Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

[MJ DeMarco]

The guy in black is the frugal FIRE philosophy.
The guy in red is Fastlane.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1639627645452255234

View: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovak/status/1639627645452255234?s=20

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Is there a CRM equivalent of WordPress? Something like ActiveCampaign or Drip, except the individual maintains control?

The Problem
ActiveCampaign, who I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars with over the past decade has increased their prices and decreased support response times from a few minutes to a few days. They've also capped subscribers and if I want to increase that cap, I have to pay an additional amount per month on top of the price increase.

ActiveCampaign is still a private company but is starting to show signs of heading in the wrong direction. The problem is, I've integrated them so deeply into my business ecosystem that it would be incredibly difficult to up and switch to a new CRM. To make matters worse, other CRMs present the same risk.

The Solution
Does anyone know of a CRM equivalent of WordPress with the features of a major CRM like automations, tagging, custom fields, etc? If not, can someone please build one? I want to have more control over my basic email system with the ability to plugin any missing components just like you plugin apps with Wordpress.

 

[Andy Black]

Is there a CRM equivalent of WordPress? Something like ActiveCampaign or Drip, except the individual maintains control?

The Problem
ActiveCampaign, who I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars with over the past decade has increased their prices and decreased support response times from a few minutes to a few days. They've also capped subscribers and if I want to increase that cap, I have to pay an additional amount per month on top of the price increase.

ActiveCampaign is still a private company but is starting to show signs of heading in the wrong direction. The problem is, I've integrated them so deeply into my business ecosystem that it would be incredibly difficult to up and switch to a new CRM. To make matters worse, other CRMs present the same risk.

The Solution
Does anyone know of a CRM equivalent of WordPress with the features of a major CRM like automations, tagging, custom fields, etc? If not, can someone please build one? I want to have more control over my basic email system with the ability to plugin any missing components just like you plugin apps with Wordpress.

Great question. I've started collecting email addresses and don't want them to go into an ESP to start with. I'd rather they got added to a Google sheet and then got zapped into, say, ConvertKit.

 

[BizyDad]

Is there a CRM equivalent of WordPress? Something like ActiveCampaign or Drip, except the individual maintains control?

The Problem
ActiveCampaign, who I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars with over the past decade has increased their prices and decreased support response times from a few minutes to a few days. They've also capped subscribers and if I want to increase that cap, I have to pay an additional amount per month on top of the price increase.

ActiveCampaign is still a private company but is starting to show signs of heading in the wrong direction. The problem is, I've integrated them so deeply into my business ecosystem that it would be incredibly difficult to up and switch to a new CRM. To make matters worse, other CRMs present the same risk.

The Solution
Does anyone know of a CRM equivalent of WordPress with the features of a major CRM like automations, tagging, custom fields, etc? If not, can someone please build one? I want to have more control over my basic email system with the ability to plugin any missing components just like you plugin apps with Wordpress.

Salesforce? Keap? Hubspot maybe? I don't do email marketing, but along my journey I recall each of these platforms making such a promise.

Honestly, I pity the fool who tries to build this one. The barriers to entry are real and I would lose my hair over it.



Okay, they wouldn't be a fool, I just wanted to sound tough like Mr T. Because Lex DeVille likes tough talk. And because sounding like Mr T is fun, sucka.

 

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[mikecarlooch]

I don't know what it is - but I was just on the phone with a siteground representative and I'm 95% sure I was speaking to an AI that sounded exactly like a human. Super weird

 

[Fox]

 

[Bekit]

I don't know what it is - but I was just on the phone with a siteground representative and I'm 95% sure I was speaking to an AI that sounded exactly like a human. Super weird

We were just talking about this at work today!

I have a coworker who gets asked by callers all the time if she is a robot. She's not - I know her in real life - but she does have the "quintessential American corporate female voice" and impeccable diction.

I told her she could have a lot of fun with that if she wanted to. She would honestly be scary good at pretending to be an AI.

Customer: "Are you a robot"

Her in her best Siri voice: "While AI technology has certainly gotten good enough to pass for a human like me, I assure you that I am a real human with a heartbeat. However, it is unlikely that I will be able to convince you definitively, so you may never know. But then again, how do you know that you're not just in a simulation?"

Customer: leaves with existential crisis

 

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[Prdgy]

View attachment 48083

Honestly, not all that important, and the title is kind of clickbait. They're on house arrest, and they've confiscated most of their stuff, so all that's going to happen is that maybe they'll make some of their podcasts on rumble or something before the trial proceedings begin. Also maybe a change of clothes, they've been wearing the same ones since December

 

[biophase]

Does anyone have any good offline iPhone video editing apps they use?

I use Splice, it’s by GoPro.

 

[Antifragile]

This morning my Manager of Finance told me that we were scammed yesterday.

Our new receptionist is in her 20s and just started. She received a series of text messages from "me" yesterday (I was out of office). Scammer used fake number, not mine. She didn't know being new, thought it was me.

The gist of the story is:
- we want to surprise some employees with gift cards, can you run out and buy some?
- sure
- how many did you get? Send me pics we’ll reimburse you asap
- pics sent …
- that's great, but not enough. Can you get more?
- this store is out of Apple gift cards. That’s all they had.
- we need at least double that
- I can try another location
- keep me posted
-...

This went on until she maxed out her credit card balance!

Of course, I immediately reimbursed her all the losses. Poor girl was crying from stress. She thought it was her fault for not recognizing a scam.

1. No, it's not her fault - don't blame the victim.
2. It's a lesson to all young and old, scammers are everywhere and they are creative. Watch out. Be skeptical.

Talking on @Kak's thread about ethics and business... today of all days! @Black_Dragon43 these people may do ok financially, but imagine they used the same ingenuity for good! I bet they'd do well. They are masters of sales techniques. There should be a fortune to be made ethically for them.

 

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[loop101]

TIL in Sweden a drunk Moose got stuck in a tree while trying to eat fermented apples. After being cut free, the moose passed out until the next day.

 

[Andy Black]

Haha. So funny and so impressive.

View: https://youtu.be/_SsObrrSA_M

 

[Kevin88660]

This morning my Manager of Finance told me that we were scammed yesterday.

Our new receptionist is in her 20s and just started. She received a series of text messages from "me" yesterday (I was out of office). Scammer used fake number, not mine. She didn't know being new, thought it was me.

The gist of the story is:
- we want to surprise some employees with gift cards, can you run out and buy some?
- sure
- how many did you get? Send me pics we’ll reimburse you asap
- pics sent …
- that's great, but not enough. Can you get more?
- this store is out of Apple gift cards. That’s all they had.
- we need at least double that
- I can try another location
- keep me posted
-...

This went on until she maxed out her credit card balance!

Of course, I immediately reimbursed her all the losses. Poor girl was crying from stress. She thought it was her fault for not recognizing a scam.

1. No, it's not her fault - don't blame the victim.
2. It's a lesson to all young and old, scammers are everywhere and they are creative. Watch out. Be skeptical.

Talking on @Kak's thread about ethics and business... today of all days! @Black_Dragon43 these people may do ok financially, but imagine they used the same ingenuity for good! I bet they'd do well. They are masters of sales techniques. There should be a fortune to be made ethically for them.

View attachment 48097

View attachment 48098

New staff received sms, not WhatsApp messages, did not verify with anyone, and used her credit card for business transactions.....

How did the scammer know her number if she did not put it on linkedIn?

Did other staffs receive the same "pitch"?

I will do a check to see if there is any mole in the organization.

 

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[MitchC]

Oh man @MJ DeMarco I found a treat for you. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction, even you couldn’t think of something as ridiculous as this in your article about FiRE

“Jo Nemeth, from northern NSW, quit her job in 2014 because she felt every time she spent her money it was harming someone.

Over the years she’s lived with two families with free board and food, in exchange for her looking after their kids, doing chores and gardening.

The mum uses leftover napkins friends supplied her for toilet paper, and these same friends also gave her the end bits of their toothpaste to get by.

At one point she was living in a shack and cooking her meals out of a stove she built by hand using bricks.

She also had to break up with her partner at the time because they were not on board with the idea”

https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/budgeting/how-nsw-woman-hasnt-spent-any-money-in-eight-years/news-story/42d01f1b554c278403e12a25059bbfa2?utm_campaign=EditorialSB&utm_source=news.com.au&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_content=SocialBakers

 

[Prdgy]

Oh man @MJ DeMarco I found a treat for you. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction, even you couldn’t think of something as ridiculous as this in your article about FiRE

“Jo Nemeth, from northern NSW, quit her job in 2014 because she felt every time she spent her money it was harming someone.

Over the years she’s lived with two families with free board and food, in exchange for her looking after their kids, doing chores and gardening.

The mum uses leftover napkins friends supplied her for toilet paper, and these same friends also gave her the end bits of their toothpaste to get by.

At one point she was living in a shack and cooking her meals out of a stove she built by hand using bricks.

She also had to break up with her partner at the time because they were not on board with the idea”

https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/budgeting/how-nsw-woman-hasnt-spent-any-money-in-eight-years/news-story/42d01f1b554c278403e12a25059bbfa2?utm_campaign=EditorialSB&utm_source=news.com.au&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_content=SocialBakers

Holy s#$%. She's managed to force herself into odd jobs without the promise of any money. The Sidewalk has officially peaked.

 

[loop101]

This couple bought a house in Detroit for $6.5K, fixed it up, and sold it for $410k.

 

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[Antifragile]

Just bought this book. Great title, isn’t it? Will see how it reads.

@MJ DeMarco

 

[Creative_Name]

What’s your guys’ take on saving up beer cans and whatnot to return to the beer store to get some dollars back on whatever amount you binged? Only to use that money for buying more shitty beer so you can escape from yourself every night and save up those cans and make your house look like a drinking den with cans and bottles laying in boxes for months so you can get more value from a single trip to the recycling depot.
Totally not a coloured question here.

 

[Kak]

This couple bought a house in Detroit for $6.5K, fixed it up, and sold it for $410k.

View attachment 48129 View attachment 48130

Looks like it needed $400k worth of work.

 

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[Antifragile]

Looks like it needed $400k worth of work.

Maybe a lot more than that… profit!?

 

[loop101]

Looks like it needed $400k worth of work.

The girl's father was a general contractor, so they had access to a lot of resources.

 

[Robdavis]

Comment deleted.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

This couple bought a house in Detroit for $6.5K, fixed it up, and sold it for $410k.

View attachment 48129 View attachment 48130

The house looks awesome, but I don't understand why stuff like this gets millions in free publicity. What's the agenda?

1) They spent over $300K.
2) They spent over 3 years.
3) The father was a general contractor so surely there was an abundance of resources, skills, and likely, excess material.

If you net it out based on the #'s they disclosed, they earned $17K a year on the project. If you divide that by time, they likely earned minimum wages. And this is based on disclosed numbers, things are likely worse. It likely was also an albatross on resources; time, mental bandwidth, etc.

 

[Antifragile]

The house looks awesome, but I don't understand why stuff like this gets millions in free publicity. What's the agenda?

1) They spent over $300K.
2) They spent over 3 years.
3) The father was a general contractor so surely there was an abundance of resources, skills, and likely, excess material.

If you net it out based on the #'s they disclosed, they earned $17K a year on the project. If you divide that by time, they likely earned minimum wages. And this is based on disclosed numbers, things are likely worse. It likely was also an albatross on resources; time, mental bandwidth, etc.

Average reader skims headlines, assumes the flip happened in 39 days and this couple made a “fortune”. Everyone should do it. Bla bla bla.

Useless shit.

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

The house looks awesome, but I don't understand why stuff like this gets millions in free publicity. What's the agenda?

1) They spent over $300K.
2) They spent over 3 years.
3) The father was a general contractor so surely there was an abundance of resources, skills, and likely, excess material.

If you net it out based on the #'s they disclosed, they earned $17K a year on the project. If you divide that by time, they likely earned minimum wages. And this is based on disclosed numbers, things are likely worse. It likely was also an albatross on resources; time, mental bandwidth, etc.

Average reader skims headlines, assumes the flip happened in 39 days and this couple made a “fortune”. Everyone should do it. Bla bla bla.

Useless shit.

Being the cynic I am, I assume CNBC is an extension of the economic machine, and the goal here is to get readers fired up about the real estate industry, go out and spend at home improvement stores and start speculating on fixer-uppers with little knowledge, training, or forethought.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Being the cynic I am, I assume CNBC is an extension of the economic machine, and the goal here is to get readers fired up about the real estate industry, go out and spend at home improvement stores and start speculating on fixer-uppers with little knowledge, training, or forethought.

Or to revitalize dying neighborhoods @ slave labor rates. If people think they can earn a fast $400K buying trash houses, more people will do it. The state need not get involved, just let those capitalist fools do the dirty work...

 

[Guest-5ty5s4]

Or to revitalize dying neighborhoods @ slave labor rates. If people think they can earn a fast $400K buying trash houses, more people will do it. The state need not get involved, just let those capitalist fools do the dirty work...

Reminds me of this FDR quote: "A nation of homeowners, of people who own a real share in their land, is unconquerable. You who own your homes are, more than any others, contributing to the development of the nation. In preserving your homes, you are fighting for the nation itself. It is not just a question of owning property; it is a question of citizenship, responsibility, and patriotism."

Sounds pretty good, until you look at the housing programs, loan programs, all the debt and inflation that followed and slow creep of un-affordability that ensued over 100 years.

Yes yes, those monthly payments sure are nice! Never mind the slavery you are committing yourself to (or the interest or the total price)... Pay no mind to the man behind the curtain, said the magician...

 

[GPM]

For some reason I was browsing IMDB to see if there were any good (or so terrible they are good) movies out there, I came across this gem:

"Elliot Page primed himself to make a major splash with his star-making turn in the surprise indie hit, "Juno" (2007), in which he played a sharp-witted high school teen who becomes pregnant and decides to give up the baby for adoption. Page's performance as the titular spitfire earned rave reviews and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress."

The world is going to be looking back at this period of time with some great confusion...

 

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[Fox]

Italy bans ChatGPT, citing data protection worries

Saw this one coming - the way ChatGPT works is totally against the EU idea of data usage.

Will be interesting to see how this evolves.

 

[loop101]

Or to revitalize dying neighborhoods @ slave labor rates. If people think they can earn a fast $400K buying trash houses, more people will do it. The state need not get involved, just let those capitalist fools do the dirty work...

The inspirational part of their story to me, is that they did it, and they plan to do it again - on a bigger scale. They also turned a slight profit, which opens the door to Intentional Iteration.

They should look in to working with the city of Detroit's Blight to Beauty program that gives grant money for rehabs. Some part of their $300k cost could have been paid for with grant money.