So you don't need a degree to be an entrepreneur (though it can help) but that doesn't mean that you can neglect your brain and academic side in lieu of pursuing your small business ambitions. It's important to not only work on the business, but to work on yourself.

For many entrepreneurs, there is often an aspect to their self-training and personal development that is often neglected. It's that academic, traditional, prescribed learning system (call me old fashioned). Statistics show that if you aren't in a continuous state of learning and being challenged, you being to lose that ability to learn at all (and no, I don't think that reading an industry book is an acceptable form of challenged learning)

Most, if not all, big companies (and many small) have some sort of training and personal development program in place, and while an entrepreneur's program doesn't need to be as regimented, having something planned - a goal to meet and complete - is imperative.

A lot of lessons are learned by doing stuff - making mistakes and doing things right - and taking those lessons away. Why not save yourself the hassle and time and take it upon yourself to learn something?

The beauty of being an entrepreneur lies in that they don't really need to have a degree or know anything in particular. It's ironic then, that in order to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to know everything.

School House Rock was right: Knowledge is power.

So where do you go to beef up your brain?

MIT Open Course - ACK! Talk about the ultimate test of motivation. Completing, for no credit at all, with no one to hold you accountable, a University course (all the readings, assignments... the whole deal). There's a ton of courses to choose from and even if you don't "complete" the course, It's a great way to explore political ideas, literature, math, physics. Something you may never do "on your own"

iTunes U - Something a little more palpable. They're podcasts, generally all audio, but some video. The topics are pretty diverse and come from a wide variety of esteemed Universities (nay, Colleges): Princeton, Yale, Stanford. They're nice to sit down with when you're traveling to work, sitting in the backyard soaking up sun and lying in bed before falling asleep. (Try listening to them while your sleeping and see if you can retain anything)

Books (Hurray!) - Okay, not what I would call honing your learning skills, so I say use books purely for insight and facts (i.e. newspapers and magazines, trends, etc.) A hatred of mine during the school year ($150, and I don't even enjoy it) but a real treat during summer.

I know YouTube has entrenched itself as the website for anyone who wants their video to be seen by a large audience, but getting an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel isn’t necessarily a guarantee that you’ll make any money as an entertainer. I think that YouTube has become way too oversaturated, which can present a problem if you want to stand out from the pack.

I do believe that a good video will stand out and generate some kind of buzz among people, but how many of the right people are going to see it? You might say that every person is potentially the ‘right person’ and I won’t deny that word-of-mouth can be a powerful ally in garnering interesting your work, but there IS an industry of professionals that do what you do for a living and most of them might not be bothered to troll through hundreds of thousands of videos to get to yours.

I think of YouTube as a good general testing ground, however, there are other great sites where people who actually work in the same field as yourself, can see your work. Vimeo is a great site I came across for those who are looking for exposure and critique from their peers. The great advantage to this site is that if you shot your film in HD, their site allows it’s members to show it at that very same quality, which is great if you’re a cinematographer and you really want people to appreciate how you painstakingly lit your movie.

The trouble with YouTube is that it shows movies in Flash, although now you have a ‘high quality’ option, I still don’t think it’s optimal for the aspiring pro. Just check out this cool video shot on the new RED camera of skaters jumping off stairs. I just love this site; the option to watch films in HD is phenomenal. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the REDcam, I’m going to be doing a little article on it soon. I will say this though; it will bring film-like images within closer reach of even the tightest student budget.

In the meantime, just check out this short film by Ayz Waraich, shot on a prosumer level HDV camera for under a thousand dollars. This shows what you can do with a short, snappy story and a little Final Cut Pro know-how. It’s inspirational to see what a little imagination and technical ingenuity can create, but the key is to get yourself out there and put your stuff wherever you can. Don’t just settle for the sites that are popular, seek out ones that are made by and for people that have the same interests as you do. I’ve found the criticism and feedback to be indispensable to making me want to get better at what I do and sometimes mutually beneficial working relationships can be made.

I’ll be looking more into where you can go to get industry professionals to look at and critique your work (and maybe even buy it!) as well as websites, online festivals and methods to improve your craft at this level and the ones that will come.

Who knew being a miser had so many benefits?

Frugal [froo – guhl] adj.

1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful

In many ways, I would say I’m frugal. I tend not to like spending money if I don’t have to. Much of my wardrobe consists of pre-enjoyed clothing. My apartment is largely furnished with donated, found or inexpensive things. I’ll avoid cab rides at all costs. In essence, I go out of my way to make sure I get the best deal possible. If I could cut out those moments of splurging weakness I’d be all set. Wouldn’t we all. But being frugal doesn’t just save you money. I’ll show you how it is good for your body AND for the planet.

YOUR BODY

• Skateboarding, in-line skating, walking or busing all require more exercise than hopping in your car. And are cheaper.
• Buying less pre-packaged food (AKA the more expensive convenience food) will lead to healthier eating. It will give you a chance to get creative with cooking.
• Avoiding expensive fast food outings will also save you from these typically unhealthy treats. And again, you get to hone your culinary skills.
• Walking your groceries (less expensive than take-out) home – whether small trips frequently or larger trips infrequently – will develop your muscles and endurance. Especially if hills are involved.

Any of the options above can be considered better for the environment as well, reducing use of fossil fuels and unnecessary packaging. So they’re win-win (-win). In addition, the following frugal actions will help even more.

THE PLANET

• Not buying food and drink that is unnecessarily over-packaged. Things like 6 mini-cans of pop (1.42L for $3.29 is NOT a good deal), separate Pringles packs (just put them in reusable bags or containers) lead to packaging that often ends up (incorrectly) in our landfills. Also, the foods packaged this way tend to be less healthy.
• For products that come in tubes (hair styling products, lotions, toothpaste, etc) make sure you ACTUALLY empty them. If you can’t squeeze it out, cut it open and you’ll find there is often plenty left. Extending the life means less frequent buying and less garbage created.
• With shampoo, hand soap and dish soap make sure the bottles are actually empty. When you think there’s none left, you can put some water in them and get a few more uses. Again, less waste. BONUS: Buy the refills for hand soap pumps. For a dollar more you usually get twice as much.
• Create your own convenience foods by buying reusable bags and containers. These come in a multitude of shapes and sizes and can be rinsed out after use. It may be easier to buy the pre-portioned products but in the end it costs more, and for the most part can not be reused.

So there you have it. You may already do these, or think that they’re not particularly insightful. The point is that you can make simple changes to your lifestyle that benefit not only your pocketbook (who even has these anymore) but also your body and your planet, both of which you only have one. You may as well treat them right while you have them. If this helped you at all, share it with friends and everyone wins.

Don’t forget to comment with your own tips and tricks.

Back in high school, two friends and I decided to collect all the change we found in the hallways.

You can call me a loser, you can call me savvy or you can call me lame... All are true.
What’s truly undeniable, though, is the amount of money we saved up. Our less-than-seven-months of saving banked us around $20. You’re right, the amount isn’t all that impressive. But when you think that we made all that money doing pretty much nothing, well, I think it’s kind of amazing.

I recently read about a woman who saved every five-dollar bill she received. At the end of Marie Franklin’s third year of saving, she had pocketed $12,000.

She says there’s a trick to this money saving… trick:

This idea will only work if you are disciplined. When I decided to save my fives, I meant it, and I save every one. No exceptions. (OK, once on the Mass. Pike I gave the toll collector a 20 and he returned three fives and four ones. I panicked. This was my allowance for the week. I asked him to give me a ten and more ones instead.) Otherwise, if I get a five dollar bill back - at CVS, or Starbucks, or Marty's on Washington Street - I tuck it away, smiling.

Ms. Franklin’s frugality got me thinking about ways to save some up some money.

Moneyhacks recommends rounding up to the nearest dollar any purchase you make and pocketing the difference between that number and whatever you just paid out. For example, if you buy gum and it costs 1.13, the difference between that number and $2.00 is $0.87. You would store that money away as savings.

Moneyhack’s wife saved a remarkable amount this way:

As a result, she saves an average of 50 cents every time she performs a financial transaction. She’s made roughly 1000 transactions since she started this, and now has $500 more in the account than her checkbook register shows.

Spotya.com, a site with another blog suggests that you simply pay everything in cash. This way you comprehend just what you’re spending:

Believe me, when you pay in cash, you SEE that money goes through your hands. When you use that plastic card, it doesn’t hit as hard. You almost don’t feel like you’re spending. Cold hard cash is a rare commodity these days. It’s really sad. $20 doesn’t go far as it use to.

With many blogs, I get lured in by the comments that people make at the end of a post. They’re often suggestions on how that blogger’s ideas can be expanded upon. Well, here’s a response to Lifehacker’s Top Ten Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money that I had to share:

Play World of Warcraft.
I was going to the bar Tuesdays and Thursdays because they had $2 for any drink specials, I was dropping about $40 a week at the bar. Now I pay $15 a month and I don't go out. Sure, I don't have a social life but in return I now own a house, a car, two bikes and two level 70 characters.... and I'm a year out of college... .debt free.
Yeah, it sounds like a distorted way of saving money but really if you boil it down... all I'm doing is distracting myself from spending money, which can be applied to many other activities other than WoW.

To each his own, I suppose…

What works for you?

Recently, as a result of hours of lying on the beach, I have warmed up to the tunes of Mr. Kanye West. One song in particular has been stuck in my head for over a week now although certain events have transpired to make me see the song differently. In the song ¨Gold Digger¨ Kanye raps about the issue of women who only marry for money. At one point he states:

If you ain't no punk holla We Want Prenup!
WE WANT PRENUP!, Yeaah
It's something that you need to have
Cause when she leave she gonna leave with half

The passion that Kanye raps with makes me feel like I really need a prenuptial agreement (when I become a rich famous rapper). This week something happened to me that make the song play in my head a little differently. I got sick here in Spain and so did one of my friends and so we went to the hospital to get treated. It was then that I realized what I really needed was travel insurance.

We want travel insurance! We want travel insurance!
It’s something that you need to have
Cause when you leave you gonna have to pay in cash

When I’m sick, it’s never a good idea for me to go to the hospital alone because I never bring the papers I need with me and I am the worst patient. This meant that when they asked me if I had travel insurance I just told them (in my now perfect Spanish  ) that I was going to pay the 34 euros for the visit, get my medicine and be done with it. After the experience however I wondered what I could have done to better prepare and what if I had been more seriously sick.

Now, I am focusing on the health insurance aspect of travel insurance but travel insurance can be purchased to protect you from unplanned changes to your trip and can cover anything from bad weather, bankruptcy of airlines, death in the family and now even terrorism!

My friend who injured his foot however, had to pay much more than me for treatment and so I promised myself that in the future I would travel insured and find out what my options are. One look at the RBC "why do I need travel insurance?" page and it’s easy to see why it’s so important to get coverage. On the site they list the prices for treatment of certain injuries in Florida as an example. When Canadians travel outside of the country all of that wonderful state subsidized health care we have is stripped away and travel insurance helps lessen the damage a holiday injury could do. RBC quotes that a broken leg would cost you $11,000 to be treated. Man that would suck.

As a student I know that I often take risks and don’t paying for things like travel insurance, putting trust in my good luck and the fact that I’m young and think I’m invincible. After the experiences that I had with my friend I recommend that all students check out their options before jetting off somewhere. Gowander.com is this sweet website where people can post videos, photos and stories and share their passion for travel. They all have a blog on there about travel horror stories so if you need more motivation to get travel insurance check it out.

One last thing that especially students should check out is whether or not basic travel comes included in their tuition. I know that at UBC students are under an umbrella of UBC insurance but need to activate it when they leave. So remember that "Travel insurance is something that you gotta have" and let me know if you have any travel health horror stories.

Recently, I was on a top secret mission to discover some budgeting tips while travelling. Here are the results:

So we're piecing together our business plan, usually over wings and cola at some restaurant downtown, and we're really trying to hash out how the business is going to work and piecing some really good ideas together when one of my buddies says, "Stop. We need to stop." I'm thinking, man, we were making progress, what's the deal?

The thing is, he hit the nail on the head: we were putting the cart before the horse. I'll concede that its important, logistically speaking, to have a good idea of what the operations will look like (which is what we were working on), but that plan needs to have a foundation, and we just didn't have one. We had a million good (nay, great) ideas, flying in a billion different directions; and that's only half the problem.

John Roos is a big wig Lawyer down in Silicon valley and says that you need to have simple, simple, simple model. He says its a matter of asking, what are you good at? What does (or what can) your business do well?

And thats it.

Why should you ask it? Pretty simple, really. First, its branding; you will be the go-to business for whatever it is that you're good at. Statistics prove that niche business are far more successful (ironic, isn't it). It will lead your insides and your outsides.

Second, decision making. I sat down and talked to a friend of mine, Daniel, who is working on his business right now - he's really got things rolling along and I think that he's asking himself that question a lot as he encounters different obstacles and has to decide where he belongs in the market. He's in a new, competitive landscape, and he needs something to set himself apart - how does he do that? Well, what is he good at? What value can he offer above the rest of his competitors.

Slow things down. Its tough to put those more glamorous ideas on the shelf as you table this really simple question - believe me! I kept thinking, "There must be more productive things we can do with our time!"

But the answer will pay off in spades!

Here's the sequel to Spare Change, a video that I made a few weeks ago... If you haven't seen the first part, please have a look!

Spoiled. Spoiled. Spoiled. That has been my life ever since I was young. Like most spoiled kids I don't like to called spoiled and so in more recent times I've been on a journey to un-spoil myself. The question is can one really un-spoil oneself? I like to think that working has changed my perspective on many things on such a significant level that I have reversed some of my more “spoiled” parts.

Its amazing, what experiencing someone else's life can do for your own. Once you put yourself in someone else's position its as if you can almost see yourself and how you behave and often seeing that makes you want to change. If I haven't already lost you in all this general speak then please let me explain through some examples in my life.

Are you happy with your insurance policy?

I go home to Prague pretty much every summer and when I was there for the summer after I graduated and when I was 18, the powers that be (my parents) thought that it was about time that I get a job.

The next week I found myself sitting in a cubicle looking out at the beautiful Prague summer weather whilst cold calling the United Kingdom. Working in a call centre was intense. You have this machine that basically just beeps every time it dials a number that is picked up so you sort of just sit there all day repeating the same sales spiel over and over again.

I learnt a lot from that first job. I learned the value of money and how long it takes to earn. I learned how to handle rejection all day long (surprisingly not that many people are just sitting at home waiting for me to call them and sell them car insurance. Who knew?). In any case the point I’m trying to make is that my perspective changed. Cold calling is a job, just like any other and I have respect for anyone that tries to make a living by working hard and it is hard work.

This change in perspective has forced me to be polite to companies that cold call me at the most inconvenient times. The patience I learned at that first job helped unspoil me a little.

Do you have this in my Size?

Fast forward to my freshman year of university where I found myself with moderately interesting courses and a whole lot less money then I was used to having. The obvious solution: get a retail job at some hot clothing store. From broke students to middle class wives who want discounts on hot clothing lines, retail work has been the perfect “extra” job for years.

Working at Club Monaco three times a week for all of my freshman year served its purpose and proved to be a great experience. Benefits of the job were: discounts, dressing up nice for work, helping good looking people look good and oh, yeah, some money. Although I spent 70 percent of all the money I earned at Club Monaco on Club Monaco clothing, I do feel that my work ethic increased.

Working retail changed my perspective and my behaviour to the point that I will no longer be one of those damned customers that come into the store and pick up every piece of clothing and destroy every perfectly folded pile of clothing. Done! Unspoiled!

Does the room have a see view?

Currently, as you may know, I am working at a hotel in Spain for the summer. A job, that I received purely on the fact that my family has connections. Where I work at reception provides the perfect example of the point I am trying to make. In the past I would walk into a hotel and say my name and state that I want to check-in. In the past I had no idea what checking-in entailed and didn't think it was that complicated but in a large hotel when a client checks in there is a lot more to do then meets the eye. That process, that I do every day has changed me forever and checking in at a hotel will never be the same again.

Perspectives change over time as experience grows. I think thats one of the attributes of a spoiled person, someone who doesn't have the experience to even know that they have everything easy and don't even know that they don't and therefore have no respect for work and the value of things. The obvious solution is to work and gain that experience. Its an enlightening experience, evolving and growing into your own person as your perspective changes. For me, its been an adventure both good and bad as my disposable money becomes smaller and my understanding larger.

56. Making a Part 1 and a Part 2 – I've made this in two parts, because having 800 words at half makes for a LONG entry. But now the last ones would show up before the first ones and they might not make sense.

57. Slaving away to create entries - that will be irrelevant 3 days after being posted, especially when his 103 goes up beyond my hopeful 104. no really, making this list all in one sitting isn’t at all exhausting or tiring. I have a fan cooling me off, it’s all good.

58. Sarcasm – tricky to convey using the written word, but nonetheless a favourite tool employed by bloggers the world over.

59. Callbacks – referring to something said in a previous post (sometimes mentioning so) with the hopes that the reader is a regular who catches on to that reference.

60. Coffee – starting to wish I drank the stuff…what’s 104 – 59? 45? *sigh*

61. Writing – an obvious one but clearly I’m not doing this JUST to rival a well-known blogger. I enjoy doing this. I think.

62. The colour blue – not sure what it is, folks. a lotta blue blogs out there. maybe they’re copying Facebook? or Facebook copied them?

63. Facebook – if not for the social networking aspect, then surely for the Posted Items. how easy is it to add “Share on Facebook” to your Firefox Links Toolbar? (see #29 and #42)

64. Auto-save feature in Word – whew…just about lost #’s 45-63. Thanks Microsoft.

65. Using stories to emphasize a point – whether they’re actually true or not (see #39)

66. Praising other bloggers – alright, so maybe putting together a list of 103 items ISN’T that easy. but in fairness, his subject is a little more wide open than mine.

67. Taking a break from writing – come on now, I’m not a MACHINE . a guy’s gotta watch a little mindless tv in between writing list items for a blog entry that is heavily influenced by another blogger’s site.

68. Inspiration – nothing compares to having words just flow out of your mind, effortlessly. here’s to hoping that can happen.

69. Having mainstream news refer to them – kind of goes hand-in-hand with #4. in the end, bloggers like being recognized…hopefully for positive reasons.

70. Affecting elections – blogs have become one of the best sources for political commentary. pundits? psssh. bloggers!

71. Keeping readers happy – I can’t help but wonder if anyone wants to read 104 of these, and if anyone has actually made it to THIS entry.

72. Wireless mice – I doubt anyone who spends any large amount of time on a laptop prefers using the annoying touchpads. mouse me.

73. Multi-tasking – can’t just do ONE thing at a time. nope. no time to waste. twitter, blogging, facebook, IM, blog reader, music…simultaneously.

74. Forums – an ever-increasing addition to some of the more popular blogs. it’s not enough to say things and have people comment. nope. must become a community for like-minded people. whatever happened to the water cooler, or town square, for gathering.

75. Acronyms – why write all the words out when you can create an acronym OR WWATWOWYCCAA. SYTYCD, anyone?

76. Guest posts – getting someone else to write for you, on YOUR site…what could be better? crowd-pleasing mega blogstar guest posters!

77. Contests/giveaways – offering free stuff to people for subscribing or commenting…well worth giving away an ipod or blackberry to gain readership.

78. Giving advice – clearly, being able to get words onto YOUR computer screen means a blogger knows better than YOU do. so obvious. don’t fight it.

79. Tips/Tricks – similar to lists and also giving advice…technically a combination of the two. e.g. 3 Sure-fire Ways You Can Spend More Time Reading MY Blog.

80. Reviews – thumbs, stars, pieces of fruit…if a person can give ___ out of ____ it’s worth it.

81. Hacks – want blog cred? show people how to hack something. iphone…boring. HACKED iphone…phone-omenal! better yet, make a tips and tricks list about it. and give one away.

82. Starting strong and finishing weak – nothing quite as satisfying as disappointing readers with a good idea poorly executed, a la The Happening.

83. Being #1 – and if they’re not they can still TELL you their site is the #1 (whatever) site in the world. #1 can be subjective.

84. Making 1600 words feel like 500 – seriously, you’ve read as many words as most undergrad university papers. the magic of numbered lists :-)

85. Archives – wanna know how we thought in May? Well, you CAN! let’s get all retro (spective, that is).

86. Branching out – blogger turned Twitterer turned YouTube star turned YOUR HERO.

87. Being your hero – wouldn’t YOU love to wake up knowing that somewhere in the world somebody’s reading your words, wanting to BE you. lemme know how that feels.

88. Gimmicks – because you wouldn’t be reading this unless it was, would you? who knew people LIKED things? I sure didn’t.

89. The internet – let’s face it…blogging without the internet is downright depressing. sidewalk chalk gets EXPENSIVE!

90. The word “blogger” – oh, what do I do? I’m a weblogger. I weblog. gross.

91. All rights reserved – three simple words. could prevent someone from totally ripping off your ideas for personal gain.

92. Watching others fail at what they excel in – secretly delighted to watch you attempt humour/cleverness/geekiness to no avail. bloggin’ ain’t easy!

93. Free promotion – like, from people trying to do what you did, and bringing attention to your original accomplishment by doing so.

94. The number 10 – especially when that’s the number a person IS from something (see # 40).

95. Not writing in the leftmost and rightmost parts of the screen – words belong in a 7-inch-wide space, centred on the screen. deal with it.

96. Controversy – taking the opposite view of many, now THAT’S a way to garner attention!

97. Rainy days – see #96. but then again, rainy days can lead to much writing…of lists…that end up on blogs.

98. Fans – both the making-you-feel-cooler ones AND the kind that blows air at you.

99. Going over your head – with comments that make more sense IN the blogger’s mind then written down (see #98).

100. Reaching 100 – items, percent, dollars…whichever. there’s something about the number that just ROCKS!

101. Having more words in an entry than there have been years since A.D. – and it looks like that feat will be achieved riiiiiight…oh…getting there…wait for it. wow. looks like I actually have quite a few more words before I get to the desired…oh…just about. It’s HERE!

102. Copy and paste – sure was useful to those of you who pasted this into a Word document to see if I was accurate in #101.

103. Rivalry – well, well Mr. Lander. The magic number has been reached. and onto…

104. Having their blog turned into a book – after reaching more than 35 million views, when it was originally created to entertain a handful of people.

105. Congratulations – are in order, I would say. I surpassed 103. hurray for me. but better yet…hurray for…

106. YOU – that’s right…blogging people really do like YOU! because you’re checking us out and supporting a force that is to be reckoned with. now, would you start a blog already? (see #’s 52 and 23)

107. Security – no harm in creating an adequate buffer zone, is there?

108. The end – but only if it means something was accomplished. and onto the next endeavour…

A University Student I Know Wants A Car... And I’m tired of hearing about it.

Being back at home means I’m forced to put up with the family again. Being back at home also means living in the boons with no car. Coincidentally, being back at home means putting up with my younger sister complaining about living in the boons with no car.

I suppose I can only blame myself for having to listen to her complaints for so long: she’s asked me to write about the possibilities of buying a car since school let out for the summer.

She’s a university student herself and would like nothing more than to have a car of her own parked in that driveway. Her biggest obstacle—as I’m sure is many others—is that she’s not really financially prepared for that type of purchase.

But, in an effort to silence the home, I’ve told her that I will look into the pros and cons of buying a car while in school.

Should She Buy?

Over at simpledebtfreeliving.com, there’s a nice list of resources on buying cars. The first tip they recommend is deciding whether or not you truly need a car. Many people are attracted to the idea of simply owning a car without looking at other options. Can you get to school by bus instead? Can you consider getting a job closer to home?

The cost of buying a car will more than likely outweigh what you spend on a bus trip to school or what you will make at a job across town.

Used Vs. New

Over at the allyourloans blog, it’s suggested that you buy used, but buy wisely. This is for the most obvious reason: it’s usually cheaper. But, they warn that you want be careful because you could end up with a car that will cost you more in repairs than if you had bought the brand new version. If you do feel that you are able to afford a new automobile, here’s something you may want to consider…

Rebates

While I’m a little reluctant to share this information with my sister as I feel it may give her the wrong idea after she’s done school, I’ll share it with you: Some car companies offer rebates to students. I know that over at Mazda, they offer up to $750 off of new vehicles for recent grads. Obviously there are certain requirements that must be met, but it’s something that a new car buyer may want to take into consideration.

Your Bank Can Help

The bank has a variety of options for new car buyers. In fact, I recently learned that they have a whole department on the subject. Over at rbc.com, there are details on RBC’s Royal Buy-Back Car Loan. It works similarly to a loan, but gives you the “benefits of owning your own vehicle,” according to the site. I’m going to have the opportunity next week to speak with someone from RBC about this type of loan and what other options are available for new car buyers through the bank.

I’m going to ask my sister if there’s anything she wants to me ask, but what about you? Are there any questions I can ask for you?

1. Comments – but only to tell me how awesome I am.

2. Blogrolls – look at all the blogs I know about.

3. Weekly round-ups – nothing says “here, YOU read them” like these do.

4. Criticizing mainstream news – but getting blog ideas FROM mainstream news and wanting to be featured ON mainstream news.

5. Going viral – everyone, do what I’m doing, but don’t copy me…copycats.

6. Twitter – check out all the mundane and trivial things I can write about.

7. Stock photos – honestly…pictures make you wanna read what’s next to them.

8. Links – hey, html coding is NOT that easy, ok? Links are tricky, people!

9. Saying what’s been said – and telling you who said it.

10. YouTube videos – here, come to where I write to follow links to videos by someone else…and WATCH them.

11. Lists – don’t we all, though? Isn’t THIS so much easier and entertaining to read?

12. Top 10 lists – even better than regular old not-top-ten lists!

13. Top some–other-number lists – has to be an odd number, or the number 8.

14. Pretending they’re funny – and convincing you that they ARE funny ( and you believe them).

15. Being better than you – because YOU don’t have a blog (and if you do it’s not as good).

16. Wordpress – Blogger? Didn’t Google buy that? Like, soooo corporate. YouTube is an exception of course. see #10.

17. Bold – italics are so 2003…you’re not blogging like it’s 2003 are you?

18. Inside jokes – only a select few will catch the reference I made in #17.

19. Digg – love me, tell others, make me a star.

20. del.icio.us – see above.

21. StumbleUpon – seriously…we all just wanna be big blogstars

22. Being clever with pop culture references – usually better references than above.

23. Showing others they can do what another blogger has already done – that’s right, Christian Lander…I can comment on what people like too :P

24. Praising other bloggers – come on, Chris…you’re awesome. I was just playing.

25. Having more famous bloggers recognize them – by talking about them?

26. Being clever with titles – but maintaining keywords so blog searches will find. them…it’s harder than you think.

27. Polls – nothing like statistically insignificant Internet polls to bolster an argument.

28. RSS feeds – if I could just inject blog entries into my veins as I sleep, I would

29. Firefox – like…check out all these add-ons that make my life blog-tastic.

30. TwitterFox – Twitter + Firefox FTW.

31. Internet slang and lingo – zomg, like I could lol at this. Pwned!

32. Doing something different – but only if it then catches on and everyone starts doing it…thus making it NOT different at all.

33. Making a list with more than 32 entries – OMG! Look what I just did

34. Netiquette – kind of like Internet slang but more comprehensive.

35. Putting words together to create new words – interNET + etIQUETTE. This is called a portemanteau (found on Wikipedia). incidentally wiki + encyclopedia = wikipedia…a portemanteau! (also, see #30)

36. Being ironic – did you see what I just did there? amazing!

37. Comments – seriously…it’s great to read, but you must have SOMETHING to say (only if you’re telling me how amazing I am, though).

38. Repetition – have I mentioned bloggers really just wanna become stars and have their writing appreciated?

39. Cheating on lists – by throwing something in there that doesn’t REALLY pertain, but still helps to increase the total amount of entries.

40. Being better than other bloggers – wait…he has HOW MANY entries in his list? 103? well, only 63 more to go :-)

41. Smileys – wait…bloggers hate these…my bad (got me #41 though).

42. Lifehacker – an amazing blog chock full of bloggidy goodness (see #24).

43. Blog reader – no, not YOU, the reader of the blog. an application that keeps track of blog entries from various blogs. like Google Rea…oh wait…

44. Reader of the blog – on second thought, bloggers DO like you. after all, what’s a blog with no readers? Oh, I’m sorry…still a little sensitive about that failed blog of yours? (see #15)

45. Being hypocrites – yes…those are italics up there…*sigh*

46. Google ads – see above. hypocrites much? no to Blogger, yes to YouTube and yes to Google ads. it’s all making sense now.

47. Being a go-to – what’s better than having millions of people rely on your wisdom and expertise?

48. Outgeeking the geeks – who’s laughing now, bullies? Geeks are revolutionizing. blogging and a surefire way to do it is to outgeek everyone.

49. Sans-serif fonts – for headlines, especially. don’t know what sans-serif means? Goog…uhhh…ah, what the heck, yeah Google it.

50. Wikipedia – you likely read the wikipedia entry for sans-serif if you Googled it. oh, wikipedia and its collective knowledge.

51. Being almost half-way there – milestones are important for a blogger. have to know where you’re going and how close you are.

52. Asking questions – especially rhetorical ones, and in the title. is there anything you can’t ask in a rhetorical manner?

53. Word count – before typing that “w” back there I was at 800. Thanks Microsoft (word count can be added as a toolbar). you can probably find a blog that talks about Microsoft toolbars. Maybe Lifehacker has something on it.

54. Mac laptops – but the typing has to be done in public, preferably a coffee shop, so that others can assume you’re writing something ground-breaking and monumental.

55. Being more than half-way there – I have 55 completed, and that’s more than half-way to the 104 I want to get. That will be higher than the 103 that Lander has (see #40)

A few weeks back, I wrote a blog entry about the fashion industry in the Czech Republic... I then went out and interviewed a few of the top fashion designers in the fashion industry to ask them questions about how they got their businesses off the ground. Here's the video:

Go Green for no Green!

I had a chance to talk with Mike Abramsky, Managing Director of Technology Research at RBC Capital Markets. As an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, Mike has been particularly busy talking to various news outlets about the launch of Apple's iPhone 3G. I managed to catch up with Mike at RBC Plaza in Toronto to talk about his feelings on the launch of the iPhone and the implications that it has for the wireless market in Canada... Here's the video:

Keep Moving

Getting into a partnership with other students can pose a bit of a hazard sometimes, trying to juggle schedules full of assignments, classes and whatnot. Fortunately, we’re managing to push off a bit of the schedule conflicts by getting things going during summer when we don’t have to think about school. It’s still pretty hard and after only a couple of weeks into this and talking to some people, I’ve heard some good advice.

Set a time

I generally think that since we’re all moving in the same direction with the same goal in mind, we’re bound to meet up and get things done. Not true. We set consistent times every week to make sure everyone’s there; it's way easier to proactively book a meeting into an empty schedule than a full one after the fact.

Set an agenda

Working with friends is sweet, but sometimes things can take longer than they need to – or never get done at all. Having a framework for the meeting makes everyone accountable to getting things done (It's like working under pressure). Set a simple agenda of what needs to be accomplished and discussed in that time. Most importantly, when everyone leaves, they should have a good idea of what they’re doing before the next time you get together.

Be committed

This is by far the most important and probably the one I am most likely to fall victim to. Running a business doesn’t have to run your life, but it's going to take some sacrifice, and everyone should be willing to make them. I’m definitely prepared to miss out on doing things that I enjoy for the sake of this, but the last business we worked on, I definitely wasn’t.

Don’t wait around

Being in a partnership is nice because you have someone there to hold accountable. But the door can swing both ways; it's easy to slip into that “Well, they’re not doing anything, so I’ll just wait for them to get going”. Buckle down and get things done; it’s a sacrifice and it's probably going to mean setting your pride in the corner for a bit, but it will be a great encouragement to your team and possibly, the life raft that keeps the entire plan from sinking in a pool of apathy.

Talk it out

Constant communication plays a big role in keeping things on track. If you’re a little ticked because you feel like people aren’t pulling their weight, then letting those feelings fester while you slave away isn’t setting the business up for success. There could be an explanation behind it; perhaps there’s been a miscommunication in terms of who is doing what.

These things are helping keep our business moving forward at a steady pace. When we’re not moving towards our goal, then I’m liable to get bored, apathetic and put things into question. As soon as you stop moving forward, you start moving backwards – there’s no such thing as stagnancy.

Don’t Be – They’re Your Friend

As a follow-up to my entry on visiting an account manager at my local RBC branch I bring you one of the results of that meeting. If you’re anything like me you have a general idea what an (R)RSP is and understand that it’s an important thing to have.

At the age of 28 I’m kicking myself for waiting this long. In fact, it was so easy to set up that I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t have one. I won’t get into details of what an RSP is, as that information is available elsewhere (like here). In the entry below I hope to show those of you without an RSP how worthwhile it is, how to go about setting one up, and to tell you how mine is set up.

Isn’t Math Fun? Seriously!

Ok, check this out. Currently I’m contributing $25 every 2 weeks. It comes out of my account automatically and goes right into the RSP. Clearly when I earn more money and hopefully eliminate some of my debt this amount will be higher. But in order to set up the RSP I was told I needed a minimum of $500 (600?) and $50 every month for a year equals $600, so RBC knew that I would be contributing this amount. That’s how easy it is. I don’t even need to deposit more than $25 per paycheque! So here’s where math gets fun (but also depressing in my case):

• Contributing bi-weekly rather than monthly can have a huge effect, considering you will not be depositing any more of your own money.
• Start NOW, instead of waiting. The 8 years that Nathan has on me will mean a schwackload of cash. He will have contributed only $4800 more but have $92,430 more in savings. Tell me that isn’t mind-blowing!!

RSP – Really Simple Process

I made an appointment to speak with Mrs. Dingwell, an account manager at my RBC branch, and she went through a questionnaire to assess the level of risk I was willing to take with my money. This essentially consists of questions pertaining to the likelihood of withdrawing money before age 65, whether I’m a nervous person, and how I would react if during the process my savings were to drop below what I had invested.

The point is to make sure the RSP is made up of investments you’re comfortable with. This takes about an hour (well, maybe less if you’re not as chatty as I am) and at the end the computer program will even tell you if you’ve made selections that are contradictory. At that point you determine how much you’d like to have deposited into the RSP and voila! Like I said, really simple.

Show Me (Where) The Money (Is Going)

As I’m not an investment banker or financial advisor, I won’t dispense any recommendations. I can, however, tell you what I’m invested in as someone looking for a balance between high and low risk.

I have what is called the RBC Balanced Fund. The RBC Asset Management site has a PDF document outlining the details of this particular mutual fund. It may look like gibberish to you, so a few of the main things to notice are:

Your money is invested in the following way:


34.6% Canadian Equities
31.6% Bonds
15.7% U.S. Equities
10.5% International Equities
7.6% Cash

• Since its inception in 1987, the rate of return has averaged out to 8%
• Look at the sector mix and the top holdings to see where the money is being invested – mostly energy and financials (typically safe return on investment)

I’ve been in Spain for three weeks now, and one thing that I have noticed that is different over here is the courtship. The language says it all.

For example: In Spanish “novio” or “novia” which is boyfriend or girlfriend implies a serious relationship that lasts for a long time, sometimes even for life. From my understanding, in English, that same term often means something much more casual.

Instead, in Spain they say “amigos” or “amigas” which are basically a collection of guys or girls that one has and hooks up with occasionally. Sound interesting? That’s what I thought. So when I was telling my colleagues that I was looking for a summer “novia” they told me that what I actually needed was some “amigas”.

I didn’t disagree with my team of Spanish experts that were teaching me everything from how to work the reception to dating advice! It’s been a week since that advice and it’s been a great one. Here are my top five reasons why summer love is the best.

1. Everyone looks hotter in the summer

Gorgeous, tanned and hard bodies, topless girls on the beach, sun kissed hair and face make anyone that was moderately hot look like a model. All that sun, great food and sleep also makes you feel better and healthier and you become more confident which in the end actually makes you look better.

2. You don’t hold back in the summer

Its summer! Stay out late! Try something you've never done! It’s easy to let loose when there is nothing holding you down and even more so if you’re in some exotic or romantic location. All this spontaneity makes you feel alive and you savor every moment. Why are we able to let loose in the summer? It’s probably because we don’t have the stress of school and work affecting us as much. I also think it’s because if you’re in a foreign place you know you only have a short time so you’re not as apathetic as when you’re at home.

3. Little things go a long way when its summer

On the other end of the spectrum for some reason small, simple things go a long way in the summer. For example, walking on the beach is a cheap, short and simple date in the summer that can have amazing results. I took a girl to town for ice cream the other night and there was no stress about spending money and being fancy or anything but it was just as nice if not more. The simplicity of summer love is another great reason why it rocks.

4. Kisses in the summer are more passionate

The closest thing to feeling like a movie star (besides being an RBC p2p blogger) is kissing a beautiful girl on the beach in the summer heat. According to my friend Kirsten (who kisses boys) it’s so amazing “because it's as hot and scandalous on the outside as you feel on the inside”. Need I say more?

5. You can be yourself, or whoever you want to be when its summertime

Without the stress of school and work you can finally be yourself in the summer and that feels great! With time to think and make new friends, often you grow a lot in the summer time. On the other hand you can also be whoever you want to be when you’re in a foreign place and go on all sorts of adventures.

So, if you’re out there enjoying summer love, live it up because it doesn't last forever! And if you’re in the doldrums of the working summer, don’t give up! Summer love can happen to you too if you just let it!

I’ve got a friend who is great at customer service. No, she’s not the representative you get stuck dealing with—she’s on this end of the line. If she feels as though she’s been treated unfairly or not getting the absolute most out of a company she subscribes to, you can be sure she’ll pick up that telephone.

As I’ve grown with her, I’ve realized that she may be on to something: Not only is she saving money, but she is standing up to organizations that have promised her specific products.
If I can digress, my friend recently had her car fixed at the dealership. She instructed them on what needed to be fixed and asked if something could be checked—but only if it wasn’t going to be costly. Otherwise, it was a repair she could live without.

Upon picking up her vehicle, she looked over her bill and realized that the dealership had gone ahead and fixed what was ultimately a costly repair. When she questioned the manager on it, she was offered half price. My friend’s response: No.

She explained that this was not part of the arrangement and the charge was wiped from her bill.
Right now, I’m living with this friend and we share some bills. Our recent cable bill was a little bit of a mess and my friend managed to get it all cleaned up.

“It takes a lot of patience, explaining your problem calmly, thoroughly and possibly repeatedly,” my friend says. “But also trying different arguments and lines of reasoning and talking to different people, sometimes on different days.”

She also suggests using your feelings to convey a message, rather than getting hostile over the phone.

“I'll tell them that I am very frustrated or disappointed,” she explains, “then they know I'm dissatisfied but they think I'll be reasonable in trying to resolve the issue. If I am not getting anywhere, I will ask to speak to someone else.”

Over at mollysbrother.com, there are a series of tips on how to effectively deal with a customer service representative. Among the suggestions is to immediately deal with your problem and write down the name of the individual you deal with. He also suggests that you be kind to the rep:

Once you do get someone on the phone, remember what your momma taught you: Be polite. You’re beyond frustrated. I understand. But I’m sure that the gentleman on the other end of the phone, at the other end of the globe doesn’t want to be talking about this any more than you do.

On another site, the same blogger, says that checking your bills can be one of the most important money saving behaviours to adopt. He says that it’s not only important to check bills for improper charges, but to counter identity theft:

… with identity theft claims on the rise, it only makes sense to analyze your financial statements more closely. In fact, I go online at least once a day to my bank and credit card accounts to make sure that the statements reflect what I have written in my spending log.

My “customer service friend” has one last piece of advice: “When all else fails, I remind them that I have other options and intend to take my business elsewhere if they if they cannot provide satisfactory service,” she says. “I like to save that gem for last so that it's justified - they can see I've genuinely tried to resolve the problem and that they are leaving me with no choice but to leave.”

How about you? Do you have any customer service tactics?

As September is slowly creeping up (to end my beloved summer months), I’ve been thinking more and more about life after graduation. This will be my last year of University (thank God) and with the end in sight I’ve been contemplating my next move as a university graduate.

I’ve been working every year since I started high school and have even spent some summers working up to 3 jobs (the ‘careerist’ slant to this blog is no coincidence). A self-described work-o-holic, my friends have labeled me ‘crazy’. But the truth is, I actually enjoy working. And I’ve worked all kinds of jobs, too. It’s safe to say that I haven’t discriminated against any job, from shady grocery stores to government agency work. I’ve covered some ground, and busted my rump in the past few years… So I was thinking that once I graduate in the spring, I might take a break from work to do some traveling (original, I know).

But is it really okay to take a break?

The whole ‘university education’ thing was supposed to ensure that I actually GOT a job when I graduated, but knowing the ever-increasing competitive nature of the workforce for graduates, I wouldn’t want to miss out on an opportunity to land that big job just for a little down time.

I’ve been thinking about how some time off could be perceived by my (hopeful) future employer. Maybe they would see the need for an extended break as indicating a lack of drive or direction, that’s not me. I am convinced however, that whatever you decide to do after graduation, the ‘spin’ you put on the story is what makes or breaks the deal in an interview. The difference between: “I was just like, tired of all the work, y’know?” and “I took some time off to collect my thoughts and refocus on my long-term objectives” could mean the difference in employment status.

You could even try spinning a temporary insanity story… though I wouldn’t recommend it.

Regardless, the right spin is only part of the equation; taking time off usually means taking a risk that the job you want might not be available to you when you decide to jump back into the job market.

I know having a gap of unemployment on your resume is a little risky, but if I jump into a career right away I could find myself working until retirement without any serious time off!

Is it ever okay to take a break?

I'm not accepting defeat (in some respects)

So a lot happened in the last week – a lot. Since accepting defeat last week, I’ve gone into another endeavour with some friends that is, I would say, a lot more serious. What I find absolutely shocking though, is that I learned something from our last failed attempt. It’s shocking because we never really did anything of substance.

We never actually signed a partnership agreement, registered the business, opened a business bank account, talked to people about the idea, and oddly enough, talked about the actual business plan (our “innovation” so to speak). We had nothing. I’ve thought about it a lot and it comes down to my not taking my own advice – I wasn’t passionate about the idea. It was clever, it could work, I’d use it, but when it comes down to it, I wasn’t passionate about it.

So, I’ve since started working with some new partners on a new project, and we’re 1000 steps ahead of where we were with my last endeavour, but 1 million steps behind where we want to be. In the first day alone we got all of the dry, bureaucratic stuff out of the way:

Opened a business bank account

We decided to do our banking with RBC after chatting to an account manager – they have some great plans for businesses and if you’re going to be in a partnership, I recommend getting a shared business account. The fees for their most basic account are so tiny, its ridiculous, and it will save you a ton of stress and issues down the road.

Fortunately, our business plan doesn’t have too many upfront costs (yet) so we haven’t had to shell out too much cash.

Registered the business

This was 100 times easier than I thought. I didn’t even have to leave the house. If you just Google: “Registering your business, (insert province here)” you’ll be good to go. In Ontario, we went here.

Singed the Partnership Agreements

Not that this should be a huge deal, but when things start to get serious and money starts to come in, partnership agreements will come in handy. It’s best to sign them now when the voice of cash can’t be heard. We went to www.lawdepot.com to get legally binding contracts – the prices are very reasonable (when you compare it to going to a Lawyer) and are absolutely customizable.

What’s more, you can find a ton of other contracts on the site too – it might be advisable to get some NDAs (Nondisclosure Agreements) and non-competition agreements from the site as well. When you’re looking around for business partners and pitching your plan to people in the very early stages, there is very little that sets you apart from where you and any other person are at. These badboys would protect your grand and innovative idea (to a certain degree) from being ripped off.

One last think I noticed about this business plan (or, idea, if you will): I’m really excited about it. In fact, I can hardly keep my mouth shut. Our last business idea, I was afraid to talk about it because I was so unsure of idea (which is an okay feeling to have). But this one, I’m stoked: I’m so confident in it.

But what do you think: can too much confidence help or hinder you?

On Sunday, June 29th, Kate and I attended Toronto’s 2008 Pride Parade! The parade route took us west on Bloor, from Church to Yonge Streets, then south on Yonge to Gerrard Street, and back eastward toward Church. According to CTV.ca, somewhere near 1 million people turned out to watch as the colourful marchers made their way down the streets of Toronto.

RBC’s employee group, P.R.I.D.E. committee (Proud RBC Individuals for Diversity and Equality), came out in droves! We had a super awesome Flatbed truck, decked out with the loudest sound system that the generator could power (and from the sounds of it, it must have been a powerful generator), complete with an awesome DJ spinning some great tracks!

The atmosphere was astounding! As an RBC Employee, I was very proud to be a part of this. It was quite the sight to see over so many proud RBC employees wearing the same thing, and marching in unison for equality!

RBC P.R.I.D.E. is a fully supported within the organization and embodies the values of RBC. (Diversity, Integrity, Teamwork, Service, and Responsibility)

RBC has long been a supporter of the LGBT community in Canada and has made donations to many LGBT organizations. Recently, I was at an LGBT Youth Panel that discussed the challenges and opportunities to support our youth as they are coming out. At the end of the panel, RBC’s Dave McKay, group head of Canadian Banking, presented Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes with a cheque for 25 000$ in support of the Triangle Program, Canada’s only LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender) classroom.

If you made it out to the Parade, let us know what you thought of the music, and our super-awesome (imho) truck, and the parade in general!

Happy Pride!!!!!!

With the beautiful weather comes the desire to get out there and do things – things that often cost money. Going out for ice cream, or a drink, or even cruising around in a car all have a cost associated.

As I sit alone in Halifax’s gorgeous Public Gardens (oh to have hang-out friends that don’t move away) I can’t help but wonder how many activities cost absolutely no money (or very little) and yet are enjoyable. Some are obvious, and yet we often take the expensive route for some reason.

For the sake of this entry I’ll focus on two things that do not require companions, as much of the time I don’t seem to have any. In addition to helping you save money, they may even lead to some earnings as well.

1. The Write Way

Considering that this entry is the product of my having sat down to write, I’ll recommend this one first. While you may not consider yourself a writer, per se, it is beneficial to express yourself via the written word.

You don’t even need a particular subject or genre of writing – just get it on paper. You’ll be surprised at the quality of your own thoughts when you let them spill from your pen. Writing soothes the soul, as far as I’m concerned. You might even discover a hidden passion, and be able to create something worthy of selling.

Recently, my co-blogger Henry reviewed a website that allows freelancers to bid on jobs, creating an online community to enable employers and freelancers to connect. This inspired me to mention a website that I discovered that may very well enable you to publish some of your writing, should you choose to try it out.

Once upon a time it was a very daunting and time-consuming task to write a book and send it off to publishers. If self-publishing, it could get very expensive.

Enter this website, and many others like it I’m sure. With LuLu.com you can publish a WIDE range of things, such as paperbacks, comics, cookbooks and much more.

There are no setup fees and it’s possible to publish only as you need books. You can also view some of the books that others are publishing through LuLu. It is a veritable community of publishers and readers. The winner last year of a Web 2.0 Award in the Books category, this website could help YOU make money from your ideas. Check it out!

2. Take Your Pic

If writing is not your thing, try taking some photographs. You don’t have to own an expensive digital camera, or even a digital camera at all. A standard 35mm cam (even a disposable one) will serve the purpose.

In this age of instant gratification it can be nice to take photos that can’t be seen immediately. It might encourage you to take your time and be selective of your shots. A lot of us have snapshots or candids of our friends, but not enough of us explore the world around us via the camera lens. You’ll see things you’ve previously missed – even within yourself.

If you’ve ever searched for photos online you’re no doubt aware of the fact that some websites exist for the sole purpose of being a catalogue of images for professionals and amateurs alike to make use of (for a price). One such example is iStockphoto.com and I’ll let them tell you exactly what they do:

iStockphoto is the internet’s original member-generated image and design community. Find your inspiration on the world's leading royalty-free stock destination. Search for over 3 million photographs, vector illustrations, video footage and Flash files. Buy stock or sell stock — or both.

I joined the site about a year ago when I was at the peak of my photography interest. I honestly have not uploaded anything yet, but I do receive emails from iStock that give all kinds of tips and tricks related to photography. It is in their interest to help you become a better artist, to increase the quality of their product. If you’re interested I highly recommend checking out the top downloads and considering why they might be.

Clearly, beautiful images sell well but try to consider what themes or ideas buyers might be after. Things like freedom, innocence, beauty, success or struggle are all things that someone might need an image to represent. Other times it’s simple: they n