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

[Robdavis]

God help us...

Translation: Mental illness will become a trillion dollar business.

One thing that has been bugging me for the last few years, is young people with bags under their eyes. (Maybe it is just a UK thing.)

Like ten or fifteen years ago the only people with bags under their eyes were some older newsreaders or some politicians.

But recently, I have been seeing pictures of older teens and twenty somethings like that.

I'm not sure what causes it, but it seems like the "young" are having their health trashed by something and I wonder if it is social media affecting sleep. If their sleep is a mess and chronically so, then their stress levels will be elevated. This will lead to increased physical illness, not just mental illness.

This sort of thing:


For clarity, this is just a picture I found in a Google image search. I don't know the lad.

 

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[AceVentures]

I'm not sure what causes it, but it seems like the "young" are having their health trashed by something and I wonder if it is social media affecting sleep. If their sleep is a mess and chronically so, then their stress levels will be elevated. This will lead to increased physical illness, not just mental illness.

Poor metabolic health due to a number of chronic stressors.

Lots of dark days (sleeping in late and staying indoors) paired with bright nights (staying up late with artificial light exposure) throws off the circadian rhythm which manages our biological systems.

Indulging in frequent phone and social media as a constant stressor which not only psychologically creates angst but physically strains the eyes and constrains us in poor posture.

Nutritional imbalances from fewer nutritious local-grown whole foods and more ultra-processed globally-sourced store-bought foods.

And these are just a few of the constant stressors that are impacting the young. Imo it's equally affecting older people, not just the young. The olds face the same dilemma with poor foods, poor posture, lack of movement and watching TV and Facebooking all day and night, AND they're on a shit-ton of prescription medication.

It takes self-awareness and personal responsibility to minimize environmental stressors living in the 21st century with an under-adapted biology.

 

[monnffffiiiiiii]

I'm testing it now. It's wild. Like the movie, "Her." It's a little glitchy tho, and response is slightly delayed for some reason. But the sound and style of speaking are good.

We've had image reading available only a few days ago in Europe.

We can't talk yet. I mean, we can talk, but only to ask questions. It doesn't talk back. The speech recognition is absolutely insane though, 10X what Google can do.

AI's revolution is the equivalent to electricity and very very few people realize it.

This is where Hollywood got things wrong. You see people protest or panic or fight against AI in the movies. In the real world, they just keep on doing life as if nothing was happening.

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The reason why most people (and myself) don't go 100% into the things we do is that what if we fail? It's a pretty ego-shattering experience.

But then the pain of the regret of not trying 100% is worse than failing at 100%.

 

[loop101]

The blogger that harangued "Target Tori" clearly missed the bigger picture.

 

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[BizyDad]

One thing that has been bugging me for the last few years, is young people with bags under their eyes. (Maybe it is just a UK thing.)

Like ten or fifteen years ago the only people with bags under their eyes were some older newsreaders or some politicians.

But recently, I have been seeing pictures of older teens and twenty somethings like that.

I'm not sure what causes it, but it seems like the "young" are having their health trashed by something and I wonder if it is social media affecting sleep. If their sleep is a mess and chronically so, then their stress levels will be elevated. This will lead to increased physical illness, not just mental illness.

When I was in high school, everyone had bags under their eyes. Nobody wanted to sleep. I don't think this is a new phenomenon.

We've had image reading available only a few days ago in Europe.

We can't talk yet. I mean, we can talk, but only to ask questions. It doesn't talk back. The speech recognition is absolutely insane though, 10X what Google can do.

AI's revolution is the equivalent to electricity and very very few people realize it.

This is where Hollywood got things wrong. You see people protest or panic or fight against AI in the movies. In the real world, they just keep on doing life as if nothing was happening.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The reason why most people (and myself) don't go 100% into the things we do is that what if we fail? It's a pretty ego-shattering experience.

But then the pain of the regret of not trying 100% is worse than failing at 100%.

I don't usually like to share articles as a post, but I read this right before I saw your comment, and I thought it was an interesting correlation...

Two friends used AI and $185 to start a side hustle—they just sold it for $150,000: 'It really does print money'

Sal Aiello and Monica Powers spent $185 on DimeADozen, an artificial intelligence-powered side hustle. It was immediately profitable and lucrative, they say.

www.cnbc.com

These guys built an AI version of MJ's grade my business idea...

 

[Madame Peccato]

I uploaded a small clip of my handwriting to ChatGPT and asked if it could analyze it. Not only did it analyze my handwriting, but it was quite accurate.

It's possible the analysis is accurate in the way a cold reader is accurate. In other words, the statements may apply to anyone. I'm unsure because I've only tested it once.

That said, it would be fun to test this in other contexts. "What does my handwriting say about my dating style?" "What does my handwriting say about my fitness?"

View attachment 51910
View attachment 51909

Fun experiment! Here's mine.

Spoiler: big images

 

[ZF Lee]

Rant:

Some of the emails I get from customers/leads are so dumb that they just melt my brain.

"Hey, I signed up to get "X" thing but I really wanted [insert thing not even remotely related to what we do]. Why are you trying to just push "X" on me??? Just give me [insert thing we don't offer again] and STOP SPAMMING ME with things I didn't sign up to get!!"

I refuse to believe these people are functioning human beings. Like, did you not read ANYTHING on our site when you signed up for our emails? The way our site is laid out, you HAD to have read something. We make it very clear what we offer.

I don't know why, but today I'm not in the mood to deal with people who are rude, stupid, entitled, and flat-out wrong.

/rant

Time to do some list-cleaning and boot out the folks who don't obey house rules?

God help us...

Translation: Mental illness will become a trillion dollar business.
View attachment 51931

More folks will end up at religious institutions too when they get hit for real. We know its another mega business on the planet too.

But there is a reason why I give up on youth ministry. I'm too old for it (although the older figures in my life INSIST I'm not), and too many youth ministries are chasing the Joel Osteen model.

You know what happens when businesses keep chasing numbers, and not truly serving needs? Same goes for the religious arena...

My average screen time is 3 hours; normally an hour on TFLF, which I want to lower; another 45-75 minutes on music for the gym, and the rest keeping in touch with family.

My goal, however is about an hour a day. Which I’m attempting to do this week.

It's not a real issue if you have to use devices for education and work purposes.

Especially if you are working on digital services. Can't run from that.

The big question is whether we REALLY use that device time to work and learn...

 

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[xShepherdx]

Recently saw an ad with Chuck Norris in it and realized I didn't know anything about him other than the memes.

So I checked out his Wikipedia page and saw this:

After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Shortly after, in Hollywood, Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris went on to appear in a minor role in the spy film The Wrecking Crew (1969). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became a hit, and he soon became a popular action film star.

Norris went on to star in a streak of bankable independently made action and martial arts films, with A Force of One (1979), The Octagon (1980), and An Eye for an Eye (1981). This made Norris an international celebrity.

To me, this sounded like the kind of journey that @MitchC talked about in @mikecarlooch's thread. (Read Mitch's post here)

Chuck Norris started with something basic (learning to fight in the military) and it evolved over time into something huge.

He DIDN'T just start out with the intention of becoming an internationally known celebrity.

Instead, his career developed naturally and incrementally over time as he gained skills and built relationships with people in the film industry.

My Takeaway: Start with the thing you can do NOW and take on bigger opportunities as your skills and income grow. And always surround yourself with people who have achieved the things you want to accomplish.

 

[Andy Black]

Whoa. Was just chatting to a biker and dug these out.

Note that I've not ridden for over a decade. Asymmetric downside. And too many f*ckwits text and drive nowadays.

Some trip to the South of France:


Some roundabout in Engand:


The County I'm from in England:

 

[GPM]

Whoa. Was just chatting to a biker and dug these out.

Note that I've not ridden for over a decade. Asymmetric downside. And too many f*ckwits text and drive nowadays.

Some trip to the South of France:
View attachment 51973

Some roundabout in Engand:
View attachment 51974

The County I'm from in England:
View attachment 51975

Now that I have small children I am even more aware of other drivers on the road. Wow, teenagers everywhere texting on their phone. It is the normal, not the exception.

I have trained my kids to point out people who walk across the road with their faces down looking at their phones, and they tell me about how that is a bad idea. Hopefully they internalize these things and use their heads when they grow up, something that seems to be lacking these days.

 

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[Andy Black]

Now that I have small children I am even more aware of other drivers on the road. Wow, teenagers everywhere texting on their phone. It is the normal, not the exception.

I have trained my kids to point out people who walk across the road with their faces down looking at their phones, and they tell me about how that is a bad idea. Hopefully they internalize these things and use their heads when they grow up, something that seems to be lacking these days.

I've also trained our kids to spot people walking while reading their phone.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Translation: Good day. We're writing to inform you how we plan to legally extort more money out of each one of our customers...

 

[Andy Black]

I've also trained our kids to spot people walking while reading their phone.

I've seen teens cycling while reading their phones. I don't get it.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I've seen teens cycling while reading their phones.

I've seen 'em on motorized vehicles. Around here, it's not unusual to see an 8-year old riding a motorized vehicle. I'm guessing the LDS people who predominately live around here truly think "god will provide" and let their kids do anything without supervision. My wife and I are constantly baffled at the irresponsibility that surrounds us. We've even seen toddlers on dad's lap while driving a sport bike.

 

[biophase]

Experts…

JOE.ie on Instagram: "You couldn't make this up Charlie and his friends dug a hole on Portmarnock beach last week which caught the attention of a local resident who thought it had an astronomical background which led to their hole making the nation

2M likes, 32K comments - joe.ie on September 14, 2023: "You couldn't make this up Charlie and his friends dug a hole on Portmarnock beach last week which caught the attention of a local r..."

www.instagram.com

 

[rjdgreat]

great video on providing relative value

Business | Mindset & Healthy Lifestyle on Instagram: "This duck understands how money works ✅ FOLLOW @timeinvestors for more"

125K likes, 454 comments - timeinvestors on October 16, 2023: "This duck understands how money works ✅ FOLLOW @timeinvestors for more"

www.instagram.com

 

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[Jrjohnny]

great video on providing relative value

Business | Mindset & Healthy Lifestyle on Instagram: "This duck understands how money works ✅ FOLLOW @timeinvestors for more"

125K likes, 454 comments - timeinvestors on October 16, 2023: "This duck understands how money works ✅ FOLLOW @timeinvestors for more"

www.instagram.com

It’s so great how it turns a sandwich piece to millions

Everyone should be taking notes.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Has anyone here witnessed a concert in the new Vegas sphere? Thoughts?

It looks spectacular.

 

[biophase]

Has anyone here witnessed a concert in the new Vegas sphere? Thoughts?

It looks spectacular.

Going to go see Postcards from Earth there next week.

From the videos I've seen of U2 in concert, it didn't look like they used the screens to their full capability. I'm sure the video scenes for future concerts will be more and more elaborate.

Filmmaker shares preview of 'Postcards from Earth' feature premiering at Sphere

Filmmaker Darren Arronofsky shared the first look at his

news3lv.com

 

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[perchboy]

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can find commercial carpet cleaning clients?

All I can think of right now is cold calling offices but:
- places that need carpet cleaning already have a contract in place for it
- places that don't need wont hire me

 

[Black_Dragon43]

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can find commercial carpet cleaning clients?

All I can think of right now is cold calling offices but:
- places that need carpet cleaning already have a contract in place for it
- places that don't need wont hire me

What reasons does a business have to clean their carpets, that they don’t know about?

I would avoid businesses like doctor’s offices or whatever, which likely know why they need to clean their carpets, and hence have a provider.

I’d start there. Then I’d build flyers and spread them around that are educational and tell them why they should clean their carpets.

You need to educate your market before selling. That’s how you open up companies that don’t yet have a provider

 

[Robdavis]

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can find commercial carpet cleaning clients?

All I can think of right now is cold calling offices but:
- places that need carpet cleaning already have a contract in place for it
- places that don't need wont hire me

You could try approaching business part management companies. In the UK most business premises on business parks are rented by the tenants. Usually the tenants have a cleaning supplier if they are a large company already.

But you may find some work available in cleaning a building after a tenant has left, or before a tenant moves in. Also if a smaller company moves in that doesn't have cleaner at that point, if you have a good relationship with the management company, then you may be able to get them to recommend you to their new tenant.

 

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[perchboy]

What reasons does a business have to clean their carpets, that they don’t know about?

I would avoid businesses like doctor’s offices or whatever, which likely know why they need to clean their carpets, and hence have a provider.

I’d start there. Then I’d build flyers and spread them around that are educational and tell them why they should clean their carpets.

You need to educate your market before selling. That’s how you open up companies that don’t yet have a provider

Makes sense.

Any Business
"Regulars carpet cleans save money in the long run so you dont need to replace the carpet as a whole."

Property Managers.
"Our carpet cleaning services will raise the value of your property"

AirBNB Owners:
"Here are pictures of mold that grew in these airbnbs since they didnt get them deep cleaned every month"

Home interior renovators
"You can give us the contacts of clients with carpets who you finish doing a job on and we can sell them carpet cleaning since it will be dirty from the last job and we'll give you a cut"

@Black_Dragon43
Do you think i can educate them through cold email?

 

[Jrjohnny]

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can find commercial carpet cleaning clients?

All I can think of right now is cold calling offices but:
- places that need carpet cleaning already have a contract in place for it
- places that don't need wont hire me

Value skews - why should they work with you?

Whats stopping them from working with a different company?

How about when they sign with you, they get the first 1-3 cleanings 25-50% off depending on how long the contract is?

What can YOU do to make it seem stupid for THEM to decline your offer?

 

[IceCreamKid]

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can find commercial carpet cleaning clients?

Any particular reason why you want to focus on commercial? I never liked commercial because they tend to be more price driven than residential. They also have less loyalty. If the property manager or maintenance guy leaves the company, the new guy will hire his own contacts.

Residential has bigger profit margins if done correctly. We average $300/hour profit per truck in this arena. You can get $1/sq ft but you have to position it as white glove service.

 

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[perchboy]

Any particular reason why you want to focus on commercial? I never liked commercial because they tend to be more price driven than residential. They also have less loyalty. If the property manager or maintenance guy leaves the company, the new guy will hire his own contacts.

Residential has bigger profit margins if done correctly. We average $300/hour profit per truck in this arena. You can get $1/sq ft but you have to position it as white glove service.

How are you finding your residential clients?

I wanted to get into commercial because:
- monthly recurring contracts
- less scheduling and cancellation headaches
- 25-33% of my margins is eaten up by advertising right now

 

[Jrjohnny]

How are you finding your residential clients?

I wanted to get into commercial because:
- monthly recurring contracts

Add contracts to residential, something like lawncare.

- less scheduling and cancellation headaches

Make up some sort of cancellation fee, unless they give you a heads up.

Make a calender thing where the clients can select their day and time, if it doesn’t work for you, it won’t let them select it, if it works than it’ll go through and you’ll get a appointment care free.

- 25-33% of my margins is eaten up by advertising right now

Could you somehow lower that? If not, I think you may need to try to adapt a bit more of a productarcy.

An example: if they refer a friend, they get 50% off their next appointment.

 

[IceCreamKid]

How are you finding your residential clients?

I don't advertise anymore and the biz runs solely from the existing client base and their referrals. When I was actively trying to get new clients, I advertised via FB, Google Ads, and Google Local Services.

I wanted to get into commercial because:
- monthly recurring contracts
- less scheduling and cancellation headaches
- 25-33% of my margins is eaten up by advertising right now

You'll have a better experience in residential if you target the premium clients.

They have their life together. They respect you more. They'll pay more. Charge cancellation fees. Charge for in-house estimates. Charge for everything.

At this stage in my life I hate dealing with broke clients. They expect the world for 2 pennies. They'll want you to come within an hour. They don't respect your time(and their own as well). And lastly, their carpets are 10x harder to clean. Leave them to the bait n switch cleaners.

 

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[perchboy]

I don't advertise anymore and the biz runs solely from the existing client base and their referrals. When I was actively trying to get new clients, I advertised via FB, Google Ads, and Google Local Services.

You'll have a better experience in residential if you target the premium clients.

They have their life together. They respect you more. They'll pay more. Charge cancellation fees. Charge for in-house estimates. Charge for everything.

At this stage in my life I hate dealing with broke clients. They expect the world for 2 pennies. They'll want you to come within an hour. They don't respect your time(and their own as well). And lastly, their carpets are 10x harder to clean. Leave them to the bait n switch cleaners.

You’re absolutely right. The higher priced jobs always go much smoother.

We are targeting those high end clients through google ads and targeting cheap asses through Facebook. It’s much easier to charge a premium price when they are searching for you.

Facebook keeps us busy and google gets us some big jobs.

The only problem is lead flow. There are only so many people searching for carpet cleaning in our city and I need to keep my employee busy.

I’m definitely aiming to get to the point where we are only serving these high quality clients only.

Optimizing google ads now and still setting up local service ads

Any other advice you have?

 

[savefox]

You’re absolutely right. The higher priced jobs always go much smoother.

We are targeting those high end clients through google ads and targeting cheap asses through Facebook. It’s much easier to charge a premium price when they are searching for you.

Facebook keeps us busy and google gets us some big jobs.

The only problem is lead flow. There are only so many people searching for carpet cleaning in our city and I need to keep my employee busy.

I’m definitely aiming to get to the point where we are only serving these high quality clients only.

Optimizing google ads now and still setting up local service ads

Any other advice you have?

You can have them sign contracts just like Johnyboy's lawn care business. Charge $15 per month and give a 50% discount on all services as often as they want. If you charge $0.7-1 per sq ft initially, you'll still be charging more than most companies even with 50% off