have some pretty silly videos advertising it. I was Jeff’s counselor in our Sunday School presidency 2 years back when we were in the same singles ward. Impressive how it’s up to 3 million views now.

hooray wacky new products!

Jeremy Hanks of Doba is a cool guy. He was an accounting major at BYU and after an internship in audit with Arthur Anderson he decided that he’d do just about anything to get out of public accounting (I didn’t need to do an internship to figure that one out! I just had to looks at the overly forced half-smiles of recruiters talking about how they “loove” their work). Jeremy dropped out and started Geartrade.com. It did really well and he sold the business to some guy and they sold it to backcountry.com. Pretty cool. Then he started Doba.com.

Doba charges people a monthly fee to help them be a drop-ship business. They’re pretty cool and are doing well; all over the INC 500. He came and spoke at BYU one time so I emailed him through his blog and asked him if we could meet and talk entrepreneurship. He was on a plane to France at the time but emailed me right back and invited me to have breakfast with him at Kneaders in Alpine, UT. Way cool!

It was a ton of fun to meet him, he’s definitely your stereotype can-do-everything very kind and energetic entrepreneur type. I was impressed at how much attention and consideration he gave me considering his success in business. Cool guy. He eventually went back to BYU and finished his degree, changing to business management because they waived some classes.

Parker Planners now has 3 displays up at the BYU Bookstore!

This one is upstairs by the textbooks. My friends keep texting me pictures of it. Ha! Thanks!

Hello ya’ll readers of Being Happy, Living the Dream.

I’m back from vacation time and its on like Donkey Kong blogwise. Just got back to Provo and its time to kick-start a new year. I love govt. grants and interest-free student loans. Beautiful things.

I may abandon windows. XP is getting a little dated for me. I’m typing to you from Leopard a.k.a. OS X (operating system like windows, vista, etc.) from my macbook right now and its nice I must admit. I’m getting into the habit because when Adobe CS 5 comes out I’m going to install it on the Mac side of my computer.

CS stands for “creative suite” and it’s adobe’s bundle of design software. Rumor has it that the new Flash version can program iPhone apps right from the graphic interface so you don’t have to know the Objective-C programming language to make apps! Way way rad.

I’ll fill in some pictures from the break. Welcome back!

Ethan