On my previous (and, coincidentally, first) post, I told you a little bit about what I want to accomplish with my business and what I will not compromise to do so. I also directed you to place where you could find more information about who I am and what I do. Now, I should probably tell you what this blog is all about.
This blog is the story of Josh Can Help (dot com)… how it came about, how it came together, and how it’s going. Besides being a tale of inevitable success (have to keep that positive visualization flowing, trust me), this blog will also serve to help people who want to try the same path, bootstrapping a business that they feel very passionate about. What I do, what works, what doesn’t, and how it all comes together will hopefully help other people who face the same decisions that I have. Choose the same or choose differently but at least you’ll have one more piece of information to help you choose.
So, let me tell you a little bit about myself and how it will contribute to an undeniably inspiring blog experience for you.
I like to teach people
Like I said before, I’m not a business development expert, a marketing maven, or a dot com millionaire. I am, however, someone who can explain stuff that doesn’t make sense in a way that might.
When I worked as a corporate trainer, I was told by a man whom I respected very much that I was a “natural teacher.” I was 24 at the time and really didn’t know what to do with that information besides say thank you. I still don’t know exactly what to do with it but I know it is going to have something to do with teaching people what I know and what they want to know.
I am not here to challenge someone to a coding battle or try to out-design someone else or to build an office network from scratch. I am here to bridge the gap between the gals and guys who know this stuff and teach me and the people who have no clue but want to. I’m here to show you what’s out there and get you started.
This blog is here for the newbies, the have-nots, the beginners. There’s so much information out there and it is hard to know where to start if you just want to get something easy done. Not everyone is a budding software developer or a Photoshop guru or a tech addict. Some people get lost and frustrated easily and end up losing out on great content, great tools, and great people.
This blog is here for the people who don’t know where to start. I’d be thrilled to be your first addition to your first feed reader.
This is my first business
I’m starting from scratch with no funding of any kind and lots of other things on my calendar. I started this business to get good at what I like to do, to have complete creative license over what I produce, and to satisfy my “help others” urge. I have nothing to lose but large chunks of my life and everything to gain. In short, there’s no reason not to do what I’m doing right now.
Also, I don’t, in the classical sense, even know what I’m doing. I’m not an MBA, I’ve never ran a business, and have never even taken a class in anything business related beyond a macro-econ class many years ago. My dad is a freelance financial consultant and went from unhappily employed to happily self-employed in a short period of time (there’s more to the story, of course, but that’s the Clif Notes). Business skill is certainly not genetic, but I’ve assimilated a sizable amount of his work ethic, business values, and desire for progress. In addition, I’ve worked for big companies for most of my employed life. Now, working on contract for a small software company, I find myself producing much better results and learning exponentially more than before. I like that I have lunch with the CEO every now and then and I like that I really feel like I own a part of their success/failure. On top of that (hold on to your hats, folks) I also have been reading about marketing and business for over a year and have picked up way too much not to give it a go.
So I’m green but I’m driven and I want this more than anything. I feel like there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way. This blog is a place I can express what I want out of the business and find others who might be doing the same thing or even just thinking about it. I want to connect with like-minded folks and build community. That’s one more piece.
I read a lot
I like to read about “life hacks” and tips and tricks and fun stuff like that. There are some talented people out there who come up with some great advice. In fact, there is so much great advice out there, sometimes I feel like I’m falling behind in taking it. Some of the best advice and greatest posts come from people who mash-up the idea of typical businesses and make me feel very passionately about owning a piece of that pie.
I read all this good advice and then have nothing to do with it (depending on what the advice is). I get these great ideas about social media and web presence and interaction and online communities and have nowhere to go.
Now, I’m going to take that great advice and my great ideas and I’m going to tell you how they turned out. I’m going to try all those free software downloads out there and all those great morning tips and all that neat marketing advice and use everything that makes sense to me. I’m going to try out those services and talk to those people and sign up for that website. Then, I’m going to cone back to this blog, tell you about what I did, tell you about how I found it, and tell you what happened.
I can’t do this for everything, of course. I’m not going to come on here and tell you how much better my life is now that I quit drinking coffee (because that’s ridiculous) or my new exercise routine I found on-line. What I will tell you about is free software that made my life easier, cheap gadgets I splurged on that work for me, and trick I’ve used to make my computer run better/different. I’ll also be sure to tell you what sucks out there because, let’s be really honest, a lot of it does.
I’m an information junky and information is useless unless you use it or share it. I intend to do both.
There will be news
Don’t you doubt it, there will be news for sure. Anything and everything worthy of telling many people about will end up right here for everyone to read. New client? New employee? New project? Big win? All right here.
. . .
The tale of JoshCanHelp (dot com) starts from the very beginning ... the very, very beginning. You’ve read my intentions and you’ve now heard about my blog. Next up… how did it all begin?
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Newer
Apr 09, 2008
Problem Solved #00001 - DSL, Wifi, printers
This customer called me to help him move his router, make sure wi-fi worked throughout the house, set up a printer with Vista (which was causing him problems), and possibly help him acquire a new desktop.
Older
Mar 17, 2008
Josh Can Help Is Alive!
I, Josh Cunningham, am starting a business, more or less by myself. You can tell that I’m serious about this because I already have a website. Take notes: website = serious stuff. That one’s free.