Podcasts about m you

Capes On the Couch - Where Comics Get Counseling

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2022 27:27

M: Hi Artūrs, thank you for coming! Could you please briefly describe what Magebit is about, how you started Magebit, which is your main company, your main business, what you do and how it all started?A: Yes, hi Miķelis! My name is Artūrs, long time ago, I used to be a programmer, and I programmed for E-commerce. Together with my colleague Kristaps, co-founder Kristaps, we made Magebit, we did the programming ourselves. Then it was not enough, we needed more hands on the deck, we started hiring additional people, additional positions became vacant, we offered additional services. And now it's been 8 years already. Now we have close to hundred employees, all working from here, Riga. M: You said that pretty much all of your employees are based here in Riga yet your clients are mostly from outside of Latvia. A: Yes, our client portfolio is a global one. We have many clients from Latvia, many from the USA, the the Middle East, some from South America, Australia, and various places. Yet our mega market is mainly Europe, all of Europe and also the USA. About our employees – it's mainly people from Latvia yet during the last couple of years, especially during the last year, we are working on providing 24/7 support, and it's easier to do if people work across multiple time zones, that's why we also have an employee from Taiwan so that we can have this big time difference and we could provide close to 24/7 support without introducing night shifts. M: OK that probably means that for your E-commerce clients this 24/7 support is rather critical. A: It could be critical but it's not that they necessarily need it all the time, it's not like all the sites we have built come crashing down all the time; yet the moment our client runs a campaign, let's say a campaign in a different time zone when it's daytime for them and nighttime for us then if something happens, it just makes sense that they need somebody to solve things. And it's great that with campaigns, you can plans things ahead of time so that 24/7 support would be available, and that people would be working non-stop, monitoring the site. Yet at the same time some clients have very busy sites and every hour costs a lot for them, therefore, they simply need a reliable service that maybe doesn't react immediatelybut let's say within an hour's time and can fix stuff or at least help. M: E-commerce is a very broad concept; it could be both a small e-commerce shop or a large multi-million online store. Who is Magebit's client? Who do you work with? A: We mainly work with midsize companies and up. Even though at the beginning we were working with the smallest of companies, as we grew also grew the size of our clients; now even our processes and everything else is completely incompatible with small companies whose main concern is the cost aspect - if you have just started out, the cost aspect is very important to you. Even when improving your conversion rate by just few percent and if it's costing you a fortune, it just simply doesn't make sense, especially if your client base is not that big to earn back your investment within the nearest future. That's why our main focus here at Magebit is mid-markets with established businesses that want to develop and maintain their internet shops, and also big companies that need something very complicated or they just need the same old 24/7 support or a nice, fixed ongoing team of people that will be able to build, to develop in a the long term, let's say for some five years. M: Well, let's just say that between a mid-size company in Latvia and a mid-size company in the USA, there's a huge difference. What's a mid-size company, according to you? A: I would say there's no revenue like this or number of employees like that; it's more about whether the company is ready to invest in their internet shop or maybe they just want the internet shop to be there but don't want us to be changing anything. Because if the company isn't ready to invest or maybe it's not even to their advantage at the time to invest in the development of their internet shop, then most likely it's not even our client. It also costs us money to maintain such idle clients, and yes, such ROI would not reflect positively at either end. At the same time, if a small start-up with funding of sorts with big ideas, willing to make a quality product, would get our attention even if they weren't a mid-size or established company, they could be our client because they are ready to invest and we are ready to make working, professional product that they could use to accelerate their growth. We don't have a certain industry or country or turnover defined. We are more interested in the company's view on the online environment, their readiness to invest, and how serious they are about it. Is it like “you go and do whatever, we don't even care to know,” or they have more of a “hands-on” approach - here we have a budget of sorts, we have this vision, we have these goals - then we can work them. M: If we could divide companies into these three major groups - really small E-commerce companies, mid-size and bigger companies - could you give specific advice to these three groups, what to avoid at each stage when you are just starting and its only your hobby when you have had your first turnover of sorts, and you are trying to have a bigger store, and you want to grow it into a serious business? A: During the first phases, let's say during the first two categories that you mentioned, the cash flow is really important so that the company would be able just to exist because there will be bumps along the road. And also, one should focus on fast implementation, nothing too complicated, and no big processes. Difference between a smaller and a bigger company - if you are a small company, if you decide to pivot today, let's say you go from socks to hats, there's no big damage if you change things up and continue with something that works for you. At the same time, if you are a big company like us right now with around a hundred employees like we have now; if we said one day that enough was enough, from now on, we were making mobile apps, yet our work structure was totally different, there would be huge collateral damage, people wouldn't be happy; we would have to totally rework all the processes. So, yes, one thing to consider is cash flow; the other is your focus - either you focus on making a quick buck I definitely do not suggest doing this because it usually doesn't work. In my experience, for as long as I am making something, I need to make sure that I have passion for what I do, I have some knowledge, yet there will never be enough knowledge, but at the same time, if you have the passion then acquiring the lacking knowledge will not be a burden, it will be a lot simpler. I also think it will feel a bit nicer to solve these problems if the sphere in which you are operating or which is close to or liked by you, or you are just simply curious about the sphere. When speaking about bigger companies, it is important to do the quality jobs right away since big companies also may want to focus on quick implementation but it might happen that you have a big customer base, and you might be trying to continuously implement things that do not entirely work. Let's say for 5% of users, the new features do not work, and all the time, returning customers are facing the same problem over and over again in various places; the customer becomes frustrated, and might start looking for a new place to go. Therefore, to companies, the quality matters, maybe the 1% bigger conversion rate or 1% fewer problems for specific iPhone users, iPhone 12 users to eliminate the problem, it may mean a lot to them in terms of customer experience and in general. Let's say there's a checkout problem, checkout for a sock shop doesn't work and there are five people, and none of them have been on the device before - all in all you don't really lose any money. But if you are Amazon and 0.5% of your users experience problems, then it's a really big volume that turns into potentially lost sales. Then it makes sense for you to be spending a lot of money on solving this complicated, specific problem. M: You mentioned Amazon - in your experience how much you would suggest focusing on the big, existing platforms that come with their own rules, own audience, and own dictatorship or rather focus on building and developing one's own E-commerce platform? A: Neither one is just good or bad; those are different sales channels. It depends on the product, on the company's vision of how they want to develop. Let's say you have this Riga brand - if you want to, if your company's vision now is to make mass sales of mugs with that inscription, Amazone might be a very good choice, because they have this huge customer pool and potentially it's rather simple to ship everything, sell on a trustworthy platform. Yet if you wish to build a brand directly for a consumer, then it makes sense to make your own site that you can develop, where you build loyalty, where you make a different shopping experience for the buyer. It's not like buying a new TV set and then just adding a mug to your shopping cart. It's that I specifically want your mug, I want your brand. M: I think it's a good subject matter that you just touched upon about a brand in an E-commerce environment because in recent years, two big directions have developed. One is that you are building your brand in E-commerce in the long term. The other is the so-called performance-based when through ads that might be louder, more specific, and more shrieking, you get faster sales results but most of the time it happens at the expense of the fact that your brand isn't developing as elegantly and smartly as before. How do you see this balance between these two things, between building your brand in the long term and these ad materials yielding quick sales results? A: It's similar to what I said before about making a quick buck - I never thought it was an entirely good strategy. You might play around with a couple of emotional triggers, trying to get more sales in a while, building that initial customer base. But it all takes away from a more distant, bigger goal. The client should feel safe, but if a client makes a purchase and right after that thinks to himself - sh*t, I was emotionally blackmailed into buying because it said ‘only one left' and ‘15 people looking at this product. And then it starts impacting your brand, they might not want to buy from you the next time if they are not on your website and if they don't have these emotional triggers anymore. So, in the long term I would certainly suggest focusing on results, building your brand, and building customer loyalty. If you are making those E-commerce shops, there's a difference whether you are just offering a bare minimum warranty or you are going the extra mile. In my experience, the extra mile is always more pleasant, those customers will be more likely to return, maybe it won't bring in extra money at that point, it might actually create loss because there would be more refunds, but in the long run, those customers will actually come back because they know that when buying at Amazone the refund term is this, but if they come to buy at my site where I can offer them absolutely more, where I can build a better experience for them, the refund policy is something entirely different. M: That's a good point you mentioned that a brand in an E-commerce environment is not only about colors and logos and how it all looks, but what promises a customer receives, how long is delivery, and what's the return policy. What else besides these things are points to consider that make a brand a strong brand in E-commerce beyond just purely visual image? A: All experience, all experience from the moment I decided to google your brand to the moment I throw that product out in the garbage bin and everything in between. It can be a live chat where they answer all your questions or shipping, or maybe a post office delivers your package, and it's damaged and wrapped in a plastic bubble wrap, or the package is nicely delivered by a courier, the package isn't damaged, and then you open the package, and it is a whole unboxing experience. Look at Apple, there are so many products that fall into a premium pricing category because the experience they offer is great. The moment a person steps into their store, everything is clean, and nice and then they go home and open the package, and that unboxing is a continuation of the experience at the store. People to whom it is important, they will notice and they will appreciate it. M: Switching from the big Magebit E-commerce business that is your main trade, I know that you also have a number of side projects, hobby projects that you work on in your spare time. A: A hobby, a side project - that describes it pretty well. M: At the beginning of this year, you launched a project by the name of Eloking. A: Yes, I did. M: Could you please briefly describe what it's about? A: Yes, sure! For the longest time, I was looking for ways to get more involved with the export industry. Computer games have always been close to my heart, I grew up on Counter-Strike and similar games. And then I simply came up with the idea of Eloking since I was interested in that, it was my hobby, I really wanted to go into coding myself again. That's how it got started, I wanted to make a sort of Uber for E-sports where you can get yourself a professional, an E-sports coach within a couple of clicks who would help you to get better at the game of your choice or maybe help you win the N-Season awards by getting your ratings up. M: If I understand it correctly, it's a platform where coaches meet players who want to pump up their ratings at a specific game. A: Yes, but they are not necessarily just coaches, they are mostly professional gamers from all over the world. You just simply choose the game, let's say, League of Legends, and you choose a service - maybe you want to get a higher rank because the season is coming to a close and you want to receive N-Season Awards. Or you may choose a two-hour coaching with a specific champion because you want to learn how to play better. And it is a similar concept to Uber, which is a marketplace with lots of people who are doing it anyway. We provide customers with a simple calculator, they make an order, they get directly connected with the respective person and they themselves make it all happen. It was my take on things that I wanted to slip into export while simultaneously doing business. M: You started at the beginning of this year, now almost 12 months have passed by. What are the initial results, and what have you been able to achieve so far? A: After some three months, we spent actively drawing and planning, and also, we were able to recruit an investor from the USA. We launched everything in January, and we had ads running immediately while simultaneously launching three games. M: What were your plans and approach, and how you got your message across once you launched the project, which became available then? Did you have paid ads or used some other channels so that people could find out about you? A: At first, we launched the platform itself and then we onboarded our people who could fulfill the orders. I knew somebody who worked with Google ads then after doing market research, finding out the keywords and competitors, I sent all the information to this company so that they would design Google ads specifically for us and we would get some clients. Plus, we did an SAT-based retargeting for those who already had visited our page, and almost right away, we started working on some SEO. SEO is a long-term thing and still up to this date, even though we have had some success, it's not our main driver. M: What is your main driver? A: At this point - paid ads. It's OK, yet we have a huge client retention rate in this sphere; this email marketing is really important to us, and experience is important to us, also good reviews. Yes, and it actually makes sense for us to lose some money on the first purchase if that buyer comes back to us like three more times. M: I saw that when keying in Eloking into Google browser right after your page, a link to Trustpilot comes up. Is that something you have built intentionally? What were you after? A: Yes, it was done intentionally since this type of service comes from a grey area - some people think it's great, they buy it, and then some other people kind of condemn it because they think it damages competitive integrity. Our idea was that we didn't want to convince everybody that that's the thing to do now. We were more about the fact that this type of community is already available, and we wanted to improve it since most of the sites and competitors offer a rather bad experience, refunds were practically non-existent, and clients often times got screwed over. Our approach was that we wanted to make something good. The reviews help us to get clients that had been screwed over or their experience hadn't been smooth on other platforms. The client comes to us, we talk to them on a live chat, they love everything, they look us up on Trustpilot, everything is perfect, super and they become our clients, long-term clients, and we get to work with them. M: Did you make a specific point asking people for references? Or what's your procedure why a person would want to leave a review? A: At first, we activated a Trustpilot feature where they send an automatic email to our clients asking for a review yet many people were too lazy to do that or didn't want to do that - I have made my order, I am done, thank you! What we did then was we asked those who service the orders to ask the clients to leave a review and they would get some sort of bonus for that. Also, they shouldn't necessarily convince the clients to leave only 5-star reviews or else. We encourage the boosters and coaches to leave reviews. They benefit from that. For example, they are having their coaching session and they are doing their thing and then at the end of the call they might say: “Hey, I really enjoyed our session together! I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review and mention my name!” That is more effective that any kind of email. M: How do you find these service providers, how you onboard them, how you verify them? A: The process is actually a rather complicated and long one but the fact is that this industry has a life of its own and it's not like we can hardly find anybody who would like to work with us. We just simply made a ‘Jobs' page. We had already been in contact with the initial base. But the moment we launched ads, the clients who searched for us could find us; the same way our coaches found us or people searching for jobs. And there are more of them than we have a demand for actually. At the moment we have some 4-5 K people on stand-by who would love to come and work. We haven't even gotten back to them yet saying that we would like to work with them, they have just applied. And the moment we will see that we need help with a specific region, specific game then we will get back to a specific group of people. M: Why are you interested in E-sports? Do you see it as a category that will develop within the next years or it's more of a personal hobby of yours? A: It is a personal hobby and I have been involved with that already since my school years, I have seen it all developing, I know what Counter-Strike or League of Legends were like 15 plus years ago and what it's like now; you can't really compare the two. The prize pools they have, the overflowing arenas. It's all becoming more and more popular also in Europe - it might seem that Counter-Strike is just a little game. Yet there's a major tournament being organized, huge arenas filled. The president of France announced that they are hosting a Counter-Strike tournament, and that shows that it ‘ain't no silly little game no mo'. The same with Candy Crash - a seemingly little game yet it's an enormous business actually. M: You have many ideas, you have your main business, you have Eloking, you have Star Registration. How do you filter your ideas, how you choose where to invest yourself for the next three months or which ones you just write down or let pass by altogether? A: Well, one of the aspects I always consider is time. Right now, I have a super idea, and most likely I won't even touch it because I don't have the time for that. Because Magebit alone is more than just 9 to 5 for me because the schedule there just doesn't fit the bill, but that's my primary job, and I have to be involved there on a full-time basis as a minimum. The stars and the Eloking, that's something to do after work, in my spare time - that's why in my side businesses, I always have a person who can deal with things and solve them. For example, in Star Registration, I have a co-founder Kristaps, and I have another co-founder, also called Artūrs, with whom we work together. The other Artūrs is in charge of the day-to-day operations, and then Kristaps and I, take turns jumping in - at one point, one of us works on SEO, then the other at some other time; then next time, we jump into something else. And it's not an ongoing full-time job, it really is a side project for us as it should be. M: In Magebit and in your other projects, your main audience is clients outside of Latvia; even though your office is here, your base is here, you work from here. What are the main arguments, how do you sell yourself and Latvia when you speak to people outside? Why would it be worth their while to cooperate with a company here, in Latvia? What are the values and benefits of working and building a business in this region? A: It depends on what we are selling. If we are selling Magebit services B2B, we lead with the fact that we have something like Eastern European pricing for Northern European quality. And it's a great combo, plus we are in Europe, which means we have laws and other things developed. Our prices are not as high since we are not in Sweden, for example, where the cost of living is higher. And if we are trying to sell B2C, for example, with Star Registration, the customers there don't really care where you do the shipping, all they care about is whether they can get the product fast, whether it's of good quality and whether their whole experience is good. If you can ensure those three then in general, it doesn't really matter whether your LLC is registered in Romania, Latvia, or the USA. M: What awaits Magebit in the future, where do you see yourselves within the next two, four, or five years? How are you going to develop? A: We want to grow into big clients that are searching us out themselves. Right now, we have a lot of word by mouth, and we have a lot of mid-size clients coming in the door, and we work with them. And then time to time, we have some Fortune 500 companies and some big brands to work with. And we would like to keep that balance between mid-size and big clients, yet we would also like to have more of the big clients. And also, we would like to work with some more complicated implementations since dealing with the big clients isn't always as pleasant as they usually have very limited brand guidelines on how everything should look, what fonts can be used, etc. Yet, in terms of technology, they often have an interesting approach since they have many sub-companies and related companies on very many levels. Then they need to observe compliance with integrating other systems. I would like to have the best of both worlds where we work with mid-size entrepreneurs who want to invest in their development where we can express ourselves with visual design; also, I want to work with big companies who, first of all, have a great brand, great case study, and secondly that pose a technological challenge to our best programmers. M: This type of challenge always helps to maintain some level of hunger. Thank you for coming and for your time! A: Yes, thank you!

Issue 160 - Mystique

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2022 59:29

Intro Background Mystique, Raven Darkholme, created by Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum in Ms. Marvel #16 (April 1978) To this day, Mystique's true origins have never been revealed The earliest stories place her around 1900, where she was presenting as male and in a relationship with Irene Adler (Destiny), an obvious reference to Sherlock Holmes While undercover, she had a short fling with Sabretooth, which led to a child Graydon Creed - despite having 2 mutant parents, Graydon is a normal human who comes to resent all mutants - he grows up to become a powerful politician before being assassinated by a time-traveling version of Mystique #BecauseComics She is later seduced by Azazel., and becomes pregnant with a baby that she abandoned at birth - the baby would be taken in and named Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler Side note - Claremont intended for Mystique & Destiny to be Nightcrawler's parents, but the Code wouldn't allow a lesbian relationship at the time Encounters a young runaway girl from Mississippi, and after Destiny foresees that she will become important to them, she takes in the young Rogue and acts as her foster mother She leads a version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and trains Rogue to join them and attack Ms. Marvel - Rogue ends up absorbing Carol's powers, memories, and personality for a time #BecauseComics Turns the Brotherhood “legit” as Freedom Force, and they work for the government, while still clashing with the X-Men - during this time, Irene is killed, and this has a serious impact on her Joins X-Factor under duress, but after some time she escapes and flees to Europe, where she becomes a top fashion model Joins the X-Men as a shapeshifter named Foxx, and attempts to seduce Gambit so she can break up Gambit & Rogue and set up Rogue with another mutant - the ploy fails, but she joins the team on a probationary basis - Kurt says he needs time to process, though, which she gives him Works with Gambit & the Marauders to betray Mister Sinister in the fallout of M-Day - Logan is sent to kill her, and he severely wounds her, but does not finish the job She is later actually killed by Logan after she had been posing as Professor X for Norman Osborn's Dark X-Men She was revived by the Hand, and posed as Dazzler, who was a mutant liaison for SHIELD in Madripoor Had a tender moment with Rogue before her wedding to Gambit Serves on the Quiet Council of Krakoa as a Winter representative Issues - Piercing the veil Can't really be herself because of the hatred towards mutants Always distant in her relationships - rare exceptions, like Irene & Rogue Inner self-acceptance isn't always reflected in outer appearance, which is difficult Break (37:27) Plugs for Take a Knee for Marvel vs. DC, Into the Knight, and Chris Claremont Treatment (38:42) In-universe - Become emotions, not people Out of universe Skit (49:34) ***knock at the door*** Come in -***Mrs Issues*** Hey, just stopping by Oh! Um…usually you text me, but ok, I thought you were my next patient -No problem, I figured I hadn't been to your office in a while and I know you've had some rough days. Thanks *pause* I thought you had class tonight. -I do, that's why I brought someone along with me to cheer you up; plus you can keep watch for a bit. I'll be right back but I have to get my stuff from the car. ***door closes*** As always. But where's -***Door opens***Daughter Issues*** Daddy! *pause* Ok Getthef**kout -WHAT? Why? ***fake crying*** Seriously get out or identify yourself or I'm calling the police -***some sort of morphing sound, now Mystique*** M: well you don't have to be so rude, I thought you were a professional. D Professional enough to know my own daughter hasn't called me “daddy” in years. Her choice, not mine. And I guess I can't call the police on my own patient if I haven't given them a chance to explain. Don't expect me to be cheery after a stunt like that. - M You're perceptive, I'll grant you that. But now we have a problem. D I know what my problem is. What's yours? M *sigh* Let's be real. You can't fight me, and I don't necessarily want to fight you. But you're valuable. More than you know. D You were going to kidnap me?! M *laughs* No, nothing as dramatic as that. This was supposed to be a stealth operation. You have information. I need it. D I've already been down that rabbit hole. Secure encryption, magical wards, along with undisclosed offshore servers have made sure I don't make the same mistake ever again. M Doom really hooked you up, then. D HOW…*deep breath*...you are masterful, you know that? Always seeking more information, more leverage. M: It's my currency, it's how I get ahead. D: But do you need that anymore? You don't come across as someone who wants to be at the beck and call of someone else, but you also find ways to put yourself as the center of attention, even if no one else knows it yet. I know those aren't mutually exclusive, but that can get complicated very fast. M: My life is complicated? Hmmm, I would have never thought that in a hundred years…no wait, that is EXACTLY what I've spent every day for the last hundred-plus years thinking about. I have enough baggage to fill an entire airport. I just choose which ones to pick up on various occasions. D: So what set of circumstances would lead you to add me to the mix? It's obvious you don't want therapy. M: I won't divulge my secrets if you won't divulge yours. D: This isn't a negotiation. M: Au contraire. All conversations are negotiations. Most people don't apply the proper context. Or pressure. D: This must be so difficult for you. You're talking to a person that's not of your world, nothing to offer that you couldn't weasel out in some other way, and yet, this is the path you chose. You find me weak, but interesting, and I don't know why. M: *pause* Are you fishing, or trying to sound profound? D: Why not both? My point is, you seem to set up your own challenges without respect to the person, or the emotional consequences even for yourself. I'll give you a hypothetical. What if you learn of someone you DIDN'T want to have on your radar, and they hunt you down after they destroy me? Is that risk worth it? M: It wouldn't be the first time that someone else gets hurt in the crossfire. D: But what if it's someone you actually care about? Are you really going to throw away the opportunity to improve a lasting relationship for the sake of an odd job or morbid curiosity? What if I could offer you that chance and the other person is willing to talk about it…with you and me? M: You can't make promises like that. D: Never said I could. But I can try. That's all I'm saying. M: I know for a fact that you aren't a…family therapist. D: Who said it was family? M: *pause* I… D: *snaps fingers* YOU were fishing! You didn't know! This was a hunch, wasn't it? M: *sigh* There aren't that many psychiatrists that delve into…our type, for lack of a better term. Word spreads fast. I have the background on your services, but things were locked out, as you so eloquently put it, before I could get any good dirt. But still…if there was a chance… D: There's no alternative mission…no monetary gain? You really just want…hmmm…I meant what I said. No guarantees. This may get messy. M: As always. So…you know, I may have wanted someone that is NOT considered a person close to me. If I disclose it, would you be able to set up someone like that, too? D: Nope Nope Nope. This is a one-time deal. You get one person, I contact on my time. If they say no, you don't get another chance. Understood? M: Clearly. Doesn't mean I will stop trying. I have more on you, you know. Think about it. Every person you see in your life could be me, doctor. A. Ny. One. D: And every person you meet is an opportunity for you to stop looking at them as a puppet to mimic, and engage them for who you really are. I guess we'll both have doubts. M: You are learning to negotiate better. Keep at it, and I might consider this…therapeutic. ***for end of show*** No matter how complicated life can be, you'll always have control of your own mystique - M: ***morphing sound*** Oh do you, now? Uhhhhhh…for Anthony I guess? Gah! I'm Doctor Issues thank you so much we'll see you next week! Ending (55:06) Recommended reading: Mystique by Brian K. Vaughan Next episodes: Poison Ivy, Moira McTaggert, Gladiator Plugs for social Transcript References: Carol Danvers episode - Anthony (3:18) Rogue episode - Anthony (3:20) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook TikTok Patreon TeePublic Discord

64: Holiday Books We're Excited to Read

Reading Through Life

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2022 32:40

Show notes: We know, we know - as Sarah says, it's not even Thanksgiving yet! BUT it's never too early to start thinking about the holidays, especially when it comes to books. Today, we're sharing the holiday books we're excited to dive into this season. Plus, we talk about which The Grinch movie is the correct version, Christmas hell (eek!), ephemeral marshmallows, and what the heck is a kringle anyway?! Happy (early) Holidays, friends! Click here to join us on Patreon to get an exclusive bookish goodie every single Friday. With fun bonus episode series like: Monthly Overflow Books, Backlist Book Club, The New Books in Our Lives plus a private community for RTL Book Nerds only, you're going to love being a part of our Patreon. Not only that, but you're helping to support our show by saying I LOVE WHAT YOU DO. Find the time stamped show notes below with links to all of the fun things we mentioned. Bookish Goodies: [4:14] S - Booktrovert t-shirt from Etsy [5:17] M - 100 best books scratch-off poster from Amazon Holiday Books We Read Last Year and Loved: [11:10] S - Always in December by Emily Stone | Amazon // Bookshop [12:51] M - Olfaction by Kristin Rouse | Amazon 10 Holiday Books We're Excited to Read: [14:13] M - The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk | Amazon // Bookshop [15:28] S - Winter Street series by Elin Hilderbrand | Amazon // Bookshop [16:54] M - All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox | Amazon // Bookshop [18:11] S - The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan | Amazon // Bookshop [19:15] M - You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky | Amazon // Bookshop [21:25] S - 25 Days of Christmas by Poppy Alexander | Amazon // Bookshop [22:30] M - Once Upon a December by Amy E. Reichart | Amazon // Bookshop [24:11] S - The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale (out Dec. 6) | Amazon // Bookshop [25:53] M - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens | Amazon // Bookshop [26:58] S - Winterland by Rae Meadows (out Nov. 29) | Amazon // Bookshop Other Books Mentioned: [10:01] Debbie Macomber books | Amazon [17:50] In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren | Amazon // Bookshop [21:30] The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander | Amazon // Bookshop [24:18] The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale | Amazon // Bookshop Let's Take a Trip: [28:23] M - One Last Gift by Emily Stone | Amazon // Bookshop [30:00] S - The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss | Amazon // Bookshop Follow us on Instagram: @readingthroughlifepod Follow Sarah: @tkvcommunity Follow Mia: @miasutton55 * The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

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Asketic Podcast #20 Mārtiņš Eihmanis — How Brand Values Drive Rebranding Process

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Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022 24:12

Asketic co Founder Miķelis Baštiks talking with Head of “Virši” Marketing Mārtiņš Eihmanis about rebranding and facelift as a system. How the key values of a brand are practically expressed in the daily decisions of a company.M: When did you realize that you have to go into marketing?I was arranging shirts at a skate shop, when my future boss asked me whether I would like to try. My sister went to an interview. She told them it wasn't for her, but that her brother is a fine guy and could try it out. As an assistant, you just go and do everything.M: Was it a conscious goal that you want to try to work with clients at an agency?Yes, definitely, because when you've been working with agencies for so long, you want to finally see the business result, the client's reaction, data analysis. Seeing the client side of things would be interesting. I had a cool experience with American Express brand for 2.5 years, when I had to work both with the New York and London office. I had to coordinate the local materials.M: Did you move on to “Virši” straight afterwards?No, there was “Trasta komercbanka” for 1.5 years, where I managed marketing structure. Then I worked on Erasmus credit brand at a finance company. Had a super great experience, super strong team, super experience with media buying and media planning. Then came “Virši”. I knew of “Virši”, but I hadn't noticed them. It was interesting.M: I remember a conversation with Edgars Pētersons, when they started working with “Virši”. They made a radio ad, which developed into what we see now. Where you already involved back then?No, I wasn't. I joined them on December 1 of 2017. WKND has worked with “Virši” from the very beginning, and it was their initiative. According to the legend, “Virši” was looking for an agency that could create a radio ad for Russian-speaking audience in Riga, which still is a challenge for “Virši” and many other brands. WKND has continued their work from that day onwards.M: Those were the first ads that allowed me to understand the positioning. I heard it's for the doers, the power filling stations, a person who does and who doesn't… Those were the first campaigns when I noticed, oh, they have an idea how “Virši” as a brand wants to distinguish themselves from others, and then I tried to figure out who did that. There aren't that many brands in Latvia, where you can feel the snowball effect instead of a few one-time improvements here and there. Was it a conscious decision or did one thing lead to another? You've been a brand for 27 years, which means these changes happened during the last 5-7 years. What was the catalyst?There are several considerations. The business side is quite important, the entry into the greater Riga area with the big stations, for example, in Salaspils, Marupe, which shows the brand to a wider audience. That's one catalyst. Secondly, there are coffee products. “Virši” was the first one to introduce regularly delivered, fresh, locally roasted coffee. Coffee machine maintenance is another important aspect that people started to talk about. Thirdly, it's the business side of things, sorting out the cash flow.M: It's a big investment to renovate all stations. Not all of them, but many have the new wood-panel look. All new stations reflect the brand-identity.That was a separate task for us, when I began to work in “Virši”. The situation was still very mixed. We still gad the previous logo from the end of 90s, maybe you remember – “Virši” with a crown and an “A” at the end. That was one of the first tasks when I joined the team. Another big business-related catalyst at the shareholder level of “Virši” was the decision that they need a fresher look, because the previous one was outdated. This is how we arrived at rebranding or refreshing. It often might seem as an artistic process – I don't like this, so let's make something else. When it comes to this specific project, I could talk for 2 hours about how incredibly technical it is. When you understand what you need, what isn't working, that the logo is quite horizontal and it can't be lit up, it's not visible from the roadside, you realize you need more noticeable price signs for all stations and strategically placed roof edges, so that people even start noticing you. You know very well how this will later be distributed to all other channels, but this is the first step. The work you usually do with fonts and logo versions, colours and paletts. Then you switch to the practical side of how much it will cost. You have a network of more than 50 stations, you have new price signs, old price signs, medium price signs, roof edges. You have to compile it all, calculate the costs and implement it. And that's excluding the cost of clothes, merch and everything else.M: It's an often over-looked position. The creative concept is one thing, but the implementation is actually the deal-breaker. You have to understand how soon you can do it, in one year, two years. The really sad if you create a great concept, but it gets stuck at 10%. The fact that “Virši” knew that they have to do it played a big part. It wasn't clear how to do it and which direction to take, how much it would cost. There were a lot of uncertainties. It took long hours of work, more than 10 meetings, also with shareholders, presentation of sketches. Another interesting stage is how you present it to the employees. Since “Virši” has been in operation for 27 years, many employees have been at the company for a long time, and then one day you announce that you're taking away the letter “A”. Why? “Virši-A” is the company I've been working at since I was young. Oh, we don't think it sounds nice. It doesn't work that way. Internally we called it the refreshment project of the brand's visual identity, which it actually was. The colours remain the same, the name is the same, the company is the same, we simply take a critical look at what we need in order to have a successful image in the market and what we don't need.M: Was it an intuitive process from the internal management's side or was there a clear brand strategy and positon?There were no guidelines or reference points that we have to be more “hipster” or “young”, according to which we create our visual identity. Our position was that we are a local company. We couldn't suddenly be mistaken for another company. We had to be “Virši”, but in a new shape.M: Do you consider those the brand values that have been clearly communicated? A local company, the idea of power and taking action. Do the persons see themselves as the doers and it's not just a superficial marketing campaign? What sustains the brand loyalty?One of the drives definitely is the fact that it's a local company and that we have a clearly defined brand platform among other brands, we're a power filling station for doers. It has turned out quite strong and stable, which allows it to develop further in several attempts. People see it and identify with it. They sympathize with it. This period starting from 2015 represents our success story. But amount of work invested is immense. The company culture is quite dynamic, we work a lot. We are doers. When someone joins the team, I tell them that it's not just a poster or a video you saw – it's our culture. M: It's great that you can feel the brand values and that it's not just something on the website. You live by them. You said you don't have many interviews, but in one you said that brand is experience. Not a poster or a campaign, but all these points of contact. I think it's a good way to view a brand. Tell me what you mean by this.The experience in “Virši” has been very good in the sense that the brand is not a logo. There are many points of contact. You drive a car, you hear the radio, you hear the tone of voice, you hear the humour. This humour can be youthful or serious, there can be just a touch of humour. And you see this logo on the roadside. Can you see it from technical viewpoint? Interior is very important, the lighting, the aroma, the air quality. Only with time you realize that these three things are quite meaningful. Then there are products, product quality and reputation, again the coffee, packaging, message on a napkin. Making people smile. The employees are on the front line and are part of the brand, and it's difficult to maintain, since they work under pressure and do a wide variety of things. These are the various aspects. Then you have to choose a brand ambassador, but who should it be? Is he local, is he a doer, is he the head of a large family, is he always funny? Yes, he is. All checks out. It's Intars Busulis. There are many points of contact, and if you succeed… I'm not saying we designed it that way and then implemented. No, the brand-building process is fluid. Step by step, you just keep your balance. I have to say big thanks to “Virši” for managing to stick with one strategic agency WKND and also to WNKD for creating a very clear concept. I we have to do something for the long-term, let's say packaging design or something else, then we always involve an agency that does a strategic assessment of the concept and the platform.M: I think that one of the hardest things is to sum up all these points of contact in one message, but it has the potential of great yield. The way you described it, starting from the highway, the audio ad, up to what's written on a napkin, the air quality and the packaging. It all creates the brand. How to align all these many factors into a correct brand personality? It involves management, marketing, the internal clarity. Is it made possible by having clear owners who still take care of the company, instead of a big corporation, where everyone focuses on their own goal? Can you even create a good brand without a clear owner?I believe that, maybe not without an owner, but when it comes to a strong, international brand, the owner can't be present everywhere. At some point at the agency we dealt with these brand guidelines, when you receive the guideline of an international brand and you have to work in compliance with them. The same goes for franchises. We create franchise provisions regarding your appearance. When you drive in, you don't know it's SIA “Mārtiņš Eihmanis”, but it looks like “Virši”.M: Do you have guidelines? To what extent do you apply them? Does it help you on a day-to-day basis?It's different for us, we're not an international company, therefore practically in all areas related to “Virši” I or someone from the marketing team has to be informed about what it is, what it will look like, and has to provide approval. We have guidelines, but they are general, and I don't think one should follow these graphic guidelines too closely. Of course, you have the logo, the protected areas, the colours and all the basics, but for anything else – the position of hats, the fuel tanks – it all has to be considered along the way. You can't do that if you're part of four, five, ten markets, then these guidelines have to be stricter.M: An interesting challenge could be how to carry over the “local doer” values to other places, where it's no longer local. How can this strong local brand handle export?That's a good question, which I can't answer right away, but we have dealt with it partially. We have a business in Russia that provides fuel to freight companies. We have partners outside of Latvia, in the Baltics and Russia. We have to communicate with them. When we internally defined our company values, e-check for companies, we did it thoroughly at the level of each station. Teams came together and wrote down what they think are the values of “Virši”, we funnelled them until we reached the result. One of the values we found is that our power is in our roots. We worded it this way so that it wouldn't specify our local or Latvian roots and it could also be appreciated by Russians, Belarussians, and Ukrainians, as well as Lithuanians and Estonians. For them too, their power is in their roots, which allows them to identify with it. Our hypothesis, if we would reach outwards, is that you could carry over such value. The second value of “Virši” - enthusiasm is our fuel. You can translate it, and we have already. The third value is people for people. They are universal, and you can carry them over in a way.M: Did all 50-60 stations really participate in the establishment of brand values?Yes. Registration took place in groups, because if you're a small structural unit with two-three people it's hard to come up with ideas, so we grouped two, three structural units together. We have quarterly management meetings, where all teams get together in a large room, all values have been gathered, but they fight over them once again. We have a very lively environment, anybody can stand up and loudly declare that something doesn't make sense and that they disagree.M: You're the Head of Marketing Department, you talk and think a lot about brands, but those actually are two different parts. In branding you have to think long-term, but marketing means more tactical things. How do you separate them? The quick marketing decisions and the long-term brand progression.I can put ads under the word “quick” right away. We don't have a separate advertisement sub-division, like there is at LMT, because their structure is so huge. Regarding branding decisions, it would be silly to call it foresight, but some sort of foresight is present always, because you can never be absolutely sure that this decision will bring us this and that business result. It's a trial-and-fail approach. You're aware that the things you implement within this project will be present in the long-term, for example, the interior or the packaging. I could show you two mood boards for packaging. It's like the layers of paint that peel off over time. You can see that this year there was this packaging, then there was this, and they are all somehow present at the station, when you come in. And then one year, you clear it all out and replace with fresh ones. What you see on the coffee package I brought, the same thing is on the cup, on hot dog and burger packaging. It even shows up in outdoor ads. The same goes for the interior, when we looked at it with H2E Design Studio, we saw that various elements have been gathered over time, but then we cleared it out, and, once we built or renovated a station, we implemented the clean, thought-out design. H2E took notice of “Virši” values, graphic guidelines and chose materials, coordinated them. These are the long-term decisions, and you try to link them with the values.M: What do you think the marketing and branding is moving towards in the next two, three, five years?Even small, local brands are becoming increasingly thought-out and stable with more legs. I can't fully agree to this, but brands are sometimes likened to religion, which provides the function and need of religion in people's lives, when the huge modern brands, which are quite multi-layered, rich and with a distinctive value definition, sort of replace these functions. I don't want to say it's really so, but for people who need something to stand for or stand against, if he supports meat or the animals, then it's easier to make a decision. He will buy those sneakers, hat or product. Brands become much more integrated in the cultural space. In some cases you're provided with a cultural construct.M: When you read about brands, historically our local villages determined our whole cultural space – how you dress, what you eat, who you fight against, what songs you sing – it was all determined by the local cultural space. The place where you were born and grew up, it became your identity. Now we live in a cosmopolitan age of the Internet, where the identities are so mixed together. You might be born in Tukums, Africa or India, but you may like a brand with such-and-such values. Brands are becoming the creators of personal identity constructs just as much as politics, music, and religion. You attach these things and create your identity. They are easier to assume than religion, which is too fundamental. You can take like fifteen, twenty brands, switch them out if you don't like them, thus creating your cultural space. You identify yourself with these ten, twenty, thirty brands. The fact that you apply these values very clearly, it attracts the person who is searching for a brand that can give him something. If I take “Virši”, you know I'm a doer, I stand for those who appreciate their roots. I look at three others and they don't speak to me. The price, the convenience, the location are okay, but there's no clear brand promise that I can attach. I think that “Virši” have succeeded in this aspect, which is a big plus that I like a lot. You said you worked at a skate shop while you studied. I think that the skating culture has historically been very rich with various interesting brands. Now working in a big company, taking into account your experience, what do you think makes brand interesting and juicy for anybody? And when does it become just a big, boring corporation?Anything that is individual and different is interesting. The same applies to models in show-windows. They're always a bit peculiar. If you make it too common so that it check all the boxes, it will be completely amorphous. The same goes for brands. That's why the skating brands are so interesting. They can be complete punks, they don't care. They create a start-up, 300 boards with their own designs and go bankrupt. It's rock 'n' roll, let's do it. That's why they're so alive and real.M: You might think that skating brands are small and that's why they can afford to act this way. But then look at Elon Musk, he's also a punk. You can make even a large company very interesting, but need a personality that can carry it. So it doesn't become lukewarm, as you said.Elon Musk is like Tony Stark. We're now watching Iron Man home with the kids. We watched the second part. There's this charm, Tony Stark is like a rock star, performing in front of a large audience. The same goes for Elon Musk. He's so stable and prosperous that he makes his own rules, he can afford to object to certain states and jurisdictions.M: The new independent skating brands can afford the same thing. If the big companies can and the small companies can, are the average ones those that can't?It's caution and business decisions based on numbers. Try and find a chief brand officer who convinces all business people that you have to do something crazy just so you can stay on the top of mind of your audience.M: What brands do you find interesting?I won't be able to name brands and explain why. I will say that right now I'm mostly attracted by quality. I assess brands based on communication and product quality. Which brands do I like? I like the brand “Intars Busulis”. Not because he represents “Virši”, but because he's great at consistently doing what he does. Well, we know Intars Busulis is a brand. He expresses himself in various directions, he never forgets rock ‘n' roll. I really like the brand “Puiku alfabēts” by my wife. It's not just a book, it's a brand. When she started drawing and writing the stories, back before the book was published, she was involving the audience, asked feedback on stories, published illustrations and colouring pages. Namely, she was growing a bigger and bigger audience.M: Work with the audience. That's actually really great, if you can start with building an audience and then create a product, and not the other way around.Yes, but now it's sort of a trend.M: It's simply the way you should do it. First the audience, then the product.Then comes a moment, when you have to decide what's next. There are people who gather an audience by building or renovating a house in Tuscany. There's one such Instagram account, Latvians in Tuscany renovating an old house. Following them is like an adventure, you're participating. But what happens when the renovations are complete? The same goes for “Puiku alfabēts”. It's published, it's done, so what's next?M: That's a cool problem to have. Thanks for coming.Thanks for the invitation.Mārtiņš Eihmanishttps://www.linkedin.com/in/martinseihmanis/?originalSubdomain=lvhttps://www.virsi.lv/lvSubscribe to Asketic Podcast on:Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/73QSMYK46NHoHCytJYYmPZ?si=Mw4ZLISUSoueh9Es1pCLUgApple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/asketic-podcast/id1496922775YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdekksSROS4PCxRV7aqT3QGoogle Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2Fza2V0aWMtcG9kY2FzdA--Asketic design & branding:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asketicstudio/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asketic/WWW: http://asketic.com/

19 Nocturne Boulevard - Caveat Emptor - Reissue of the week

19 Nocturne Boulevard

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2022 31:02

The Demon Beelzebud returns to pester sisters Rena and Matilda. [sequel to Force Majeure] Cast List Beelzebud - Anthony D.P. Mann (Horror Etc. Podcast) Rena - Julie Hoverson Matilda - Kate Waterous Jesse - Big Anklevitch (Dunesteef Audio Magazine) Infernique - Julia Carter Willial - Mark Olson Benedict - Reynaud LeBoeuf Mrs. Closky - Florida Possum Fat guy - Dave Fontenot Manager - Scott Spaulding Cameo appearance from Super Haunted Stories! Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Editing and Sound: Julie Hoverson Cover Design: Julie Hoverson Cover art includes: clear crystal / red crystal "What kind of a place is it? Why it's a modern family home, can't you tell?" ********************************************** Caveat Emptor Cast: Beelzebud Rena Matilda Jesse Infernique Willial Benedict Mrs. Closky Fat guy Manager OLIVIA Did you have any trouble finding it? What do you mean, what kind of a place is it? Why, it's a family home, can't you tell? MUSIC SOUND ALARM CLOCK GOES OFF, IS SLAPPED DOWN JESSE [waking up] maaaargh. SOUND PATTING BED JESSE Huh? [thick] Babe? [clears throat] Babe? [considering noise] Hmmm. SOUND BLANKET FLAPS JESSE What the hell time...? What? [yelling petulantly] Cassie? Who reset the alarm? SOUND STUMBLES INTO OTHER ROOM JESSE Cassie? Where's the laptop? Shit! We've been robbed! SOUND RUSHING AROUND SOUND DOORBELL JESSE Where's the phone? Gotta call police. SOUND DOORBELL JESSE Who the hell? SOUND DOOR OPENS ON CHAIN JESSE This is not a good time. BUD It's the only time you got, pal. JESSE I just got robbed. BUD No, you just got dumped. Read the note on the fridge. JESSE What? SOUND DOOR SLAMS, OUTSIDE WITH BUD BUD [WHISTLES SOMETHING] SOUND DOOR JERKS OPEN AGAIN JESSE [freaking out] Are you a friend of Cassie's? Do you know where she went? BUD Not my area. I just dropped by to give you a bit of a head's up. JESSE Uh-what? BUD I know you're feeling pretty low. Wife walked out, took the kid, and you don't know why-- JESSE We have a good life! BUD Yeah, it's got nothing to do with you moping around the house all day-- JESSE I got laid off. BUD Leaving all the housework for the little woman, so that when she gets home from her full day-- JESSE I have to spend my time looking for work-- BUD A lot of work in World of Warcraft, is there? Or are you considering a career in porn? JESSE None of your business! Besides...they're the only things that make me less depressed-- BUD Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all. So today is your lucky day - kinda. JESSE Kinda? BUD [dragged out, savoring] Ye-a-aah. MUSIC MATILDA It's $200. That's like three tanks of gas. RENA [disgusted sigh] I hate this work. MATILDA One hour plus drive time. Just think of it as gathering intel. RENA I'll think of it as whine tasting. SOUND PICKS UP KEYS, DOOR OPENS MATILDA Have fun! MUSIC SOUND DOORBELL, DOOR OPENS ON CHAIN RENA You called? JESSE Oh, yeah, this guy - he gave me your card. RENA And? JESSE And? RENA I didn't come all this way to stand on your porch, unpaid. MATILDA [mic] Confirmed. JESSE Oh, ah. Come in. SOUND UNCHAINS, OPENS DOOR JESSE Yeah, um, it's kind of a mess. You want a beer or something? RENA 57 minutes. JESSE What? RENA Of your hour. We confirmed your paypal transaction. JESSE Oh, right. My wife – she left me. RENA When? JESSE Oh, just this morning. RENA [disbelieving] Hmph. JESSE She's not much of a housekeeper. RENA I can smell that. JESSE That doesn't mean I don't want her back! SOUND POUNDING ON THE DOOR JESSE [angry sigh] Just a sec. RENA Take your time. MATILDA [mic] Cut the poor guy some slack. SOUND OPENS DOOR MRS. CLOSKY How dare you! JESSE How dare I, what? MRS. CLOSKY Bring a hooker into your house while your wife's away? MATILDA [mic] [laughing hysterically] RENA [low] Not funny. MATILDA [mic] I told you the black leather was wrong for the neighborhood! RENA Tough is tough. JESSE She's not-- MRS. CLOSKY I know just what kind of woman has the bleached blonde hair and the motorcycle. JESSE But Cassie-- MRS. CLOSKY That poor woman gave you two beautiful children, so any weight she's gained, well that's just as much your fault, isn't it? MATILDA [mic] [fresh peals of laughter] RENA I'm gonna turn you off. JESSE But Mrs. Closky! MRS. CLOSKY You're just like my sonofabitch husband, and I just wish I had had someone like me to speak up on my behalf back when he-- SOUND DOOR SHUTS, cutting her off JESSE [sigh] Shit. RENA Sum up quick. I'm already bored. JESSE My wife left me this morning. I want to find out where she went. RENA Did you call her parents? JESSE Her mother won't answer. RENA Did you call her friends? JESSE They're all on her side. RENA Did you check her emails? JESSE I didn't think of that. RENA What have you done? JESSE I ... called you. RENA You understand that first $200 is only for this hour, the one we're currently wasting. JESSE Not for the entire job? RENA Not unless I find her in the next 47 minutes. JESSE [hopeful] Do you think you can? RENA What's her email address? MUSIC SOUND OUTSIDE, WALKING, LEATHER CREAKING MATILDA [mic] She already emailed back. Says he's been a shit since he got laid off. Says she told him she was going to do this, weeks ago, and he didn't even pay attention. RENA Hmph. Makes me want to run out and find one of my own. MATILDA [mic] [laughs] WILLY Uh, hello? RENA Not in a million years. WILLY I was just looking for a - ah! There's the address. SOUND HE HUSTLES OFF RENA Must be a friend of his-- MRS. CLOSKY [off, calling] You! RENA Oh hell. MRS. CLOSKY You, woman! MATILDA [mic] Uh-oh. RENA [sigh] What? MRS. CLOSKY How much do you charge? MATILDA [mic] Tell her you don't do lemon parties. RENA I don't-- [starts over] I am a bounty hunter. MRS. CLOSKY Oh! Well, that's a disappointment. RENA That I'm not a prostitute? MRS. CLOSKY I have a nephew. Unmarried. He could use a little cheering up. And his birthday's coming! MATILDA [mic] [teasing] We are a bit short on cash. RENA I - I have to go. Now. SOUND MOTORCYCLE REVS MUSIC AMB MATILDA'S DEN SOUND DOOR SHUTS (OFF) SOUND RENA ENTERS MATILDA [calling] So, how was the nephew? RENA [muffled] Funny. SOUND KNOCK ON DOOR RENA There wasn't any - oh. MATILDA What? RENA Who pops up out of nowhere on a regular basis? SOUND OPENS DOOR BUD Hiya doll! [louder] Dolls! RENA [to M] You okay with having him in? MATILDA Yeah, I guess. BUD Make a guy feel wanted, why dontcha? MATILDA We forgot to vacuum! RENA We're antisocial. BUD And here I thought it was just me. RENA You forgot to vacuum too? MATILDA Get over here, where I can see you! SOUND WALKING RENA Matilda. Bud. SOUND SHE FLOPS INTO CHAIR MATILDA You do look like Steve Buscemi. BUD I'm gonna take that as a compliment. You don't got no more places to sit? RENA One butt, one chair. Part of the recluse mystique. MATILDA There's a stool around somewhere... BUD eh. I can stand. Don't plan to be here that long. See, I gotta problem. MATILDA Another one? RENA We get $200 for the first hour. BUD Here. SOUND SLAPS DOWN MONEY BUD You know, I never woulda mistaken you for a prostitute. RENA Good to know. BUD Dominatrix, maybe. RENA [losing it] It's motorcycle gear! Not some kind of leather teddy and thigh high boots-- MATILDA [taunting] With stiletto heels? RENA Not helping! And those things'll break your ankles. [breath, recomposed] Clock starts now. What's your problem? BUD You girls are a hoot. You should take it on the road. MATILDA No thanks. RENA Tick...tock. BUD Fine. [sigh] You'd think the life of a demon like me would be a piece of cake. MATILDA From what you've said, you seem to have it all down to a system. BUD Yeah, well any well oiled machine can go Pfft - if you stick in the wrong cog. RENA What have you been sticking in your cogs? BUD [snicker] It's Infernique. MATILDA Sounds like a perfume. BUD The demon chick you fixed me up with. RENA Nuh-uh. No fixing. Just tricked her into giving in and going out with you. Once. Whatever happened after - not my fault. MATILDA Well, maybe just a little. BUD She's convinced she gotta class me up. RENA Class? You? BUD You don't need to make it sounds like such a joke, babe. MATILDA I wondered about the suit. Seemed awfully-- RENA Tasteful? MATILDA Restrained. I mean, the descriptions - you have such ... flair! [undertone] help me out here. RENA No. BUD Yeah, yeah, so I like the classics. This sharkskin still got its own kind of flash, but she's killing me with the pastels. [confidential] You know they come from the pit of despair? MATILDA Pastels? BUD Yeah. Not a pretty story. [up a bit] Anyway, I'm not so good at saying "no" to her, and she's been trying to get me to trade up. Better department. Better class of victim. MATILDA What will the comedians do without you? BUD Yeah, that's what I say, but there's always someone willing to take most any place, but my place is one of those ain't no one gonna fight over, see? RENA Nope. BUD This guy, Jesse - I gave him your card this morning - ring a bell? RENA The douche who didn't realize his wife was about to walk? BUD Yeah, well - that's what Infernique wants me for my new clientele. MATILDA The recently abandoned? The thoughtless husbands? RENA The douches? Plenty of them. You can have 'em. BUD Yeah, but she's got me sneaking around behind the back of Willy, the guy whose job it is now, undermining his numbers. Trying to make him look bad. Getting the douches to not sign. MATILDA All's fair in love and hell? BUD I dunno - I ain't liking this. RENA Talking people out of selling their souls? How abominable. BUD Nah, it's the backstabbing. Willy's - well not "good people" maybe, but he ain't a bad guy. Kind of a plodder. No inspiration. But he's got a sweet berth and he's ...competent. MATILDA You'll really miss the comedians, won't you? BUD [sighing admission] Yeah. RENA Easy. Tell her you don't want to change. BUD Why don't you just point me at a good doctor, then, for when she rips me a new asshole. RENA Guess you're screwed. MATILDA Waitaminute. Look. the way I see it, you have two choices here. You can go ahead and be perfect, toe the line, do what she wants and be with her until she finds someone more ambitious-- RENA Won't be hard. MATILDA Shush. Or you find a way to slack off and subtly let her know that you aren't going to turn into a silk purse any time soon, and let her dump you. RENA Talk to that guy from this morning. I'm sure he can give you some pointers. MATILDA The big question is, is she worth it? BUD You know... You said a mouthful right there. I think some deep pondering is in order. Thanx! RENA You still have a few minutes left. BUD Ehh - Keep it! All us classy types tip! MUSIC RENA [snoring] SOUND PHONE RINGS, ANSWERED RENA [groggy] Hello? [a bit better] Hello? SOUND STRANGE BUZZ ON THE LINE RENA Shit. SOUND HANGS UP SOUND GRABBING CLOTHES, GUN SOUND EASES OPEN DOOR RENA [deliberately calms her breathing to listen] SOUND MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY FROM MATILDA'S ROOM RENA [whispered] Shit. SOUND QUICK DASH SHUTS MAT's DOOR, MUSIC'S MUFFLED RENA [calming her breathing again] SOUND CREAK, ACROSS ROOM RENA [catch in her breathing, then careful] SOUND ANOTHER CREAK, ACROSS THE ROOM SOUND RENA CAREFULLY TAKES THE REMOTE SOUND CLICK, TV COMES ON, ACROSS ROOM BENEDICT [gasp] SOUND QUICK SCUFFLE OF MOVEMENT RENA [now behind him] You're gonna want to drop that. SOUND CLICK OF HER GUN CoCKED BENEDICT You don't know what you're doing. SOUND CLICK - TV OFF RENA I'm the one with the gun. And the remote. Whatever you got in your hand, drop it. SOUND SOMETHING CLATTERS TO THE FLOOR. SOUND MAT'S DOOR FLUNG OPEN MATILDA Hold it right there! RENA [up] Got 'im. [to him] Hands behind your back. BENEDICT [annoyed] Really? RENA Really. MATILDA Sorry I took so long. Couldn't find the night vision goggles. BENEDICT [sigh] Fine. SOUND HANDCUFFS ON BENEDICT IS this really necessary? RENA You're the one who broke in. MATILDA I'll get the lights. RENA Goggles off. MATILDA I know! SOUND GOGGLES OFF, LIGHT SWITCH MATILDA Ooh! He's smoking hot! Can we keep him? BENEDICT Let me explain. RENA Not much chance of that. Mat, 9-1-1, okay? MATILDA [playing it up] New where did I leave the phone? BENEDICT [blurted out] Where are you keeping the demon? RENA [surprised snort] MATILDA [giggles] Wow, dramatic much? RENA There's a doghouse out back… MATILDA [fresh peal of laughter] BENEDICT This is no joke, lady. Harboring a demonic fugitive is very serious. RENA [growling now] “A” – harboring? Not a chance. “B” - fugitive? BENEDICT Beelzebud, lower echelon romalpa class signatory demon. He stands accused of contractual misconduct. RENA Let me guess – that's bad. BENEDICT It's a termination-class penalty. MATILDA Oh, shit! RENA Tell us more. BENEDICT No. MATILDA Oh, come on. You hunt demons. Do you make a good living at that? BENEDICT [bursts out laughing] RENA Guess that's a no. BENEDICT It's a calling, not a job. RENA So... you're a demon too. BENEDICT I'm not telling you anything. RENA You broke into our house. Convince us that we shouldn't call the real-life police. BENEDICT I wasn't going to do anything to you - just put this crystal somewhere-- RENA This thing? BENEDICT Yeah. It's a--[shuts up] MATILDA Might as well finish the sentence. [beat] How about strip guesses? BENEDICT What? RENA If she guesses and she's wrong, you lose a piece of clothing. BENEDICT Are you insane? RENA We don't get a lot of hot male visitors. MATILDA And you woke us up in the middle of the damn night. Is it a tracking device? BENEDICT No. MATILDA Camo coat. BENEDICT Can't take it off over the handcuffs. MATILDA Oh, bummer. Pants, then. BENEDICT [panicking a little] It's a simple listening device - like a mystic "bug" Ok? RENA Guess he wins. Sorry Mat. MUSIC AMB COMEDY CLUB [HEARD FROM BACKSTAGE] FAT GUY [punchline to a joke] Boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom. SOUND SCATTERED LAUGHTER, NOT MUCH FAT GUY and... Good night! SOUND RUNS IN MANAGER That could have been better. FAT GUY [grumpy] Open mike, read it and weep. BUD Psst. FAT GUY What do you want? BUD I like what you did up there. FAT GUY [knowing] I know who you are. BUD You... do? FAT GUY Yeah, I was warned there's a guy going around with bogus contracts. Screw off. BUD I don't know nothing from bogus. I'm as legit as they come-- FAT GUY [squealing] You want me to call the cops? Jeez! SOUND STOMPS OFF BUD [muttering, furious] Bogus contracts, eh? SOUND HE GOES OUT INTO ALLEY. DOOR SHUTS BUD [furious - cussing in latin] Mater tua caligas gerit! RENA You kiss someone's mother with that mouth? BUD [affable again] You know latin, doll? RENA [shrug] I know cussing. BUD [chuckles] RENA Matilda wanted me to warn you. Someone's on your tail. SOUND MOTORCYCLE REVS, OFF RENA And... He probably followed me here. BUD [not real disturbed] Yikes. RENA I thought I left you in handcuffs. BENEDICT Your sister took pity on me. MATILDA [mic] He's not such a bad guy. BUD All right occifier. I'm not as think as you drunk I am. RENA Don't joke. BENEDICT You might step out of the way, ma'am. RENA [to Bud] You need some help? BUD Why? RENA I don't know. I just thought I'd ask. BUD I'm touched. Oddly. [beat] Nope. It ain't gonna be pleasant, but ain't nothing to be done about that. See you soon, doll. SOUND COUPLE OF FOOTSTEPS, WEIRD WHOOSHING NOISE MATILDA [mic] Well... I'll miss him. RENA Yeah. [sigh, beat] Donuts? SOUND SHE WALKS BACK TO MOTORCYCLE SOUND PHONE RINGS RENA Hmm? SOUND BEEP RENA [wondering] Who the hell? SOUND TURNS ON RENA What? JESSE [phone] Are you doing anything at all? MATILDA [mic] Who's that? RENA Found her. Job done. JESSE [phone] She's not back! RENA Yeah. Sucks. She's still pissed off. MATILDA [mic] Oh, him. What does he expect, that you'll ride in with his wife over your shoulder, kicking and screaming? RENA I'm not draggin her home by her hair. JESSE [phone] Then what are you doing? RENA I told her to email you a list of demands. Have you checked your email? JESSE [phone] I can't! The bitch cut off my internet! RENA [sotto voce] Boo-hoo. [up] Hold on. I'm transferring him to you, Matilda. I am not playing phone relay for— SOUND HUGE SPOOOKY WHOOOSHY SOUND SOUND BODY FLUNG INTO WALL RENA Ungh! SOUND PHONE SKITTERS AWAY SOUND THINGS GO WEIRD AND HOLLOW MATILDA [mic] [fading into odd tunnel] Rena? Rena!!!! Rena!!!! MUSIC AMB MATILDA'S LAIR MATILDA [panicking] Rena? [deep shaky breath] Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Maybe it's the cell tower. Maybe it's-- Maybe its demons. Oh shit. INFERNIQUE Shit is right! MATILDA [almost a scream] Who the fuck are you? INFERNIQUE Where is my BUD? [spooky] What have you done with him? MATILDA [trying hard to stay calm, but kind of losing] Bud? I don't know! We-we didn't do anything! [almost a scream] Where's my sister? INFERNIQUE That's what I want to know! When I tried to triangulate on her, I got NOTHING. MATILDA Triangulate? INFERNIQUE Anyone who deals with us has a sort of trace on them ...evermore. Until they pass beyond. Is she dead? MATILDA [whine] Nooo? INFERNIQUE If she isn't then she's passed out of this realm. She never said she could DO that! MATILDA I'm just going to faint now. I hope you don't mind... RENA [on speaker, weak] Mat? MATILDA [gasp] INFERNIQUE What? MATILDA [thinking hard] I-I can't find a good place to fall down. INFERNIQUE She's on your headset? MATILDA She was, just for a moment. INFERNIQUE [satisfied] hah. There. Yes. She must be in the outer fringe. Guess we won't be seeing her again. MATILDA [sobbing gasp] MUSIC AMB ECHOEY DUNGEON BUD Babe? RENA [waking] What? Oh, crap. Am I dead? Cuz having to listen to you forever is kind of like my vision of hell. BUD Yeah, she's okay. RENA [weak] Matilda? BUD Back home where she belongs. RENA [sigh of relief] Not hell, then. SOUND CHAINS RENA What's with the— SOUND CHAINS RENA Shit. BUD Yeah, that. I guess I-uh kinda underestimated Willy-boy. RENA Is that that demon hunter? BUD [snort of laughter] Oh, him. Nah. That was all part of Willy's plan to get me off his case. RENA oh. The demon you were undermining. BUD Bingo! I love a bright dame. RENA And now he's got us both chained up in a dungeon? Great. WILLY [demonic sounding] Just what I was thinking! Muhahahahahahaha [evil laugh] RENA [undertone, to herself] Be vewwy vewwy quiet. [up] Wow. This is a swell party. WILLY You're only here because I'm curious what would make a mortal... collaborate with such a filthy maggot as Beelzebud. RENA You make it sound a lot more fun than it is. BUD Hey, hey! Willy, old boy-- WILLY [demon] You will call me Willial [will-LIE-ul]! [back normal] Don't think I don't know what you've been up to, behind my back, Beelzebud! BUD ahhh. A few short circuits. It's all in fun. Plus you got me back, but good - setting a popper on me. RENA [half a snort] Popper? BUD The hunter - [offhand] you know, you led him to me. RENA Yeah. Sorry bout that. WILLY I'm surprised to see you still up and around, Bud. BUD Believe it or not, I'm clean. RENA It's not like he just up and decided he wanted your crappy job, Willy. BUD [quiet] I really prefer my own crappy job. WILLY You should have kept your hands off my beeswax, then! RENA Oy vay. [quiet, to Bud] Can this guy actually do anything? To me, I mean? BUD [evasive] Not legitimately. RENA [up] Then maybe you'll back the fuck out of my face, elmer fudd, and let me go. BUD On the other hand he's already more or less kidmapped you, so who knows what else he's willing to do. RENA Shit. BUD Yeah, like anything a stupid mortal chick says is going to piss Willial off more than I already have. Hah! WILLY [suspicious] You're up to something. RENA Nah, just mouthing off. [whisper] Keep him talking. BUD So, Willy - Ooh! [snide] You kidnapped a human, what's the next step? Custodial interference? Stealing candy from a baby? WILLY I-I'm not sure. I mean, I haven't decided yet what all to do with you. For now, I'll let you stew. SOUND DOOR SLAMS RENA [sigh] Nice try. BUD [not quite lying] Try? RENA Yeah, whatever. BUD [beat] If we had cards, I play a mean Canasta. RENA Takes two decks. SOUND TAPPING FINGERS, WAITING SOUND DISTANT COMMOTION BUD Finally. Beez. Thought they'd never get here. RENA [surprised] You were expecting someone? BUD Waitaminute, you were? Oh, boy - this could be a serious case of overkill.... SOUND DOOR SLAMS OPEN RENA You ain't just whistling dixie. BENEDICT [breathing hard from exertion] Ok, this is not what I was expecting. RENA You got something for chains? BUD Uh, we might wanna wait-- RENA [suspicious] Why? INFERNIQUE [distant demony scream] Beelzebud! BUD Yeah. That. RENA Demon hunter - you, guy. BENDICT Benedict. RENA Right, like Shakespeare. I'm bad with names. BENDICT Let me get those chains-- RENA Quick! What's the penalty for illegal imprisonment of a human? INFERNIQUE [a little closer] Where is he? BUD It ain't much. He didn't hurt you or nothing. RENA Well? BENEDICT Something like a hundred years of hemorrhoids. I don't actually sentence-- RENA Wanna stick him with something worse? BUD [speculative] I like where this is going. BENEDICT I ...don't. MUSIC INFERNIQUE [roaring up] What did you do with him? WILLY You are in my domain, succubus! INFERNIQUE Insults? How dare you! BUD [off, pathetic] Ohhhhhh.... INFERNIQUE Out of my way! WILLY [surprised] What the hell? BUD [off, weak] Is that you, baby snakes? SOUND DOOR SLAMS OPEN WILLY [bewildred] But I didn't-- INFERNIQUE [incensed] Chained? BUD Oh, babe. I'm so glad to see you. Willy there whupped my fanny, but good. WILLY I-I-- RENA I think the popper is concussed. INFERNIQUE [amazed] Popper? WILLY [an octave higher] Popper? BUD You're gonna get us out of these, aren't you sweetie? RENA Wake up, dude! SOUND GENTLE SLAPPING TO TRY AND ROUSE HIM INFERNIQUE [speculative] You... chained a popper? WILLY I-I- He-- they-- INFERNIQUE Just nod your head, handsome. RENA [quiet] I'm hunting wabbits. BENEDICT [smothered snort of laughter] BUD Come on babe, leave Willy alone. Get me out of here. INFERNIQUE That's Willial, you little weasel. [laughs contemptuously] I think it's about time to trade up. WILLY I- uh- I- uh-- INFERNIQUE [very hot] There's nothing sexier than a tongue-tied demon. RENA [trying to sound upset but not getting it] After all Bud has done for you! BUD [grovelling] You can't just leave us here! INFERNIQUE Willy will let you go when he's good and ready, won't you? WILLY [frantic] Uh, Beelzebud? BUD Fine! Keep your job! Take my woman! You have everything! [big mock sob] SOUND DOOR SLAMS SHUT MUSIC SOUND MATILDA'S DEN SOUND WHOOSH OF ARRIVAL BENEDICT I honestly don't know which of you was worse, back there. RENA Emoting is not in my skill set. BUD Tell me about it. MATILDA You're back! RENA Yeah, it's all okay. MATILDA I thought-- RENA [strangely gentle] You know I always promised if I die I'd come right back and haunt you. MATILDA [sob of relief] BENEDICT Can we--? RENA Fuck off, will you guys? BUD I got this. SOUND WHOOSH MATILDA I was [hiccupy sob] I was so-- RENA I'm here. You're not alone. Maybe I should get that Benedict guy back - he owes us a pair of pants. MATILDA [laughs and cries] SOUND PHONE RINGS RENA Voice mail? MATILDA [much calmer] Voice mail. Yeah. JESSE [on voice mail] What did you do to my wife? All of a sudden she's laying down the law and saying she won't put up with me unless I toe the line! Man! She's even talking about us writing up some kind of contract! Are you even listening? SOUND BEEP END

Vaca Buffer Day, 2nd Boosters: My Bad, Compliment Sandwich

ReTell Pharmacy

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022 48:05

Back from vaca! Feeling good, you guys. I mean, I was until we found out about 2nd boosters, right?? Trust me, we cover that and so much more on the show. A lot of fun this week including talking about often needing a vaca buffer day (but not this time!), my obsession with Saved By The Bell, and *sigh* 2nd boosters being approved. Look, I take full responsibility for this, okay? I do. My apologies. Also, we talk METRICS.(aka playing "Whack-A-Mole") This is triggering in itself but can we pleeease get a compliment sandwich from corporate sometimes? Enjoy, friends. -M You're all the best, have I told you that? Ok maybe like a few hundred times, but it's true. I really, truly appreciate all of your love and support. Once again, I can't do this show without YOU. Connect with the show and let me know what you want to talk about through Twitter and Facebook. Check out www.betterhelp.com/retell , our newest sponsor for the podcast, to take charge of your mental health today with the experience of a licensed therapist. Also, learn how you can be an agent of true, positive change in the lives of your patients with Ultimed's Pen Needle Ultiguard Safe Pack!

The 14 Year Investment Pattern With Mark Yusko

The Long Run Show

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022 60:31

Guest:Mark W. YuskoChief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Morgan Creek Capital Management & Managing Partner, Morgan Creek Digital AssetsMark Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management. He is also the Managing Partner of Morgan Creek Digital Assets. Morgan Creek Capital Management was founded in 2004 and currently manages close to $2 billion in discretionary and non-discretionary assets. Prior to founding Morgan Creek, Mr. Yusko was CIO and Founder of UNC Management Company (UNCMC), the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before that, he was Senior Investment Director for the University of Notre Dame Investment Office.Mr. Yusko has been at the forefront of institutional investing throughout his career. An early investor in alternative asset classes at Notre Dame, he brought the EndowmentModel of investing to UNC, which contributed to significant performance gains for theEndowment. The Endowment Model is the cornerstone philosophy of Morgan Creek, as is the mandate to Invest in Innovation. Mr. Yusko is again at the forefront of investing through Morgan Creek Digital Assets, which was formed in 2018. Morgan Creek Digital is an early stage investor in blockchain technology, digital currency and digital assets through the firm's Venture Capital and Digital Asset Index Fund.Mr. Yusko received a BA with Honors from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Chicago.Hosted By:Austin WillsonMichael O'ConnorBZ: welcome back to another episode of the long-run show. This is your host, Austin Willson, along with Mike OConnor. And today we are going to be having another guest on our show. We have Mark Yusko from Morgan Creek Capital. He's actually the founder and CIO of Morgan Creek capital and the chief managing partner of Morgan Creek digital.Hopefully I got that right, Mark. And we're going to be good. We're going to be talking about we're gonna be talking about a lot of different things today. Spanning many different aspects. Obviously, mark, you have a lot of experience investing money and allocating capital and also a lot of experience just with thinking about large long run issues which is the name of the show.M: One of the things that I really don't like is everything is focused on short term and social media. And that just the explosion of content has made it even shorter and shorter. And really, if you think about investing, the art of investing, it really is about the longterm. And it's nice. You're nice to say I have a lot of experience. That's just a very nice way of saying I'm old and I am and that's actually a good thing because it means you survived all the mistakes that you made when you were young. But importantly it goes to. My whole career has been around. Long-term thinking, I a series of happy accidents. I didn't plan to be an investment guy. I planned to be an architect. And then I tried pre-med and none of those things really fit. But I went to work for an insurance company out of business school and the guy who was doing investments retired. And so I was now the investment guy. And what I found is it was the perfect thing for me as a science guy. And science is all about format hypothesis, forming experiment, gathering data, testing the hypothesis, and then deciding if it's right or wrong. And that's exactly what you do in investing, right? You come up with this form an experiment.You, you make exposure and then you test it. You gather the data and the market tells you whether you're right or wrong. And part of the. my aha moment over my career was that time arbitrage. So long run thinking, right? The title of your show is the ultimate win in investing. If you have a long time preference, if you have the ability to think longer term than the average investor, you will make more money. And that's kinda cool. And you don't have to be right as often either. That's the nice thing is you don't have to always be right or prove that you're right. Which is very dangerous and investing. Yeah. So quick. Went to school. I said to be an architect or a doctor then went to business.School, came out, went into investing. And my next happy accident was I went back to my Alma Mater. I went back to Notre Dame and I got into endowment management. And what I realized was I thought investing when I worked for the bond management part of the insurance company and then an equity firm. Was that It was just about picking stocks and bonds. That's what investing does. That's what the TV tells you. You should pick stocks IBM or GM or Ford. And what I realized is those were 15% of the longterm returns. 85% of returns comes from asset allocation. The big picture allocation of capital across stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities within stocks. Do I go international? Do I go domestic? Do I go technology? Do I go healthcare? And those big asset allocation decisions drove everything. So the endowment model of investing, which I learned at Notre Dame brought with me down here to university of North Carolina at chapel hill. Whereas the CIO there, that's what I learned. And all that endowment model means is you have a long time horizon. It's permanent capital. Therefore you have this ability to take advantage of time arbitrage. The second thing is you have to have an equity bias, because if you want to have a long term positive return, you need to outperform inflation and bonds just don't do that by very much. So you have to have an equity orientation, but equity doesn't mean stocks. You mean stocks? It means private equity. It means venture capital. It means commodity equity. There's all kinds of equities. And then the next stage was I left the university back actually now a long time ago, back in 2004, and I formed Morgan Creek Capital and more capital is just about bringing the endowment model to other investors, taking this idea of alternative, thinking about investments to the masses. Now everyone says what do you mean alternative thinking? I'm like I don't like the term alternative investments. People talk about it all the time. Hedge funds or private equity or venture capital. Those are alternative investments. alternative to what? you own stocks, you own bonds, you own currencies and you own commodities. How I own them in a mutual fund, in a hedge fund, in a private partnership, doesn't change the nature that I own. Stocks, bonds, and currencies and commodities. And the problem is whoever thought of the term alternatives, who was not a marketing guy or gal, they were not very smart. People don't like alternative stuff, alternative medicine, alternative music.They don't like alternative stuff. They're afraid of it. . And so what did he do? Tape put 5% in alternatives and 95% in tradition. That doesn't make any sense because if the traditional stuff isn't attractive, why would you want to own it? So fast forward Morgan Creek over the years has migrated from, this alternative thinking about investments to my big aha moment, which was investing in infrastructure around technological innovations. And it's a wave of about 14 year cycle is where the big wealth is created. on Twitter it's my pin tweet. The greatest wealth is created by investing in something that you believe in before others even understand. you will be mocked, you'll be ridiculed and it's worth it. And so back four years ago, we set up Morgan Creek digital subsidiary of Morgan Creek capital to focus on long-term investing in the digital asset ecosystem and having a blast. had more fun than I've ever had my career. And I love every stage of my career. But I'm having way more fun. Now I get to hang out with young smart people. I get to focus on this innovative technology. That's changing the world anyway.BZ: I love the term time arbitrage. That is just such a great term. And I find it so interesting because like you mentioned, using the that's so interesting, the endowment model, because that seems so foreign to wall street of the last couple of decades, or, having this model that you're actually considering long-term implications. You're not just looking for the next big short or something like that. What's been the reception from others in the field of that. Cause it seems like so much common sense to be able to look at the long-term, but it's pretty uncommon. What's been the reception ?M: We actually created a vehicle a number of years ago called the endowment fund and it took off, it was the most successful launch of a product in Merrill Lynch's history and everybody piled in and then something happened, gold financial crisis happened. We actually did well relatively well. We didn't do well. Absolutely. But we did less badly than everybody else. And, in investing the most important thing, right? There's three rules to investing rule. Number one, don't lose money rule number two, don't lose money rule number three, don't forget the first two rules and Roy Neuberger coined that phrase.And it's because of math. If I'm down 10, I got to be up 11. If I'm down 20, I gotta be up 25. I'm down 50. I gotta be up 100 to get even, God forbid you're like Russian market. I'm down 95 when it gets back to even which it will. Cause this has happened before. You'll be up 20 fold buying Russian equities. Great idea for the long-term not for the next week or the next month, but if you can buy spare bank at this price, you make 20 times your money, probably over a long-term period because you're down 95%. But that idea of avoiding the downside is what the endowment model is all about. And what happened though is after the gold financial crisis, the FED and other central banks around the world started pumping liquidity into the market. And that changed things. And what it did is it created this illusion that stocks, the S&P or going up every year. And so over the last 13 years has been pretty much a bull market in nominal terms, not in real terms, but in nominal terms. And maybe people not want to be value oriented. They want to be momentum players. They didn't want to take the long-term. They didn't want to make an investment today in a company that might take 10 years to harvest an S&P is up 15% every year. I'll just do that. So the endowment model kind of faded and can got out of favor and, necessity is the mother of invention that led us to say, all right, if nobody wants to think like long-term investors, then we'll find products that are, and the problem there was, we had an asset liability mismatch. We let people come out of the fund on any quarter, but we were making investments for long-term periods of time. And that doesn't work very well. It's like a bank. I give everybody, went to the bank to take their money. That's a problem. Cause there's not enough money for all the. Because they took $1 and lent it out 11 times and made lots of dollars. And there's nothing wrong with that. Fractional reserve banking is not in itself evil. It just, it operates on faith and custom where everybody doesn't run to the bank at the same time. And the same thing is true in long-term investments. If everybody wants their liquidity, they can't get it. So now we raise vehicles with longer-term lockups so we can focus on making those long-term investments.BZ: Interesting. Very interesting. So this kind of shifts and long-term cycle, or I guess midterm cycle, you were saying the 14 year investing in something that you're very convicted about, how did that fit into the endowment model or was that a kind of the next iteration for you?M: So it definitely fits into this endowment model of investing. But it was a discovery by being at the endowment actually. So I go back now and it's easy to tell the story because I grew up on the west coast. I grew up in Seattle and my dad sold and installed mainframe computers in hospitals. That's what he did cause they didn't have computers. And so if you go back to 1954, there was this innovation out in Boston, outside of route 128 around computing and suddenly companies could have computers. And 14 years later, there's an innovation out in Silicon valley on a microchip is suddenly computers can be smaller and companies like Intel and Cisco were formed and they did pretty well. Right then in 1982, 14 years later. And why it's always 14 years. I don't know exactly, but it's really because young people invent all the new stuff, because they don't know not to. And they don't know what they don't know. And so they just go ahead and do it. Marc Andreessen, 19 years old, he invented the browser. Larry and Sergei invented this company, Google, which I'll talk about in a second in their twenties. And so it's that young generation that gets innovation going. Cause the old guys are like, I'm fine. My flip phone is fine. I don't need a smart phone. And it's true. Confirmed myself that as I get older, but the key was I grew up in Seattle, many of my friends, they don't work anymore.They went to work for this little company called Microsoft. I was too stupid to do that. Now I defend myself saying if you've seen the picture of the original Microsoft 11, you wouldn't blame. Now there are multibillionaires. I'm not, I shouldn't make fun of them, but they looked pretty funny. We all looked bad in the seventies. Clothes were bad. Hair was bad. But look at the picture tonight, Google the original Microsoft 11, you go, oh my God, I wouldn't work for those guys either. So Steve bomber's mom said, honey, why would you work for that company? No one would ever want a computer in their house. He has 18 billion reasons. He was right. Mom was wrong. So 14 years later, I'm at my Alma Mater. I'm at Notre Dame and I'm working in the endowment office and we had the chance to make this investment in a company called Sequoia at the time. No one, not no one, but very few people knew who Sequoia was. It was not a famous venture capital fund. In fact, it was on the verge of failure because Don Valentine, the famous founder had hired this guy Michael Moritz, Michael was a wall street journal reporter. He had never done a deal before. The other partners like Don, what the hell? We're the future? Why are you hiring this kid? It turns out Michael turned out to be a pretty good investor, Yahoo, Google a few other things and maybe one of the greatest venture capitalists of all time, but we gave them 5 million bucks. They put half a million dollars in Google. And I actually remember. I remember saying guys, I don't get it. They're 20 search engines. There is web crawler and AltaVista and ask Jeeves, what do you need Google for? It's a stupid name. Now it's a verb, right? We totally reinvented search because Larry and Sergei young guys figured out that the way to do search is not to search the whole internet. There are 1.7 billion websites in the world. Half of them are owned by Google. What are you talking about, Mark? Think about it. When you start typing a question. They've set up a website for every question that has ever been asked. And as soon as you start asking the question, it directs you to a little tiny slice and they've already put all the information that you need to know. And sometimes maybe there's some bias, but that's how they do search and it revolutionized everything. And so we put in 500 K and we took out 200 million. So I now had this aha moment. This is a long story for an epiphany, but I had this epiphany that investing was about long-term investments in infrastructure companies around this cycle. And so 14 years later the mobile phone comes along and apple releases the smartphone The iPhone, their stock goes down 46. Think about this for a second. this iPhone and the stock goes down because people are never going to pay $500 for a phone.My flip phone is just fine. My Razor's awesome. Apple's now the biggest, most valuable company in the world. And I remember being back in Seattle at Craig macaws house, he was having an event for venture capital people. And Craig is a very famous pioneer in cellular telephony, the original flip phones. And I'm asked, as I asked his family office, guy said, do you think the mobile net will be as big as the internet? He's mark, you can me ask me if they want a computer? Yeah, whatever, ask them if they want a phone. Like I already have two, I don't need another one. So yeah, it's going to be a big deal. And what it did is it created the first network. 1 phone not valuable at all.2 phones, a little more valuable, 2 million phones, pretty valuable, 2 billion phones, really valuable. And the network effect is exponential and the people are bad at math. People suck at math, but that's just linear math. If I say what's two times two, both of you will say four. I say, all right guys, what's 17 times 23. I'll wait. That is the limit of human intelligence. The average person can not do 17 times 23 in their head. And so how are you at nonlinear? Exponential regression? Not very good. And so I do this challenge all the time. I say, take out a piece of paper, fold it in half, pull it in half again. I defy you to fold it seven times and it was a bag full of seven times. No problem. And they're like, whoa, okay. I can't fold it seven times. If you could fold it 20 times. It would be as high as your house. If you could fold it 30 times, it'd be the atmosphere. If you could get to 50, it'd be to the sun. And 100 is the known universe. So exponential growth is a really big deal. And so the network effect created these massive opportunities and the light bulb went off for me, just get in front of those waves. So buy things and you know how to find them, whatever the old people like me now say, will rot your brain or is a fad..anytime those two terms, come out, just buy it, tuck it in a drawer and go away.BZ: I love that guy that was going to be, yeah, that was going to be my follow-up ETF. And the 14 year pattern Have you seen that be very consistent? M: It's incredibly consistent and okay. What's amazing. So you went 1954 was the mainframe and they had four years, 1954 to 1958. We could make a fortune in deck and Wang and it's winching. Then you have a crash. Then 14 years later, 1968-1972 Intel Fairchild, et cetera. Then you have a crash then 1982 to 1986. Everything's great. Microsoft. Wintel. They have a crash then in 2010? No. Then in 1999, then in 1996, around the internet, 1996 to 2000, everything's awesome. Yahoo, eBay et cetera, Google, then you have a crash 2010 to 2014 to 2015. You have a little crash wasn't as big as the other crash, but there was a crash right now in 2024, which is the beginning of the blockchain era or the trust net as I call it. So the internet 1996, the mobile net 2010 and the trust net 2024. It's when everything in the world, everything in the world, everything of value, every stock, every bond, every currency, every commodity, every private piece of real estate, every piece of art, every collectible car, every private business, all $700 trillion of assets in the world will be tokenized. What does that mean? All a token is an entry on a block. It's an entry on a public ledger. That's all it is. It's not super crazy and exciting. It's really pretty simple, but it's code and we can trust code differently than we can trust people. And if you think about this, every technological evolution goes to making that trust in code better. When the internet first came out, people are like, I don't know what this thing isn't. It doesn't really work very well. And Netflix started a company and they're like, all right, we're going to use it. We're going to have video on demand. If demand is defined as four days, it took four days to download a movie. No one's going to wait four days to download a movie. So they almost went bankrupt and it wasn't until bandwidth was increased because South Korea innovated around broadband and suddenly you could deliver it in less than four days as a Netflix done pretty well. Pets.com. I'm going to deliver, pet food over the internet.Failed. It's the poster child of the failure of the internet, chewy.com. It's the same damn company, exactly the same, but we needed GPS tracking. We needed instantaneous access to information, to broadband. So it's these inflection points in technology and why they're 14 years. Again, it doesn't really matter, but it is very consistent. And so 2024, as great as it's been in blockchain and Bitcoin and all this other stuff, it hasn't even started. The players have entered the stadium, they're warming up. We haven't even played the National Anthem. And I was like, oh, it's the third ending? The eighth inning game. the game hasnt started.BZ:I think that's a phenomenal point because it's amazing how much we're already talking about Bitcoin and blockchain and web3. And it's The current figures are maybe 5% of the world has cryptocurrency. Like global adoption is still so early that it just seems like it's the next huge network effectM:If you overlay Mike, to that point, if you overlay the internet adoption and web three adoption or blockchain adoption, we're in 1997. Around the time when we invested in Google. And E-bay, I remember taking E-bay to our board at Notre Dame and they're like, let me get this straight. You want us to put money in a garage sale? Really? No. Think about this. So they were against it. The firm benchmark capital, some of the best investors on the planet they put in, they raised an $85 million fund, $85 million, not a lot of money. And they put a bunch of money into eBay, not all of it, but a decent amount. They took out $10 billion. The whole fund was a 96 X the whole fund. So she put it in a dollar, you got $96 back and on a garage sale company because people didn't get it or look at the market cap of PayPal today. And how many of the PayPal mafia are out there doing amazing things. humans are optimistic, right? If you weren't optimistic, you'd literally sit in your house in sheer shuttering because you wouldn't go outside. Cause you could get shot. He get eaten by a bear, all kinds of bad things could happen, but we're optimistic. And so we go on it's I always say, who was the third guy who went out to try to get a Mastodon with a spear? Cause the first two didn't come back. So who was the third guy who figured out, if he hit him right under the chin, you can kill the Mastodon. He was a hero, but, or who was the first person that tried surgery on without anesthetic before we figured that out. So we're optimistic and we try new stuff and that's good. And we have progress, but we're unable to imagine the unimaginable, right? We can't imagine. Right now we are talking to each other. We're actually, we're not talking to it. We're talking to a metal box, right? A metal and glass box. And it's coming in my glass metal and glass box into the airwaves, into a cell tower down through fiber optic cable out another cell tower into the airwaves, into your metal glass box and into your earphones in real time. Are you kidding me? I could imagine that 20 years ago, 30 years ago, no one. So it's really hard to invest for that long cycle opportunity set because you can't imagine. So who could imagine that money as we know it, which isn't money it's currency, the only money is gold because money is something exist in the absence of a liability dollars are not money they are currencies. But who could imagine that all of money will eventually be entries on a book? Not very many people. Yeah. It's amazing to me. And you spoke to this. The thing that we are the worst status imagining unimaginable, right? Cause we have a word for it that, that just goes to show you how big a bias it is.BZ: We have a word for it. It's unimaginable. And so I think the bias is to go, okay I can't do that. Or I guess the thought process is, I have this bias. I can't really know what's next because I can't see it. So therefore, I'm going to tighten my time horizon. I'm going to look for the short play I'm going to, and nothing against day-trading.I've seen it to be profitable, but I'm going to look for this short, interim intraday play or a week play or month play. At the expense of a longer term play, that may be an investment that may pay off 96X like, like the eBay story. And so it's a great, it's interesting that biting, there's nothing wrong with trading.M:There's nothing inherently bad about trading. It's hard. It's work and it goes to income and passive income and investing, we all work hard, right? We're doing what we do. We either create content or we manage somebody's assets or we make widgets, we all have this work that we do, but you think about it, the return on that, that work pales in comparison that if you can have something, take up a piece of real estate that you own, that someone else pays you rent and you make money while you're sleeping, it's actually a pretty cool or a Royalty. Think about Qualcomm that every time somebody builds an Android phone, they get paid. That's cool. And so they monetize their intellectual property and then you get into investing. Sure. If I can figure out if CEO, Adam tomorrow is going to wake up and do another great deal, like buying a gold mine, maybe I can get out ahead of AMC and it'll go up and I'll make some money, but what if he wakes up and he makes a bad investment, actually gold mines are usually are bad investments, but maybe this will be a good one, but what if it makes a bad investment? And it goes the other way. That's that? I don't have control of any of that, but if I can Intuit that, let's see. All right. Blockchain technology is really just an operating system for this injured, connected everything. Okay. That's interesting. So what makes money. When goods get traded marketplaces exchanges.So what if I just own a little piece of one of the exchanges like Coinbase, it doesn't matter if the price goes up, price goes down, people got to trade it. They take a cut. That sounds pretty good. If you look exchanges or there's the NASDAQ exchange with London stock exchange or the Brazilian , all of those have been great investments over the long term. Even the LME before they killed themselves the other day, by letting the Chinese billionaire say, "oh, I'm sorry. I know I lost money, but I'm not going to let you take it from me." And they screwed everybody else. Just mind numbing, how to destroy the capital of a business and one easy lesson, but there's time arbitrage. Right? There's short-term thinking I got this angry Chinese billionaire, right? Who's given us a lot of commissions saying he's not going to honor his margin call and I'll just cancel all the trades. That sounds good. Oh, shit. I just killed the golden goose because now no one will ever trust my exchange again, ever. Let's go to a different exchange. That's negative time arbitrage.BZ: So the way to, and I guess I, wasn't trying to position, day trading versus long-term investing because you're exactly right. They are very different. I guess my question that I was building to is with that bias in mind.How do we look at all of the trends that are out there, right? Because we could make an argument for metaverse right. that is the next 14 year cycle. Not withstanding there's crossover between the two, obviously, not withstanding that crossover. Okay. This is what I'm going to do. Or quantum computing, this is going to be the next large leap in computing technology. We're going to be able to calculate things we've never been able to before. So how do we think through these things that we might be seeing as trends or fads? And I like your rule earlier. Okay. "If some old fart says, oh, this is just a fad buddy, look into it." But how do we think through that? I tend to be more cynical. So I'm thinking, all right, great. We have all these trends. But how do we imagine the unimaginable? Sounds like a riddleM: it's the question that all of us should be spending at least a little time on, in fact, one of the best things to become a better investor is to spend some time every day or at least every few days just away. Not staring at your screen, take a hike, take a walk, meditate, whatever it is, and actually just think and try to cobble together these ideas because you're a hundred percent right. But the metaverse oh it's just Facebook. No, come on. Just think about that one for just one second. The metaverse is the decentralization of technology and the eraser of nation states and industrial conglomerates. That's clearly what the decentralized world is. So the idea of a centralized organization being the metaverse, it's an oxymoron it's jumbo shrimp, or military intelligence or whatever, and it just doesn't work. but the metaverse is big. Okay. So most, so maybe the metaverse is this next trend? And my 14 year cycle is all about computing power mainframes, microcomputers personal computers, internet mobile net trust net. And to your point, maybe the next is quantum net actually like that. I'm going to think about that a lot. Im going skiing next week with my son. So there are other cycles could be coincidence with the same 14 year cycle, or maybe they could be offset maybe within the 14 year cycle. There's a seven year offset for these other secondary or second order effects. Yeah, the metaverse is clearly something that, that is created out of this innovation around computing power. And so we do have to think, okay what does that mean? Does it mean I should invest in these centralized organizations that are renaming themselves? It's like when we were in long island ice tea named themselves long island blockchain stock went crazy for awhile, but what do you do? You don't do anything in blockchain. you make tea, but it's a great meme play, right? But they did it in 2000 and last bubble. I lived it and I, we invested in a company, true story called art technology group and what they did all this company. Did they help companies change their name to die? Because if you change your name to.com price went up. So these guys actually then listed as a public company. They were consulting company, long story short. We'd put some money in, through a firm called tutor ventures up in Boston. And our cost basis was 50 cents. The stock went public at a hundred dollars. Okay. So maybe 200 times our money. And I called the principal and I said, what should we do? He says, I'm an insider. I can't really talk. But I can tell you two things, revenue is 6 million market cap is 6 billion. And there was a silence. He's mark, did you hear me, Mike? Yeah. I heard you ı was like SELL, GET RID OF IT NOW! Here's the crazy part. It went to four. So it went down 96%. And I think about that at four, it was still an eight. Off our call list, but we sold at a hundred made 200 X. But the thing is that company didn't do anything. And these, so the third part of the question is, so you've got the main wave then how do you have then do you have these other opportunity waves, but then you got the scams that come into it that you want to avoid. So there's lots of crosscurrents and how you try to think about these big themes. But then the other thing is if you spend too much time thinking about it and not enough time acting on it, right yet, paralysis by analysis, you miss all the opportunities. And this is, to me, one of the things that's most, most important about investing is winning investors.Great investors lose more often than bad investors. They do win a lot, but they lose a lot. The reason losers, bad investors don't win or lose. They don't do anything. They're so afraid of losing that. They don't actually commit capital. So to your point, rather than try to figure out, do I, can I figure out which is the one I like to put bets and there are bets in a lot of different places. And then when things start to go double up, most people want to double down, right? When things go against them, they want to put more money in to prove that they're right in the market's wrong. The market is never wrong. The market is always right. You are wrong. And when we make mistakes, it's okay. As long as you Ralph. Okay. And we need to talk about this. Cause cause from Dean Smith and it's March madness and Tarell's play tonight, so recognize them. Not that hard. It's usually right in your face. Here's the hard part. Admit it. Yes. I made a mistake. there was a show on TV a hundred years ago called happy days. And there was this guy, Arthur Fonds rally, the cool guy. He said, Hey, and he couldn't say the word wrong. He couldn't say the word wrong. You got to say, you're wrong. Then you got to learn from it. Most important thing. And thinking investing is with every investment we get richer or wiser. Never both. We either learn something or we make money because when we're right, we don't actually analyze. We just say, oh, look how smart we are. Whoa, of course it was so good when you lose money and then you've got to forget it. And the forgetting is really important. And this goes to the other great coach who is still in the tournament as well. University of duke at Durham down the street, coach K has this great line. He says, you know what? Separates great. Players slash investors from the average? No, he says the greats focus on the next play. Watch the tournament game tonight and see how many times did you, so miss a shot go down and commit to a stupid foul. Cause they're thinking about the shot, a great player, doesn't even remember taking the shot, goes back, plays good, different defense steals A ball makes a layup.Bad investors they're constantly focused on, oh man, I'm a mistake. And I just can't believe it. It. Got to learn from it, but you got to erase it, forget it and go get the next up.BZ: Individual plays versus ETFs?M: You guys probably both play Fortnite. I watched my son play Fortnite. Does he take a shotgun or a sniper rifle? He takes both. Cause a shot is really good in some situations and the sniper is really good at another. So yes, the answer is yes. You definitely want a spray and pray and the whole spray and pray.I prefer spray and then water, the seeds that start growing. Okay. That's better to me and I pray a lot too, but hope is not an investment strategy. Hope is a four-letter word, particularly in investing, but the sniper rifle a hundred percent. And here's the thing. If you're willing to do the work, the sniper rifles really awesome, because if you actually will do the work that most people won't, then you get a better shot. And if you take that better shot, you can make a lot more concentrated portfolios, make you rich. Every great fortune in the world came from constant. Concentrated stock position, concentrated real estate position, contrary to business ownership, every fortune start with concentration. Now the joke is how do you create a small fortune start with a large fortune and stay concentrated, concentrated long enough competitors will come up and chip away and take all your wealth. So diversification keeps you rich. So if you are in the business of making money, which when we're young, we should be and ice. And I'm really good at talking because I sucked when I was young. I didn't do any of this stuff. I talk about. In fact, I sent a pre out to myself the other day, maybe a year ago, advice to my younger self, all the things that I did wrong, that I want people not to do wrong. And the key somebody asked me, how do you become a better investor in. Like all the time, a lot, like all the time and do the shotgun and do the sniper. And, but when it goes against you just move on, just sell and move on. And when things start going, don't pull your weeds. Don't pull your flowers, right? Peter Lynch has this great line. He says, investing is super simple. You pull your weeds and you water your flowers. But he says, the average investor does the opposite. They pull their flowers. Cause they're so afraid to loosen and they water their weeds because they want to prove they're right. Soros is not whether you're right or wrong. That has nothing to do with anything. It's how much money you make when you're winning, how much money you lose when you're wrong. And if you can constantly minimize your loss. First loss of the best loss and let your winners run and then do that work so that you think about a sniper. You guys have seen the movie sniper? .Does he just like randomly pull the thing out of his bag and then start shooting? No, he plans. He sets the stage. He gets where no one can see him. He's got the stuff, the cammo on. He lines up the shot, he waits and he makes the kill. So it's not like that's planning. And so if you do the work you set the stage, you do the plan, you get the cammo, you get the right rifle. You get the right ammunition. Yeah. You'll make some, you make some great investments. But that does mean an ETF is bad. Now the problem, the only thing on ETS, just make sure they actually do what they say they're gonna do in what you name the ETF. So you could have value ETFs that are filled with 30 times revenue. These is crap companies. Yeah. It's not value now, but the new value when it goes down 95%. But, and again, this personal experience. So when I, my first job, I had a 401k and, we had six options and one of them was the blue chip growth fund. And I had a thesis that the world was going to get lousy. This is back in 1991, 1992. Oh, we're going to have recession. I'm like, I'm going to put my money in the high quality blue chips. So I moved all my money there and we had the recession just like we thought, and this thing went down 40%. What the fuck? Probably shouldn't say that, but what the hell? And I go on, I look and it says in the footnotes though, "the blue chips of tomorrow" What the hell? This is my fault. I didn't read. I gotta pull that prospectus.BZ: It's interesting. I want to go back to what you said earlier, And I agree with everything you said, and I think it's actually one of, one of the episodes we recorded about two months ago. At this point we talked about just thinking about. How you invest in approach money and what are your biases and knowing yourself. And so for me, I know that I am very bad at acting quickly.I take, and I do the analysis paralysis. For me at certain points and this is one of them right now. I don't have the time to go and research and then implement and act quickly. Cause I know I won't. So I'm just going to buy a bow broad basket for now and hold it. And then like you said, in your answer, there's different ways to double down and concentrate, right? Whether that's your skills, whether that's, I'll say starting a business, right? So there are different ways to think about investing, especially as an individual. And so I, I'm interested to hear what you would say about the asset allocation portion that you said earlier, that's almost more important than picking the winners and losers because it seems like you can build a great portfolio that has a phenomenal asset allocation out of individual stocks, right? And individual positions. You can also do it with ETFs and it might be easier for the individual to do that. Factor in a lot of things. You've got to do your research on those ETFs. You can't be buying on the name of the tick thing, but it's that's the answer more than one or the other, right?M: Yup. No, you're a hundred percent right. Austin and the ETFs are an amazing tool because they give you big swaths of the canvas. So if you think of a canvas and it's got all the different colors all over and, international and emerging markets and developed markets and equities and fixed income and commodities and currencies and derivatives and leverage and all the things that you need to build a diversified portfolio. Using individual securities, you can do it. It's hard, like super hard because you got to decide, okay, I want autos, but do I want European autos or Japanese autos? Or, what about this Tesla thing? Is that really a car company? Oh, I thought it was a software company. It's a car. It sits out, it collects dust, just like every other car. And, oh, by the way, you're only in your car 3% to 4% of the time. Think about that. You're inside your car 3% to 4%. So I would say don't spend a lot of money on cars unless you're like really into cars. But the interesting thing about all of this is how you build that portfolio is important. So if you think about the four steps of investment asset allocation, manage your selection, portfolio construction and security selection. So the 85% is in those first three, that is the allocation piece. And then the security selection piece is the 15%. So it really doesn't matter over the term, whether you own Ford or GM, it actually doesn't. In short periods of time, it can matter a lot for sure. But over long periods of time, it's less important than knowing should I be in automobiles or should I be in flying cars or should I be in, whatever. So the big picture asset allocation, should I be in stocks or bonds? Credit or equity, should I be in currencies or commodities? Should I be long biased or should I be long short? Should I be fully hedged? Should I be in cash? Should I be in, in emerging markets or international? Where's the growth, all of those big pictures. It's those asset allocation decisions are really important. So that's where I always start. And I try to come up with five big themes 10-year trends that I think are going to drive investment and growth. And one of mine is the middle classification of the emerging markets, right? There's about 3.5 B that live at middle-class or below around the world. Most of them in Southeast Asia and. Most of them are going to move up. And it's just math got to move up. Now, China alone, China took 750 million people out of abject poverty and put them in the middle-class over the last 30 years. I don't know. Maybe those people that want to move up. They've seen Dallas. They want that life. So there's probably some opportunities in retail and consumer in China over the next. Give or take giving us the size of the U S and Europe put together. So that's a big thing. How do you play that theme? I could buy a and have bought this ETF called K web. Why? Because it owns technology companies that are making those middle-class lives better now marked I think is down 90% in the last year. Yup. So I bought it two weeks ago because anytime something's down that much, you gotta buy it. It doesn't matter what it is. If something's down 90%, you got to buy it. And so how else would you play the growth? The Asian consumer commodities is going to be more in demand. So I play it that way. Then you got to say how am I going to implement? That's the manager selection piece. So manager selection. I could do it myself. I, Mike and I could go decide, we're going to go rifle, shoot. We're going to sniper. And we're going to pick the stocks. SoI'm going to buy Alibaba. I'm going to buy jd.com. Totally fine. Totally acceptable. But what if we miss Mae Twan? What if we miss Pendo that K web is going to have them all. So that's outsourcing the manager to the group. That's doing that. Now the challenge with that is you got to pick between the managers and Howard marks has this great line. He says the problem with picking managers and picking people to manage your money is you have to decide between the good person who sounds good and the bad person who sounds good. They don't let the person who sounds bad, make the presentation. And it's so true. They all sound awesome. But then there's portfolio construct. This is, let's say I pick 10 things, either individual stocks or ETFs or hedge fund managers or mutual funds. I got 10, 10%, each 50% to one and 5% to the others that matters. It matters a lot actually. And there's capitalization waiting. There's equal waiting, there's rebalancing or not rebalancing. So all those portfolio construction things matter. Now the nice thing is most of us, we have lives. So it's like the cobbler's kids who have no shoes. We intend to manage our portfolio and we intend to rebalance and we intend to do all the work, if I look at my IRA, I have this little IRA from your way back when, and I look at that relative to the things that I do, or I just put it in my funds that are managed by people in my firm. It ain't close. You have all these great ideas. Why didn't you just put them in your IRA? Because I got busy and I didn't do it. And I wasn't smart like Peter teal to put in, private shares, which is what I really should have done, should put private shares at Morgan Creek. And then I should have written them down to the, basically zero in the global financial crisis like he did. And so then he gets this big basis and it created billions of dollars. Now I wouldn't have created billions of dollars, Peter is a genius. He's a mad genius, but anyway, so it's a long way of saying allocation first, spend your most time there because it's the most impactful. And particularly for younger investors, I have this thing that don't listen to anything I, or any other pundit on diversified portfolios and portfolio management. Under 60 years old, don't listen to that. Just concentrate on venture capital, equities tech. Like I believe it's not hyperbole. I believe it should be against the law for 25 to 65 year old people to own bonds. It is the waste of time and money. You don't need the volatility reduction because your volatility reduction comes from your future earnings. That is your fixed income.BZ: What are your emotions and feelings looking at blockchain now? Is this kind of is this really exciting?M:Oh, my God. It's the greatest look. It's the greatest wealth creation opportunity. I'll see in my lifetime and I'm gonna be around a long time. I got an 11 year old still. So I, I have this funny thing, we're a good Catholic family. I joke we had nine. We just skipped the middle six. So we have two older kids and a baby. And so we're going to be, I'm going to be around a long time. We'll be working for a long time. And so I'm not going here, but this is the greatest wealth creation opportunity I've ever seen because we're building on great tech. When you built the internet, you were building on shitty tech client server technology is really bad when you built the mobile net. You're building on pretty good tech. The internet was pretty good, but now you're building on top of an installed mobile net infrastructure. That is extraordinary and blockchain is a technological advance that is not linear, but exponential. So all these things are incredibly powerful. So I look, I got exposed to blockchain and Bitcoin in 2013. I didn't understand it. And so I was not a cryptography student and I missed it. I got blockchain, I got infrastructure my whole 14 year cycle thing and have done quite nicely. We've made good investments in infrastructure but I missed the opportunity of, a generation to really be early in, in behind joke that I got introduced to it the same month as the Winkle vie. And they're multibillionaires and I'm not. but there's a movie called the graduate and the graduate. There's a scene where he's asking his uncle for advice is one word plastics, go into plastics, which was good advice in the sixties. And today I said one word, "Jack blockchain go out to California. He wanted to live in San Francisco, said, go work at Coinbase." And he goes out and he interviewed and talks to people and it's I don't know, dad, maybe it's gonna be a big deal. I'm just going to KPMG safe. Gets me to San Francisco. " you're going to hate it whenever he did hate it. Quit after nine months" Coinbase goes public. Cause I find the right should have gone to Coinbase, but not as bad as you think you are. I might go, oh, do tell. I told you to go to quit, but you didn't lever up the house and put on Bitcoin. I'm like, "oh you a little shit." Okay. That's fair. No, one's crying for my son. Cause he works for snowflake and he's doing great, but, and I'm really proud of him, but I think it's interesting. It's a long winded way of saying I have never been more excited in my life. I've never had this much fun in my whole career and I loved my career. I loved every stage of my career. But my career has been in chapters, right? Chapter one, I work for not-for-profits. I was an allocator. I had fun. I loved it. I got second income working for the universities. Chapter two, I built a really nice asset management company, Morgan Creek, capital chapter three three years into a 20 year stint of tokenizing the world. And I really am having more fun. Now I get to hang out with young, smart, really creative people. I'm seeing technological innovation like the world has never seen. I now spend all my time doing venture capital, which has just so much fun backing founders and watching them build things. And it's, again, back to that long game, if you think that there are only four ways in the world that you can make money, all four require you to take risk. If you leave your money in cash, you get the risk free rate. Hence the name because you're not taking any risks. And unfortunately, if you do that, all your wealth is chewed up by inflation, right? Leave your money in the bank today, you get less than one. Inflation is eight, that sucks. So you gotta take risks. You can take credit risk, first risk.You can buy a bond. Now bonds are an actual claim. If you don't get paid, you can Sue pretty good deal. But you don't get paid a lot. You can take 2% above Risk-free rate not a very good deal. Look at bonds day, 2.4%. Woo big deal. And then you can take equity risk. Second risk equities are contingent claim. Meaning you only get paid if all the bond holders get paid. And so that's, that makes 7%above risk free rate. That's pretty good. So equity should be at the core of your portfolio. Then you can take illiquidity risk, private investments, private equity, private real estate, private equity, private debt, better get 5% more, 12% above risk-free. Awesome. 14, 15% compounded venture capital, even higher. And then you can use structure or leverage and leverage cuts both ways. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's bad, but illiquidity and venture capital and innovation as an asset class. And for all the ribbing she's taken, Cathy Wood is exactly right. Innovation is an asset class. It is where you want to invest for the longterm. And that's what I'm doing right now.BZ: That's amazing. Mark. It's been so good to have you on, I know we're running out of time here. But it's just been an absolute pleasure for both myself and Austin. Thank you so much for the time.M:I appreciate you guys having me on the show. I love this. That you guys are doing a show on the longterm, instead of all the day trading stuff again, nothing wrong. Day-trading totally fine. But sometimes you got to step back, take a hike, think big thoughts and really enjoyed the conversation to appreciate all your hard work, getting ready for it. And we'll talk again soon.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-long-run-show/donations

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Asketic Podcast #19 Raitis Puriņš — Building a Strong Marketing Team

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2022 18:29

Asketic co Founder Miķelis Baštiks talking with Head of “Printful” Marketing Raitis Puriņš, about growing a marketing team, building and monetizing your audience.M: Much has already been said about the growth of Printful, but I find your growth as the Marketing Team Leader even more interesting. You started from a very small team of five, now you are more than 100. There are many things to unpack. How to lead a team of five and then switch to a much larger team is a conversation of its own. But how has the daily life changed for you personally? I don't know how much you have reflected upon it yourself, but it would be interesting to hear.R: Since day one my position was the Head of Marketing Unit at Printful, however, when you have a team of five, you're not really a manager. The whole office consisted of 30 or so employees, I was number 35. You're not a manager, you learn to become one afterwards. In the beginning you're thrown into unknown waters and you try to swim out. Along the way you learn to become a manager. The first and most difficult realization is the ability to delegate and trust others. When you really become a manager, you think, okay, this person can do this instead of me. He might do it slower at first or take a different approach, but he will catch on. At first, I always put 100% trust into a person when I give a task. It's not like I let them sink or swim, instead I become a beacon that provides help and checks in to see if he's on the right track. Afterwards he has to grow by himself and you witness the progress. Trust is something to be applied to your own colleagues. M: How does it look in daily life? Do you have daily, weekly check-ins? It's clear you have to trust and provide freedom, but there has to be some accountability. Where have you found the balance?R: We have a framework, at the company there's a presentation “How not to die at Printful”. The idea is that it's better to manage a team of fifty or a project, since the company is so big and one project encompasses a large amount of people. There are a few ways you can look at that. One framework provides that every person has its own goal that he has come here to do and he has to achieve in 3 months, 6 months. He knows what he has to complete. One step further, everyone has a number that drives him. The goal of my team could be revenue. You can influence any team, when you set them a number that they are responsible for. If it's the amount of new clients in Australia, then in becomes your drive and all your activities within the project are focused on that. You never come and talk randomly; you always focus on your goal. Managers don't have to keep everything on their mind - it's all written down, you just check in and see whether your team is on the right track.M: There are so many teams. If one team learns something or tests something, are there any systems for not making the same mistakes twice? Is there a way to transfer the know-how of one team to another when there are so many?R: We provide a blueprint or a framework of previous successful approaches, so you don't have to do your own trial and error; instead you have an outline for your new project. In a rapidly growing company, the only constant is change. You have to be okay with facing changes. Not just because you feel like it, but with purpose to be able to work better. You can't lead a team otherwise, whether those are 5 people or 100. Your manager can change or something else. I know that even I have to constantly keep learning. The rules keep changing, and marketing changes too. I actually like it, the discomfort of not knowing something. No one taught me at school how to lead a marketing team of 100 people. If someone knows such school, let me know. Otherwise you just do you best.M: Of course you learn a lot of things along the way, but can you identify a few things that have helped you on the journey from a single digit team to a three digit team. How did your life look before and how does it look now?R: The main thing that I also remind my project colleagues is that you have to ensure you're your partners share accountability for what you are working on. Another thing I remind my team is that there's no such thing as over-communication, especially internal over-communication. We previously had a situation when the IT team came to me and said that an e-mail should be sent out about an update. Okay, when are you going to launch it? Yesterday. So you were kept out of the loop, because it was assumed that you could do this very quickly anyways. It's important to ensure accountability so that you are aware about a project from day one and can contribute. We also have a huge client support team, more than 200 people globally. The company has to ensure constant internal communication about what you're going to do and what projects are happening, the communication is needed above all. The bigger the team gets, the more important it becomes.M: You once mentioned personal growth and how you sometimes write to marketing managers of big companies to ask something, and most of the time you actually receive answers. Is it something you would do in other areas? Meaning, proactively apply the example of a predecessor. And those times when you have received an answer, what have you learned from your predecessors in different companies, but in the same category or position?R: I have never studied marketing, I know almost no theory, and therefore all I've learned comes from other colleagues, also from my previous workplaces. I don't even remember who gave me the idea that you need a mentor. It's less about learning. When teams are of similar size, we switch charts. It was one of my challenges when my team reached 50 members. Okay, I need a structure for scaling or I will die and won't be able to manage it all. You find out what each team is doing, why it's so large, what works, what doesn't. Secondly, you switch agencies and tools. That allows you to adapt it to yourself. I've also joined several groups, there's a DGMG community for B2B marketing. You can ask your question to the crowd or just search for account based marketing, which isn't a well-known term in Latvia. I don't even know who I could ask that in Latvia. This allows you to gain more from real people who have done this, instead from a blog post, where you don't know if this information has been used in practice.M: What else has helped you to learn and grow along the way? This is a cool example of reaching out and learning from the experience of others. But is there anything else?R: Experiments, for example. Often we don't know if something would work and get good results. You just try and see whether it would work. You learn from mistakes. There are projects from last year where I have lost more than 100 000 dollars, without bringing any gain to the company. But I know I have spent several millions that have benefitted us.M: If you could go get coffee with three marketing people from around the world, who would they be?R: I'm more interested in branding right now. I would like to understand performance checks, I like to measure all technical things. If you're spending a lot of money for Super Bowl ads, you need a good justification for that and need to know how to do it correctly. From the branding point of view, my favourite is Coca-Cola. It's the reason why Santa Claus is wearing a red suit. Amazing! Also Apple. The product plays a big part of it, but they're also doing cool things with the brand.M: If you're more interested in branding now, could you unpack the topics that you're interested in?R: Many say that brand comes from the management. At Printful, the management is me. If I want to invest a bigger team, resources or money in this, then I need strong arguments for why we're going to do this. We'll see the results after three, four years, so why do we need to invest a large amount of money, since the market is huge. I still can't do this. It's not like we don't have a brand. The brand is everything that the company has done all these years. But I'm still missing something for us to scale and do it correctly. The right people, the right team? I don't know.M: You said there are 8 regions. Is the brand the same everywhere or do you build it differently for each region?R: We don't think about branding in each region that much, we like the framework “jobs to be done”. We try to find a person who we can help in achieving what he wants.M: Can you tell me more about the framework “jobs to be done”? How do you implement it in practice?R: First, you want to create an e-commerce shop, maybe you have an Instagram following you want to sell to or an existing business, or you want to create a merch line. Second, you want to order something for yourself. We enable you to do that easily, but you need to find answers to many questions. Who will you sell the shirt to? Do you have a design to print? How will you integrate it? For how much will you sell? Then you have to bring people to the website to buy something. A side-product from all this is that we educate clients. The marketing team is teaching others about marketing. All our resources are directed this way. It's much more beneficial to think about the person's dream than to think about benefitting from them driving a BWM. That's why we're very focused on this work. M: You have mentioned content marketing as one of the things you're doing. Do you still think it's working? When looking at the marketing landscape, do you see other things to focus on in the future? R: Content marketing is everywhere, including what we're doing. It's something you polish and put out. Content marketing can be measured in many different ways. The best effect is when any text that we publish in a blog or on website gets indexed on Google. That enables you to first find Printful in organic results just by searching. In content marketing you also create your image. I, by being in podcasts, am creating an image of being an expert on some topic, which makes people want to talk to me. It's similar for companies. If you create content about something, people will have an opinion about you, which goes along with branding. Okay, they know about this thing, probably I should work with them to ensure quality. You just have to create content, otherwise you won't understand what you have to do here. The idea of starting an e-commerce shop is great, but there a lot of ways to do it. The content helps us guide the creator through this tunnel towards a shop and making sales. M: What would be a go-to for potential clients who would like to create a new brand to be sold through Printful and create their content marketing?R: You have to build an audience. I don't have many examples nor experience, but many successful examples show that you can, for example, grow an Instagram account for dog-lovers and monetize it. You need a data base. You can also build hype by making an e-mail list, because you have to start somewhere, e-mail can't be your main channel. You can't send to some list, it has to be legal. The next channels are channels based on captured interest. From paid channels I can mention Google, which allows you to be found as an interesting author through searching. Then it's about whether the content on the website is enough. You create and all the elements mix together. It's hard to name one. Everything is organic game. It won't happen in one day. You'll see the results in the next few months. It's a long-term work.M: Printful grew very quickly, in just a couple of years. Was it a coincidence of showing up in the right time with the right product? Or was it the skill? I wonder if another company from a different category could duplicate what you did to grow five times or ten times quicker as they would otherwise?R: One mould that we have is “solve your problem”. Before Printful, there was Startup Vitamins, which still sells motivational posters. We needed them, because the offices of Draugiem.lv needed cool posters. Every cool office had those, so we needed them too. Didn't have them, so we designed some and started to sell. We did okay overall. We mostly printed posters, so we started to think about t-shirts and other things. I started searching for someone who could do it on demand, because we didn't know if they would sell. This niche turned out to be quite empty, so we decided to take it. Because again, what we're doing – we're solving our problem. The solution is so simple. In the end we printed our shirts, but it was planned out to be as fast and efficient as possible and with less costs.M: Do you feel a difference between the environments of Asia, Europe and North America when it comes to your clients?R: We haven't really delved into that. There might reasons why one is more successful and one isn't, but there aren't any cardinal differences. These reasons are mostly general. In japan, in order to switch your full-time job you need a special reason. In USA, side-hustling is very typical, you need to have an extra job to survive. You can drive an Uber or create an e-commerce shop. While in Germany and Scandinavia, you don't have such motivation. If you're happy with your job, you just have a beer and rest in your free time. You have other reasons for using Printful. In Germany, you need trust badges on your website for them to believe you're legit. There are some specifics, but it's not mainstream and isn't affecting much. We adapt.M: When you talked about brand development and marketing, one of the ways to grow a brand is word-of-mouth. One of your clients has successfully built his business. I think you mentioned that your tagline is “be your own boss”. This one successful person tells it to someone else, who also finds courage to try. For a company as big as yours, is such word-of-mouth still an important channel and tool?R: 100% yes! We might be big in Latvia, but the niche we can fill is still very small. How many e-commerce people in the world would sell printed goods and know about Printful? Not many. So this requires a constant drive. Social media stars rise every day nowadays, and they have an audience that can be reached more easily than ever, therefore it is important. The best approach is to be good at what you do. There's a guy who did a built-in kitchen for me. I have recommended him to at least 7 people, just because I'm satisfied with his job. If someone has a need, I will recommend him. And so it continues. It's the same for a company. It just happens in a bigger scale. When there's a chance to make a recommendation and someone has had good experience with you, he will recommend you, because it's something new he hasn't seen before. They become brand ambassadors. You don't pay them, you can only motivate them to do this more.M: This big trend of “creative economy” goes hand in hand with what you are doing with building an audience. MrBeast just launched his chocolate brand, which is super successful. He has built an enormous audience on YouTube, he launches one product after another. He has a chocolate or snack company. When you look at this category and also what you're doing with personalization and enabling people to be their own boss, do you see how this category develops and how big is the potential?R: That's one of the reasons why us too are developing and growing. Building an audience nowadays is much easier than it was twenty years ago. You can use the thing you have created – video, music, design –to captivate this person who wants to be associated with you, and, brutally speaking, you can monetize it. The ultimate goal is business. You create an audience and monetize it. One of my favourite examples recently are musicians. Musicians inspire passion in people. You follow them. If you like the music, you go to concerts and are ready to spend money. There are a lot of music bands, any one of them can start offering their merch.M: You've experienced an amazing and quick growth during the last five years. Do you have a vision for the following five years?R: We spend such a big part of life working. But in the end you work in order to be able to rest and live. The one thing on my plan is that I need more vacation days. If you work so much, you need time for resting, enjoy the fruits of your labour, spend time with family. There is still a lot of potential in Printful for development so you don't get bored. At some point I will address that too. M: What helped you to overcome the desire to do everything by yourself? I think that a lot of practical people are stuck in this bottleneck and are not ready to release the control.R: For example, if you have to send an e-mail, we agree on a period for doing it. Let's say, I will do it by Friday, but we agree that you will send me the contents by Thursday. If you are aware of the time period when it will happen and get this information, then you don't have to worry whether everything will be done on time. You just get a message that this is done. This has to be agreed upon. Then you can be sure that this person will check in with you that the text is ready, and on Friday you can confirm that everything is done. There have been occasions when I start writing e-mails and then have to edit this and that. When you start to delegate, the thing that you're afraid of is that something won't be done at all or in the quality you want. You just have to introduce these middle points. And any of these points can have a deadline. This way you can free your mind, because the computer will notify you at the right time. And you do the same thing with your team. You just write things down, you don't try to keep 10 things in mind. You say, this is our structure, these are the tasks, and this is the next step. By this time you have to do the following. If not, then you can start to micro-manage something else. That's where the trust comes from, just go through the game rules.M: Thank you.R: Cool, thank you.Raitis Puriņšhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/raitispurins/?originalSubdomain=lvhttps://www.printful.com/Subscribe to Asketic Podcast on:Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/73QSMYK46NHoHCytJYYmPZ?si=Mw4ZLISUSoueh9Es1pCLUgApple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/asketic-podcast/id1496922775YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdekksSROS4PCxRV7aqT3QGoogle Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2Fza2V0aWMtcG9kY2FzdA--Asketic design & branding:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asketicstudio/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asketic/WWW: http://asketic.com/

101 - Don't Be Held Hostage

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 9, 2021 50:38

00:00 - Intro 01:15 - Adios to Lincoln Riley 03:00 - Is Your Business Holding You Hostage? 13:00 - Don't Let Software Be Your Bottleneck 23:00 - Know What You Want & Stick To It 34:00 - Let's Talk About Sustainable Growth 42:20 - Rollercoaster Profits 47:00- Outro Quotable Moments “Hostage is when your company is dependent on a person instead of a system or a process.” – M “Create something that you'll be able to replicate and not have to rely on the top talent to do, but that you'll be able to train to learn.” – K “While they could stick with the same software, it's just not a fit anymore and it doesn't make them more efficient.” – K “Have an idea of what you want rather than just deciding based on the pitch.” – M “Your vision is just what you want.” – M “Sometimes, when you don't stick to your price and you lower it, what ends up happening is that you create more chaos for yourself.” – K “These challenges that you think are overwhelming and unique to you… they're not. I'll find you 5 people with the exact same issue.” – M “You can't listen to this and try and do all these things at once. There's something that's more important than anything else and you need to work on that thing until it's no longer the short stave in the barrel.” – M Resources “Choosing The Right Software For Your Company” Episode Check us out on Youtube Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Countdown Have questions? Email us! More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

business marketing management profit construction cashflow hostages contractors adios sop know what you want held hostage m you m sometimes

விசாரணை | CATCH HOLD

Story Time Tamil

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2021 15:08

What suggestion did Inspector Naren give to Cheenu? How did they plan to collect funds to build a school? What happened on the last day of the Exhibition? Who were the suspects? Why did Sunil come to see Naren? What did he tell Naren about the suspects?சீனுவுக்கு இன்ஸ்பெக்டர் நரேன் என்ன யோசனை சொன்னார்? பள்ளிக்கூடம் கட்ட நிதியை எப்படி திரட்ட அவர்கள் திட்டமிட்டார்கள்? பொருட்காட்சியின் கடைசி நாள் என்ன நடந்தது? சந்தேகப் பட்டியலில் யார் இருந்தார்கள்? சுனில் நரேனை பார்க்க ஏன் வந்தான்? யாரை தீவிரமாக விசாரிக்கச் சொல்லி நரேனிடம் அவன் சொன்னான்?Youtube Story Link: https://youtu.be/Nt2tAvD_r-M You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the new and improved IVM Podcast App on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/iosYou can check out our website at http://www.ivmpodcasts.com

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Asketic Podcast #17 Germans Ermičs — Between Design, Art & Business

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2021 24:58

This time our guest is designer Germans Ermičs. We talk about borders between art and design, and business side of design practice.M: Glad to see you in such form after 11 years. Our previous video interview was 11 years ago. We had the “Naked Conversations”, and there are few things that will be interesting to look back on. Back then you were strictly a graphic designer. You made the layout for Veto Magazine. When I think about you, what jumps out to me is what has happened in your work and career during the past eleven years since we last spoke. You worked in one design branch and now you work in another design branch which is borderline art and architecture. How do you look at your decade? How has it changed you in the design sense? How did you see it then and how do you see the design now? G: Ten years ago I had just graduated from the Design Academy. I tried to find myself and understand what I like, what I'm capable of and what direction should I take. Even back then I said that I want to step away from graphic design in order to apply what I learned in the Design Academy, work with materials and forms, think about interior, design objects etc... That was still at fantasy level, none of it was actualized since it was the very beginning. Back then I said it out loud, while still not quite believing and seeing it. After Riga, I went back to Amsterdam to work at various design studious to get a sense of how business is built, how to work with clients, since all my previous experience was very local and among friends, it concerned small orders and graphic design. I had no experience with being within a structure. It was very important, so that in three years I could leave and create my own studio. At that moment you take a huge risk, cut off everything and start to focus on what you'd like to do, without really knowing what that is. It was a really cool moment of uncertainty. I was stuck between several directions, and what helped me was the Design Academy network and being in Netherlands, because I studied there, and I was drawn in by the community, where I still remain now.M: What do you think about the comment that your latest work is a zone between several branches – art, design and architecture? What is design and art to you and where do you see yourself in all that?G: As I said, at the beginning I was stuck between several directions. I tried to understand if I could be an industrial designer and work with companies, create products and be technical. At that moment all directions were still a possibility, however my skills were limited. I learned that my strengths are working with materials and conceptual project planning that are borderline art, design, installations. It's a separate niche, a whole market that exists between art and design – sculptural design. Designers and artists work with relatively industrial objects and furniture, but they are created as unique and sculptural objects, which I find very interesting, because it allows you to find your signature style and material and express yourself. They are usable objects, but they serve as decoration next to works of art. The niche that I work in is very interesting to me, it allows me to freely work in various scales. It can be a small object, an installation. You just adapt it to your signature and type of work. It also creates a demand for you. New projects, new challenges that enable you to grow. For example, if I create something small, I'm often struck by what kind of people are attracted by that. When working with architects or interior designers, you get involved in projects and provided with new contexts. In that sense, the work that I do daily varies quite a lot. All the things you mentioned – architecture, interior design or object design, it mostly applies to how I work with materials.M: It means that the difference between industrial design and your design work is that the product is not mass produced.G: Yes, they mostly are limited-amount objects, gallery objects come in limited amount of eight or twelve. It depends on the object. But mostly they exist as unique objects. It can be a site-specific installation or something really unique, specially made for a specific project or client.M: It means that the design object you create cannot be purchased in physical or online shops, but you can buy it in a gallery, or you can order it as a special piece of art.G: Yes, I work with galleries and architects in specific projects, and I cooperate with brands in projects of various scale. Those are not easily accessible products, but the internet is huge and people find you in the most interesting ways, starting from Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram etc. By the way, it's an interesting moment – the way people stumble upon your work, how they initiate communication with you.M: What are some of the most interesting situations?G: Back in 2015, I wasn't using Instagram professionally, but I used it to show my friends where I am and what I eat. There was a work that I was showing in Milan, and people from New York Times had taken a photo and posted it in one of their design pages. That same day I got a call from a designer in New York, and she asked me how much my works cost. I was like, how do you know what I'm showing here and how did you find me? I just couldn't believe that it could happen so fast. It was the very beginning and that's when I understood it really works that way. I believe in physical contact between people and communication, when you are present, you meet people and create a relationship of sorts. It doesn't happen quickly and it's how I have made the most interesting contacts, by being there and showing my work, by contacting people year after year, by meeting in various events. The design and art scene isn't very big, it consists of the same events in the calendar, people only travel and meet. I definitely advise new designers to try to break out of the internet and the borders of their country.M: As a standard, you would think design is something where you have a client or a task, but art is your self-expression based on your own initiative. Like you said, you work in-between these two things. Can you tell me about your process, where you begin with your own initiative, which more resembles art, but also involves a client? How do you set your boundaries regarding what is design and what is art?G: For about a year there has been a momentum where you just work according to the developed formula or ideas. Or there are people who come to you with specific requests or they want to develop something with you. At the very beginning, you, of course, don't have a problem to solve, in the best case scenario you can create a problem and then try to solve it. That was the interesting moment when I began to work, you invent something and you have no idea if anyone will be interested in it. Whether after the exhibition you will be broke and looking for a job or you'll be able to continue and survive until the next year. I got very lucky after the first year, when in 2015 I showed my first collection in Milan. That's when I thought that either everything is about to happen or I will come home and look for a job. At that moment you start with a clean idea and materials in order to introduce yourself.M: You said that after the studies you were interested how business is built in the design sector where there are design studios with individual models. Can you outline the business model in your situation? In art there's one way how art is monetized. In standard studios you fulfil incoming orders. Your work consists partially of your own initiative, where you develop new ideas, create demand and then get orders. How do you structurize the creative side of business?G: At the very beginning, when I started my design practice, I made several important decisions. One of these decisions was that I will focus only on the design work. In Netherlands it's a common practice that many designers are also the craftsmen, they find unique material compositions and forms, they work, they produce, they have people who make these things. I made a decision that I don't want to do that. Not because I found it difficult or bad, but I just understood that I would rather focus solely on the design work and look for manufacturers and craftsmen to cooperate with in the execution of these orders. When it comes to business, the set-up is as follows: you have collections that are given to galleries and presented. That part is sold and exhibited and it's an investment that the gallery makes. There are daily tasks. Since the material I work with is quite unique, I have the opportunity to use it very diversely. We have more simple money jobs and then we have gallery jobs. It's a balance between these two things, which allows me to invest in the works I create on my own initiative, where you just invest and see if it works. It works well for PR. At the end of the day, you only have as many hours as you have. You can't do everything. You want to have an interesting job. It's not always about money, but it's essential that you're able to support your business.M: What do you do from the creative business side in order to be sure that after two, three years someone will come and invite you to collaborate on a project?G: Well said about the two, three years. It always takes quite a lot of time. You create something that seems interesting to you and maybe to someone else, then usually comes a media wave, Instagram explodes, but the monetization doesn't happen so fast. I experienced it in 2017 with the first chair I made. The media coverage was great, but the projects, the selling and buying doesn't just happen – you have to work hard on that. You mentioned exhibitions, I've always thought it's essential that people meet you and see your work. I've also always paid attention to having excellent photos that you can show on media and internet. At the end your work mostly exists on the internet. Exhibitions take place for a month, two months. The exhibition is seen by a few hundred people, but the rest will exist on the internet, and I think it's very important. I try to actively participate in exhibitions. Of course, there have been much less of those for almost two years. I work with media. Every now and then I try to create new projects. It's important to surface now and then and show you're still there. As with the romantic idea of being a designer and managing a studio, your daily work actually involves sitting down while you write e-mails and call people, and that's the truth. And then there a few hours at the evening when you can draw and think with a clear head about some cool ideas. It's mostly a communication that you continue to initiate, develop and renew in all sorts of ways.M: You are currently trying to get into a new material, into new branches. One way would be to start working with glass, get really deep into that and become a great expert in respect of one material, however you have now chosen to take up a completely new material and evolve yourself with this one and then the next one. What is your thinking behind this diversification of materials instead of getting deep into one material?G: I have gone quite far with glass and I still find it interesting, surprising and challenging. Things will always differ from project to project, but I have always stressed that I'm not a glass designer or artist, it's a phase that I'm currently working in. I'm mostly interested in colour; work with colour as an idea, as a form. Now, getting into natural stone, I'm interested in the natural pattern of stone and the tangible texture I can create. In general, the idea is exactly the same as with colour. The colour is what we see spread out flat or on the screen and I work towards proving the colour with form in clear glass. Now I'm thinking about marble, which is always smooth, perfectly polished. How to accentuate the natural beauty with texture. It's once again turning 2D into 3D.M: You mentioned the chair you created in 2017, right?G: Yes.M: It has physically appeared in one or two exhibitions, and then it's in a few photos you have taken. The photo of the chair is more alive than the actual chair. More people have sat in it with eyes than sat physically. It's interesting how important one photo can be, and it resonates for so many years and to more people than the physical product.G: It was a major surprise to me. Of course, I made sure from the start that there's a good photo. The photo itself takes work. My chair being there is one thing, but it's not the chair – it's a photo. Without knowing these things and the possible effect, we did everything in good conscience. I'm still very surprised at how much power is held in one photo that is still in rotation, keeps getting published. It already has been published numerous times, yet every month I still get press kit requests for publishing in this and that magazine.M: Your chair was recently purchased by the Museum of Decorative Arts and Design of Latvia, which basically is a small, but significant moment in the sense that it has become an icon in the context of Latvia and bridges the gap between design and art, by receiving recognition from the local art. It's cool even though we're a small country. What do you think about your starting point being Latvia? Now you live in Amsterdam, you mostly work in Amsterdam. What does it mean to your contact network and clients that you're from Riga or Amsterdam? Do you feel it resonating when you tell about where you have come from?G: At least in my case, at the moment it's not important where you are from. Where you live now is what might help you, if you are closer to things. The art and design radar not always reaches us, but if you're in Amsterdam, you're in the centre of things. It's not a megapolis, but still is an easily reachable and understandable place. If I were in Riga, I might think it's too unattainable. It's not just about Latvia. My Finnish friend, who is a great photographer that I work with, also thinks that if he were in Finland, he would be unreachable for jobs and contacts in Europe and that he would be just too far physically.M: What I really like about your niche in-between design and art is that this branch pushes you to package your art. If we consider your chair as a piece of art, and you have called yourself an artist in interviews. It pushes you to package the art professionally, making it understandable and readable to the audience.G: It mostly pushes you to communicate differently. You're aware of your audience, who is interested in you, who is your buyer, where will the contact take place. It makes you think about how you will communicate. I see it changing rapidly. When I graduated from school we understood nothing, we were just glad to finish school and have the final exhibition. Years later I attend the same graduate exhibition and they all have a professional set-up. They are ready to talk to the media. They have an Instagram account for their project, a special website. They have prepared so many things that I became aware of only years later. That is changing. Maybe it's a generational thing. I definitely wasn't like that when I finished school, and now I'm amazed by how evolved the modern youth is.Germans Ermičshttp://germansermics.com/Subscribe to Asketic Podcast on:Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/73QSMYK46NHoHCytJYYmPZ?si=Mw4ZLISUSoueh9Es1pCLUgApple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/asketic-podcast/id1496922775YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdekksSROS4PCxRV7aqT3QGoogle Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2Fza2V0aWMtcG9kY2FzdA--Asketic design & branding:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asketicstudio/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asketic/WWW: http://asketic.com/

96 - In-house vs. Outsourced

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2021 47:33

00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Martin is Grumpy 04:30 - KB Stroy about Client & Outsourcing 05:30 - 2 Types of Outsourcing 06:50 - When to use subs - Examples and Reasons 09:45 - What happens if you don't outsource? 10:30 - Advantages and Disadvantages of Outsourcing 13:00 - Advantages and Disadvantages of In-House 14:30 - Inside Outsourcing 17:00 - Starting a Business - Stay in Your Lane 22:00 - What to consider when choosing who to outsource 24:30 - OSSHA 300 Form (Where is your audience?) 31:00 - Contracting is tough 31:15 - Look at your org chart - What do you need? 36:00 - Outsourcing gives you an outside perspective 37:00 - Getting started → Advisors and Mentors Checklist 39:30 - Strength Finders 44:00 - Specialize at What You Are Best at 46:30 - Closing Remarks Quotable Moments “Get your capacity and your sales up with outsourcing.” – K “One of the main advantages of outsourcing is that you don't have to hire people. A disadvantage is that you won't have control like you would with an in-house employee.” – M “You're better served to focus on what you're good at and to stay in your lane.” – K “When you're deciding to choose an outsourced partner, you still need to keep in mind how they will fit in with your company and team.” – K “Look at your org chart and start to think about your role and the hats you're wearing - take a step back and think about if someone else on your team should be doing these tasks.” – K “List of potential roles and responsibilities that can be outsourced: bookkeeping, taxes, banking, attorney, HR, marketing, safety, training, and systems.” – K “When outsourcing, you're getting an outside perspective that will notice things you won't.” – K Resources Advisor & Mentor Checklist Check us out on Youtube Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Countdown Have questions? Email us! More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

91 - Protecting What You Build with Eric Daffern

business marketing story management profit protecting construction mechanics cashflow contractors sop gcs kyou m you

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2021 78:36

Who is Eric Daffern? Why did he go into law? (1:50) There are two main risks in real estate and contracting: the risk of getting sued, and the risk of not getting paid. (5:30) Story of the Show — The perfect construction contract and project suddenly went wrong because of the pandemic. (12:20) Why are systems so essential for contractors? (14:15) Why don't more contractors have relationships with an attorney? (17:20) 99% of the time, everything's gonna work out. How do you protect against that 1% where the bottom falls out? (20:27) What's the most important tool you can use to make sure you get paid and stay out of court? (22:00) What's a contract system? (22:40) What's a contract addendum, and how does it give subcontractors power in a negotiation? (24:40) How do large GCs react to subs trying to negotiate? Do subcontractors even stand a chance against them? (27:30) Do you need to pay an attorney to review every contract? (30:20) What are some other systems contractors need? (33:15) Can you still do work on a handshake? (35:50) Systems add value ($$$) to your business. (40:00) Mechanic lien systems — Don't ignore your superpower! (40:45) Why do you need HR systems? (46:30) Your team can work closely together to make sure that your business is protected. (48:10) How can early incident management systems protect you and your employees? (49:10) How can you be a good consumer and choose the right attorney? (55:00) Mount Rushmore — Lawyer Jokes edition (59:40) Listen to see which joke was Eric's favorite! Quote of the day — “Knowledge is power.” (1:02:40) Something you can actually go do (1:06:10) Closing the story — Remember that this was the PERFECT job. Everything went right, until the last payment. Luckily, we had already worked with the client to create a mechanic lien system. Unfortunately, we had to file a mechanic lien, but my client was able to get paid and still maintain a good relationship with his client. (1:09:50) Intern Insights with Ethan — Can Ethan sum up in 60 seconds or less what it took the other guys over an hour to explain? (1:13:14) Quotable Moments “The earlier you find a problem, the cheaper the resolution is.” — M “If you will focus on a team around you and invest in your team, then you can have that team help you make money as well. There's no difference between having a screwdriver, a hammer, or whatever in your craft, and having a lawyer, an accountant, and a banker on the business side of it.” — Eric “The number one reason people leave an employment position is unclear expectations ... Systems define the expectations against which people are measured so you can go and do those things.” — M “You're not going to be the expert in everything. You have to hire and trust other people. It's going to make you better.” — K “You have the choice of doing nothing or the choice of doing something.” — Eric Mount RushmoreListen to our best lawyer jokes at 59:40!Resources Contract Addendum Checklist Mechanic Lien System Survey Early Incident Management Checklist Questions to Ask an Attorney Daffern Law Firm newsletter sign-up Visit daffernlawfirm.com for more from Eric Daffern More from Martin www.annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil www.benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Subscribe to Our Newsletter Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation We'd Love Your Feedback www.thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

Asketic Podcast #15 Rihards Pīks — Million Dollar Design Side Gig

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2021 24:49

M: Thanks for coming! I've wanted to invite you for a while. Your first start-up GrafoMap and what you did with it seemed very interesting to me.R: It's actually not my first one. It's the first that succeeded.M: We could actually start there. Tell me which was it and why it didn't succeed.R: You might know, I previously lived in China for 7 years. I wouldn't call it a start-up, but me and Mārtiņš, the other co-founder of GrafoMap, used to ship pearls from China to Latvia and sell them. The product was really uncharacteristic for us, but we wanted to take advantage of me being in China and find something that doesn't have the vibe of cheap, Chinese goods and could sell for a high price in Latvia. So, we shipped pearls to Latvia. It didn't go very well. We had no experience. We sold them manually, by going to shops and offering them for distribution. We attempted to create an online shop, but we had no idea how to do it. I think we would have succeeded with the knowledge we have today. It all went off in smoke. I was still in China for a while and there was an opportunity to create a shoe business. There was a Chinese platform where you could design shoes with an online tool, and they would produce it. They have this unique production method, where they print the canvas before assembling the shoe, so it allows you to put any picture on it, and they assemble and deliver it. But the quality was lacking, the delivery was hard and long. I had drawn up the revenue model in Excel, but my expectations were too positive, and that too went off in smoke. Those were my two unsuccessful businesses. We learned some lessons, but it all fizzled out.M: And then you and your partners created GrafoMap, and you managed to successfully grow and sell it. And now you have a new start-up.R: Yes.M: But previously you worked in an investment office.R: Yes, in-between I managed to work in a risk capital fund, IT Capital. It's a Russian fund that invests 1 to 5 million. Not a seed capital, but series A. It was a very good experience, because I had the opportunity to work with series A investment rounds that involve successful companies. Not just dream projects, but companies with real revenue, with a real model that works. The only issue was how to blow them up even more, so that they work even better. It was a super-exclusive MBA program where you go through all these cases and learn.M: Your start-up was progressing concurrently with your main job. You didn't go all in, it remained in the background. How were you able to divide your time between your main job and this new idea that requires focus in order to be driven forward? That's the first question. And the second one is, if we could look at the things that as you mentioned didn't work, what were those pivotal moments that allowed the company to start growing into what it became.R: It wasn't easy to combine those things, but I also had a lot of time. Back then I had no girlfriend, no relationships, so I had all this time. I just had to sleep and continue working the next day. With GrafoMap we were moving towards automatization. The product was posters, but it had a print-on-demand delivery model. Our shop was affiliated with a supplier who executed all that. That saves an enormous amount of time, allowing you to focus on growth. The roles were also divided very well; everyone was clear on what they had to do. I was focused on Facebook and Instagram ads, content creation and conversion optimisation. We basically had to step on all of the rakes, try out all the things that don't work.M: Can you tell me about those rakes that don't work?R: What didn't work for us, I don't want to say anything bad, but we tried out about five agencies that were willing to help us with marketing and sales. Nothing of that worked. It consumed a lot of time, because we had our hopes up. And, while we worked together and the on-boarding took place, we ourselves weren't actively working in that direction. We thought that the sales agency will join in and handle everything for us. Now of course it's hard to imagine in which agency anybody would be willing to dedicate so much effort to one of probably ten client accounts. The other thing that changed a lot for us… We had a revenue model, an Excel table, all the formulas were put in, all variables, etc. And we entered all data monthly and kept tabs on that. But it was a tool that we used to look at the previous months and see the pluses and minuses. And then we got a bit more serious and tried to zoom out of our business and see what's important and what we should focus on. The average cart value and conversion percent – how many people out of 100 make the purchase. Those were the two main quantities. The revenue model made us focus on that and set some goals. Then we practically went back to our webpage offer and considered how we could change something to improve the conversion and improve the cart value. We started to do various bundle offers. Adding another poster to the tube cost us nothing in regards to shipping, therefor we started to do “buy two, get the third one free” offers, and that helped us improve the numbers. In the end the contribution margin was positive, which means that we earn from each sold unit before deducting the operating costs. When the contribution margin is positive, we just have to scale everything in order to surpass the operating costs and have a balance that provides a positive profit. And that's what we did. The moment we understood that one unit is starting to create a positive value, we started to push ads and scale it.M: You were three, four people in GrafoMap.R: Mhm.M: And you managed to get from the initial idea, when you hustled and had to borrow money, to a point of having a turnover of above one million when you successfully sold the company. How did you do it with such a small team of three to four people, how did you create a business with an annual turnover exceeding one million?R: Our goal when we started to create a poster business instead of something else was that we wanted to create a lean business model, so that we wouldn't put on weight, stay away from not only unnecessary operating costs, but also management. It takes a lot of time to manage all these processes if you have a lot of employees, etc. And on the product side we wanted to use the print-on-demand method, because we didn't want to mess around with products and order fulfilment. We wanted to design them, but we didn't want to produce them. We think it was the only way we could have scaled the business with the resources and knowledge we had back then and achieve good sales results. This philosophy also runs thought the team composition. The main core consisted of three people. I was responsible for marketing, Mārtiņš took care of finances and operations, and the programmer did the programming, of course. Whenever we needed we did outsourcing, for photography, web design. For social media management we had a girl from Romania, I have never met her in real life, but we worked together for four years, had weekly calls. She did a great job with managing all social media and influencer campaigns for us. I just called her once a week, and she told me how everything was going in 5 minutes and that everything was okay. She managed everything superbly. The process was polished so well that you didn't need to change much. That was our goal and we gradually achieved it.M: What do you think is the main thing that should be paid attention to when you're actually doing it, like scaling from one dollar to ten thousand, so that you earn the invested money back instead of losing it. What's your advice to somebody just starting out?R: In our product niche, that's a direct-to-consumer product, a very visual, decorative product. For us photos very incredibly important, like webpage design and photos. We had to show that we are selling a product of very high quality and that it justifies its cost. The perceived value had to be equal or higher than the product price. That's the first. The second is social proof. You have to show that your product is not a lonely page on the internet that nobody's interested in, you have to create a feeling that it's highly demanded and recognized, valued. You can do it in several ways. What we had from the start, on the page under the first fold we displayed all press mentions. We collected them gradually. We started with simple “featured on Product Hunt”, where we posted ourselves and it counted as being featured, like they had written about us. We put some niches and media there, at the end we got articles from Business Insider, CNN, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan, a full row of the loudest media. We put in logos of places that have featured us, and that leaves an impression. It might be true or not, but it leaves an impression. That gives you the stamp of quality. Somebody writing about you doesn't mean anything, but it works on a psychological level. The next social proof we had… you have to show up on several places and give people a sense of security. The next thing we did, we showed our Instagram feed on a page with all the influencers who have posted pictures with our poster. It featured very beautiful pictures, a lifestyle, beautiful Scandinavian décor with our posters, and smiling people. And above the feed it read “The proud owners of our posters”. It didn't say that they were influencers; we also didn't say that they are our clients. But if you come to our page, it creates a feeling that they are our super-loyal clients who are so happy with our posters that they take pictures with them and post them on the internet.M: I think that for many people here, in this small spot on the world map called Latvia, have the goal to make it in the foreign press. Instead of local media, how did you manage to get in the world class media? How did you package yourselves to seem interesting for them to write about?R: It was clear for us from the start that we should target the USA market. It's an English-speaking market, a single market, more than 300 million people. Europe also has a lot of purchasing power, but the market is very fragmented. In Germany you need German, in France you need French. So we targeted the USA. How did we get in these media? First of all, we had an interesting product, something new, unseen. It was to create a map of your design and receive a poster. That was cool. Somebody wrote us right after the post about us on Product Hunt. And anyone can get there with their product, but if you get enough “Up” votes, you start to get noticed by the smaller, niche influencers, and they write about you, whereas lifestyle writers follow these niche influencers. And that's how we got picked up by Dwell magazine, a top interior and décor media at the global level.M: You basically founded GrafoMap, scaled it from zero to a turnover of more than one million euros, and sold it. Did you take a break afterwards or did you already have an idea in your pocket for when you have free time to think about it?R: We should have taken a break, but I guess we're workaholics. Even before we sold it, we had already bought a domain and had started to program our next business. I actually had a notebook with future ideas. I had been collecting ideas for several years, written them down. We had various criteria for what we want to do, what we don't. Then we put everything in an Excel table, had a discussion, we considered which idea satisfies all these criteria and then chose one.M: Can you tell me about your criteria and thought process for selecting the ideas? How do you evaluate them, what's your decision journal?R: The criteria develop from the lessons learned, from the whole GrafoMap story. I think that, by reaching a turnover of more than one million euros, we exhausted ourselves almost to the max in this business model. Then we thought about why that happened and the main lessons. It created criteria for the next business. One example, customer acquisition made up a large part of our product costs. The money you had to spend to get one client. For us it was 20-25 dollars on average that you had to spend on marketing ads to sell one poster. One criterion was to have an organic customer flow. We don't want to spend money on each visitor anymore, on each potential buyer. The other main criterion was to have repeated purchases. Okay, we spend those 20-25 dollars on one client, but then he doesn't buy anything again. The customer acquisition costs could be higher, they are higher for a lot of businesses. About 100 or 200 dollars, even if the first purchase is around 50 dollars. And they do it because they know that the lifetime value is much larger. The client will return again and again. That's a great lesson, to have a product or a service that people constantly return to. Now, our new start-up Supliful is in the dietary supplement market, which is an enormous industry, 40 billion in the USA alone. It's relatively undeveloped in the online environment, the boom is just beginning. We thought that was interesting. Business model is actually the same, the Printful business model, but in different market. This business model has proven itself, we see how it develops.M: Can you tell me about your approach? You had an idea, and what were the first tests to validate your idea?R: You create a webpage as it should be. You present your product, set a price, put in a “checkout” button, and let people go and buy it. When someone pushes the “buy” button, you can provide a pop-up message saying “sorry, this product is out of stock”. Write that it's so good that it sells out really quickly, or think of anything else. But that's it, you have analytics and you see how many people actually push that button. You can make conclusions on whether people are willing to buy.M: One thing that's common to both of your start-ups is the design and visuals. In case of GrafoMap you sold design maps, designed by people themselves, so you sold an added value.R: Instead of showing digital mock-ups of how that product will look, it was important to show how the poster would look in interior design. We didn't just sell them a poster; it just embodied the idea. We sold them the aesthetics. Scandinavian, modern interior aesthetics. Now, with Supliful, we have a white label product that we offer to people. A white label dietary supplement that we offer to them for branding. We have products for various niches, but when a person sees a white product, it doesn't inspire fantasy on how it could look like. That's why we created an image gallery of imaginary brands, beautiful examples of how a dietary supplement brand could look like for gamers, for yoga instructors, etc. We create the vision for them, the visuals.M: At Supliful you work mostly in marketing, right?R: Yes.M: What are your personal marketing pillars that you base your way of thinking and work on?R: First of all, people come to your page and consider your product and service because they lack something or they think they lack something. It's important to tell the visitor what that is. What is the thing that's missing in your current state. Then you show where you could be. Everything that's in-between is me as a service. I offer to get you there, and this is how we'll do it. Giving the message is what's most important.M: Super! Thanks, Rihards! I find it very interesting, that you, coming from the analytics side, have added the marketing side, and then the companies you create are largely connected to the way you sell design or smaller brands that you help create in case of Supliful. That these things can be combined and that you need both of these sides, like you said, that you have to sell the space, the interior or the vision of where you want to end up, and at the same time you can't forget the practical, tactical things needed for arranging your webpage and systems, and that's a combination of both of these things. You need the consistency and clarity.Rihards Pīks:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rihardspiks/?originalSubdomain=lv--Subscribe to Asketic Podcast on:Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/73QSMYK46NHoHCytJYYmPZ?si=Mw4ZLISUSoueh9Es1pCLUgApple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/asketic-podcast/id1496922775YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdekksSROS4PCxRV7aqT3QGoogle Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2Fza2V0aWMtcG9kY2FzdA--Asketic design & branding:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asketicstudio/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asketic/WWW: http://asketic.com/

71 - Surprise!

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2021 9:32

The history of the word. (0:30) Real examples from my experience. (1:20) 1099 contractors vs W2 employees. (3:30) How to avoid this. (6:30) Quotable Moments “The penalty for [my client] filing his employees as 1099 instead of full-time [W2] could easily exceed $100,000 in the state of Texas.” – M “An acquaintance of mine took the advice of a website and is currently in a legal dispute with a previous partner. The total cost is $15,000 for legal fees.” – M “You're very likely really good at what you do but you're just as likely to not be an expert in other critical areas of business…. these areas can be landmines that can blow up your business.” – M “Some misjudgements can just be painful, some can be annoying, and some can be catastrophic.” – M “At minimum, to avoid this, you need a CPA, an insurance agent, a banker, an attorney, an IT professional. Spend the money.” – M “You can pay me now, or you can pay me later.” – M Resources Check us out on Youtube Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Subscribe to our newsletter, The Countdown Have questions? Email us! More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

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70 - When You Know They Need To Go

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Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2021 39:03

Why people hate to fire employees. (6:14) How do you keep track of employee performance? (9:03) Delegation vs. Abdication. (10:46) Change your business with a scrum. (10:23) How can I help you vs. I need this from you. (12:43) Checklist of signs that they need to go. (18:11) Fire fast. Don't prolong your agony. (29:12) Quotable Moments "It's oftentimes not the employees that you fire that cause chaos and headache for you, but it's the ones that you don't fire." — K "The true gratification in life comes from accomplishing something. If you're given everything, then you're denied that." — M "You don't have to settle for mediocrity." — M Resources Check us out on Youtube Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Subscribe to our newsletter, The Countdown Have questions? Email us! E061 — The Sword of Damocles When You Know They Need To Go article More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

Asketic Podcast #12 Gatis Zēmanis — Good Design & Great Coffee

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2021 16:31

My guest today is Gatis Zēmanis, co founder of "Kalve Coffee", we are talking about design as a strong component of business from day one.M: Hi, Gatis! Thanks for the coffee which comes from Coffee Roastery KALVE and which has been roasted here, in Riga. You have worked with coffee a lot. Can you tell me a bit about the history? When did you start and how did you end up in coffee?G: Many people have asked “Why coffee? “, and the answer is that this product is important, I like coffee, and it's a very interesting product to work with emotionally and financially, but the connection to coffee most likely are the people from this industry, and what makes this industry cool is its openness and responsiveness on a global level, and it seems that coffee is a massive global business, but while we are on the topic of specialty, you can actually reach any point of the world, farmer or the world's best barista, or a roaster.M: Can you briefly explain what is specialty coffee?G: It differs with quality – there's specialty coffee and there's mainstream coffee. There's an institution called Cup of Excellence who are special certified judges who assess coffee's sensory characteristics and give you points. Specialty coffee means that each bean that's in your package will be free of defects, they will have more or less the same size and gradation, namely, there will be a lot more work put into the coffee to bring out the best of it. Interestingly, if we talk about mainstream coffee… actually the topic of coffee is changing very quickly, and coffee demand globally is growing, and few days ago I had a conversation with a Latvian scientist Ilze Laukalēja who studies coffee and who has research a lot of thing in USA universities, and she had a question from one of the biggest corporate companies of Brazil that produces green coffee about what to do with the mainstream coffee that people need less and less. They found that this coffee has a lot more antioxidants and a lot of good substances, and now there's a big question mark regarding what to do in order to turn this defect into an effect.M: When you started, you were not the first coffee roaster in Riga. I know that historically there have been more than 20 coffee roasteries in Riga, but back when you started there were 2 or 3. When you came up with your offer, what was the essence you put in your brand when you recognized that there's a place for one more roastery and what was the place you hoped to occupy?G: Primarily, me and Raimonds, my partner , saw that we really love the specialty coffee and that we like everything that this specialty coffee offers in the sensory and community sense. And we saw that specialty coffee is not emotionally and financially presented in the way that we see it, that it was more like a niche product. If we would let a coffee drinker, who drinks Italian coffee, try a specialty coffee, he would think it's bitter and expensive etc., so our goal was to make this specialty coffee emotionally and financially available.M: I know that your brand has many values that you strictly adhere to, one that you mentioned was availability, price. Are there any other values that you identified from the beginning and that you considered as the pillars of your brand?G: We really put in a lot of work in the beginning in order to create a navigation map for us that's based on these pillars – core values. One of them is availability, and it doesn't only mean price availability… speciality coffee doesn't have to cost 50 euros per kilo, it can just as well cost 25 euros per kilo. Or availability of taste, when it doesn't mean that this coffee has a particular, bitter, fruity taste that's not acceptable to an Italian. We are able to create an expresso blend that's specialty, but which is accepted by both an Italian and a specialty coffee drinker. The second value, which is absolutely essential and nowadays topical for almost every company, is sustainability. Sustainable design, sustainable thinking within the company, sustainable delivery or packaging.M: One of the things that separates you from most of the companies, is that you had a strong emphasis on a high quality brand design from day one. There are a lot of beautiful brands, but there are few brands where this has been addressed from the beginning. You are one of the rare companies that has a designer within its founding team. Such brands are not many, Madara Cosmetics is one of the examples and you are also one of such companies that has a designer at hand from day one, and that is obvious. What was the decision on your part when you understood that this is an aspect that is worth paying attention to?G: It was most likely an unconscious choice and coincidence. It was clear that we wanted this to be a high-quality brand not only in the terms of contents, but also regarding design. It had to look really good. Our ambitions were high enough that we saw this coffee brand not in the context of Latvia or the Baltics, but in the context of Europe. Destiny brought us together with this one guy Jānis Andersons, and at the very beginning we had decided that we would not attract investors just so we could sustain the ability to manoeuvre and freely make decisions. So, when we met Jānis and started talking, we understood that we can't afford to pay him for the whole brand development, marketing strategy etc., and through conversations we came to a conclusion that maybe we should be partners.M: You mentioned brand culture and that you had a common understanding about how the company should be created. I know that you work a lot with the internal culture. Maybe you could tell me about your approach to the invisible parts that we don't see on the shelves, but that you work a lot on.G: In reality it's very simple. In the company internally it's important to know the rules of the game for all stages, for example, what do I expect from my partner, what I expect from a colleague, how we as a company want to communicate outwards and how we explain that to baristas. We have invested a lot of time and work in various internal materials, one of them is “The Handbook of Kalve's Values”, where we have stipulated various things, for example, how the brand communicates with a person, the brand being the product and me as a company representative, and the barista, and any product we choose to sell in addition to coffee. How the brand communicates with environment. How we as people should communicate with our clients, our partners, our friends etc. And the other material, which is very good and serves as a bible that should from time to time be read by everyone within the company, is “Ethical Guidelines”. It includes various situations where we have described how we want our clients to be communicated with.M: It think it's very cool that you have done that. Your company is young, and such things often are done only when you are starting to drown, when the company has grown and you realize that you can no longer hold the team in line. You have done it at the very beginning, by writing down your principles as a founder, so afterwards it's easier to scale them and grow bigger. You mentioned the easier route… I have one more question about this topic. Even though you're not a tech start-up, you are trying to implement many things from this field in your daily life. You mentioned KPI, you have talked about the Lean methodology, which normally is language used by tech start-ups. Tell me how you implement it in your daily life and what it means to you.G: A person close to me keeps saying that you should develop a lazy person within yourself, which means you have to arrange your work environment and all systems in a way that actually makes you effective, so that you save time, you save money and resources etc. Lean methodology is one of the methods used in production; I don't think you have to look up what it is. And KPI is a method that helps you find the weak links and work on them.M: A while after founding the roastery, you opened your first coffee shop on Stabu Street. What was the idea behind this coffee shop? Was it marketing? What was the idea then and what is it now?G: If I'm being honest, the expectations weren't great. We knew we wanted to open a cool coffee shop where we ourselves would like to work. The idea was to show how we see a modern, worldly, high-quality, easily accessible café. This is the easiest way to receive feedback from the client, because it's not only a café, but also a store. The barista is able to talk to people, ask what they liked and what they didn't, understand how many people return, how many come once and don't return. It's a platform on which we can measure many different things with our product.M: You talked about things that shouldn't be rushed. You even started your company gradually and deliberately. You said there were no big investments. If I'm correct, you started with a 60 000 starting capital, which isn't a lot for a producing company. There were no big investments from the outside, which means slower growth, but that was a deliberate decision.G: You can quite easily attract certain investments to such a concept as ours, but the question is whether you should. Big investments quite often put you in a losing position, and you lose certain ability to manoeuvre. Whereas, if you grow more slowly, you are able to adapt to the market. If we had invested thrice as much money, would we be able to pay all of it now? Most likely not. Everything has to happen little by little.M: At the beginning of our conversation you mentioned sustainability as one of the main pillars you based your company on. You see that there is a demand for these things, people are willing to pay a little more for a sustainable product.G: Quite often, if you want to change something in your life so that it's in line with the sustainability principles, it most likely requires some changes, and people are lazy when it comes to that. On our part, we actually created a system regarding packaging that works really well, it was really important for us that this packaging differs from anything else on the market and that we combine it with certain sustainability principles. For example, if we look at standard coffee packaging - it's produced from two materials, therefore it doesn't comply with sustainability principles. There are two materials, you can't separate the waste, it means you can't produce it from recycled plastics, so we ended up with this can. A lot of people use the opportunity to refill these packages. The idea is that if you buy a can at our store and pay 10 euros, you can come back and refill it for 6 euros. The idea was not to increase the price so that this sustainable product gets going, but the opposite. We need to create a system based on sustainability principles that makes it easier for people to change their habits. They see they can save 4 euros, which, considering their consumption, would be around 100 euros per year, so they do it. The design-based thinking is not only reflected in the product, but in our every step – how we choose premises, how we furnish the bathroom so that moms can change their babies etc. I think that what separates successful people or companies from less successful ones is decision-making, how successful you are at making certain decisions at a certain time. If we talk about design… my side of the company is the business management side, Raimonds oversees the coffee where I don't even intervene, and Jānis oversees the design side, not only the product, but a wider, strategic design. But when it comes to big, important decisions, we make them together, not separately. I think it's the right way to make a better decision.M: How do people see this small coffee roastery from an even smaller country that's not Italy and is not known for coffee? What's the reaction when such good coffee suddenly comes from this world region?G: I think it's important to set very high goals, set a high bar at the very beginning. Big ambitions in a good sense, but then it's important to check whether you can attain them. It's really bad if you have big ambitions that you can't attain, or vice versa - you have the ability that you can't actualize because your ambitions are too low.M: Then I wish you success in actualizing these ambitions step by step and may your every morning start with a good coffee!Gatis Zēmanis:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gatis-zemanis-25836073/?originalSubdomain=lv--Subscribe to Asketic Podcast on:Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/73QSMYK46NHoHCytJYYmPZ?si=Mw4ZLISUSoueh9Es1pCLUgApple Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/lv/podcast/asketic-podcast/id1496922775YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQdekksSROS4PCxRV7aqT3QGoogle Podcasts:https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy50cmFuc2lzdG9yLmZtL2Fza2V0aWMtcG9kY2FzdA--Asketic design & branding:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asketicstudio/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/asketic/WWW: http://asketic.com/

54 - Financial Statements Made Easy - Balance Sheet

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2021 49:45

What is a balance sheet? What questions does it answer for you? (HINT: What you own, what you owe, and what's leftover for me.) (6:27) What accounts are on your balance sheet? (10:50) Let's take a look at the balance sheet at work. (14:24) Balance sheet ratios: What are they, and how can you use them? (21:18) Your balance sheet shows how quickly you turn over your accounts receivable, and knowing that can help free up a LOT of cash. (31:30) Next up: Statement of Cash Flows. BUT you can't effectively use the Statement of Cash Flows if you aren't doing accrual-based accounting. (41:18) Numbers you need to pay attention to in the equity section of your balance sheet. (47:12) Quotable Moments “Contrast makes life rich. You've got to have a bad balance sheet in order to appreciate a good balance sheet later on.” — M “The balance sheet is a snapshot statement. It tells you how you stand at the moment that you produce that balance sheet.” — M “If you think about these Wall Street guys, they all have finance degrees. This is all they focus on, it's a full-time job. And so you've got to find somebody in your corner that can really help you think about these ratios, the health of your balance sheet, and the health of all of your financial statements. It's where you're going to become a better manager, owner, and operator.” — K “The whole point of financial statements is they tell you what the score is. They pinpoint where the problems are and give you ideas of what to do to change it. And then, they show you how your changes are working.” — M “You shouldn't have to do the ratios. Tell your accountant that you want the ratio every Monday morning.” — M “Start building a relationship with a banker if you don't have one. Ask them these questions: What are my ratios? Why am I not a healthy business, in your eyes?” — K “If you're smaller and you're like, “Man, we're just not big enough to where this stuff even matters,” that's NOT true... The smaller you are, the smaller these problems are to fix.” — K Resources Check us out on Youtube Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Subscribe to our newsletter, The Countdown Have questions? Email us! Building a Family Legacy with Michael Barnett The Profit Problem by Martin Holland More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

52 - Financial Statements Made Easy - Profit & Loss Statement

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Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2021 54:41

Overview: What is a P&L? (4:20) 5 questions your financial statements answer that you NEED to know. (7:04) Where did the P&L start? (8:39) Common problems people are experiencing if they have to ask, “Am I making money?” (10:34) If you know you have BAD books, what can you do about it? (13:22) Why you need the right kind of accountant. (PRO TIP: A tax accountant is NOT the one you want keeping your books.) (16:28) What's the difference between a “cost” and an “expense?” (19:53) How should you arrange your P&L to get the most benefit from it? (25:10) What's your breakeven — You've GOTTA know this! (And we have a handy calculator in the show notes to help you figure it out.) (29:15) How categorizing your INCOME can make your business better. (32:51) When you have a GOOD P&L, what can you do with it? (38:40) One Thing You Can Actually Go Do — Use our Breakeven Calculator (50:20) Quotable Moments “Most of the businesses I work with don't know if they made money last month.” — M “You need to know what the score is, and if you don't like it, you need to know what to do about it.” — M “Business owners who want to take their businesses seriously have to have good books.” — M “[P&Ls] allow you to go into the month or year knowing what you need to accomplish. It gives you a target.” — K “Better than looking just month to month is looking quarter to quarter, but also understanding the seasonality of your business... Compare quarter to quarter of the previous year. That'll help you make better decisions.” — K Resources Check us out on Youtube Follow us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Subscribe to our newsletter, The Countdown Have questions? Email us! The Profit Problem by Martin Holland 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers Profit First by Mike Michaelowicz Sample P&L Statement (Correct Format) Sample P&L Statement (Incorrect Format) Breakeven Calculator Price Increase Calculator Discount Calculator Zeal Accounting with Lori Yearwood More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

Couture Week Wrap-Up

Fashion Crimes Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2021 39:05

Nolan dives right into his most recent sales trip, where he found some adorable stuff, including the fashion item that he is most addicted to lately. Also, did anyone else make a New Year's Resolution to be more financially responsible? We divulge how that's going for Nolan. Later, we chat about the phenomenal outfits of Couture Week. Tune in as Nolan reveals how Valentino brought him to tears (it's only the second time he's cried at a fashion show), and we breakdown our favorite looks from Couture Week. Lastly, we explain why Chanel was simply BORING this year and how they committed the ULTIMATE fashion crime. In This Episode: [03:00] All about our most recent sales trip. [06:50] There are all sorts of addictions out there, Nolan has a coat addiction. [12:30] The moment that really changed how Nolan looks at shopping. [21:00] All of Valentino is stunning – we breakdown our favorite looks. [25:00] Nolan explains that couture is not about the clothes; it’s all about the relationships. [28:30] We have a few more couture things to talk about – Chanel was simply terrible, and they committed the ULTIMATE fashion crime. [35:35] Another fashion crime – why are people literally wearing sleeping bags and calling it fashion?! Key Takeaways: Shopping is a vulnerable experience; it’s a very intimate thing. If you don't feel a hundred percent confident when you try something on, it takes a lot of vulnerability to show someone what you look like. If you ever get tired on a shopping trip, you need a glass of champagne at lunch – it will lift you up for the rest of your day shopping. Shopping is a marathon, not a sprint. Take your time, and don’t be afraid to take a break. Couture is about relationships; it’s not necessarily about the clothes. Links Mentioned: Colorful snowsuits and sleeping-bag coats: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/style/wearable-sleeping-bags-snowsuits.html?campaign_id=40&emc=edit_tz_20210122&instance_id=26310&nl=open-thread®i_id=80305386&segment_id=50038&te=1&user_id=f213c109dccf1a006f6c26470573862f Valentino: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2021-couture/valentino Chanel: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2021-couture/chanel Fendi: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2021-couture/fendi Quotes: “I'm going to be in the poor house. Let's be honest; I don't care because I'm going to be well-dressed.” -N.M “You should be able to reach for the stars fashionably.” - H.K.

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The Five Guardians with Mecca Johnson

Child Care Rockstar Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2020 61:24

Mecca Johnson is an incredible and heartfelt speaker, trainer, and founder of the professional development consulting company My Joy Speaks. Her long and very successful career in early childhood education with Primrose Schools plus corporate experience led her to develop The Five Guardians of Life, which she shares in this week’s episode. Mecca and Kris also talk about finding gratitude in times of stress, why a healthy body matters to a positive mindset, and a few of their favorite resources for sharpening your leadership skills. Key Takeaways: [13:50] Mecca found her calling working with kids and, while doing so, recognized a strong need for leadership. Her passion for both education and leadership led her to develop training for educators and directors. [14:05] Mecca discusses the professional and personal gains she got from working with Primrose Schools for 19 years and from her mentor Dr. Mary Zurn. [18:03] Kris and Mecca are both Maxwell Certified, and that also had a big impact on both their leadership today. [18:33] Mecca’s mother is the wittiest and sharpest 97-year-old you will meet. Taking care of her has been a blessing for Mecca, showing her true compassion and patience. Although this pandemic has provided major setbacks for just about everyone, spending more time with her mother has been a blessing. [22:27] Respect the cook at your school! Take it from Mecca, who will be fine if she never cooks scrambled eggs for 400 kids at a time again. [26:38] We need to have just as much respect and dedication to customer service for the teachers as we ask them to have for the parents. [30:47] Tough love doesn’t always mean doing exactly what the people around us want. It means doing what will be best for them in the long run. [33:28] These are the Five Guardians of Life that Mecca developed from her extensive experience of developing and training top directors. Guard Your Mind First. Protect Your Mouth. Protect Your Heart. Choose Gratitude. Guard Your Spirit. [48:05] We can almost always find something to be grateful for. Mecca and Kris share the joy that comes from developing a consistent practice of writing in a gratitude journal. [50:14] Focus on hope. Quotes: “I think I was born with teaching in the blood. I think that’s where I’m happiest and most fulfilled.” — M “When something unusual happens, it brings out the creativity in us.” — M “We either encourage or discourage either other with every word we speak.” — M “You can’t be offended and do everything you’re meant to do.” — M “In every circumstance, choose gratitude.” — M Mentioned in This Episode: Kris Murray The Child Care Success Company The Child Care Success Academy The Child Care Success Summit Kris Murray Challenge - starts December 28th! Hope Rises: Make Your Life, Love & Leadership Soar, by Dr. Randy Ross John Maxwell Minute with Maxwell My Joy Speaks Dr. Mary Zurn Primrose Schools

focus respect tough guardians key takeaways mecca m you

20 - A Strong Foundation with Will Blake

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Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2020 127:51

Who is Will Blake and how did Vesta Foundation Solutions begin? (1:00) What's the difference between a million company and a 70 million dollar company? (6:30) It was a good experience, but stallions just need a bigger field to run in. (9:47) How did he choose Oklahoma as the “right” place to start his business (hint: market research!) (13:17) Don't run away from a competitive market! (17:11) Was it difficult to replicate what he'd done on the east coast when he got to Oklahoma? (20:02) Umm, what in the world is a KPI? (22:19) How did COVID affect their business? (30:04) How much is a lead worth, and where do Will's leads come from? (32:21) The magic of the marketing machine! (38:15) Where to start finding data when you're just starting out. (45:17) How do you develop your vision for your business? (51:08) Marketing as a portfolio. (1:01:19) What's the difference between a customer who buys and one who doesn't? (1:11:30) How do you get your own call center? (1:16:18) Taking a page out of Netflix's books. (1:26:27) Cutting costs and improving efficiency with superhero organization (1:32:18) How often is too often to review your books? (1:43:03) How much time does Will spend on each of the four areas of business? (1:50:30) Mount Rushmore — Yogi Berra Quotes (1:56:34) Something you can actually go do — Where can you start your foundation? (2:01:30) Ethan's Insights — Listen to Ethan try to summarize this epic conversation. (2:03:20) Quotable Moments “Don't run away from a competitive market. Cause if there's competitors, that means there's a need.” — Will “It's a system and a process. It's just the same thing repetitively done and continuing to dial it in and dial it in.” — Will “When you know that phone ringing is $2,200, you're gonna answer it!” — Will “You have to be in different channels because if you're just saying, ‘Hey, I'm going to do marketing in only Home Advisor or only Porch,' you will get disappointed.” — K “The purpose of business is NOT to make sales.” — M “You don't need to sit here and deliberate for weeks about what to do. Just try something. And if you're going to fail, fail fast.” — K Resources E001 The Four Fundamentals of Business Fix This Next by Mike Michaelowicz Profit First by Mike Michaelowicz The Profit Problem by Martin Holland The Highest Calling by Lawrence Janesky Vestafoundationsolutions.com Vesta Foundation Solutions on Facebook Email Will directly at will@vestafs.com More from Martin theprofitproblem.com annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

10 - How Passion Turns Into Opportunity with Antonio Aparicio

business marketing lessons passion opportunities management profit construction plot cashflow surrounding kfc seasonal contractors sop kentucky fried chicken aparicio m you

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2020 100:41

Who is Antonio? (0:58) How Antonio ended up at Kentucky Fried Chicken. (5:00) Lessons he learned at KFC that helped him be a better business owner. (08:18) How a hobby turned into a passion, which turned into an opportunity. (12:45) The door opens to leave KFC. (17:19) How the koi pond business began. (20:00) What's the hardest thing about sales? (27:00) Plot twist: Seasonal work is hard. Antonio had to go back to KFC. (32:00) How did he keep track of customer info, materials, figure out pricing, etc. in the early days? (34:20) Who was his first hire? (41:00) 1996 — His daughter was born and his wife wanted to stay home with her. His income became the only thing they have to live on. (46:10) 1999 — A bombshell hits. (49:50) How creating a great team got him through trying times. (56:40) How did pools enter the business? (59:10) Things are different now... Surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you is always a good thing. (1:04:21) How brand evangelists can transform your business. (1:05:56) How did he figure out how to price a much larger product? (1:10:35) Key business questions — company vision, target market. (1:16:46) What's the key to continuously improving and being more efficient? (1:24:36) Mount Rushmore — Top takeaways about success from this conversation. (1:28:14) Quote of the day — “Surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you is always a good thing,” and “learn from your mistakes, because a mistake is an opportunity to get better.” (1:32:29) Something you can actually go do to understand your customers (1:33:35) Intern Insights with Ethan — Listen to Ethan distill a 90-minute conversation down to 60 seconds. (1:36:11) Quotable Moments “I still don't think of myself as a great salesman. I'm just going to help people get where they want.” — Antonio “Give people a reason other than price to buy from you.” — M “Every journey is going to have bumps... You have to expect those tough times and have the resolve to get through them.” — Antonio “Discomfort can breed growth.” — K “They chose your character and your passion, and they knew even before you that that would translate into a magnificent pool.” — M “You can't have every day be profitable. Our goal is to be profitable at the end of the year.” — Antonio “It's not sales for the sake of sales. It's sales that bring you margins and then, ultimately, at the end of the year bring you a profit.” — M Mount Rushmore Bookkeeping Courage Focus on others (Martin's George Washington) Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you Faith and connection to church (Khalil's George Washington) Constantly strive to learn more Know your customers Grit Resources — Places to connect with Antonio and Aquascape Aquascapeokc.com Houzz Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter More from Martin www.annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil www.benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Subscribe to Our Newsletter Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation We'd Love Your Feedback www.thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

06 - Protecting What You Build with Eric Daffern

business marketing story management profit protecting construction mechanics cashflow contractors sop gcs kyou m you

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 15, 2020 78:36

Who is Eric Daffern? Why did he go into law? (1:50) There are two main risks in real estate and contracting: the risk of getting sued, and the risk of not getting paid. (5:30) Story of the Show — The perfect construction contract and project suddenly went wrong because of the pandemic. (12:20) Why are systems so essential for contractors? (14:15) Why don't more contractors have relationships with an attorney? (17:20) 99% of the time, everything's gonna work out. How do you protect against that 1% where the bottom falls out? (20:27) What's the most important tool you can use to make sure you get paid and stay out of court? (22:00) What's a contract system? (22:40) What's a contract addendum, and how does it give subcontractors power in a negotiation? (24:40) How do large GCs react to subs trying to negotiate? Do subcontractors even stand a chance against them? (27:30) Do you need to pay an attorney to review every contract? (30:20) What are some other systems contractors need? (33:15) Can you still do work on a handshake? (35:50) Systems add value ($$$) to your business. (40:00) Mechanic lien systems — Don't ignore your superpower! (40:45) Why do you need HR systems? (46:30) Your team can work closely together to make sure that your business is protected. (48:10) How can early incident management systems protect you and your employees? (49:10) How can you be a good consumer and choose the right attorney? (55:00) Mount Rushmore — Lawyer Jokes edition (59:40) Listen to see which joke was Eric's favorite! Quote of the day — “Knowledge is power.” (1:02:40) Something you can actually go do (1:06:10) Closing the story — Remember that this was the PERFECT job. Everything went right, until the last payment. Luckily, we had already worked with the client to create a mechanic lien system. Unfortunately, we had to file a mechanic lien, but my client was able to get paid and still maintain a good relationship with his client. (1:09:50) Intern Insights with Ethan — Can Ethan sum up in 60 seconds or less what it took the other guys over an hour to explain? (1:13:14) Quotable Moments “The earlier you find a problem, the cheaper the resolution is.” — M “If you will focus on a team around you and invest in your team, then you can have that team help you make money as well. There's no difference between having a screwdriver, a hammer, or whatever in your craft, and having a lawyer, an accountant, and a banker on the business side of it.” — Eric “The number one reason people leave an employment position is unclear expectations ... Systems define the expectations against which people are measured so you can go and do those things.” — M “You're not going to be the expert in everything. You have to hire and trust other people. It's going to make you better.” — K “You have the choice of doing nothing or the choice of doing something.” — Eric Mount RushmoreListen to our best lawyer jokes at 59:40!Resources Contract Addendum Checklist Mechanic Lien System Survey Early Incident Management Checklist Questions to Ask an Attorney Daffern Law Firm newsletter sign-up Visit daffernlawfirm.com for more from Eric Daffern More from Martin www.annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil www.benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Subscribe to Our Newsletter Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation We'd Love Your Feedback www.thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

05 - Administering the Business

money business story profit cpa accounting anonymous administration cashflow contractors margins payroll bookkeeping balance sheets financial statements administering m you

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2020 61:43

Why you shouldn't try to do all of the administering yourself. (4:28) Three reasons why people don't reach out to experts to help them. (6:52) Story of the Show — Martin's client didn't know his costs, margins, or whether the business was even making money. (9:33) Before you start a business, consider this... (12:19) What is administration? (15:35) Where do you start when you want to improve your administration? (16:46) How the administrative part of bookkeeping informs all of the other three areas of business. (19:31) What's the ultimate vision? What things do contractors need to know? (21:11) What is a profit and loss statement? (23:16) The 5 fundamental questions your 3 financial statements will answer. (25:03) Why your bank statement does not work as a profit and loss statement. (26:27) What is a balance sheet? (29:50) What is a cash flow statement? (35:50) How you can “rent” advisors. (40:08) What information do you get from good books once you have someone put them in order? (41:27) Mount Rushmore — Admin tools (43:34) Quote of the Day — “If there is not a good bookkeeper in your business, you will go on groping like a blind man.” - Luca Pacioli (inventor of double-entry bookkeeping) AND “If the books are a mess, so is everything else.” - Anonymous (51:02) Closing the story — Martin's client got his books in order and made more in Q1 of 2020 than the entire two years prior. (54:55) Ethan's Minute — What parts of administering the business stuck out to Ethan? Listen to find out! (57:45) Quotable Moments “Administration will consume more of your time and effort than doing whatever it is that you actually do.” — M “You don't need to become an expert at administration. You just need to understand how it works and then find people you trust to really help you in those areas.” — K “The subjective of how you feel at any given time isn't good enough. We need information as objective as it can possibly be to tell how we did, how we're doing, and what we need to do in the future.” — M “If you're trying to grow a business on a gut feeling, you're setting yourself up for disaster and for stress and for headache and heartache.”— K Mount Rushmore QuickBooks — Khalil's George Washington Target margins for your bids A good CPA who can help with managerial accounting The Profit Problem: They Say I Make Money, So Why Don't I Have Any? by Martin Holland — Martin's George Washington Stripe G Suite Find a bookkeeper Resources Strengths Finder by Tom RathMore from Martin www.annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil www.benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor www.thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com Subscribe to Our Newsletter Feedback Survey Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

01 - The Four Areas of Business

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 31, 2020 72:47

What's the hardest part of owning a contracting business? (2:38) Why you should start with your vision. (3:12) So, what are the four fundamentals and why should you focus on them? (6:40) #1: Guiding the business — The power of a clear vision when guiding a business. (8:58) “Wouldn't it be really cool if...” as an exercise — But without self-limiting beliefs. (14:20) There's so much more to leadership than vision. Leadership means defining your culture. (15:20) It's great when the leader can guide the business, but even better when others on your team have enough buy-in to help with the guiding. THAT is culture! (22:45) Delegation vs. Abdication — You need to delegate to grow, but if you abdicate instead, then it can push away great employees (24:30) #2: Getting the business — Do you see marketing as an expense or an investment? (25:05) You don't need to be an expert in all 4 areas, but here's why you need to understand them all. (28:30) You have a brand, whether you want it or not... (29:50) Why did you choose that contractor? “He's the only one that called me back.” (35:50) Mount Rushmore — Books edition (39: 40) #3 Doing the business — Making good on your promise. This is the area that contractors are almost universally best at. (48:40) Do I have a process for that? Are you a process-dependent business, or a people-dependent business? (50:00) Quote of the episode — “As you become successful in your own field, your responsibilities may begin to change. Days become less and less about doing, and more and more about making decisions. Such is the nature of leadership. This transition requires re-evaluating and updating your identity. It requires a certain humility to put aside some of the more enjoyable or satisfying parts of your previous job. It also means accepting that others might be more qualified or specialized in areas in which you considered yourself competent, or at least their time is better spent on them than yours.” — Ryan Holiday (54:16) #4 Administering the business — This is the area that most people hate. It's all of the things you had never heard of when you started your business. (57:17) The #1 failing of contracting businesses, according to Martin. (1:01:30) The #1 failure of contracting businesses, according to Khalil. (1:06:00) Ethan's Minute — Our intern Ethan tries to nail down the key takeaways from the episode. See if he knocked it out of the park or if he struck out. (1:06:50) Quotable Moments “People follow people who have a vision and who are decisive.” — M “You have a brand, whether you want it or not. If you're not out there marketing, then you're not dictating the narrative of your brand.” — K “If everything runs through you, you are perpetually limited by your personal capacity to get things done.” — M “Until we develop systems in our business, we're usually lagging in those areas.” — K Mount Rushmore The E Myth Contractor by Michael Gerber (Martin's “George Washington”) The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy The ONE Thing by Gary Keller Building a StoryBrand - Donald Miller Start with Why - Simon Sinek (Khalil's “George Washington”) They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan Range by David Epstein Resources Start with Why TED Talk - Simon Sinek Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday More from Martin www.annealbc.com martin@anealbc.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from Khalil www.benali.com khalil@benali.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram More from The Cashflow Contractor Subscribe to Our Newsletter Ask Us A Question Sign Up For A Free Consultation www.thecashflowcontractor.com info@thecashflowcontractor.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram

EP#3 - Aura & Manu - Go beyond your limits - inspirations from life and Camino de Santiago - Part 1

The AbundanceInAction's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 17, 2020 51:07

Enjoy the first episode titled “Go beyond your limits – inspiration from life and Camino de Santiago", where we can adventure with them to the depth of the soul and meaning of life. Aura and Manu met during their Camino de Santiago walk in the summer of 2019. A man with the roots from Germany and South America and a woman from Estonia met in Spain. No plan. Destiny in the making? During the journey they had many spiritual insights and openings and one of these highlights was activating Aura's singing talent, which had been kept hidden for so many years. Both have lived their lives doing the “normal” things from Manu's military service as well Aura's marriage and divorce in her previous life, but recently the focus has been more on the holistic and deeper ways of finding meaning, matter and thrive and co-create. When stars are aligned – magic starts to weave a new story, new reality and possibilities activating the divine life purposes.----more---- Longer introduction to the guests: AURA had a bit different upbringing than most - her family lived deep in the forest of South-Estonia with no TV, no radio, artificial entertainment, wild nature and wild animals part of the everyday environment, her parents were strongly committed to their own spiritual path, practicing energy healing, plant-based medicine, etc. And in that spirit, she and her 4 siblings were brought up. That period has left a strong imprint on her. For the past 15 years, she has been on a personal yoga practice journey, including 10 years of instructing yoga classes, both on land and up in the air, also prenatal yoga classes, which is something very close to her heart. Aura is a mother of 3, a freelance artist and juggles with many roles, but first and foremost is a WOMAN - walking her own path, following her deeper calling, wherever it takes her. Deep-diving into the depths and the heights of the mystical phenomenon of being a Woman and learning about the many aspects of it has always been a significant part of her calling and journey. And there has always been a profound thirst to understand and experience the magnificent dynamic of the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine and the co-creation in-between. Throughout the years she has given speeches and organized events around these topics. Personal growth, expanding into one's highest potential, and staying true to herself while staying connected to the divine and fully trust the flow of Life is what drives, fascinates and inspires her. MANU's roots are both from Germany and South America. Not necessarily the easiest heritage to merge within oneself. Growing up in conservative Germany, feeling of being different, not truly belonging there, left him restless and with a hunger for something else, something true, something real, more meaningful. Growing up he was a rebel, fighting against everything, against the meaningless dull rat-race lives around him, having no one to show him the deeper meaning of Life. He joined the German army and became a professional soldier with a 12-year contract. He was very good at it, his strong masculine aspect fully flourished in that environment. He became a sergeant and belonged into one of the toughest group - the mountain troops, coping with extreme conditions, always pushing their limits - both mentally and physically. But at one point Manu realized this is not his life and he is not willing to spend his life being a soldier on someone's command. He made a decision to make a change, got out of the contract, and went to his first Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain. That changed everything. After that, he decided to follow the calling to pursue music and to travel to his roots in South-America. There he learned about plant-medicine and energy work from shamans, also dived into the world of yoga, and got his yoga-teacher license, instructed yoga and body movement classes in Peru. During all this, he became in better contact with the sacred feminine. He continued traveling, lived in Australia with the aborigines, learning from them, meeting strong inspiring role models, which changed his life and he found his tribe, scattered all over the world. He belongs everywhere and nowhere, moving like the wind, following its silent calling. Manu did Camino all together four times, challenging himself more and more, to face his deepest fears, to fully know himself, to grow into a Man, to find his deeper truth and the connection to the divine. He carries a strong masculine Warrior archetype within. His way of walking one's path in such an uncompromised manner started to inspire people around him to make a change, to break free, to follow their hearts calling. While coaching and motivating others, writing and playing music is still the dominant self-expression and self-realization way for him. Summary: 01:28 Introduction to Aura Mengel 03:13 Introduction to Manu Aguila 05:42 Crystal's Norwegian Mountain story 07:52 C: Nature orgasm 08:12 C: New directions from the mountain 09:46 M: Manu's story from Peru's jungle 11:02 M: Vow of silence experiences 12:24 M: Intentional speaking and words 13:07 A: Aura's experience at Camino De Santiago how masks were falling 14:39 C: Crystal's singing treasure discoveries in Hawaii 16:25 C: Raining from the blue sky 16:54 How Manu and Aura met during Camino 19:07 A: How Aura started to sing 19:58 How Camino brought us together 20:13 A: Aura's Camino's call since 2013 21:29 A: Time to go knowing and recording the melody prior the trip 22:29 A: Sitting by the river story 23:27 A: Special music connected to Camino 24:10 A: Opening up for singing through fear and humming 24:38 M: Silence connected us 25:25 M: Speaking in “silence language” 26:17 M: No chit chat 26:33 M: Our energies created a shield 27:13 M: We had something spiritual going on 27:34 M: New mission - help others 28:35 M: Connection of this bliss to share with others 29:30 A: Spontaneous local Village concert during Camino 31:07 M: Be careful what you wish for 32:08 A: Learned to trust more 32:29 M: Ultreya – go beyond your limits, one step further 32:52 M: Suseya – go beyond even that! 33:34 Divine Masculine and feminine were making love 34:32 C: Estonian women's history – messed up polarities 35:43 M: It is all over the world 36:13 M: Left to look for something 36:52 M: Deep dark times 37:33 M: Divine energies – connecting to sacred feminine 38:20 M: Connection to earth and nature – find yourself through that 39:18 M: You have responsibilities as a man 39:56 M: When we met we could start to share this divine energy and blessings 40:46 M: Strong woman 41:24 A: Very strong masculine energy, to find an equal masculine was a challenge 42:56 C: Need of the masculine as well divine role models 43:55 C: Crystal Ra's meeting of her king in Mexico 44:44 C: Attracting all these weak men because of the messed up polarities 51:07 Aura and Manu share the song they wrote during the Camino – This is my life. Enjoy! ** Check out today's gift from Manu & Aura here: https://infinite-activation.mykajabi.com/aura-manu-podcast-promo ** Additional info about Aura & Manu: Aura FB account: https://www.facebook.com/aura.mengel/ Manu FB account: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010631957028 Aura´s Art fb page: https://www.facebook.com/AurasArtEstonia ** To make every Podcast count, please do not only like it, but also download it - this helps to grow our numbers; share it with many; make it your weekly companion wherever you live, are or whatever you are creating in your life! Leave your comments, suggestions and ideas or a wish to contribute to us in comment sections or via email to abundanceinactionpodcast@gmail.com or to FB:www.facebook.com/abundanceinactionpodcast Some days after each audio version of the Podcast we will upload the video version to our new You Tube channel (#abundanceinactionpodcast). So check that out as well and support it the same way. Thank you in advance! May aloha be with you! Crystal Ra Laksmi-Ditton & Michael Ditton Abundance in Action Podcast co-producers and co-hosts

超濃縮！やさしい英語会話 (24) Battle of the Sexes

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2020

Download MP3 ８月の４週間は、恒例の「超濃縮！やさしい英語会話」です。この12年間に配信した359本の「やさしい英語会話」よりエピソードを厳選し、毎回４本分を濃縮してお届けします。ナチュラルスピードの会話をスクリプトとともにお楽しみください。今回は"Battle of the Sexes"というテーマで、異性をめぐるあれこれにまつわるエピソードを集めました。　 *** Script *** やさしい英語会話 (287) What is Love? M: Ah! It hurts! W: What does?! M: Not knowing what to do with everything. W: Um… please elaborate. I have no idea what you're talking about. M: You see, I went to see a psychiatrist. I felt like I'm going crazy! W: About what?! You need to be more specific than that! M: I said it felt crazy. Then again, maybe it was supposed to make you feel like that. W: I can't believe I have to ask this again. What is IT? M: The thing that hurts! There's something inside me, right smack in the middle that just aches sometimes. W: Your chest? You have chest pain? Um… what do you call it: Heartburn? M: It sounds like it, but not quite! Yes, yes… something about my heart, and a burning sensation. Am I dying? W: What? Why did you go to a psychiatrist instead of a cardiologist then? M: Because she said I have to talk it out, or else I just might suffer from a heart attack! W: And did you talk it out? What did she say? M: She gave me a medical prescription. W: What did she prescribe for you? M: She said she prescribes the person who makes me feel this way. W: WHO did that to you? Let's get him or her!! M: Well, that would be… YOU. (Written by Bea Jianne Roque) やさしい英語会話 (303) How to Get the Girl (In the library) 　　 M: (shouts) Hey, you! I need you! W: (harsh whisper) Hey, keep it down a bit! This is NOT the place to get all ballistic. I'm trying to study here! M: Sorry. Just got carried away. I've been hooked on this crazy book, and I had to say that line out loud to feel fine. It's like… when you really want it to end already, but no, you can't let it go just yet? Actually, I'm still halfway done, but it's all so crazy. I think I don't have enough energy to continue reading. W: But you have the strength to shout? Inside the library? M: I needed it. I told you! Almost had a cardiac arrest, if I didn't do it. Besides, it's a good thing you're the only one who heard. W: We're the only people in the room! M: Exactly! Which is why I yelled. To get your attention. W: I told you: I'm studying right now. Maybe some other time. M: But this is the only time I can get you alone! That makes all the difference. W: I... I don't understand. M: I've been seeing you here for the past two months and I know you read plenty of books around here. And, obviously, you remember me, because we had eye contact just last Monday. Then I managed to smile a little on Tuesday, but you didn't notice. Wednesday, I waved from my corner over there; still not effective. Thursday, I tried walking past your usual desk, and you're quite… oblivious. From Friday till the weekend I was trying to think of what to do. I figured reading this could get you to notice. W: I, uh, was merely trying to be polite. And you haven't really read the book. I may be "oblivious" but I can tell one thing: You've been reading the book upside down. Haha! M: Ah! I blew it. Um, Can I…try again next week? (Written by Bea Jianne Roque) やさしい英語会話 (314) Life Is Tough for Girls, Too W: I don't know what's wrong with me these days. M: What happened? W: This morning I told myself I'm going to try and be happy and not let anything *get me down. A few minutes later, I fell! M: What? How? Where did you fall? W: Right across from *the Student Plaza when I was about to go left. Ha ha. To think: I was on the way to the gym! M: Were you hurt? Any *bruises? W: Yeah. I think I was *bleeding internally. M: That's terrible! Are you OK now? Does it hurt? W: A bit. M: You didn't go to the gym after that, right? I mean you went to the health office to get it treated, yes? W: Of course I went to the gym! Who do you think I am? *Skipping my gym routine because of a little pain? Pfft. I even ran on the *treadmill for an hour! M: Hey, you said you were bleeding internally. That's something more serious than a bruise, I *reckon?! W: Well, nothing to worry about. Surprisingly, gym is medicine. I'm fine now. M: I've never heard of such a thing. Hey, can we make this clear? You fell? And WHAT actually did you *hurt? W: My heart, friend! I saw the guy I *had a crush on for months. He was with another girl! They both looked all *clingy and sweet together! I just couldn't take it, so I went exercising! M: Ah! Why did we have this conversation? (Written by Bea Jianne Roque) やさしい英語会話 (327) Changing Sexes (In the beginning, each person is in a different place.) M: Where… where am I...? Wait. I feel… different… My skin feels so rough… Oh, NOT good. (looking in the mirror) Ahhhh…. Wait. I… I changed… into a man?? Oh, my god! W: Hey, where am I…? Wait. I feel different… My chest feels… heavier… (looking in the mirror) Ahh… What? I’m a woman?? Ah!! M: Oh, good that I found his student ID card. His name is… Yamamoto? A 2nd-year student in the Engineering Department at Hiroshima University. Gosh, what should I do? First, I need to find myself! Hope he doesn’t make a mistake with MY BODY. I’d hate to be pregnant now! W: Wait, how do I put on this bra? Oh, this is her student ID card! Let’s see… Akari, a 3rd-year student in the Faculty of Literature. Where should I go? Ah! I’ve got to find her. Shoot! It’s so freakin’ hard to wear women’s clothes! (Both of them heading towards the campus) M: I hope he didn’t go to the class ahead of me. Where are you!! (They pass each other) M, W: Wait!! Stop!! W: Aren’t you Akari? I’m Yamamoto, the original owner of your body! Please give me back my body! M: Yeah, I’m Akari. Wait! What’s that messed-up make-up on your face? You also didn’t put on a bra? You’re ruining my body! Oh no!!! W: I’ve never done any make-up in my entire life. Ah! The class bell’s going to ring soon. Akari, don’t forget to submit my fluid dynamics report. M: Hey, I don’t even know what fluid dynamics is! I’m so sorry! By the way, I have a seminar about Shakespearean sonnets, so be ready for that! W: Oh, no! I don’t know ANYTHING about Shakespeare, or literature! Why did it turn out like this… Why did our bodies get swapped!!? M, W: Oh god!! Someone please save us!! (Written by Kyoung Jo)

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ドラマで英語を学ぼう (55) Detective Adventures!

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2020

Download MP3 今月は「ドラマで英語を学ぼう」の最新作として、広島大学学生のMikael Kai Nomuraさんの書き下ろしによるオリジナルドラマ"Detective Adventures!"をお届けします。探偵（detective）ものといえば、『シャーロック・ホームズ』や『名探偵コナン』が人気がありますね。今回のドラマに登場するのは、彼らのように鮮やかに事件を解決する名探偵でしょうか、それともその逆の「迷」探偵の方でしょうか…。 [ 字幕をオンにするとスクリプトをご覧いただけます ]【リモート収録】　 Detective Adventures! W1: Good morning, detective! My name’s Shirley, and I’ll be your new assistant. M: Um… Shirley… I’m sorry to tell you, but you’ll have to give up smoking if you want to work with me. W1: Oh… How did you know I smoke? Hmm… I guess you’re trying to be like Sherlock Holmes, deducting the possible realities of people by just observing them! M: And smelling them! W1: Oops, I should have gargled after that cigarette! … OK, guess what I had for lunch, then! M: Well… The ends of your sleeves are a little bit folded. And you have catsup stains on your sleeves as well. I’ll guess you had a McDonald’s burger and fries! The catsup that comes with the fries explains the red stain! W1: Oh.. yes! You’re right, detective! M: You even have a knife in your left hand… Do you have a collection of knives? W1: Wow, I DO have my own collection! M: Haha! I’m really the greatest detective, hey?! W1: AND, the easiest one to kill! M: No! No! Don’t shoot me! (gun shot!) (Sound of body falling to the floor) (changed voice of woman) Different Woman: Good morning, detective! Wa-… At last I caught her! M: Ah! That was a close call! You saved me! W: Sorry for the trouble, detective. I was trying to catch the serial killer who kills a lot of detectives. I sure am relieved that I got here BEFORE she was able to kill you. M: Oh! Do you mean she just killed some other detective? W: Yes! And you were her next target! M: So, the red stain on the sleeves… W: Yes, It was actually blood! M: Well, thank God you came. Um… who are you, anyway? W: Sorry for being late! I’m Shirley—the REAL Shirley! and I’LL be your new assistant. M: Oh, a GOOD Shirley. Great! (Sound break, a couple of days later) W: Detective, we just received a new case! M: OK. Tell me about it. W: It’s about a missing person! M: A missing person! Interesting! This’ll be my first time working on a missing-person case. W: OK. According to the report, the missing man is about 6 feet tall. M: So, we’re looking for a guy who’s about the same height as me? W: Yeah. He was last seen 6 months ago in his own house. M: Hmm… That means… he must have at least contacted his own family, right? W: I guess so. The sender was close-lipped about the missing person’s personal details, so I don’t have much information. I’ll have to try to reach the contact person and ask for more personal details. So, do we accept this case? M: Of course, we’ll accept the case! I’ll use my great detective skills to find that person as soon as possible! W: Great! Right away I’ll send an email to the person who sent in this case. M: OK. Ask for the missing person’s name, and we’ll need a picture as well. W: OK. There! Email sent! (Sound break, for the passing of about 10 min) W: Oh, wow. A reply came back already. That took only 10 minutes. M: OK. We need to know the name, first. W: For the name… Oh! Detective… the missing person has the same name as you! M: What? Hmm… that’s REALLY interesting. Can we look at the picture? Oh! It looks like me! W: Detective! It IS literally you! How many days have you been away from home? M: Um… Just for 6 months! W: Oh detective… the sender must be your wife! (Sound break, a few days later.) W: Good morning, detective. M: Hi Shirley. What’s up today? W: OK. Today we’re going to investigate a crime scene! M: Oh! I’m so excited! W: But you’re a detective! You do this all the time, right? M: This is actually my FIRST time going to a crime scene! W: What?! But you’re a detective! Why? M: I never worked on a case, not until I got YOU as my assistant. W: Wow. But you DO know how to work like a detective, right? M: I think so! I’ve watched a lot of detective Conan anime, so I’m fine! W: Um… OK… Anyway, let’s go to the crime scene! (door closes, sound of a police car siren) W: Well, finally we’re at the crime scene. Oh! There’s the body! M: I see… Let me examine it for a while. (few seconds of silence) M: Hmm. I think the person’s been dead for less than 24 hours. Hmm… the floor and the body are wet. What might be the reason? W: Uhm, detective, I think… M: Shh! I’m concentrating right now. Let the detective do his job! W: But… detective, the… M: Aha! I got it! Now it all makes sense! The killer used a block of ice to kill the victim! THAT would explain why the floor and the body are wet! Well, I’m a genius, right? W: But detective… WE are a little bit wet, as well. M: Oh no! Is the killer going to kill us too? W: No! The floor, the body, and WE are all wet… because IT’S STARTED TO RAIN! M: THAT makes total sense too! Shirley, you can be a detective as well, like me! W: Oh detective… (Written by Mikael Kai Nomura)

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Travel To Colombia. Is it Safe? Are there luxury options? Glamping, Beaches, Nightlife, Food and Exploding Games!

Travel Radio Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2020 62:14

Travel To Colombia | Safety | Language | Destinations https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1533699224246-6dc3b3ed3304?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=500&q=80 Photo by Flavia Carpio on Unsplash Morning! This is Megan having a moment of out-loud truth. Colombia was never on my radar. My impressions were based on damning news cycles and comedy bits from popular sit comes like Modern Family. I thought Colombia = danger. https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1560957123-1f12158888ed?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=500&q=80 Photo by Jorge Gardner on Unsplash @gardnerjorge However, that is one of the reasons I wanted to have Joni Wu on the program. I saw that she was on a trip there and immediately asked if she would like to be on the podcast. Joni has impeccable and discriminating taste. She usually travels to new destinations to research new options for her luxury seeking clients. With this in mind my impressions started to change. https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1534943441045-1009d7cb0bb9?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=500q=80 Photo credit Ricardo Gomez Angel @ripato on Unsplash Right away, we talk safety and the locals deep regrets that "danger" is the impression tourists might have about their country. After interviewing Joni I have to admit a great curiosity about Colombia and putting it on my list. Post Covid-19 travel restrictions being lifted I want to go to Colombia. After we move back to the United States it will be in easy striking distance! In the show notes you will find the Colombia Board of tourism's website. It is a great resource and will give you a great idea of different climates, geography, national events and THE FOOD or Colombia. They also have great videos to wet your travel appetite. Forth coming will be Joni's show notes for the topics discussed on this episodes. Notes Prepared By Joni Wu: M: If people want to find you online where can they find you? ASTA: https://www.travelsense.org/advisors/joni-wu/ LUXE: https://www.luxetm.com/travel-experts/z4ujr3fj4w257eqy5y2uvt24y04xz2 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonigwu/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/joni.wu My blog www.tofeelalive.com M: Where are we going today? J: Colombia! It was the last trip I went on before everything shut down. I got back March 4th and was self-quarantining the week after. M: Why? J: It’s one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. One list had it ranked #2 with only Brazil above it and Indonesia with all of its many islands at #3. Easy to get to with direct flights from a number of major US hubs. M: Let’s get some basics covered quickly. What language skills does a person need in order to navigate in Colombia? J: Spanish speaking country so it’s similar to traveling in most non-English speaking countries but most working in tourism speak English. M: How about currency and money? Do travelers need cash or cards? J: Cards are widely accepted but you’ll want to have cash on hand for things like souvenirs and snacks from small vendors and generally any smaller purchases. Currency is Colombian peso which is different than Mexican peso. Some vendors will accept US dollars but you might get a lower exchange rate and if you only have larger bills, you’ll receive the difference in Col pesos or they may not accept it. M: Are there safety concerns? J: People always ask that due to all the media around drug trade and understandably so. But the country has done a great job of cleaning that up and making it very safe to travel. Of course there’s your standard crime that’s prevalent in all big cities and tourist destinations so you’ll want to be aware of your surroundings but nothing crazy. There are some remote areas where the drug cartels still have operations but those aren’t any places a tourist would make their way to and as advisors, we rely on local tour operators who are very familiar with where to avoid. M: You specialize in luxury travel? I was surprise to see you in Colombia. IS this a destination for the luxury traveler? J: Yes! Although it is popular with backpackers and budget travelers due to the value we talked about, there are so many great offerings for the luxury traveler! And everyone loves a good value! In popular tourist spots, you have luxury hotels and dining as we mentioned. For those wanting to get out of the tourist destinations, there are small luxury lodges and private villas. Also private drivers/guides/naturalists, activities like diving in the Caribbean and exclusively curated experiences for any interest like an avid bird watcher as Colombia has the most species of birds in the world. M: The exchange rate is pretty favorable for US travelers. Can you talk about the value travelers will experience choosing Colombia? J: In addition to exchange rate, everything is quite inexpensive compared to US standards. They earn much lower wages so things are priced accordingly. And since they receive tourists from all over, including other South and Central American countries, they don’t price gauge towards high wage Westerners as much as some destinations do. For example, you can stay at 5-star International brand city center hotel in Bogota for $300 a night whereas similar accommodations would easily double that in another capital city like Mexico City for example. And you can have a Michelin quality dining experience with wine for under $30 p/p M: Let’s start in Bogota. What can people expect from this city? J: It’s the capital city so there’s the usual – a big square with old buildings, a downtown, great dining, nightlife, museums, shopping. The Gold Museum is a big attraction and it had a lot of artifacts but I’m not a museum person. National museums are free in Colombia! There’s also a big public market which is something I love to do when I travel. It’s also known for graffiti street art with murals all over the city and you can do a self-led walking tour or go on a guided one. We had the opportunity to learn how to do graffiti art with a local artist which. Some of us did better than others, mine was hideous but it was a cool experience. One of the best experiences was playing Tejo. They joke that it’s their national sport since they don’t really have one. But it’s basically a game where you throw these metal pucks at a mud clay board and try to get it stuck. If you hit one of the explosive triangles, it makes a loud noise and everyone screams and loses their mind. It’s kind of like horseshoes or cornhole but way more fun and everyone drinks beer while they play. What I wasn’t expecting was how cold it would be! I thought Colombia was tropical weather all over but Bogota is actually a plateau in the Andes at 8600ft elevation which means it’s chilly year round, average around 60s. M: Let’s move to Cartagena on the coast. Is this a traditional port town or more of a resort and sun bathing spot? J: It’s totally a colonial port town. The Old Town is walled and definitely the place to stay if you’re only staying a short time since everything is walkable. You only need a day or two to explore Cartagena but I could stay there for weeks just hanging out. There’s nightlife, dining, and what makes it special is that traveler’s vibe driven in part by tourism and a digital nomad community since cost of living is low but has a lot to offer. It kind of reminds me of a Bali before it became as mainstream. There’s a misconception that it’s a beach town. It’s on the Caribbean coast, the weather is hot and humid, and there is a beach but it’s not great to look at. For a nice beach, there are and day trips out to Baru, accessible by land and boat, and nearby Rosario islands which are so stunning. For beach/view lovers with the budget, I’d recommend staying a couple of nights at Las Islas in Baru which is part of Leading Hotels and it’s amazing. All the rooms are individual bungalows, either as a treetop or seafront. You can even swim to breakfast (which is included in the rates). And they have a private island in the Rosario islands that you can take a 5 minute boat ride over to and spend the day relaxing there. Anything I say won’t do it justice so I’ll make a Instagram post on it with photos so you guys can see what I mean. M: Now tell me about this “Gringo trail”..? J: It’s like the popular path that Westerners stay within and includes Bogota, Cartagena, Medellin, and the coffee region near Salento. Colombian coffee is some of the most prized in the world so they’ve done a good job promoting tourism to visit the coffee farms, do tastings, see small towns, and explore nature. On the Caribbean side, other places like Santa Marta, the island of San Andres, Barranquilla (famous in Colombia for their Carnival celebration), and Tayrona National Park are included in the “Gringo Trail” but much less known to American travelers. M: Can we talk about some of the less traveled places in Colombia? These type of places will be high on peoples to-do lists… if they can get there. Let’s start with Tayrona Nation Park J: I’m dying to go to Tayrona. If I had known about it prior, I would’ve extended my trip make it there. It has beautiful Caribbean waters on one side, and tropical mountain on the other. That landscape is a dream. Google image it and you’ll know what I mean. Also on the Caribbean side for the adventurous, there’s a 30-mile trek to the Lost City that starts with a 2-hour car ride from the beach resort town of Santa Marta. Then you trek for several days to get to the Lost City which are ruins older than Machu Picchu. I hear that trek is just magical and walking is the only way to get to the ruins. But it’s not for the faint of heart as you are in a jungle and there are only very basic camping/bunk lodging along the route. Like the Inca Trail, you have to go with a licensed guide. G Adventures offers it. M: Are there other places to visit outside of the Gringo Trail? J: There are so many places to go! Colombia is one of the most biodiverse places. There are many remote places welcoming tourists – you can visit the Amazon! I don’t think the infrastructure is quite ready for luxury clients to the Amazon but there other remote options with luxury accommodations. As travel advisors, we use local tour operators that know where to go and can curate experiences to client’s preferences. M: Let’s go glamping! Tell us where we can clamp among some spectacular flora and fauna J: I learned about this place called El Nido Condor Ecolodge in the Andes and it looks incredible. You’re in luxury glamping huts on the edge of a cliff and the condors nest is right under you so you see them flying out from your room. I’m not even into bird watching but it’s a bird watchers paradise. There’s also hiking and biking tours, star gazing, and night treks. There’s also a luxury glamping called Corocora owned by Galavanta, a luxury DMC part of Virtuoso. It’s like a safari with wildlife drives, canoeing, Colombia cowboy experiences. All are eco-friendly. M: Lastly, because I know you are adventurous - did you eat anything super adventurous on your trip? J: Most of the cuisine I’ve had before but prepared in local ways which were new to me like amazing arepas and Caribbean inspired flavors. We did an exotic fruit tasting which was really cool because I did get to try a lot of fruit that I never had before, many of which come from the Amazon. Special Guest: Joni Wu.

やさしい英語会話 (352) @Hiroshima Flower Festival

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2020

Download MP3 広島でゴールデンウィークに開催されるお祭りといえば、そう、ひろしまフラワーフェスティバル。今年は残念ながら中止となりましたが、連休中お出かけのできない皆様に、ちょっぴりお祭り気分を楽しんでいただけたら幸いです。今回は、日本のお祭りの屋台でよく売られているものをどのように英語で表現できるか、Joeが説明します。　 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） There sure are a lot of people! ずいぶん多くの人がいるんだね！ food stalls 屋台 Go Keito Go! 圭人、頑張れ！ How come? いったいどうして？ *** Script *** @Hiroshima Flower Festival (Crowd noise) W: Wow! There sure are a lot of people! Thanks Keito for bringing me to Flower Festival. It’s actually my first time experiencing a Japanese festival. M: No problem, Laura. It’s my pleasure to bring friends to Japanese festivals! W: There sure are a lot of food stalls here! Some stalls are even for mini-games! Look at those balloons and fish! M: You can eat a lot of Japanese street food here such as takoyaki, yakisoba, apple candies. But those games are actually really hard. W: Have you tried any of those games? M: Of course! I used to play the kingyo-sukui every year when I was little. W: Can you show me how to do it then? M: Oh, of... of course! W: Um, it looks like you became a bit worried when I asked you to do it? M: Alright then, I’ll SHOW you how to get one! W: Go Keito Go! (Sounds of water splashing) M: Ugh.. W: Ha ha ha! Keito! You’re really bad at this! Let ME show you! (Sounds of water splashing) M: Wow Laura! You’re really good at this! How come?! W: The first time I came to Japan, another friend brought me to a festival in Kyoto. I became good at kingyo-sukui there. M: So, you were lying about this being your first festival? W: I wanted to surprise you, Keito! Ha ha! M: Alright.. What else are you not telling me? W: Well, I’m actually half Japanese! And I can speak fluent Japanese! Haha! M: Oh my.. all this time I was trying my best to speak in English with you. (Written by by Mikael Kai Nomura)

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やさしい英語会話 (352) @Hiroshima Flower Festival

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2020

Download MP3 広島でゴールデンウィークに開催されるお祭りといえば、そう、ひろしまフラワーフェスティバル。今年は残念ながら中止となりましたが、連休中お出かけのできない皆様に、ちょっぴりお祭り気分を楽しんでいただけたら幸いです。今回は、日本のお祭りの屋台でよく売られているものをどのように英語で表現できるか、Joeが説明します。　 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） There sure are a lot of people! ずいぶん多くの人がいるんだね！ food stalls 屋台 Go Keito Go! 圭人、頑張れ！ How come? いったいどうして？ *** Script *** @Hiroshima Flower Festival (Crowd noise) W: Wow! There sure are a lot of people! Thanks Keito for bringing me to Flower Festival. It’s actually my first time experiencing a Japanese festival. M: No problem, Laura. It’s my pleasure to bring friends to Japanese festivals! W: There sure are a lot of food stalls here! Some stalls are even for mini-games! Look at those balloons and fish! M: You can eat a lot of Japanese street food here such as takoyaki, yakisoba, apple candies. But those games are actually really hard. W: Have you tried any of those games? M: Of course! I used to play the kingyo-sukui every year when I was little. W: Can you show me how to do it then? M: Oh, of... of course! W: Um, it looks like you became a bit worried when I asked you to do it? M: Alright then, I’ll SHOW you how to get one! W: Go Keito Go! (Sounds of water splashing) M: Ugh.. W: Ha ha ha! Keito! You’re really bad at this! Let ME show you! (Sounds of water splashing) M: Wow Laura! You’re really good at this! How come?! W: The first time I came to Japan, another friend brought me to a festival in Kyoto. I became good at kingyo-sukui there. M: So, you were lying about this being your first festival? W: I wanted to surprise you, Keito! Ha ha! M: Alright.. What else are you not telling me? W: Well, I’m actually half Japanese! And I can speak fluent Japanese! Haha! M: Oh my.. all this time I was trying my best to speak in English with you. (Written by by Mikael Kai Nomura)

english japan japanese festival flower hiroshima kyoto moh mso mno let me joe it m you keito w well

やさしい英語会話 (351) Dog Lovers

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2020

Download MP3 今回の会話は、かわいいワンちゃんについての会話でお楽しみください…と言いたいところですが、「訴える」「刑事事件」「公証人」など、物々しい言葉が聞こえてきます。いったい何があったのでしょうか？今回の会話では、そういった事件や訴訟に関する用語や、若き環境活動家のスピーチで有名になったあの表現が登場します。　 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） beast 野獣 How dare you～? よくもまあ～できるものだ bite 噛む（過去形はbit、過去分詞形はbitten） Hold on a minute. ちょっと待ってください。 sue 訴える settle everything すべてを解決させる court 裁判所 Notary Public 公証人 criminal incident 刑事事件 How is it even possible?! いったいどうやったらそれが可能なのですか。 doggie ワンちゃん leash ひも otherwise さもなければ *** Script *** Dog Lovers A man is holding a very small dog (cat-sized), and he arrives at a women’s house. He knocks on the door, and she opens it. M: Good evening. We’re very sorry for what happened today… W: (screams) Get out of here with that terrible animal! Your dog is a beast! M: Please, don’t panic. I’m holding him. Nothing will happen this time. W: How dare you come to my place after your dog bit me? Get out of here! M: Hold on a minute. You need to listen to me… W: No, I will sue you! It’s easy. My husband’s a lawyer, and he knows that you have to pay me a lot. The beast bit me! M: Hey, it’s not necessary to sue me. I said that I was ready to settle everything without going to court. W: You’re ready to settle everything? Ha! OK. Then pay the money now. Did you bring the money? M: No… but today I went to a Notary Public and they’ve settled everything. W: What can they settle about this criminal incident? How is it even possible?! I was bitten by your dog! That’s a fact. M: But it’s not! W: Uh…..?? M: Well, please, here you are: a Notarized Deed of Gift. (Gives the paperwork). I gave you this dog as a gift! So it’s NOT my dog that you were bitten by. W: But whose is it then? M: You were bitten by your own dog. So it’s yours now. (Gives the dog and walks away). And guard your doggie on a leash! Otherwise it’s dangerous for other people walking! (to self) Oh, these dog lovers… (Written by Andrei Goncharov)

dogs gift dog lovers mno notary public wno w how m well m you w you m please

やさしい英語会話 (351) Dog Lovers

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2020

Download MP3 今回の会話は、かわいいワンちゃんについての会話でお楽しみください…と言いたいところですが、「訴える」「刑事事件」「公証人」など、物々しい言葉が聞こえてきます。いったい何があったのでしょうか？今回の会話では、そういった事件や訴訟に関する用語や、若き環境活動家のスピーチで有名になったあの表現が登場します。　 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） beast 野獣 How dare you～? よくもまあ～できるものだ bite 噛む（過去形はbit、過去分詞形はbitten） Hold on a minute. ちょっと待ってください。 sue 訴える settle everything すべてを解決させる court 裁判所 Notary Public 公証人 criminal incident 刑事事件 How is it even possible?! いったいどうやったらそれが可能なのですか。 doggie ワンちゃん leash ひも otherwise さもなければ *** Script *** Dog Lovers A man is holding a very small dog (cat-sized), and he arrives at a women’s house. He knocks on the door, and she opens it. M: Good evening. We’re very sorry for what happened today… W: (screams) Get out of here with that terrible animal! Your dog is a beast! M: Please, don’t panic. I’m holding him. Nothing will happen this time. W: How dare you come to my place after your dog bit me? Get out of here! M: Hold on a minute. You need to listen to me… W: No, I will sue you! It’s easy. My husband’s a lawyer, and he knows that you have to pay me a lot. The beast bit me! M: Hey, it’s not necessary to sue me. I said that I was ready to settle everything without going to court. W: You’re ready to settle everything? Ha! OK. Then pay the money now. Did you bring the money? M: No… but today I went to a Notary Public and they’ve settled everything. W: What can they settle about this criminal incident? How is it even possible?! I was bitten by your dog! That’s a fact. M: But it’s not! W: Uh…..?? M: Well, please, here you are: a Notarized Deed of Gift. (Gives the paperwork). I gave you this dog as a gift! So it’s NOT my dog that you were bitten by. W: But whose is it then? M: You were bitten by your own dog. So it’s yours now. (Gives the dog and walks away). And guard your doggie on a leash! Otherwise it’s dangerous for other people walking! (to self) Oh, these dog lovers… (Written by Andrei Goncharov)

dogs gift dog lovers mno notary public wno w how m well m you w you m please

Why Age 40 is a Major Wake Up Call for Retirement

Be Wealthy & Smart

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2019 12:08

Learn why age 40 is an important deadline to get serious about investing for retirement. Why is 40 so important? You may be familiar with my Wealth Heiress book's Wealth Building Formula (McT)™. The formula is comprised of 3 parts, which are the 3 parts to wealth building or, in this case, having a comfortable retirement. M = Money, or how much money you have to invest. C = Compounding, or what rate of return you are compounding at. T = Time, or the amount of years you have to invest (until retirement). Let's say you got a late start saving for retirement. To make up for it you have only 3 choices (McT again): 1. M = You can save and contribute more money to your retirement plan, or 2. C = You can invest better and earn a higher rate of return, or 3. T = You can work longer and retire later. Let's analyze your choices. You are already saving as much as you can, so #1 is out. You would rather retire sooner than later, so #3 is not ideal. Nobody want to do this, yet that's exactly what your default choice will be if you don't invest well. That leaves investing better, #2. Only investing better, ie. being smarter about where and how you invest, can improve your circumstances without you having to find more money to save or delay retirement. If your money is earning .25% interest in a savings account, it would take 99 years to equal the performance that our best investment increased in 11 months. By investing better, ie. being smarter about where and how you invest, you can improve your circumstances without having to save more money or delaying your retirement. INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT THE BE WEALTHY & SMART VIP EXPERIENCE? To take control of your money, get your money working harder for you and gain financial confidence, talk with Linda, click here. PLEASE REVIEW THE SHOW ON ITUNES If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review. I love hearing from you! When you get to the next page, click the blue button “Listen in iTunes”, listen to an episode, and click on “Ratings and Reviews” across from my photo. I so appreciate it! SUBSCRIBE TO BE WEALTHY & SMART Click Here to Subscribe Via iTunes Click Here to Subscribe Via Stitcher on an Android Device Click Here to Subscribe Via RSS Feed WEALTH HEIRESS TV Please subscribe to Wealth Heiress TV YouTube channel (it’s not just for women, it’s for men too!), here. PLEASE LEAVE A BOOK REVIEW Leave a book review on Amazon here. Get my book, “You’re Already a Wealth Heiress, Now Think and Act Like One: 6 Practical Steps to Make It a Reality Now!” Men love it too! After all, you are Wealth Heirs. :) Available for purchase on Amazon. International buyers (if you live outside of the US) get my book here. WANT MORE FROM LINDA? Check out her programs. Join her on Instagram. WEALTH LIBRARY OF PODCASTS Listen to the full wealth library of podcasts from the beginning. Use the search bar in the upper right corner of the page to search topics. TODAY'S SPONSOR I want to take a few seconds to tell you about how I “read” more books and stay ahead of the curve. It’s by not reading books, but instead listening to them – like you are right now! With Audible, there are over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player and…your first audiobook is FREE! I suggest you get the audio book of Think and Grow Rich, or you can check out my website Resources page where I list all of my favorite financial books and you see exactly what books I have read and recommend you read. Then get started with Audible by visiting https://lindapjones.com/FreeBook and order your first audio book free! Get Think and Grow Rich or another book from my recommend list, and be sure to get started checking off the books you want to read with your free book from Audible! Be Wealthy & Smart,™ is a personal finance show with self-made millionaire Linda P. Jones, America’s Wealth Mentor.™ Learn simple steps that make a big difference to your financial freedom. (Some links are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you.)

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Don't Tell Me Your Major #1

Don't Tell Me Your Major

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2019 13:03

Episode Notes DTMYM Ep. 1 Transcript Malena: Hey guys, my name is Malena.Allison: I’m Allison.Hannah: My name’s Hannah.M: And we are your hosts and freshmen here at Northwestern. This is Don’t Tell Me Your Major, an interview podcast where we avoid getting to know people on the surface level, with questions like what their major is, where they’re from, and how old they are, but try to get to know them on a more profound level. That’s how you really know the kind of person someone is rather than judging them on pre-established stereotypes. Today it’s just us, the co-hosts, so you guys can get to know us a little more before we start talking to others! And, um, just an update, all of us have the freshman plague.A: Sorry, I’m hacking my lungs out. M: Yeah, so if you hear us coughing, that’s why. But the first order of business – the first question I’m going to ask is: If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be? Allison, you’re up first.A: Okay, I’ve actually planned this for a really long time. My 18th birthday is coming up, and I’m going to get a little music note, like an eighth note, tattooed on the inside of my middle finger in white ink so that my parents don’t see it. So don’t tell my mom, ‘cause I’m not allowed to have a tattoo, because I’m going to get disowned. But, yeah I’ve been planning on getting that for a long time.H: The ones on the inside of your fingers –A: They’re so pretty.H: They rub off though.A: I know, that’s the point, like –H: Oh! You’re not going to show it to anyone.A: Yeah, yeah, yeah, just in case my mom ever catches me, like, in a couple years it’ll be faded so it won’t be a big deal. H: So I wanted to get a matching tattoo with my sister, but I’m scared, because whenever we fight, I’d be like “f**k you!” but then you have them tattooed on your body.M: I love that, I love that. Ok, so mine is like, I wanted to get this tattoo that’s like a circle but like it isn’t closed. So it’s a circle that almost closes but doesn’t –A: That’s so unsatisfactory.M: No, I know, but the whole point is–A: I wouldn’t want that! M: The whole point is that like, there’s this quote I like that says, “some things don’t come full circle.” And it’s just getting used to things not going your way. H: That’s much deeper than ours. A: I was about to say that! I was like, “I want a music note.” And she was like, “some things, they just don’t come full circle.”M: Ok, ok.A: We’re the bad co-hosts right here.M: Oh my gosh. No, ok so, my next question is, what is your favorite thing about yourself? Do you guys know, off the top of your head?A: Nose goes! M: Nose goes?A: Alright Hannah you’re up.H: Ummm, hair, it’s flowy and long.M: Is it like, annoying to blow out though?H: Yeah, yeah, so annoying.A: You know she never blow dries her hair?M: Really? Oh, we have an audience member, just so you guys know. A: Yeah, my roommate. She just lives with wet hair. I don’t know how she does it.M: I never blow dry my hair either. But it’s because mine is like, shoulder length, so it’s not a big deal. A: Oh it is?M: Yeah.A: I thought it was long. M: No it’s not that long. But anyways I think my favorite thing about myself is... I like my eyebrows. A: You do have nice eyebrows.M: They’re a lot of work, but I never have to fill them in. Like I feel so bad for people who have to fill in their eyebrows.H: Okay, okay! Fine. A: Your eyebrows are fine too, what do you mean?M: Okay, what about you Allison?A: My favorite thing...I guess is that I’m not an awkward person, so like it has saved me from many a potentially awkward situation. Y’know? So yeah, I feel like I’m pretty chill.M: Yeah, that’s fair. I love that I said my eyebrows. Like my personality sucks, like it just sucks. A: Jesussss. M: No. Ok. What can you not live without? Like what is the one thing you can’t live without? And it can be basic.A: Does it have to be a material object?M: Do maybe one material object and one non-material object.A: (under breath) Are my boobs showing?H: Nobody can see them!M: This is a podcast, Allison. A: I meant to you! But ok. Material – WAIT why am I always going first, you go!M: Ok, ok. H: I don’t know. I wanted to say something funny, but I don’t want to say something stupid like oxygen, water. Censor BeepM: Hannah! You can’t say that word! Oh my gosh. A: Beep.M: We’re gonna have to censor that. A: Sorry guys, we’re not American. M: Yeah so, some context is, the reason why we all know each other is we’re all international kids. A: Ok shut up Malena, you’re American. Hannah and I are not. Please forgive us if we say something un-PC.M: Okay so one thing I couldn’t live without is kind of like, my international friends. That’s one of my deeper answers –A: (sarcastically) I don’t feel the same way.M: (sarcastically) She could just get rid of us. (continued from before) ...Because I like having a wide worldview. Like a worldview where I could know people from all around the world and get their perspectives. And they all have such different lifestyles that it’s so much fun to hang out with them because there’s always something new to do and always good new food to eat. What about you guys?A: What’s your material thing?M: Uh, probably my phone.A: Yeah.M: I’m pretty addicted to Snapchat. H: Yeah, it’s true, phone. A: Ok, I’m going to think of something less shallow than that. So what’s your other thing?H: Yeah, I couldn’t live without friends. That would just suck.A: Oh really, would it now?M: Nah, I always wanted to become a hermit. That was my thing. Just be a hermit. A: Um, I would say I can’t live without music. I’m constantly listening to music, my airpods always run out of battery. Umm... I’m trying to think of a material thing. Like, I don’t know.M: Well, can I just say... Can we have a quick tangent? Airpods are like the biggest scam. Like the fact that the headphone jack is the same as your charging jack on your Apple phone, and then you can’t plug them into your laptop. And then you have to charge your airpods, and they’re like 100 dollars…A: Well that’s not –H: Yeah, no I agree.A: You don’t have to connect your Airpods to your computer. It’s bluetooth.M: Yeah I know but they’re always running out of battery and they cost like 200 dollars.A: The battery lasts like five hours how long are you listening to music??H: When you’re on the plane, if you’re like a long long plane ride…A: Oh! When I’m on the plane I use like the ones with the wires, but Airpods for the casual walking around the streets. H: I dislike them. So this is a funny story, but I had Airpods for a while, and I didn’t actually buy them. I FOUND them. A: YOU FOUND THEM?H: I found them.M: Oh no, you’re THAT person. H: So my mom found them, on the beach. Somewhere…A: Ok well you know what, they probably weren’t going to come back for them anyways. You might as well have kept them. H: And we were trying to ask around people, if they were theirs, because we had some friends there. Couldn’t find them. So we just kept them, disinfected them, and my mom was like –A: Disinfected them???M: Just have random people’s –H: I’m not going to have their ears in my ears!A: Your ears in their ears?H: And, long story short, I realized I don’t like airpods. Prefer the headphones.M: The Ancients.A: I like to put my phone in my back pocket when I’m walking, and to have that cord – it like rips out of my ears if I move the wrong direction and I get so f**cking frustrated, so [Airpods] are nice to have.H: I also heard this thing about airpods giving you cancer or whatever.A: Yeah dude, everything gives you cancer.M: Dude, just live in a bubble.A: Yeah, like bacon, everything gives you cancer.M: Ok. Speaking of, we’ve been eating cheerios in the background if you guys are hearing chewing noises. I don’t know how great this mic is but maybe you’re hearing chewing noises right now –A: Hannah just dropped a hairball on my lap.M: OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. A: Guys this is her most treasured possession, so like –H: Long hair, you just leave a trail of hair everywhere you go.M: Yeah that’s her favorite trait guys: her hairballs.A: Yeah, Sammie and I always have to vacuum our room, because like my hair is everywhere. M: Oh my gosh. Yeah are you guys really excited to listen to other episodes of this podcast now? We’re really great people. But so basically we were eating cheerios on the side and that led me to my next question: what is your favorite snack?A: Myself.H: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.M: Oh my gosh guys. Allison you are hereby banned from this podcast. Her favorite snack is herself. Oh my gosh.H: Actually something weird though, peanut butter and fruit. So, I never liked peanut butter because I wasn’t from the U.S. M: So only Americans can like peanut butter?H: No but it’s a very American thing to like peanut butter.A: Yeah, yeah. Yeah it is.H: So I came to the U.S. and I hated it. Two weeks into being in America, I love it. Love peanut butter.A: Have you ever had like, the Rx bars? H: No.A: Um, ok. M: It’s like a kind of granola bar they call Rx bars. A: But then they make peanut butter and it’s like honey cinnamon flavor and it’s so – you should try it. But my favorite snack is... myself. Well actually, no. I would say, ramen. M: OOOOO. Ramen’s a good snack. A: Yeah, but not like the shy kind that Malena eats, like the fking cup noodle top ramen s*t.M: HEY! That’s good s**t.A: No no no no no. You have to have like shin ramyun.M: That’s good Korean ramen, for those uncultured people out there. Just kidding, I had no idea what it was until like two months ago.H: I had no idea what it was. A: Uncultured.M: I think mine is... I like a solid pretzel crisp and hummus. Um, I mess with that. I also mess with dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch.A: You mess with it?M: You know what.A: You mess with it?M: Ok. It slaps.A: You haven’t had it in a hot minute?M: Um, and then so I like some Cinnamon Toast Crunch.A: Can. M: Some dry Cinnamon Toast Crunch is really good. Oh my gosh they’re making – you guys will get used to my catchphrases eventually. So my last question for this podcast, we’re going to wrap things up, is what makes you feel most empowered? We’re going to wrap it up on a positive note, get everyone empowered on this podcast, our listeners. A: What does empowered mean? Like I know what it means but in what context?M: Mine is my bad b*h playlist. A: In what capacity – oh.M: Definitely. If I’m walking and am having a trash day, and I put on some J Cole, I can walk anywhere, I can do anything.A: J Cole qualifies as bad b*h?M: Like the song that’s like “count it up, count it up, count it up, count it.” A: His songs are so mellow!M: No, some of his songs are mellow, but some of his songs are hype, so his hype songs. Some cupcakKe, I don’t know, Lizzo, anyways. Lizzo’s kinda mainstream.A: cupcakKe, like Deep Throat? M: Yeah. Like there’s a song called Deep Throat by cupcakKe.A: Hannah was supposed to make me a bad b*h playlist but she never did because she was preoccupied.H: So I make bad b*h playlists for all my friends who are sad about boys. A: And you didn’t make me one! I didn’t get one!M: She owes a bunch of people bad b*h playlists. A: I’m sad. M: Update: We all have broken hearts.A: I was sad, where is my playlist?H: I’m gonna make you one.A: Oh but I’m over it now, so there’s no use. H: F**k.M: So what made you feel empowered when you were sad about that? What made you feel empowered afterwards?A: Sammie feeding me bagel bites when I was crying, like on my bed, she brought me my towel. She wiped my tears but I got eyeliner on the towel and then she like fed me bagel bites. She was like “ahhhh.”M: Awww.A: No, I would say singing, for me. Yeah. M: Cause Allison’s a really good singer, hopefully she sings on our podcast one day. Alright, you’re up. Last one. What makes you feel most empowered Hannah?H: Music. But like playing music. So I play the piano. M: You do?! How did I not know this??A: You do??H: Yeah!A: Why don’t you play for me?M: See guys? This is getting to know people!H: That’s pretty nice. A: Hey Hannah, what’s your major?M: And on that note, let’s end this before we find out each others’ majors. Thank you guys so much for listening. Tune in in a couple weeks and we’ll have someone else to talk to. This has been Don’t Tell Me Your Major on NBN Audio. Thanks so much. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

america love american apple americans speaking mit pc snapchat korean guys nose lizzo northwestern mis airpods prefer j cole ramen pinecast beeps rx don't tell sammie umm deep throat hf cinnamon toast crunch moh mso mok mno uncultured cupcakke mdo m okay hso m well m you m yeah m just m they

やさしい英語会話 (339) It Looks Like Halloween

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2019

Download MP3 リスナーの皆様、Happy Halloween! ハロウィンが近いある日のこと。Maryさんは友人のKyleくんの姿を見て、素晴らしいハロウィンのコスチュームだね！と褒めていますが…。　 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） deadline 締め切り How’s it going? 元気？最近どう？ absolutely 完全に clothes 服 awesome 素敵な、素晴らしい What on earth...? 一体全体何が...？ big bags 大きなたるみ dark circles under your eyes! 目の下の黒いクマ torn 破れている here and there あちこち disheveled 髪の毛が乱れている swear 断言する fang 牙 *** Script *** It Looks Like Halloween W: Hi, Kyle! How’s it going? M: Oh, hi, Mary! Fine. And you? W: Me too, thanks. (pause) Ah… I see you are absolutely ready for the Halloween party! M: What? A Halloween party? W: Yes! And your costume is absolutely perfect! You’ll be the scariest one at the party! M: What are you talking about? What costume? W: The costume you’re wearing, of course! It’s great! Your make-up, your clothes, the atmosphere around you; everything is just awesome! Are you a zombie? Or a vampire? M: What on earth are you talking about? I’m not going to a party. And I don’t have a costume… W: So why do you look like this? You’ve really big bags and dark circles under your eyes! M: Yeah, that’s because I’ve slept only 3 hours a night this week… W: And your clothes are so old and dirty, and even torn here and there! M: Oh, I didn’t have time to change them… W: And your hair is so disheveled. And… and I swear I can see a fang sticking out of your mouth! M: Yeah, I really need to see a dentist, but this week I don’t have any time at all! W: So why are you so busy, anyway? M: You know: today I have a deadline for handing in my paper! And now I have only 2 hours left! I just haven’t got time to live! (Written by Ksenia Maximova)

halloween happy halloween moh wso m you m yeah

やさしい英語会話 (339) It Looks Like Halloween

Mario Caira (Caira Quien Caira Now!)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2019

Download MP3 リスナーの皆様、Happy Halloween! ハロウィンが近いある日のこと。Maryさんは友人のKyleくんの姿を見て、素晴らしいハロウィンのコスチュームだね！と褒めていますが…。　 *** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） deadline 締め切り How’s it going? 元気？最近どう？ absolutely 完全に clothes 服 awesome 素敵な、素晴らしい What on earth...? 一体全体何が...？ big bags 大きなたるみ dark circles under your eyes! 目の下の黒いクマ torn 破れている here and there あちこち disheveled 髪の毛が乱れている swear 断言する fang 牙 *** Script *** It Looks Like Halloween W: Hi, Kyle! How’s it going? M: Oh, hi, Mary! Fine. And you? W: Me too, thanks. (pause) Ah… I see you are absolutely ready for the Halloween party! M: What? A Halloween party? W: Yes! And your costume is absolutely perfect! You’ll be the scariest one at the party! M: What are you talking about? What costume? W: The costume you’re wearing, of course! It’s great! Your make-up, your clothes, the atmosphere around you; everything is just awesome! Are you a zombie? Or a vampire? M: What on earth are you talking about? I’m not going to a party. And I don’t have a costume… W: So why do you look like this? You’ve really big bags and dark circles under your eyes! M: Yeah, that’s because I’ve slept only 3 hours a night this week… W: And your clothes are so old and dirty, and even torn here and there! M: Oh, I didn’t have time to change them… W: And your hair is so disheveled. And… and I swear I can see a fang sticking out of your mouth! M: Yeah, I really need to see a dentist, but this week I don’t have any time at all! W: So why are you so busy, anyway? M: You know: today I have a deadline for handing in my paper! And now I have only 2 hours left! I just haven’t got time to live! (Written by Ksenia Maximova)

halloween happy halloween moh wso m you m yeah

MAURICIO MACRI Y SUS "NEGOCIADOS?" Entrevista con MARCELO LOPEZ MASIA, periodista y autor de "La Manada" un investigación a fondo sobre los negocios del gobierno PRO

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2019 13:48

El experimentado y destacado periodista, productor, y escritor Marcelo López Masia, comparte con la audiencia de Caira Quien Caira, los pormenores de su nuevo libro "La Manada" (Tres años, Cien Negocios), en el que recorre la reciente historia del Gobierno de Cambiemos, que encabeza Mauricio Macri, y detalla, uno a uno el TOP 100 de los Negociados que hicieron y están haciendo los Funcionarios PRO, para beneficios de Multinacionales, valiéndose del Estado para ganar dinero a gran escala. Relato de la Corrupción en el Poder, desde los "K", hasta los "M" Imperdible cada detalle de ésta charla que mantuvo con Mario Caira. Seguinos en nuestras Redes Sociales. TWITTER , FACEBOOK e INSTAGRAM ENGLISH The experienced and distinguished journalist, producer, and writer Marcelo López Masia, shares with the audience of Caira Quien Caira, the details of his new book "La Manada" (Three Years, One Hundred Businesses), which traces the recent history of the Government de Cambiemos, headed by Mauricio Macri, and details, one by one, the TOP 100 of the Negotiations that PRO Officials have made and are doing for Multinational benefits, using the State to earn money on a large scale. Report of Corruption in Power, from the "K" to the "M" You can not miss every detail of this talk he had with Mario Caira. Follow us on our social networks. TWITTER, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM

やさしい英語会話 (314) Life Is Tough for Girls, Too

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2018

Download MP3 最近いろいろとさえないという女性。朝、ジムに行く途中に彼女の身に起こった出来事とは…？以前、Life Is Tough for Menというエピソードをお届けしましたが、男も女もつらいのです…。　*** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） (I'm) not (going to) let anything get me down. 何事にも落ち込んだりしない ※「何事も私を落ち込ませたりはしない」 the Student Plaza 学生プラザ（広島大学内の施設） ※番組中で説明されているtheの用法がポイント。 bruise(s) 打ち傷、打撲 I was bleeding internally. 体内で出血していた (to) skip （日々やっていることを）1回飛ばす、サボる treadmill ルームランナー〜, I reckon? 〜だと思うんだけど？ And WHAT actually did you hurt? それで本当のところ、一体どこを傷つけたの？ (to) have a crush on〜（人）に熱を上げる、一目惚れする clingy くっついて離れない *** Script *** Life Is Tough for Girls, Too W: I don't know what's wrong with me these days. M: What happened? W: This morning I told myself I'm going to try and be happy and not let anything *get me down. A few minutes later, I fell! M: What? How? Where did you fall? W: Right across from *the Student Plaza when I was about to go left. Ha ha. To think: I was on the way to the gym! M: Were you hurt? Any *bruises? W: Yeah. I think I was *bleeding internally. M: That's terrible! Are you OK now? Does it hurt? W: A bit. M: You didn't go to the gym after that, right? I mean you went to the health office to get it treated, yes? W: Of course I went to the gym! Who do you think I am? *Skipping my gym routine because of a little pain? Pfft. I even ran on the *treadmill for an hour! M: Hey, you said you were bleeding internally. That's something more serious than a bruise, I *reckon?! W: Well, nothing to worry about. Surprisingly, gym is medicine. I'm fine now. M: I've never heard of such a thing. Hey, can we make this clear? You fell? And WHAT actually did you *hurt? W: My heart, friend! I saw the guy I *had a crush on for months. He was with another girl! They both looked all *clingy and sweet together! I just couldn't take it, so I went exercising! M: Ah! Why did we have this conversation? (Written by Bea Jianne Roque)

men girls tough skipping m you w well

やさしい英語会話 (314) Life Is Tough for Girls, Too

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2018

Download MP3 最近いろいろとさえないという女性。朝、ジムに行く途中に彼女の身に起こった出来事とは…？以前、Life Is Tough for Menというエピソードをお届けしましたが、男も女もつらいのです…。　*** It's a Good Expression *** （今回の重要表現） (I'm) not (going to) let anything get me down. 何事にも落ち込んだりしない ※「何事も私を落ち込ませたりはしない」 the Student Plaza 学生プラザ（広島大学内の施設） ※番組中で説明されているtheの用法がポイント。 bruise(s) 打ち傷、打撲 I was bleeding internally. 体内で出血していた (to) skip （日々やっていることを）1回飛ばす、サボる treadmill ルームランナー〜, I reckon? 〜だと思うんだけど？ And WHAT actually did you hurt? それで本当のところ、一体どこを傷つけたの？ (to) have a crush on〜（人）に熱を上げる、一目惚れする clingy くっついて離れない *** Script *** Life Is Tough for Girls, Too W: I don't know what's wrong with me these days. M: What happened? W: This morning I told myself I'm going to try and be happy and not let anything *get me down. A few minutes later, I fell! M: What? How? Where did you fall? W: Right across from *the Student Plaza when I was about to go left. Ha ha. To think: I was on the way to the gym! M: Were you hurt? Any *bruises? W: Yeah. I think I was *bleeding internally. M: That's terrible! Are you OK now? Does it hurt? W: A bit. M: You didn't go to the gym after that, right? I mean you went to the health office to get it treated, yes? W: Of course I went to the gym! Who do you think I am? *Skipping my gym routine because of a little pain? Pfft. I even ran on the *treadmill for an hour! M: Hey, you said you were bleeding internally. That's something more serious than a bruise, I *reckon?! W: Well, nothing to worry about. Surprisingly, gym is medicine. I'm fine now. M: I've never heard of such a thing. Hey, can we make this clear? You fell? And WHAT actually did you *hurt? W: My heart, friend! I saw the guy I *had a crush on for months. He was with another girl! They both looked all *clingy and sweet together! I just couldn't take it, so I went exercising! M: Ah! Why did we have this conversation? (Written by Bea Jianne Roque)

men girls tough skipping m you w well

超濃縮！やさしい英語会話 (19) Heartache

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2018

Download MP3 ８月の４週間は、恒例の「超濃縮！やさしい英語会話」です。この10年間に配信した310本の「やさしい英語会話」よりエピソードを厳選し、毎回４本分を濃縮してお届けします。ナチュラルスピードの会話をスクリプトとともにお楽しみください。今回は、出会いや恋など、人とのほろ苦い交わりにまつわるエピソードを集めました。*** Script *** [ (275) Meeting People Can Be Nerve-wracking ] M: Hey, Alex, do you think I should I wear this blue tie or the green? W: Neither. They don't match. Hey, how aren't you ready yet? I thought guys were supposed to get ready BEFORE girls. M: Well, I don't know what's happening tonight. I don't know who we're meeting with, or where we're meeting them, and I don't know how formal it's supposed to be. I'm trying to dress appropriately, so don't rush me! W: Awww, are you nervous? That's adorable. M: Let me concentrate! ... Okay, I think I look good. W: Awesome! So, can we go now? M: Uhh.. Yeah, I guess… W: That doesn't sound very confident. M: Yeah, it's just, it sounds like there's going to be a big group of people. W: It's only a couple of drinks. M: Yeah, but what if they don't want me to be a part of their group? Or, what if I can't talk to them? W: You'll be fine! When you see them just smile and wave. Practice with me. M: (Through gritted teeth) Is this good? W: Uhhh… you look like you're teaching the Joker to dance to Single Ladies. Okay, then, you're a charming guy, just talk like you do with me. Except about politics: avoid talking about politics. M: (Breathes deeply) Okay then, let's go! [ (285) A Blind Date Goes Bad ] W: Hmm… I wonder where my blind date is... He's late! (Hums a tune) M: Hi… You're Donna? I'm Takayuki. Sorry to be late. We've been talking online, but it's nice to finally meet you. Hey, you're really beautiful! W: Uh, thank you. Um, so what are you planning on ordering? M: This restaurant makes an amazing soup, so I'll get that. W: I see. I think I might have... the chicken kiev? M: My buddy had that one time. We came here for a few drinks, but we ended up throwing up in the garden outside! Ha ha… W: Oh, is that so? Well, there's no way that story will make me lose my appetite… Hmm… I think I'll get the soup too. So, what do you do for a living? M: I'm a writer. My novels are starting to get a bit of attention lately as well. You never know: I might be the next J. K. Rowling! Ha ha. W: Oh, that's cool... ... I work as a journalist, so I- M: Hey, one of my characters is a journalist! He's a freelance journalist who takes down corrupt corporations and politicians, all the while protecting his secret girlfriend who's a fugitive because she got framed. W: Oh, how interesting. M: I think so too. I'm sure I'll become famous! Oh, our food is here. W: It looks delicious! I'm really glad you chose- M: Hold on a moment, I've just got to take a picture. W: A selfie? In such a classy restaurant? M: It's for my fans on Insta. Oh, look! John Green is taking his wife out to dinner as well. I wonder if they're having as much fun as we are. Ha ha! W: Ha ha… I wonder.. M: (starts slurping his soup) Oh, wow, this is delicious! (Slurps) W: This has been wonderful, but I... Uh... I think that I left my stove on. So.. Um.. Goodnight! M: Oh, she suddenly left. Well, I guess I'll eat her soup too! (slurping) [ (287) What Is Love? ] M: Ah! It hurts! W: What does?! M: Not knowing what to do with everything. W: Um… please elaborate. I have no idea what you're talking about. M: You see, I went to see a psychiatrist. I felt like I'm going crazy! W: About what?! You need to be more specific than that! M: I said it felt crazy. Then again, maybe it was supposed to make you feel like that. W: I can't believe I have to ask this again. What is IT? M: The thing that hurts! There's something inside me, right smack in the middle that just aches sometimes. W: Your chest? You have chest pain? Um… what do you call it: Heartburn? M: It sounds like it, but not quite! Yes, yes… something about my heart, and a burning sensation. Am I dying? W: What? Why did you go to a psychiatrist instead of a cardiologist then? M: Because she said I have to talk it out, or else I just might suffer from a heart attack! W: And did you talk it out? What did she say? M: She gave me a medical prescription. W: What did she prescribe for you? M: She said she prescribes the person who makes me feel this way. W: WHO did that to you? Let's get him or her!! M: Well, that would be… YOU. [ (291) When a Woman Cries ] M: (Situation: Phone rings. Waking up, in a sleepy voice) Um…hello? W: Hey, are you still sleeping? Unbelievable! You've changed nothing. (She hangs up the phone.) M: Hey, wait! …Please!... Oh dear, she's mad at me again. Scene: At the cafeteria W: (Speaking to herself) (Sigh…) He's so careless! And he's always late for dates. He always drinks too much. He's.... But he's... always kind to me. He's always kind to everyone! He always tries to make me smile. And... he always… loves me. That's why... That's why… I love... (Jack arrives breathlessly) M: Hey, Sarah, I must apologize to you! I just remembered it was your precious 20th birthday yesterday! I'm so sorry, I wish I could take it back. W: Hmm… you're always saying you're sorry, Jack. I don't want to hear that anymore! What I really want to hear is... (crying a bit) M: Oh, don't cry… W: You need to think about our future, Jack. M: I do! W: No, you don't! Then why don't you say anything to me? M: Here! I just happen to have… this! Go ahead. Open it. (He gives her a small box with a ring in it.) W: Oh… a ring? M: I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I'm afraid I can't be a reliable person for you, but I promise I'm always on your side. The man who loves you the most in the world is…me! Sarah… Sarah… would you marry me? W: (Surprisingly)……Yes! M: Do you forgive me? W: Yeah. Nobody's perfect. M: Sarah!! W: But don't drink too much, OK?

超濃縮！やさしい英語会話 (19) Heartache

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2018

Download MP3 ８月の４週間は、恒例の「超濃縮！やさしい英語会話」です。この10年間に配信した310本の「やさしい英語会話」よりエピソードを厳選し、毎回４本分を濃縮してお届けします。ナチュラルスピードの会話をスクリプトとともにお楽しみください。今回は、出会いや恋など、人とのほろ苦い交わりにまつわるエピソードを集めました。*** Script *** [ (275) Meeting People Can Be Nerve-wracking ] M: Hey, Alex, do you think I should I wear this blue tie or the green? W: Neither. They don't match. Hey, how aren't you ready yet? I thought guys were supposed to get ready BEFORE girls. M: Well, I don't know what's happening tonight. I don't know who we're meeting with, or where we're meeting them, and I don't know how formal it's supposed to be. I'm trying to dress appropriately, so don't rush me! W: Awww, are you nervous? That's adorable. M: Let me concentrate! ... Okay, I think I look good. W: Awesome! So, can we go now? M: Uhh.. Yeah, I guess… W: That doesn't sound very confident. M: Yeah, it's just, it sounds like there's going to be a big group of people. W: It's only a couple of drinks. M: Yeah, but what if they don't want me to be a part of their group? Or, what if I can't talk to them? W: You'll be fine! When you see them just smile and wave. Practice with me. M: (Through gritted teeth) Is this good? W: Uhhh… you look like you're teaching the Joker to dance to Single Ladies. Okay, then, you're a charming guy, just talk like you do with me. Except about politics: avoid talking about politics. M: (Breathes deeply) Okay then, let's go! [ (285) A Blind Date Goes Bad ] W: Hmm… I wonder where my blind date is... He's late! (Hums a tune) M: Hi… You're Donna? I'm Takayuki. Sorry to be late. We've been talking online, but it's nice to finally meet you. Hey, you're really beautiful! W: Uh, thank you. Um, so what are you planning on ordering? M: This restaurant makes an amazing soup, so I'll get that. W: I see. I think I might have... the chicken kiev? M: My buddy had that one time. We came here for a few drinks, but we ended up throwing up in the garden outside! Ha ha… W: Oh, is that so? Well, there's no way that story will make me lose my appetite… Hmm… I think I'll get the soup too. So, what do you do for a living? M: I'm a writer. My novels are starting to get a bit of attention lately as well. You never know: I might be the next J. K. Rowling! Ha ha. W: Oh, that's cool... ... I work as a journalist, so I- M: Hey, one of my characters is a journalist! He's a freelance journalist who takes down corrupt corporations and politicians, all the while protecting his secret girlfriend who's a fugitive because she got framed. W: Oh, how interesting. M: I think so too. I'm sure I'll become famous! Oh, our food is here. W: It looks delicious! I'm really glad you chose- M: Hold on a moment, I've just got to take a picture. W: A selfie? In such a classy restaurant? M: It's for my fans on Insta. Oh, look! John Green is taking his wife out to dinner as well. I wonder if they're having as much fun as we are. Ha ha! W: Ha ha… I wonder.. M: (starts slurping his soup) Oh, wow, this is delicious! (Slurps) W: This has been wonderful, but I... Uh... I think that I left my stove on. So.. Um.. Goodnight! M: Oh, she suddenly left. Well, I guess I'll eat her soup too! (slurping) [ (287) What Is Love? ] M: Ah! It hurts! W: What does?! M: Not knowing what to do with everything. W: Um… please elaborate. I have no idea what you're talking about. M: You see, I went to see a psychiatrist. I felt like I'm going crazy! W: About what?! You need to be more specific than that! M: I said it felt crazy. Then again, maybe it was supposed to make you feel like that. W: I can't believe I have to ask this again. What is IT? M: The thing that hurts! There's something inside me, right smack in the middle that just aches sometimes. W: Your chest? You have chest pain? Um… what do you call it: Heartburn? M: It sounds like it, but not quite! Yes, yes… something about my heart, and a burning sensation. Am I dying? W: What? Why did you go to a psychiatrist instead of a cardiologist then? M: Because she said I have to talk it out, or else I just might suffer from a heart attack! W: And did you talk it out? What did she say? M: She gave me a medical prescription. W: What did she prescribe for you? M: She said she prescribes the person who makes me feel this way. W: WHO did that to you? Let's get him or her!! M: Well, that would be… YOU. [ (291) When a Woman Cries ] M: (Situation: Phone rings. Waking up, in a sleepy voice) Um…hello? W: Hey, are you still sleeping? Unbelievable! You've changed nothing. (She hangs up the phone.) M: Hey, wait! …Please!... Oh dear, she's mad at me again. Scene: At the cafeteria W: (Speaking to herself) (Sigh…) He's so careless! And he's always late for dates. He always drinks too much. He's.... But he's... always kind to me. He's always kind to everyone! He always tries to make me smile. And... he always… loves me. That's why... That's why… I love... (Jack arrives breathlessly) M: Hey, Sarah, I must apologize to you! I just remembered it was your precious 20th birthday yesterday! I'm so sorry, I wish I could take it back. W: Hmm… you're always saying you're sorry, Jack. I don't want to hear that anymore! What I really want to hear is... (crying a bit) M: Oh, don't cry… W: You need to think about our future, Jack. M: I do! W: No, you don't! Then why don't you say anything to me? M: Here! I just happen to have… this! Go ahead. Open it. (He gives her a small box with a ring in it.) W: Oh… a ring? M: I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I'm afraid I can't be a reliable person for you, but I promise I'm always on your side. The man who loves you the most in the world is…me! Sarah… Sarah… would you marry me? W: (Surprisingly)……Yes! M: Do you forgive me? W: Yeah. Nobody's perfect. M: Sarah!! W: But don't drink too much, OK?

超濃縮！やさしい英語会話 (18) Foreign Cultures