I saw this the other day-

Silly, right? Crappy acting, and the concept– “Yeah… like someone’s going to break into my house and set up a computer store in my living room just so I can pick out which one I want. Are they going to clean up afterwards?”

But I thought I realized I had to share it, because the concept is NOT that ridiculous! In fact, it’s important for your business.

No, I don’t mean you should get a Windows 7 PC, it’s not about that at all.

There are three sides to this: Read the rest of this entry »

I know I’ve been off the grid (‘cept all those silly jokes on Facebook)- so here’s what’s up:

I’ve been in South Florida now for almost 3 weeks. I’ve only left the house to go jogging daily (I have missed 2 days), and two times to go out to dinner with my folks.  Other than that, I have been in front of my computer day and night.

Over the last month, I’ve gotten my LLC, Merchant Account, Business Banking Account (got majorly disappointed with Bank of America, for the second time, so am never doing business with them again), Online Shopping Cart, and have set up numerous business relationships and creating a few products.

You see, I love helping people build and grow their businesses.  I’ve been doing this for ages, by providing people with high-end photography, videography, motion graphics, websites, marketing strategies and implementation, and even product design and creation.  I’m thrilled that I can help… But…. I can’t help enough people to feel like I’m making a difference when I’m doing it one on one.

Coming in April is my Big Ideas Workshops….Everyone spends their money and time on getting and learning the latest tool or tactic… but they don’t actually have a great idea to use it with.  People are running their businesses, but missing major opportunities.  So, I will be working with 20 people per weekend teaching high-end creative ideation, as well as doing many hotseats, so everyone gets to walk away with their own big idea:  a new product, or additional direction with their current product or service,the challenges you can expect to face, the resources you’ll need to charge through those challenges, and the tools to make sure that these ideas work with your market, as compared to just being nice ideas.

This week I am releasing a product that fills a major gap. It is a course on how to easily set up your own website, and fire that overpriced web designer that’s been holding your site hostage. Many people buy courses that tell them “ok.. just set up a WordPress site, and then do this this and this” — they don’t tell you how to customize it, or how to brand it.. I’m going step by step, and showing you exactly what to do, and… how to do it without having to know any of that geek-code… you don’t need CSS and HTML and PHP… although, I do teach that in case you do want it.

Ideas On Retainer, originally my coaching site, which I was adding a paid newsletter to, was getting great response… but as I said earlier in this post, I just don’t think I’m helping enough people if I put the information behind a wall.  I will be publishing those business articles on this site.  Ideas On Retainer will go back to being my coaching site.

So.. that’s some of what you can look forward to.

Sorry if I’ve been off the grid,

Ori

Let’s get a few things out of the way.

TJ is 17. I am 33. He has dropped out of high school, and is debating college.  I dropped out of college, and debate on a daily basis what do I want to do next.

I have thousands of hours of audio book listening, couchsurfing with industry experts, reading regular books, and attending conferences on an extremely diverse range of topics (I’ve been to Cosmetics conferences, fishing conferences, manufacturing, modeling, photography, and of course, marketing).

One could say that I have an unfair advantage here. But, I’ve earned my network, TJ wants to get introduced to it, and Ideation is a skill that the strengths finder says he has in his top 5, while it is not listed in my top 5.

That being said, there is a beauty in not having the experience that I have.  Kids often have the best ideas, because they haven’t been told that they can’t do stuff yet.  They haven’t had the school and corporate system crush their dreams and creativity yet.  The same is true with TJ.  His younger age has prevented him from having many of the bad experiences I’ve gone through, and he is not as conditioned and set in his ways as I am.  That, and at 17, he has not killed as many brain cells as I have.

I already get paid to dispense my ideas (consult), and make them happen (implement), which is why this isn’t about me.  This is about giving TJ a chance to prove what he can do, and give people an opportunity to see (well.. hear) what strong ideation can do for them.

That being said, SEO questions , and the like, will not be answered, as TJ had to google what SEO is.  This is about creativity.  If you need ideas- directions to go, personal problems solved, directions for your business, ways of outdoing the competition…. You will get a lot of out this. Kate Buck Jr will be moderating the event.

Ask your questions here in the comment section, and tune in tonight at 11pm EST to http://CouchSurfingRadio.com -  tell any of your friends that are in a bind.

As many of you know, I am full of it…. where “it” is useful information.  I am always in consulting mode, and I’m always learning.  I share a lot of information in my blog, but that is difficult to browse to find “that one link you mentioned was a great way to deal with stupid questions!” or “The person who was on your radio show that was talking about Sprouting!”  Well… I’m addressing that!

I’m creating a resources page to make it easy to find links based on categories, etc…. I’m going to feature my favorite companies, programs that can save you thousands of hours, tools, tutorials, etc…. not all stuff by me.  Mostly stuff I recommend.

-Admission- I am currently swamped!  So many projects fell on my lap out of nowhere… so I don’t have time to fill it in today.  The link will be http://CouchSurfingOri.com/resources  – I’ll be filling it in later.

Let me know if there’s something specific you’d like to see more links to, or need resources for.

The most fun I’ve had on an interview so far has been with Ingrid Vanderveldt on her show On The Road With IV. I discovered her while CouchSurfing with Caleb Jennings in Phoenix. She was friends with him, and I saw her picture, and when asking about her, I found out that she’s just all sorts of amazing!  IV skydives, races motorcycles, starts businesses, and has her own show. I said hello, then I got interviewed, and I then had the pleasure of meeting her in person!  Here’s my interview of her! (I write more after the video, so keep scrolling dang it!)

I gotta admit – I have a theory or two about relationships.  I’ve dated some amazing women that were smart, gorgeous, funny, had a sense of humor (an absolute must when spending time with me), and were caring.  But, it’s never worked out (I’m still not married, and at the time of this posting, I just had a relationship end up).  My thought is that I need to date someone like me.  I often say, “Someone crazy like me.” Though, recently I realized that perhaps it’s not craziness, but rather all the girls I’ve dated have had jobs… perhaps I need someone who’s entrepreneurial.  Entrepreneurs by definition take more risks…  So, IV is one of 3 women whom I’ve met who are crazy like me.  She’s hot, funny, laughs at my jokes, runs businesses, travels…. so…  If you know someone just like IV, let me know!  I think that she’s awesome, and meeting her proved that I’m not hallucinating.. that this type of woman really does exist.

Now off to send this to my folks so they can know the type of girl I may travel with some day

Robert Stickgold and his colleagues at Harvard Medical School in 1994 actually proved that the Tetris Effect exists. You can read about it in Scientific American. The term can be seen in Wikipedia as well. What Stickgold and associates proved was a new understanding of what dreams are…. that the brain is actually solving problems while you sleep. If you play Tetris for a while before going to sleep, you will actually see it in your dreams…. you’ll see the pieces falling, even as you close your eyelids. The Tetris Effect has expanded with more research to show that people who play A LOT of Tetris will actually start seeing every day items as 4-block items, and try to figure out how to rotate them, and even halucinate a little and see Tetris pieces falling in their periphery. What does this have to do with anything? Read the rest of this entry »

Where in the world is Couch Surfing Ori?   That’s what the text message often says.  Joe of Couch 56 sends it every month, sometimes more frequently.  His wife recently took to Couch Surfing, and was even my 1st guest at my new place.  So… based on the fact that you know my definition of adventure as doing new things that you haven’t done before….. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve couch surfed for over a year now… and the whole time I was doing it, and even now, I kept educating myself. Audio books, books, online courses, forums, seminars with the best in the world, and conversations with the same. Most my education on this trip was about business and marketing. I love marketing, it’s a passion of mine. That scathing (but true) article I wrote about Independent Lady Magazine is a perfect example of how much I have learned. Why is that? Read the rest of this entry »

The drive was not too long- 40 minutes to 70 minutes- to the Chimney Rock area. Again, gorgeous trees and mountains all the way. It ‘s not just the scenery that one notices, but also the architecture. There are many old buildings, small communities, old cars, bridges, lakes, ponds, barns… It definitely looks different than Miami/LA/Chicago. We got to the area that we wanted, parked the Honda Element (a neat car for adventuring!), and started hiking through the woods. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve spoken to Jessica (Couch 6) since I’ve left her no clothes party a few times, and she’s gotten promoted within the speed speed skating industry.. she now co-coordinates the races. Yay couch 6! She also hasn’t heard from the Other photographer that was at the event. Too bad, ’cause he had some pics of everyone (including me). I know how you people feel when I, or anyone else takes your photo, and you just have to wait and wait and wait. Trust me folks, I’m working on catching up through these 27,000 photos from 2007. After Jessica’s party, I did get to hang out with Couch 5 for a bit as well, and I saw Couch 4 on my way to Tampa for a few minutes. I still haven’t spoken to Victoria, who flaked out on going to the party, and therefore did not become the next couch. She did try to call me a few days later, but I was in the middle of something, and she didn’t leave a message. Being flaky is a good way to burn bridges with me.

The drives have all been beautiful… It is the time of year when the trees change colors, and if you haven’t seen it in person, I highly recommend an October drive across Maryland / Virginia. A sea of green, with foaming waves of red and orange of all shades. It is breathtaking… This is not something I have too many photos of, as I was driving. I have gotten quite adept at taking photos while driving out of either window and the sunroof.

In Georgia, I was supposed to go Kayaking with Couch 24. I couch surfed with his new lady, Alyx (Couch 57), who is an optimistic ball of affection! Even her cat, Zeppelin is a lover. Here’s a few shots of Alyx, her cat, and her window-fairy. Read the rest of this entry »