Saving Newpapers...It's what I do

After a fantastic pasta dinner, 2 ½ hearty glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon, I’ve developed a plan to save the likes of the LA Times, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Chicago Tribune. …or at least it will get a rise out of my fantastic friends in the journalism industry.

The plan is two-fold but, sadly, simply enough to not require the famous graphs of Ross Perot (a forgotten name heard today on NPR). "What we’ve got to do is:" Raise subscription prices (Fold 1). How much? Significantly.

It’s no secret papers are losing subscribers at an alarming rate forcing rounds of high-profile layoffs and the squeezing of their kept staff by way of more work in fewer hours. I say squeeze customers, raise prices boldly. I bet results are surprising. Many customers likely rely on automatic draft payments and will not notice a price hike until after it has become to the norm. Those that cancel are less than loyal, only skewing the results of costly customer satisfaction surveys.

Fold 2: Cut publications. How much? You decide. I would correlate the cut to the size of the town. Currently, I am one of 100,000 give or take a goat or two, and would encourage The Daily Progress to cut by 50% or more. Absurd? I disagree. I have just saved our local paper 50% in cost, frankly, do not think the Wal-Mart expansion is worth the environmental impact the printing of the paper caused, and thirdly, created a new revenue stream.

A new revenue stream? Simple: when worthy news occurs outside of the new regular print times, special editions are sold (think 1920’s: Extra, Extra). These “Extra-Extra’s” both add revenue and create new awareness increasing the long-term subscriber-base at the higher subscription rate.

Now, tomorrow, as you read the Sunday paper, you’ll have new food for thought in your breakfast bowl.

Not a Booster Seat

Aside from the fact that all of this information is online, someone needs to tell this publisher that their phone book can't even be used as a booster seat.

You haven’t been paid in 4 months, what’s it like?

Until experienced, one cannot fully appreciate the opportunities or challenges that come with living without pay. So what can you expect? At a 50,000 ft level, it’s a roller-coaster of a ride empowering you to learn about yourself and create new experiences. At a 50-foot level, I can nearly promise the following:

An emotional thrill similar to teenage love:
Remember your first real crush. The ‘When’s (s)he going to call ‘ feeling, Followed by the ‘why isn’t (s)he calling?’ Quickly followed by the feelings, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ ‘What did I do?’ And ‘WTF is (s)he with that person?

The feelings are all about the same only not quite so romantically. It’s also important to note that email can be substituted equally for phone calls in creating the thrill.

My advice: Just as you would advise a teenager, stay reasonably grounded and not let these frustrations get the best of you. Though keep in mind, as any teenager would tell you, staying grounded can be awfully hard to do.

An awakening as to how much time makes up a day:
The average person spends 8-10 hours a day producing. In the moment, this can seem like a blink of the eye. Once outside, it takes some creativity to fill this time.

Sure, it’s easy to fill the time by mindlessly surfing thousands of job boards or by measuring your consumption of The Wire by seasons not episodes. And mindless rejuvenation certainly has its place.

My advice: Create a place for mindless rejuvenation, and then balance it with productive growth. Pick up new hobbies, dust off old ones, and build a network. Meet people for coffee and learn about how they spend their 8-10 hours, and what advice they would offer someone. It will certainly lead you to item #3 and is likely to land you your next paycheck.

A surprising amount of work exists:
All be it pro bono, I have been presented with more work than I’d ever care to take on at once. Pro bono, you say? What are you thinking? Well, it’s turned out to be a great way to build a skill-set, learn a new industry, take risks without being fired, and allows an easy answer to the dreaded question, “How’s it going? (aka are you working?)”

Frankly, working pro bono is also extremely empowering. You become the decider. People are extremely excited when you say yes, and a bit disappointed if you turn then down.

My advice: Before you jump on the first paying opportunity that presents itself. Identify something to which you have always been interested. Connect with someone in that industry; ask how you can help with the only payment being a recommendation. You’ll be shocked what you find.

Create Social Change

...and make it fun! The Fun Theory

A New Breed

I met a very interesting woman in our neighborhood while walking at 6:00 the other morning. She runs marketing and communication Darden and and very active with some adoption agencies in town. She also had a dog, the only real reason people walk before the sun is up.

When asked what breed, the response was, "a Double-poodle-golden-lab."

"Excuse me, a what?"

"Shes was bred for a Golden-doodle and a Labradoodle."

Ah, interesting, I thought. Maya (our dog) must then be a Doubleboxsheppatzu.

She's Boxer/Shepherd, but, clearly, more boxer than Shepherd, hence the double box. She's also not very big, so she must have some Shih Tzu.... right?

Playing Disc

Between meeting unique and fascinating individuals, I spend lots of time with our 8 month old puppy. We hike, battle, hang out in the shade, and, her personal favorite, play disc.

For some reason, she finds it easier to retrieve mid-combat roll. Have a watch.



She does this every time. If you don't believe me, here is another throw?

I don't have time for you

It goes down as one of the shortest, most unproductive networking meetings ever. Thank goodness it wasn't over coffee as I would have had 2 sips and wasted $3.72.

Somewhere between saying hello and starting my 2 sentence introduction of being new to town, I was interrupted.

"So what?" asked the long black-haired, middle-aged woman who, as I entered her cluttered office, remained behind her desk. "What do you want?"

"Connections," I responded, trying to match her brevity. "I'd like to know what you do."

"Are you looking for job?"

"Well, yes." I said a bit uncomfortably. "I'm seeking my next career step."

"Well, welcome to Charlottesville. It's a college-town, and the University is on a freeze. There are no jobs here or anywhere in town. I have investors breathing down my neck for performance. I don't have time to help you. What else do you want?"

At this point I had a choice: I could either remind this unpleasant woman that I wanted to learn more about how she helped professors turn ideas into profitable (hopefully) businesses and for what, specifically, were her investors looking. Or I could move on.

Realizing this was going no-where, I chose the latter.

"Nothing."

I stood, reached across her desk to shake her hand, and thanked her for the 90 seconds. She didn't reach back. Maybe she was startled that she had gotten me in and out of her office in under 3 minutes. Maybe she was afraid of germs.

As I left her office happy with my decision to move on, it dawned on me. When free time is all you have, don't waste a minute of it with unfriendly, unhelpful people.

Are You Going Too Much?

If so, the drug companies would like you to consider FloMax.

EL Haynes Charter School has found an absolutely creative, much less expensive, and equally as effective method: a milk crate.

A fascinating, high performing public charter school in DC (of which you will here significantly more about in future posts), ELH has replaced the traditional hall pass with a milk crate. Need to go to the bathroom? Here's your milk crate.

Who wants to carry that? I bet you will find your trips reduced by 25% or more.

The Grand Experiment

During the tightest economic time we (or our parents) have ever seen, my wife and I contemplated walking away from solid careers providing very comfortable salaries. I say contemplated, because 4-weeks from my d-day (decision day), work dried up thrusting me into what we call "The Grand Experiment."

For some, our experiment is norm. Others can't contemplate it, calling us nuts. For us, it is certainly different, but also exciting and life-growing. In a nut shell we define our experiment as:

1. Leaving or being forced to leave a comfortable income-stream.
   
2. Packing what fits into a 26' Penzke. (and giving away what wouldn't).
3. Relocating 500 miles from our closest friends (120m. if you live in DC) and family to Charlottesville, VA* where Amanda commits to graduate school and, in-turn, all that comes with a student life-style.
   
4. The craziest one: leasing the house we own to 5 college guys ranging from Freshman to Junior. (Hey, at least the grass is getting cut... hopefully :)
   

4-weeks in and life is certainly interesting. We are adjusting well to the life-style change. I have met some absolutely fascinating people and heard both some incredible and incredibly boring stories. Many of which will be shared in forth-coming posts.

Keep well.

* For those that don't know, Charlottesville, VA is many tings. It's a small college-town of 40K people located in the Shenanadoah mountains. It's incredibly pretty. It has 21 wineries within 20 miles. It's also as you quickly find out and never forget: home of late Mr. Jefferson (Thomas not George from the show) and his school, UVA.

The Breakfast Bowl is Back

We are back for a variety of reasons, but namely, it's because of you. Each week you willingly make a small contribution to my current gig of: professional networking, pro bono project management, and volunteer work. Because of this, I feel I owe you updates as to exactly how your money is being spent, other than the occasional beer.

As a reminder, it's called 'The Breakfast Bowl' because it's my goal to post in the mornings, giving you the day to read at your convenience. What mornings? you ask. Well, hopefully every morning. Sure, now and again, I may have some afternoon or evening posts. But, hey, who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?

What do I hope of you? Well that you read it, chew on it, and then comment back. It can become our shared breakfast bowl. Tell me you hate it. Tell me you like it. It doesn't really matter. But your feedback will help keep me posting.

Cheers!