GREAT QUOTE

Even for the price they pay personally, every day [entrepreneurs] are doing something they always wanted to do. They control their destiny in a way that a lot of folks don't." --Raj Seshadri, head of small-business banking at Citibank, as quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek

LOOK & FEEL

As development of the website continues, I have now been asked to come up with a logo for the website. My contract with Calacles for web development did not include any kind of design or logo work so therefore I will channel my inner graphic designer and come up with one myself. I want the logo to be the actual name of the website sort of like Facebook or Twitter....but also with some cool font and color and maybe just a simple sign or symbol added to the actual name. I need to make sure it is visually appealing and fun to look at. There are some websites that come to mind that I like simply because of how cool and clean it looks including the websites name itself. There are some pretty amazing websites available that help you with logos and color selection and best of all they're free to use. Here are two that I used and highly recommend:

http://www.colorschemedesigner.com


http://www.vistaprint.com


Here are two potential logo designs for my website:

GO BIG OR GO HOME.....NOT NECESSARILY

I'm all for going all out and pouring my heart into whatever it is I believe in or am passionate about. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to give it my all. Go big or go home......unless of course you're talking about a marketing strategy where going big could mean going home much earlier than expected. I like the thought of my website being able to service everybody, in every market, in every city, in every country with various demographics. I believe it can and will get there jut not right out of the gate. Initially I won't be able to service everybody, everywhere nor do I want to. Instead of spreading myself thin, I will focus my efforts in San Diego. I will target local businesses, local news groups, publications and residents. My focus will be to both create awareness of my website that has been created to service just San Diego and to gather as much feedback as possible on what service providers, users, anyone that's willing to talk is saying about the site, what they like and don't like. I will cater to the San Diego community and make it about them and provide them will a service that they want and will make them successful and their lives easier. I will make it a point to go business to business and personally introduce myself to all small business owners and provide them with awareness of my website and how it can and will benefit them once they begin using it. I will make it a point to do all I can to see each of these businesses succeed. Small businesses in San Diego will flourish and increase their revenues because of my website and I will do all I can to make sure that happens. This is how I will begin to market my website. It will be personal, it will be real, and I will build my brand one person, one business at a time. Once I can prove the websites concept in San Diego I will then leverage that success to expand into other nearby cities such as Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and so on and keep moving across the country and inevitably across the world. My plan is to go big, just not yet.

Consider this, Craigslist started out as just a small website that was designed to service a handful of people in San Francisco. Craigslist services the world now. Facebook got its start by first servicing just the Harvard Student Community. I think you know the rest. Start small, think big!

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives."
                                                                                                      ~ William A. Foster

PLAN YOUR WORK, WORK YOUR PLAN

These words are those of Jack Rowland who use to be a client of mine back in my days of being a personal trainer at 24 Hours Fitness. I never did ask Jack what he did although I got the sense at one point or another in his life he was or still was a success business man. I've been planning my work now for the past several years. I made a go of it a few years back with little to no preparation. No market research, no business plan, no literature review, nothing. Just an idea with no plan and I went with it. Needless to say I didn't get too far. I spent about $800 to have my website idea created overseas and it was a total flop. What wasn't a total flop was the lessons I learned from that. The importance of preparation, having a plan, seeking advice and guidance from either other business colleagues or books on business, marketing, and starting a business. I have since then taken all of these steps mentioned and many more. I have and continue to create and plan my work and then go out and work my plan. A business plan is a must for any start up business. To begin with it doesn't have to be long, detailed, or rich with content or projections. It just needs to be your idea down on paper, what it is, what problem will it solve or who it will benefit and what you need to do to make it happen. A business plan is your road map to success.

I just met with the guys at Calacles who are creating my website on Friday, March 18th to further discuss the wireframing for the site. The meeting went extremely well and we covered lots of great material and details on how the site will function and look. There is so much to cover and so many questions that need to be asked. That is why a business plan is again, so important to have. It will continue to guide me down The Million Dollar Road. Not to say that there isn't room to consider other options and opportunities along the way associated with the website but for the most part, the plan has been worked and I am now working my plan.

"He who fails to plan, plans to fail." ~ Proverb Quotes

"A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow." ~ Proverb Quotes

There is actually a book as well on this same principle. Although I have never read it, it's called Plan Your Work/ Work Your Plan: Secrets for More Productive Planning by Jim Sherman.

GO AHEAD, LAUGH AT ME

I'm a dreamer, I'm too optimistic, start up businesses fail more often than they succeed, there's tons of people, smarter people looking to create a successful business what exactly makes me think I will be successful? These are just some of the comments I've had the pleasure of listening to at one point or another whether they were directly or indirectly targeting me. I'm too optimistic....never thought I'd hear that one. I welcome all of these statements. If all the history greats we're to listen to all the naysayers we would never have the technology and innovation we have today. People thought the Wright Brothers were nuts and wanted to have them psychologically evaluated. Seems to me they weren't so crazy were they? People thought Henry Ford was out of his mind and not being logical when he asked his workers to figure out a way to build the impossible, an 8 cylinder engine and not stop until they found a way to make it happen. Guess what, they made it happen. Hey, let's put a man on the moon. Impossible right? Christopher Columbus must of also been "too optimistic" when he discovered America. People's truths are their realities. I have my own set or realities and will continue to surround myself with those who support my realities. I do read motivating and inspiring books, I do love and post quotes that I think have strong messages of determination and success, my cup is always half full, I do recite the words "I will persist without exception" multiple times a day when I first wake and before I sleep and have it posted throughout my apartment, and all my hurt and failures along the way are lesson plans on my way to a degree in success. So go ahead, laugh at me because those who doubt me, inspire me.

The phrase "I will persist without exception" is one of the Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success as identified in Andy Andrew's book titled The Traveler's Gift. A must read! Here are all seven decisions:


1. Harry Truman – The Buck Stops Here
Take responsibility for your life and the situation you are in. All of the decisions YOU have made have lead you to your current successes or failures. Until you accept it is your ‘fault’ you are where you are, your destiny is not in your control.


2. King Solomon – I will Seek Wisdom
Choose your friends and mentors wisely. By serving others you transform your life’s experience.


3. Joshua Chamberlain – I am a Person of Action
Be a person who makes decisions and acts on them quickly. Chamberlain was the man responsible for the Union’s victory in the Civil War due to his decision to take action during a key battle at Gettysburg.


4. Christopher Columbus – I have a Decided Heart
When people doubt your dreams or visions, stand your ground and stay true to what you know to be true.


5. Anne Frank – Today I will Choose to be Happy
Happiness and joy are choices that are made everyday. Certain thoughts and activities bring about a chemical reaction in your body that results in you feeling happy. Regardless of your circumstances, you can choose to be happy or not.


6. Abraham Lincoln – I will Greet this Day with a Forgiving Spirit
The secret of dissipating anger and resentment is through forgiveness – even to those who do not ask for it. By the simple act of forgiveness, you release the demons of the past about which you can do nothing about and create a new beginning.


7. Angel Gabriel – I will Persist without Exception
Your greatest power is your capacity to exercise choice. Choose to persist and hold fast to your dreams and stay the course, even in the face of exhaustion, rejection and uncertainty.

MOVING FAST, GETTING NOWHERE

Although this isn't the exact case, it's how I feel. I feel like there is so much to do, so much to read, so much to think about, so much to worry about all the while the website hasn't even begun to be developed, from a programming standpoint. Although I am doing all the things I feel are necessary in preparation for launching the website when it's completed, I always feel like there is so much more I can be doing. Can't help but wonder if I'm doing all the right things, doing the right things right, am I reading enough material, talking to enough people, creating enough content, gathering enough emails. I realize I can't do 10 things at once although I wish I could. There is always something to be done. Currently I'm reading up as much as possible on successful website launches, launch failures, expert advice from different blogs, reading motivational books from leaders who have succeeded, creating website content and developing new ideas to incorporate down the road, and gathering as many emails as I can to later use for email marketing campaigns. I have subscribed to http://www.smartbrief.com/ which is a great site that provides me with different daily news, blogs, and article briefs on content that I've specifically asked for. Highly recommend it. Just about finished reading the book "Pour Your Heart Into It" by Howard Schultz CEO of Starbucks. Great book! I'm creating different ideas for the websites wireframe for my meeting with the guys at Calacles tomorrow. Every chance I get I am going online and gathering emails from businesses that are my target market. It's amazing the amount of free contact information that's out there and available if you just take the time to look for it. As they say, success is where preparation meets opportunity. I am doing all that I can with all that I know to prepare for success....it's coming!

IT'S NOT ABOUT ME

It seems I need to keep reminding myself that what I am creating is not about me or what I like, or what I think will work well, or look good. It's not about me. It's about what the users will want and how it will help them. From reading lots and talking with others I've come to realize that just because I may think I have a great idea doesn't necessarily mean others will think the same. I found myself working on my website yesterday and working on the sites wireframe and was thinking of all these great features to have available to the user and how it would be really cool and visually stimulating. I was thinking about what I thought would be cool and what I thought would be visually stimulating. It was then I began to think....wait a minute, this isn't about me or I, it's about them, the users. That's what really matters and it needs to ALWAYS be the focus, it's not what I think or want but instead what they think and want. There's plenty of ways to figure that out such as seeing what's already out there and what's working. Creating a beta website to test the concept first. What I have chosen to do is just talk to people, anyone I come across, friends, family, coworkers, complete strangers, anyone that is willing to talk to me and give me feedback. You'll be surprised how many people are actually willing to listen and are happy to give you feedback. Their opinion matters most, that's my audience, my end users, the ones who will determine the success of my idea and ultimately my own success. For anyone with a great idea or ideas, I strongly urge you to first test out your idea, the concept itself by first asking people what they think of it. Let me clarify this a bit, you're not asking them if they think it's a good idea, your not looking for their approval but instead if they would use your idea, your service, or product. Why or why not? The more feedback that is gathered early off the more there is to work with in developing the idea based on the needs of your users or customers and not on what you or I feel is great or cool. It's not about us!

"Action may not always bring happiness... but there is no happiness without action." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

NEXT UP....WEBSITE WIREFRAME!

In the words of Wikipedia a website wireframe is a visual guide used in the interface design. It documents the structure of a website and relationships between its pages. In other words it's the overall layout for the website sort of like the framing of a house. Wireframes are completed before any artwork is done as is the case with framing a house. All the framing is done first before any furnishings are brought in. This will be a very important step in the processes of creating the overall experience for the user. I have said all along I want the user experience to be easy, simple, to the point. This all starts with wireframing. Although I am not 100% sure of how I want the wireframing to look, I do know what I want the functionality to be and look like and so I am relying on the guys over at Calacles that are creating this website to make that happen. I know they will. Here's what a very detailed website wireframe can look like:

Wireframes are also intended to maintain design consistency throughout the entire site regardless of what page a user may navigate to and from. Each individual webpage is also wireframed so that the layout of each page is also created. Here is an example of what a single page wireframe can look like:

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Everything! Picking a domain name I must say has been a pretty stressful and time consuming process. Even as we speak I am just finalizing on a name for the website. It's amazing how many domain names are already in use or have been bought and are unavailable. Names you would think no one would either want or even think of are taken. I had settled on a domain name a few months ago, but after further discussions with potential website users and other business partners, the name I originally had chosen had a bit of a negative association or connotation so I decided to change it. It was back to the drawing board. Luckily this time I came up with a name I thought would look and work much better than the first. I will share more details on the names once the site is up and live in about 6-8 weeks from now. There was lots to consider when deciding on a domain name for the website. For instance, size of the domain name. I didn't want to make it to long otherwise people will forget it. I wanted the name to be easy to remember, something easy, quick, simple. I also wanted the name to some extent express what the website was. I did this by writing down lots or words that were associated with the website and the idea and was able to cut and paste two words together to come up with the domain name. There were some names I really did like and was leaning towards although they were too close in resemblance to some other popular sites that are already out there so I didn't want that. I want my site to be different, unique, in its own space. Lastly, I really did want a .com address and didn't want to settle for a .net or .org. Some will tell you it's OK to have the latter two but I wasn't comfortable doing so. When I think of websites, I think .com at the end. Luckily I was able to buy all three, the .com, .net, and .org of the domain name I selected so they all belong to me! There are lots of websites where you can purchase domain names. I used Go Daddy although I would recommend the following two due to their reputation and ease of use:

www.godaddy.com

www.networksolutions.com

PROTEGE AND PROUD

A protege is defined as the student of a mentor. Luckily for me I was blessed and fortunate enough to be the protege of two incredible mentors, my grandpa and my dad both of which are no longer around. I lost my grandpa in 2001 and my dad in 2006. Both true examples of what it means to be a man, respectful, grateful, humble, provide for their family, and give unselfishly. My grandpa was an entrepreneur at heart owning his own bakery business in Brazil for 10 years. My dad had all the makings of being a successful entrepreneur but never received the support he would need to make a run at it. From an early age, they both preached to me the importance of family values, strong morals, faith in God, and the ability to do whatever it is I chose to do so long as my heart was in it. No book, no schooling, no certification has ever or will ever provide me with the life lessons both of these incredible men were able to provide me with. They always believed in me and would have given up everything for themselves if it meant a chance for me to be successful. I owe my drive, my passion, my will to succeed to both of them. They continue to inspire me everyday and although I know they would have been proud of their protege if they were still around, I would still give anything to hear it straight from them, the same way I did as a kid.

"Any man can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad." ~ Anne Geddes

"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who work hard and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was less competition there." ~ Indira Gandhi

I HAVE A GREAT IDEA.....NOW WHAT?

Having a great idea is one thing but what to do with it is another. Have you ever had a great idea and never acted on it just to find out years later the idea you had was acted upon by someone else who had the same idea and is now successful? I've had that happen one too many times. If I had only acted on that idea but how? What? When? Where? Who? I've come to realize that there is no right answer or right way to go about it. The right thing to do is just start, start somewhere, anywhere....but just start. I knew I had to write a business plan if I was going to ask others to invest in my idea. Business plans can be overwhelming and ask for lots of detailed information, information that I just didn't know or have. I decided I would just create a one page business plan with my idea, what it would provide, what the site would look like, how it would function, and how it was different than what's already out there. What started out as one page grew into a four page business plan. The key here is just to start, start with one single step, one page business plan, just to get the wheels in motion. I was surprised once I started writing how many more ideas and thoughts began to come to me. I also began to ask myself more questions and therefore came up with more answers which lead to a more detailed business plan. Here are the subtitles I included in my business plan:

Business Description
Industry & Market Description
Business Application
Company History
Company Services
Marketing
Management Team
Projections
Funding
Funding History
Exit Strategy

There is lots more that could be added to this but for now this will do. It's a good starting point and initial road map down the million dollar road. I will add to it and change it as needed along the way. Writing down ideas is a powerful tool and I believe a must for success. Don't just take it from me though, check it out!

FAITH REWARDED

Being from Massachusetts I'm inevitably a die hard Boston Red Sox fan. Red Sox fan or not, I don't think anyone can or will ever forget the incredible season they had in 2004 capturing a World Series Title and ended an 86 year drought. The die hard Red Sox fans were finally rewarded. Their commitment, loyalty, and faith in their team finally paid off. Those who believed were rewarded with one of the greatest season ever by a Major League Baseball team. I've been fortunate enough to have two people, investors in my website put that same faith in me. I approached them both individually about a month ago with my website idea, a business plan, and the investment amount I was looking for. With little discussion, both agreed to invest. Their message to me was the same and is one that resonates in my thoughts daily and will continue to. Although they both thought my business plan was a good one, they both stated that they were really investing in me because they believed in me. They believe in me....wow! There aren't enough words of gratitude that I can express to these two individuals but I assure you as I have assured them, their belief and faith in me will never be forgotten and they WILL be rewarded. If I was a professional athlete, I would be guaranteeing a win here. Don't believe me? Good, more fuel to my fire.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."  ~ Maya Angelou

My sister Paula & I (One of my investors)

Good buddy and second investor Todd (Sparky) 

ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY

I know this may come as a shock to the many who know me but I tend to be a bit impatient by nature. At least I can admit it right? I can't help but want to have the website up and running right now and not weeks from now. I want success now, I want to hear people talking about it, how great it is, how helpful it was, how much it's changed the way we interact with others and do business. Now, now, now! As cliche as it may sound, I'm beginning to realize it more and more that it's not about the destination but instead the journey. It's the experiences along the way, the people, the failures, the successes, the efforts, the sacrifices, all the hard work that's poured into our dreams that molds and shapes not just who we are but what our destination will look like. With that said, at the moment I am gathering as many email addresses as possible, joining as many social networking sights as possible, setting up blogs, reading lots of blogs, asking family, friends, the general public their thoughts on the websites content, functionality, and if they would use the website themselves. Also reading as much as possible from others who have already traveled down the million dollar road and arrived at their destination and learning from their experiences. I'm preparing as much as possible so that when the site finally does go live, I'll be ready to roll!

I realize that success is something that is earned over time although I still do wish Rome could have been built in a day....I know, I know....patience!

Success is where preparation meets opportunity.  ~ Henry Hartman

I'M JUST A PUNK WHO"LL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL

Along with documenting all business decisions I make and steps I take along the way, I feel it's also important to provide some history of how I arrived at this point in my life. I'm a product of 9 years of Catholic schooling, that's kindergarten through 8th grade. I'll admit I was never one for school and my grades reflected that but for the most part I was a good student in terms of respect for my teachers and following the rules which if you know anything about me, rules and I don't mix but I still did follow them otherwise dad would hear about it and that's one thing I did not want to happen. I'm a big believer in positive reinforcement and believe in its ability to empower children or anyone for that matter. Tell someone they can do anything they put their heart and mind to and watch them flourish. Tell someone they're a nobody long enough and they'll eventually begin to believe it. Unfortunately I was told the latter but fortunately enough I refused to believe it. Maybe I was never good enough in their eyes. I was a C student and proud of it, still am. So this road I am on will also serve to prove all those who didn't believe in me, thought I was a punk and would never be successful wrong.

"It ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth." ~ Rocky Balboa

HOW WILL I MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS?

Ok so you're probably wondering, what the heck is this blog all about and exactly how does this guy plan on making a million dollars? Well, first off this blog will serve as a way for me to document all of my efforts, all the right decisions, wrong decisions, all who I meet along the way, those who help me, those who doubt me, but what I most hope for is to capture all that it took to get there, in essence creating a million dollar recipe if you will.

Now the way I plan on making my million dollars is through a website idea I have envisioned for years now. Although I won't mention exactly what the idea is until the site is actually up and live, I can tell you that it involves social media of course (what doesn't involve social media these days), entrepreneur's, and the city of San Diego. The website is in development as we speak. Having this website built is not going to be cheap by any means but then again I'm a firm believer that you must spend some money to make money. The company creating the site is called Calacles. They are a San Diego based company. Just finished filling out their design questionnaire and am scheduled to further discuss the project with them next week. Wheels are in motion!

A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP

Well here I am, about to take my first step down The Million Dollar Road. It's been a long time coming and to be quite honest I haven't always been sure it would ever come. Even now I find myself wondering if I'm doing the right thing or taking the right steps. What I do know is even a wrong step is lots better than no step and so I'm off to create something, something big, something special, something that will make a difference in peoples lives, including mine. This is my story and my road to success that I am ready to share with you, every detail, every success, every failure along the way. It will serve as a road map for others with their own dreams of success to follow on their way down The Million Dollar Road.