Thread: 2012 Beer & Pancakes

Originally Posted by Russ H

True, there was talk of a "Wine and Waffles" event . . . in Napa, at our B&B . . .
Is there interest?

I have never been to Napa so I would definitely be interested! Obviously depends on the time, price seems way more than reasonable. Might even be able to convince the Mrs. to go...

F my life. lol. Never again will I try to solve the mystery if someone has enough chest hair to shave a tie into it. Lesson learned!

Originally Posted by MJDeMarco

A picture from the event to lighten the mood...



Attachment 2887

Originally Posted by Jonleehacker

For me the funniest part of this picture is $19.95 for a bottle of Champagne... thought this was the Fastlane?

...And that's why I love this group so much (and I know you feel the same way too Jon, but for those who haven't been to the event here's my little tangent about why I love this meetup).

The cool thing about everyone in our group is that no one feels the need to impress each other. MJ or Kenric can roll up in their fast cars, and we can all take a moment to comment, "Hey that's a beautiful car" and then we can all head to a diner for lunch. I never feel like they (or anyone else) is trying to impress the group and I love that. I enjoy everyone's company regardless of where we are, or how much money is (or isn't) being thrown around. I suppose for all of us there we aren't really impressed by anything expensive, we are more impressed by the thinking behind what got them what they wanted. For example, when MikeC made the comment that he started a PR company as a backdoor way to get into events, people were impressed--because that's clever (and hilarious). When Kenric and Bill talked about scaling online stores, we are impressed by their thinking. When Chris talked about the Deuce45, we all were impressed, because who the hell thinks about how to use the bathroom with more efficacy? When Danoodle talked about his "funny story" behind how he picked up a rental, we all began slowly moving for the door...but well, you can't win them all.

Honestly, my favorite part of the B&P is that people get super real, because we aren't trying to impress each other. Maybe some are even more real within the group than they are with their friends and family. That real-ness that happens there is because we get each other. Even though we are all at different points in our lives and at different points striving toward financial freedom, we get each other at a core level that most of society doesn't understand--that is our connection, and that is what is really priceless. I love and appreciate that honesty and transparency--it is SO refreshing, and it's something that doesn't seem to exist within the slowlane with everyone there trying to either keep up with or be the Jonses. When I'm at the B&P, I feel like I've found my tribe, and that feeling isn't something that can be taught during the presentations or even quantified or qualified in any other way except to be there at the event. </tangent>

Originally Posted by yveskleinsky

When I'm at the B&P, I feel like I've found my tribe, and that feeling isn't something that can be taught during the presentations or even quantified or qualified in any other way except to be there at the event.

The entire description was awesome and makes me wanna join you.

Btw. happy Women's day Yves:-)

I think I decided for certain toa ttend like... Thursday morning so I swung by Phoenix on my way back from LA.

I've been up to my ass in the slowlane the last few years making a lot of money for the guys who sold the company I work for. Out of that deal I made... nothing. Except my job got harder and this year I will be responsible for growing a large P&L by another 20-30% and I will get a decent check for it but I'll be working my ass of making around $200K until the day I get sick enough of it to get off my ass and get serious about my next entrepreneurial sprint. Just enough to where I can say I do OK but not with no growth and if I want to keep getting that check there's another 5 16 hour days starting tomorrow morning.

To the point about 80% of life being the decision to show up (or start a business, or buy that first property or whatever your individual definition of getting the fencepost dislodged from your ass by tilting 45 degrees to the side and using the Lighthouse Lean to ease it out...)

It's worth going. The guys who are killing did not get there by coming up with a "HOLY SHIT!" stroke of genius idea for the most part... there's a diverse set of stories there and a disparate set of ideas with a common theme... people had an idea, did something about it, learned from mistakes and I heard a LOT of folks get some pretty good ideas from being there. Most people have lots of good ideas and never follow through. Not a criticism, just an observation.

So you are talkin 200 for the event, 250 for a plane ticket if you plan and maybe 400ish for a hotel... round up to a grand and that's 20 bucks per week. There is nobody reading this forum who couldn't do that in a couple hours per week. There are instructions here on the forum where an agoraphobe with an internet connection and 20 bucks can start rebaying and make 100 each week.

So next year I will be presenting what I am doing or did to get the hell out of the rat race or I will be working 80 hours per week making someone else's fortune and bitching about it. Either way it's up to me and it ain't a word problem guys. For shit's sake - get the fencepost out and decide to go or don't but it's so far from inaccessible that any excuse is pretty much bullshit. "I decided not to make it a priority" is perfectly valid.

Just go - if it doesn't pay for itself I'd be shocked.

Originally Posted by Russ H

How about the other Phoenicians? You willing to go that far?

(hint to Kenric-- Phoenix to Napa Valley is a great road trip )

-Russ H.

Let me know what week it will be.

Originally Posted by biophase

Let me know what week it will be.

Ditto, I need to know when it is in order to arrange everything and make a commitment.

Originally Posted by yveskleinsky

F my life. lol. Never again will I try to solve the mystery if someone has enough chest hair to shave a tie into it. Lesson learned!

I'm bringing the razor next year Dana. You in?

Originally Posted by GlobalWealth

I'm bringing the razor next year Dana. You in?

You have to ask? Sheesh Bobby, you spend a weekend with someone, you think you'd know them a little better! ...Hell yes I'm in. Just one question though, would a shaved tie AND and a real ascot be overkill?

Live A/b test next year. [throwback] teal tie vs bobby's inverted sweaterchest tie. Most touches wins....



DIS GON GET REALLLLLLLY AWKWARD

Originally Posted by biophase

Let me know what week it will be.

Wow, I just looked through all of last year (and through this year), and there weren't a whole lot of "slow" weekends . . .

The first 2 weekends in January were slow-er (we still brought in about $8-9 grand in January).

Doing some math, if fastlaners booked the rooms for a discount and we had 20 rooms booked times 3 nights (Thur, Fri, Sat), getting $8,000 divided by 60 room nights equals $133 per night (about $160 when you count taxes/charges).

These dates next year would be: Jan 3-6 or 10-13, 2013.

The second week of December was also pretty slow, but that's getting into Christmas parties and stuff. We brought in over 10 grand on those December weekends. This year's dates for that would be: Dec 6-9, 2012. That's around $167 per night ($200/night w/taxes and charges).

Weather that time of year (Dec and Jan) is usually partly sunny and 50s, or rain showers and 60s.

We have 34 rooms total. Three are super-basic, and 8 are lux.

Five rooms are suites (2 beds), the rest are all one bed per room. The suites average about the same as the super-basic room x 2, since they're bigger, but have a shared bath.

Let me know if there is interest in any of these dates. I know many are on budgets, so this may be too high (and we don't do points . . . sorry, Jill!)

All that being said, Napa Valley Fastlane Wine & Waffles might be kinda fun . . .

-Russ H

Originally Posted by Russ H

(and we don't do points . . . sorry, Jill!)

That's okay, Russ. I'd be willing to pay the price for a stay at the One and Only Old World Inn!! So there's nothing between March and December? Dang! Good to be you, eh?

Dang is right! I thought we were shooting for a summer session, midway between February meets in PHX. Doesn't make a lot of sense to have a Napa session in January and then a PHX session a month later!

Bet we could find a summer location up here in Colorado...

Originally Posted by Jill

So there's nothing between March and December? Dang! Good to be you, eh?

We had almost 60 people here for breakfast on Monday (a midweek day, NOT a weekend). Our room rates are between $150 and $400 a night right now (and it's not even April yet . . .)

Yeah, good to be me as far as the cashflow goes. By the end of February, we were already up over $100K YTD over last year.

-Russ H.

I just wanted to post my I wanted to go and I should have been there post to get it over with lol. and I totally understand how people like myself are percieved, and thats ok. Honestly in your position I would feel/think the exact same way.

I do really hope to attend one year in the near future! this year 2012 being the first year in as long as I can remember that we are in the black maybe 2013 is gonna be the one!

I agree with one of the previous posts on prioritys, as much as I would have loved to go to the b&p this year, and as much as I know it would have been money well spent, there were just other things that needed to be taken care of before I could make that trip. Now that 80% of them are checked off, things are on track to allow me the freedom to attend events like this

Originally Posted by LightHouse

Live A/b test next year. [throwback] teal tie vs bobby's inverted sweaterchest tie. Most touches wins....



DIS GON GET REALLLLLLLY AWKWARD

I just spit tea

Originally Posted by GlobalWealth

I just spit tea

I had some spit tea soup once . . .

-Russ H.

Originally Posted by Russ H

Yeah, my fave post for this year was "I'm gonna come! Oh, wait, decided to go to a writer's conference instead." Made me laugh out loud! Writing is slowlane (I should know, I wrote monthly columns for 3 national and one international magazine, back when people still bought magazines). S-L-O-W-L-A-N-E.

Writing is somebody else's fastlane, in most cases, unless you write a book that sells at least 10 million copies....

Here's why I laughed: You'd have much greater likelihood of writing a book that sells millions of copies by 1) Reading MJ's book, and 2) Going to this year's B&P, where MJ himself talked about how he'd published the book (he formed his own publishing co)-- and WHY (hint: He makes a LOT more per book, and doesn't need to sell 10 million copies to make some decent coin)....

This is not a "slam" at whomever made that comment. Each year, there are doers, and there are wannabes.

The wannabes say "Oh, next year!" or "Wish I'd gone!".

And the doers just keep doing . . . and coming back, year after year.

-Russ H.

Hey Russ.

Sure, no problem, I don't feel slammed at all.

On the one hand, you are calling me out, saying that writing isn't Fastlane.

On the other hand, I chose my path based on what I read in MJ's book. (Seedling 3: Content Systems)

Wow. I'm sure it would have been great hearing MJ talking about how he published his book and why.

Yet you heard him, and are still knocking writing as S-L-O-W-L-A-N-E.

I'm not going to get into a pissing match with you, I understand where you are coming from.

Call me a wannabe.

I don't mind.

We all chose our own path, and I chose mine.

You don't hear me whining or complaining about what I "missed out on" or what I "should have done."

If you are right, and writing isn't Fastlane, then MJ is wrong, and I'm just wasting my time.

I'll find out soon enough.

In the meantime, I'll keep on doing what I'm doing, and you'll keep on thinking of me as a wannabe.

Thanks for the inspiration.

JW Hagarty
Bellingham, Washington