What are you up to now?

[Kung Fu Steve]

Everyone once in a while a progress thread pops up for the month. My question is: what's everybody been doing? I love this forum and it's group of do-ers you guys all give me motivation, and hopefully I can do the same!

So far?

Just finished my 4th parade. Boy oh boy is it hot. Minnesota.. the only place where it gets 100 below and 100 above... ridiculous... anyways sun burnt and all the staff did an amazing job at the festival that was going on as well with our booth, and classes ran off without a hitch with several new people signing up today alone.

Monday I have another demonstration, in the morning, a lunch meeting with a recording studio to start my rap career.. or at least personal development speaking. And a new toastmasters group I am joining at night.

Writing out material has been going real well, life is moving like a whirlwind. Momentum is great isn't it? Once you get going on your plan things start to really move and shake! I guess that's why they call us movers and shakers :smxB:.

Also getting ready for our picnic next weekend for about 600 people, black belt testing, I have a success seminar for kids and teens next Friday, and an adult seminar in two weeks.

Yeesh... Not enough hours in the day... I guess this is why MJ says it is much better to have 1 big business instead of 10 small ones. Or two... I've always been a slow learner anyways :smx4:.

What are you guys doing this month??

 

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[Icy]

Ha, wish I would have saw this right before I posted here: http://www.thefastlanetomillions.com/progress-threads/22690-onemoregoal-progress-log.html#post136145

Planning (and starting) that + Lots of learning of frontend\backend programming for a that

 

[Halli]

I haven't been active for a few months.But I did something for me though.I went for my first trip out of Iceland.Went to see Barcelona Today I have been working on a website. Lessons Market It's good to be focusing on something like this again.

 

[Russ H]

Barcelona-- one of my favorite cities! Great vibe. And wonderful to walk around.

Good pick, for your first outing!

-Russ H.

 

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[Halli]

It was really fun to walk around the city Russ.And it didn't hurt that my girlfriend was there I thought the heat would be the thing to bother me but it was the humidity that was driving me crazy.

 

[Icy]

It was really fun to walk around the city Russ.And it didn't hurt that my girlfriend was there I thought the heat would be the thing to bother me but it was the humidity that was driving me crazy.

Haha, temperature wise being very high is never as uncomfortable as the number would make you think. It's always the humidity that's a bitch, as you've learned! Being from Iceland you don't have to worry about the combo, do ya?

 

[Halli]

that's true.And not the constant noise like there was in Barcelona.

 

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[Runum]

Everyone once in a while a progress thread pops up for the month. My question is: what's everybody been doing? I love this forum and it's group of do-ers you guys all give me motivation, and hopefully I can do the same!

So far?

Just finished my 4th parade. Boy oh boy is it hot. Minnesota.. the only place where it gets 100 below and 100 above... ridiculous... anyways sun burnt and all the staff did an amazing job at the festival that was going on as well with our booth, and classes ran off without a hitch with several new people signing up today alone.

Monday I have another demonstration, in the morning, a lunch meeting with a recording studio to start my rap career.. or at least personal development speaking. And a new toastmasters group I am joining at night.

Writing out material has been going real well, life is moving like a whirlwind. Momentum is great isn't it? Once you get going on your plan things start to really move and shake! I guess that's why they call us movers and shakers :smxB:.

Also getting ready for our picnic next weekend for about 600 people, black belt testing, I have a success seminar for kids and teens next Friday, and an adult seminar in two weeks.

Yeesh... Not enough hours in the day... I guess this is why MJ says it is much better to have 1 big business instead of 10 small ones. Or two... I've always been a slow learner anyways :smx4:.

What are you guys doing this month??

Wow Steve, you're busting it! Great to see.

Things are progressing with me as well. I am still not solving some growing problems and the challenges are getting more acute as I gain more rental units. I spent the last week putting out fires and not focused on expansion. Had an underground water leak at the apartments, ala SteveO but smaller scale. In addition, moved one family in and unit had undiscovered kitchen plumbing issues that demanded immediate attention. Had another tenant get bent out of shape over another tenants dog. Dog wasn't the problem, the complaining tenant was. Another tenant has apparently brought bugs into the apartments. We have never had an infestation like this, German Cockroaches. The only change has been a new group of younger, teen tenants. Their definition of clean is not my definition.

More rental units has also added more paperwork and book balancing. The bigger you are can mean money moving out too fast and you have to keep an eye on the books.

So, my plan, before I invest in any more rentals, is to solve some of these problems and lay the groundwork for future expansion.

Also, my kid moves into the dorm on Thursday for her first year of college. I think she is stressing out from all the unknowns facing her. I think it will be a great time of growing for her.:cheers:

 

[Guest3722A]

Trading, trading, trading and more trading!

In my first month back at it I have over 50 trades and am basically break even as it took me 3 weeks to get my system dialed in.

This current market required me to make adjustments to my past techniques and realize that the targets I use to be comfortable with hitting are now drastically shortened. On top of this the playing field isn't even for smaller traders as there are additional regulations that I have to follow until I grow which cuts my trading days down, and I had to design around the regulations.

Anyway, it's all discipline and psychology right now in this market and if the small profit isn't taken when it presents itself, the day becomes a flat waste of time, as I'm the type of trader who's more comfortable with cash at the end of the day in this current environment. The benefit however is that the small profit many times presents itself quick, within the first 1-4 hours.

 

[servicefly]

I was developing my www.entrepreneurinspired.com website for a while, but health problems and custody issues stopped it temporarily. I am researching the resources to have one of my Developers start on it, but I have so many projects ongoing now, I just don't have the time.

Startup Entrepreneurs are coming out of the wood-work and a few have some good skills and resources to work with. We have limited ourselves to 5 startup projects per year and 3 growth in the same year.

Of course, I continue to mentor Entrepreneurs (mostly the ones we invest in, but some outside of our company). It is very rewarding and sometimes I surprise myself when my advice get them profiting faster than expected.

I have big plans once I secure custody of my daughter, but for now I have to live far below my means; which is something I can't complain about in this economy since my means is better than most.

Glad to hear your so busy Steve=)

 

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[marktech101]

What am I up to?

I'm back in the game. I made my own FASTLANE. I pulled down $2782.46 in revenue during the past WEEK. (August 8 - 14). $933.46 of that was pure profit (yes, I'm in the black). I do 2-3 hours of work a day.

And ....... I'm selling it. Yes, you heard me. I'll be starting college in 5 days, less by the time you read this, and I can't keep it up. Have to study.

Full details are posted in the SPEEDWAY (private forum). Obviously I'll consider selling to speedway members only.

Couple of things -- MJ's exactly right with his description of what it feels like to hit it big. You're tracking daily profits, not yearly salaries -- and I've come to enjoy what I like to call 'Hundred Dollar Days', which may not sound like much, but for a kid just off of high school earning $8 an hour at a desk job, it's great.

It's a shame I have to let it go but if I did it once, I can sure as hell do it again.

 

[Russ H]

It's a weird month for us.

-Bookings are good (cashflow/advance sales), but actual occupancy for the next 2 weeks is not so good.

-I'm going to shake the bushes around here to see if I can scare up a few ideas to sell rooms. Local tasting rooms, a newsletter to our mailing list, etc.

-Have had a cold (terrible cough) that is yucky. Taking lots of vitamins, getting plenty of sleep (7+ hours/nt), and pretending I'm not *that* sick

-Looking at our overall numbers for the year. Pretty good so far.

-Just installed a bunch of "rustiques" (love the double entendre there) in our wine cellar. Bought 'em last weekend at our fave antique mall-- spent less than $800 for an entire room (avg price per piece was less than $30, if you don't count the real (working) crank telephone we bought for $100.

-Celebrating our daughter's 4th Birthday on Aug 25. What a great age.

-Sprucing up the inn-- got new chairs (adirondacks) for the fire pit, re-finished some of the older ones (they look *great*!). Set up 2 new fire pit areas for guests, including outdoor rugs which really make them feel like outdoor living rooms. Pretty cool.

-Working w/Paul Rakovich (aka "Rakona") on our Pay Per Click stuff.

-Talking w/our web folks about a new design.

-Continue to blog and work on SEO. We currently are #1 in google local, and the first non-directory site listed (front page) in the natural listings.

-Having fun working w/guests again (instead of just doing construction)

-Speaking of construction, got the new 10 zone HVAC system in the 5-room B&B, and the new gas line. Time to get the building inspector over to take a lookie.

Dealing w/staff issues-- just hired a prep cook/baker-- should lighten the load for our innkeepers-- they've been doing a terrific job under hard circumstances (down economy, lower revenues, more rooms rented for less per room)

Plan to work w/the new prep cook to take some of our menus to the next level. Should be exciting!

Still working on getting daily routines/checklists (ala Emyth) in place-- HAVE to spend a day on this, SOON.

-Sharon is working on our taxes. Blech. What a trooper!

-We've gotten this far this year without tapping into the $50K loan we got when we closed on the last B&B (to be used for conversion). We've been expensing everything out of revenues/profits. Might have to tap into it soon, though.

-Wondering how in the heck we're gonna survive the slow season (Oct/Nov/Dec cashflow) this year. Need to set aside some $$$, but not getting enough in to do that. Ack!?!

-Working on some cool social networking stuff. Too soon to talk about it.

-Continuing w/the Mastermind group I organized w/3 other people, all in the innkeeping industry. VERY sharp folks.

-Having summer fun. Weather here this year has been really mild-- wonderful, 70s and sunny most every day. Mmmmm. . . .

OK, that's enough of my stream of busi-ness for now.

-Russ H.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

German Cockroaches.

As opposed to American Cockroaches? Did they import them? :smx4:

 

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[mtnman]

We have never had an infestation like this, German Cockroaches.

When I used to help my uncle with his units, we had this problem a few times. You'll want to use a knockdown spray, but don't skip the bait step. There should be a gel bait that comes in a tube... you put in on the backs of cabinet doors and whatnot, hitting all the dark places they like to hide and multiply.

I think my families garden center stocked Demon products, so that's what we used with success.

 

[Russ H]

German Cockroaches.

As opposed to American Cockroaches? Did they import them? :smx4:

Pesky little suckers. Can turn much faster and have higher top speeds.

But parts are more expensive.

-Russ H.

 

[servicefly]

Russ H,

I don't know a thing about the roaches, but I have 2 cents worth advice. Find a cause in your area. My area has Autism. Hold a fundraiser event requiring people to stay at your place. Fundraisers work well even in a down economy. Don't forget to network with the affluent at your event. They can sustain you for more than a year. Hope my cents help=)

 

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[LightHouse]

Bookmarking this because i am trying to catch up and i want to read/respond!

 

[Cat Man Du]

Well....Closed on my latest flip back in April. Just now have it done for re-sale. Had other items come into play which delayed me in getting this home done. Paid $58,000 with collecting the selling commisssion + $1,000 bonus that bank offered.... now have about $10K rehab costs = $68,000 total out of pocket. NO mortgage costs as I always pay CASH for these priced homes. Am back on market ...priced at $99,500...yeah always price it under $100,000 to GRAB that market. We'll see how it goes.

Here's some pics........

PS. Granite counters + back splash, tiled porch/den, kitchen and front porch, painted, new carpet in bedrms., new screening and posts for porch, new appliances.

 

[Anon3587x]

The past 5 days I have not been doing much of anything business related. I have been taking a break to do other things and clear my mind for a bit.

I helped my friend tear down a shed and take everything to the dump.
After being stung/biten by wasps I stepped on a nail which tore a muscle in my foot. First day or 2 it hurt incredibly bad to put any pressure on it at all. I've never felt such pain, my broken foot did not even hurt so bad.

This little break is helping me build up some mental momentum though.

 

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[LightHouse]

Steve, rock on brother!

Sounds like quite a few of you are making progress.

Lets see

got banned from a city for my bachleor party
got married
went and experienced vegas for the first time on our honeymoon
completly automated my business before i left
lost my biggest account on the last day of vegas
got home to IRS and State envelopes (not good)
started reading Delivering Happiness and absolutly love it
wrote up my post wedding task list (goal list to come) and its pages long

moving forward...

Got to restructure my entire business I have currently, and Tony heish has inspired me to get into big business, so I want to make plans to move towards that. In addition to that, I am also going to start studying programming. When i say study i mean study like if i were in school again, and hour or two a night. Being in e-biz, some things really need to be learned these days, and although it seems counter intuitive to what i always preached about hiring out and running a business, I think knowing how to will help run the business as well.


I also need to look into classes on how to write so people understand what i am talking about, i think i just confused myself writing the above paragraphs, LOL!

 

[Cat Man Du]

Steve, rock on brother!

Sounds like quite a few of you are making progress.


got married
went and experienced vegas for the first time on our honeymoon


I also need to look into classes on how to write so people understand what i am talking about, i think i just confused myself writing the above paragraphs, LOL!

Had my honeymoon there as well.........................NEVER left the room ......got off the plane in the beginning and got on the plane going back.....never SAW Vegas....lol

 

[Cat Man Du]

Re: the above

Had my honeymoon there as well.........................NEVER left the room had EVERYTHING I wanted right there......got off the plane in the beginning and got on the plane going back.....never SAW Vegas....lol Barbie signed us in....ya know it was the first time she could use OUR last name. Mr. & Mrs. Cat ........ then she wrote aka Mr. Bulk & the Blonde. OK .... back to business

Well....Closed on my latest flip back in April. Just now have it done for re-sale. Had other items come into play which delayed me in getting this home done. Paid $58,000 with collecting the selling commisssion + $1,000 bonus that bank offered.... now have about $10K rehab costs = $68,000 total out of pocket. NO mortgage costs as I always pay CASH for these priced homes. Am back on market ...priced at $99,500...yeah always price it under $100,000 to GRAB that market. We'll see how it goes.

Here's some pics........

PS. Granite counters + back splash, tiled porch/den, kitchen and front porch, painted, new carpet in bedrms., new screening and posts for porch, new appliances.

Just accepted a contract on this last week;

Offer was for $87,500.....countered with $90,500 and this is why I came down to this price:

And today we discover that at the end of June, Fannie and Freddie are now the proud owners of 191,000 homes (double what they owned at the end of 2009) and rising with each passing day. And shockingly, the GSEs have decided to do the prudent thing and start selling this real estate, before the plunges really plunge and leave them straddled with millions of homes. On the other hand, this action alone will likely be sufficient to force the next leg lower in home prices. Because it gets worse: "Once they take homes back, Fannie and Freddie must not only cover the utility bills and property taxes, but they are also relying on thousands of real-estate agents and contractors to rehabilitate homes, mow lawns and clean pools. Fannie took a $13 billion charge during the second quarter just on carrying costs for its properties."

Buyers have $25,000 down so no problem with the bank. I am concerned with the prognoses for the immediate future...I took too long on this flip to begin with, because of personal issues....so need to keep the money moving.

 

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[Gaulkin]

Living in Miami, one of the worst hit places in this economy i find myself doing alot of planning and networking with people still standing. Planning to buy my first fourplex soon and hopefully get my new business off the ground in the next few months.

 

[Icy]

I'm still working on the website I posted in my first post here. I keep going back and rehashing things instead of just getting something out. This is my problem right now. I worry too much about getting it perfect though, even though I know it'll never be. Bad spot to be in haha

Working on a quick project this weekend though to get a feel for the FB and Twitter API. Didn't want to implement it directly into my project yet, plus I have a decent idea to make with it anyways. To be fair though the project mostly consists of the FB Iframe (may switch to FBXML ) like buttons rather than much of the API.

 

[hatterasguy]

Buying more property that I could dream of owning a few months ago. 4 lots are in inventory now, I'm going to tie up another 3-4 in a week.

If all goes well I will be a millionaire well before I'm 30. My company already controls about that with those lots, if I tie up a few more it will be well over a mill, more so when I put houses on them.

Its amazing, the old guard is faltering and I'm running in to fill the vacuum. I actualy have people calling me with deals, amazing.

Now I'm thinking about what kind of new Mercedes I want to buy next year, thinking about an E or a slightly used SL, will pay in cash of course.

 

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[Rickson9]

I closed on another property in Phoenix, AZ last week. I was able to purchase it at 20% gross rental income.

I sold one of my properties in Toronto, Canada two weeks ago. Closing date is the first week of October.

My stock portfolio is up over 31% YTD. If this return holds, it will be the first time that I have had back-to-back years of over-30% returns (last year my return was 31.6%).

The web site in my sig outlines a few of the things I do on a year-to-year basis.

 

[CommonCents]

Negotiating to invest in 2 manufacturing businesses and starting a hedge fund investing in primarily receivables directly, credit insurance, and financing factoring companies. Rolling out around 1st of the year.