Hummingbird604.com » entrepreneurship

Budget your time according to your priorities

Raul — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:09:01 +0000

photo credit: abductit

When I started writing the series on my top productivity tips, I thought about what made my days so exciting every day. I thought it was the fact that I always have something different within the same day – academic research, client work, teaching, research, meetings, etc. Then I figured it that it wasn’t only the fact that I never get bored and always do something interesting.

I have managed to budget my time according to my priorities, and I try (some times more successfully than others) to always allocate the most time to the things that will require the hardest thinking or the longest to complete. The full daily hour budget always reflects my priorities. For example, when client work leads to a deliverable that needs to be submitted on deadline, I always make sure to budget time BEFORE the deadline to respond (and sometimes you need to build in a cushion). Other times you need to readjust your strategy based on the inputs and outputs that you’re given – if you need a document that other colleague is generating to base yours on, then you can’t really do anything about it – but you still can budget the right amount of hours/days/weeks to ensure that you will deliver the product/service on time.

My usual strategy is to do a yearly plan, then a quarterly one, then a monthly one, and then a weekly one. Finally, I allocate my weekly hourly budget depending on what I need to deliver by when and to whom. If an item is high priority, I accommodate for contingencies. This may work for you too!

The Network Hub as a launch pad

Raul — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:08:07 +0000

I had the pleasure of spending some time with Bonnie Sainsbury and a friend of hers at the recent Net Tuesday Mini Camp for Non Profits. Her friend asked me what exactly was WorkSpace and whether there were other similar projects around town. I mentioned that my office was at The Network Hub and I explained to her that I always have felt here as though I’m at “my home away from home“.

I think that Bonnie’s friend was very puzzled at the notion of “a launching pad”. As Minna Van (from The Network Hub) invited me as her date to the Leaders Under 40 event that I recently attended, I had a chance to explain what The Network Hub does that makes it very unique, many times around (everybody whom I introduced Minna to asked her what TNH does). It’s not only an office space, it is an actual hub. Lots of entrepreneurs locate themselves in the shared office space of The Network Hub. I’m surrounded by talented, smart, young entrepreneurs, all the time!

More important than that is the fact that The Network Hub organizes events such as the Vancouver Entrepreneur Meetup, a monthly gathering of entrepreneurs. Minna is the main organizer, and while the event is free, you are encouraged to bring something to share (i.e., not only to share your knowledge and wisdom but also something to drink or eat). I really have to praise her because this event has really featured a number of amazing speakers. Sometimes I wonder how do John and Minna do so much work all the time!

At any rate, I do hope that people now realize what a launching pad is and why The Network Hub is one. It provides more than the actual physical infrastructure, it enables the entrepreneur to explore avenues and learn from his/her peers within a safe environment, surrounded by other like-minded entrepreneurs.

Fresh Start Recycling and Disposal Ltd.

Raul — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:30:19 +0000

A few weeks back, Rebecca directed Kara Alcorn (Customer Relations, Fresh Start Recycling and Disposal Ltd.) towards my site and suggested that I talk to her. I have to say that I am very positively impressed with Fresh Start (as we bloggers have begun to call this young company).

Obviously, you’re going to ask me – so what IS Fresh Start?While I am sure you’ll check their site, basically let me tell you that Fresh Start takes the business of recycling one step further, and brings the recycled stuff to charities. Moreover, one element that really impressed me was that they look for local charities within the communities where their clients are located.

Founded in 2004 by Vancouver native Thomas Goodall, Fresh Start Recycling & Disposal Ltd. is committed to reducing clutter in your life while minimizing our impact on the environment by reducing the amount of material that goes straight to the landfill.[Fresh Start Recycling website]

Let me give you an example. Currently, my friends Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber are in the North Shore area, and are currently renovating their house. Their floor has to be fully torn apart and they need to install new flooring. They’ll probably also need to remove and recycle stuff. The obvious choice of company to do this? Fresh Start, of course!

By demonstrating that recycling can be still a successful business model AND that you can incorporate elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR), therefore enhancing how and where the product is delivered and the ethical/social aspects of recycling within local communities, I think Fresh Start is indeed off to a very fresh start, and a successful one!

Even smarter, Fresh Start maintains a relationship with customers, vendors, potential clients. How? By using one of the most innovative forms of communication – Web 2.0! Yes, sir! Fresh Start has a BLOG. I can’t help but feel really excited about this, because I am always a firm believer that you can meld social media with sustainability, and as you can see, Fresh Start is doing it!

In addition, of course, I should highlight the fact that their office is in Mount Pleasant, very close to my house, as a matter of fact!

Kudos to Fresh Start as well, because they were the first corporate sponsors of my Blogathon 2008. While I am raving about them in this post (and very legitimately, as I do believe in their positive intentions), they did NOT sponsor this post, so this is in NO way paid advertisement. They DID, however, sponsor a forthcoming post that will describe in more detail the whole concept of Recycle, Reuse, Reduce (3Rs), and for their contribution to the BC Cancer Agency and my Blogathon, I am very, very grateful!

Launch Party Vancouver 4 was outstanding!

Raul — Thu, 22 May 2008 18:43:33 +0000

Despite the fact that I’ve been blogging since April of 2006, I only got really serious after Rebecca gently nudged me towards participating in Blogathon 2007. Nevertheless, it has only been since January of 2008 that I have seriously started to socialize and mingle with the social media folks (that’s why some of you think that I’ve just appeared out of nowhere – but no, I’ve been here all along!). As someone said, “better late than never“, so now I am trying to show up to these events. Naturally, I had been waiting for Launch Party Vancouver 4 with baited breath.

I had heard rave reviews about these parties, particularly from our local blogging powerhouse Rebecca Bollwitt [and my Blogging Jedi Master] (Miss604) and knew that many of my friends would show up, so I couldn’t miss it. Besides, it is a rare occasion that I get to see many of my blogosphere folks two or three times in a row in the same week (I hope they don’t get tired of me by the time Saturday comes, as I was planning to organize a brunch this weekend!).

So what IS Launch Party Vancouver 4? Well, how about I let the organizers tell you?

Launch Party Vancouver is a lively mixer for the city’s brightest entrepreneurs, tech junkies, and bloggers, who are doing it, have done it or want to make their ideas happen here. The goal of the event is to connect BC’s growing community of Internet and new media leaders with investors and other trailblazers across Canada and abroad.

Founded by local entrepreneurs, LPV is not your typical networking event. There are no presentations or panels to be found. But what you will discover are the individuals responsible for making Vancouver one of the greatest start-up cities in Canada. Every event features local, early stage new media companies strutting their stuff and sharing their ideas with the community.

I had the pleasure of (FINALLY!) meeting Jordan Behan and Maura Rodgers, both with Strutta. Surprisingly, I don’t think I had a chance to chat with Danny Robinson, but there will be plenty of opportunities in the near future, I’m sure.

Last night was also the opportunity to meet other great gurus from the social media scene, people I had heard about a lot. Of course, my friends and usual suspects were also there, including Rastin, Ash, Gus, Rebecca, John, Duane, Karen, Colleen, Arieanna and Ianiv, Monica, Jonathon, Jenn, Nadia, Lisa, Phillip, David, Tod. I missed some of the folks who I am sure would have made it if they had been able to, including (but not limited to) Beth, Tanya, Trevor, Tyler and Jeremy.

I only briefly attended the StartUp Career Fair, sponsored by TechVibes, although by the looks of it (and the large number of demos being shown throughout LPV4), I would say it was great.

Had the pleasure of (FINALLY!) meeting Boris Mann, one of the pillars in the local tech community, and someone I had heard about so many times, but never got around meeting (which is kind of unusual as I have become more acquainted with the tech folks recently). Boris introduced me to a really neat application – basically, the general public can text a specific phone number and their message appears on a screen. Kind of Twitter for those who do not have a Twitter account. I find this application fascinating, as it would allow civilians (that’s how I call non-bloggers) to reach you (the blogger) or a large audience without having to Twitter. Oh, the possibilities are limitless!

Boris showing the demo.

Side note – Now I do know the reason why many people have just started to get to know me (and kudos to Rebecca and Karen, as it was through conversations with both of them that I have finally figured it out): I missed Northern Voice 2008 (because of too much work on the massive project!). Had I gone to NV ’08, my life would have been so much easier as I would’ve met a gazillion local bloggers/tech people in the same place. Totally my fault, nobody else’s.

Had a really awesome conversation with Rob Lewis from TechVibes and Steve Jagger from Reachd, basically ranging from tech startups to how I plan to meld my sustainability and environmental studies training with social media.

I had also been wanting to see Rochelle Grayson (Twemes), whom I hadn’t seen since the last Vancouver Tweetup. Always a pleasure, of course (and a privilege considering that this week I get to chat with these folks three times in a row!). Here is Rochelle with Darren Barefoot.

As I was leaving Republic, I was lucky enough to meet Kris Krug, another local blogosphere star and one of the best photographers I know. Kris (or kk+ as I’ve often seen him referred to) was really nice and most definitely would like to chat more in the near future with him, as I have loved his work for a long while. I had to leave the party relatively early because I was exhausted. It’s been a really long couple of days, and the week isn’t even over. I didn’t even make it to Green Drinks! Oh well, next time. LPV4 was a great experience, and look forward to the next one!

UPDATE – Rebecca has a fabulous photo recap post… and yours truly is in there with the blogging Jedi master!

A home away from home… The Network Hub

Raul — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:41:27 +0000

The first time I came to The Network Hub was at my first Third Tuesday event. I was positively impressed. The place is simply outstanding. Ever since I’ve wanted to become a consultant I’ve wanted to have a workspace that provides me with freedom and also positive entrepreneurial energy around me. The Network Hub answers those needs.

A view of The Network Hub’s open space office concept. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.

So, what is exactly The Network Hub and why does it play an important role in Vancouver’s burgeoning entrepreneurial sphere?

The Network Hub was established 2006 after observations of first time entrepreneurs struggling to find fundings from angel investors and venture capital companies. The Network Hub is a special kind of venture capital firm and incubator that care more about your idea than your age, resume and your business plan.[The Network Hub website]

Another view of The Network Hub. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr

So how *exactly* does The Network Hub help entrepreneurs?

Ideas are important but we also look for motivation, passion and brains. The ideal companies we are looking for usually has two or more founders. We provide micro-loans and resources to help you get started on your ideas in exchange for 5%-10% equity.

We provide to all our startups:
* “Micro” capital
* Infrastructure (office space, legal, accounting, human resources, etc.)
* Product development, management, sales and marketing resources
* Connecting you to potential investors
* Expertise through business partners [The Network Hub benefits page]

When the time comes for me to start up my business, I will seriously consider coming down to The Network Hub. The concept is somewhat similar to that of WorkSpace, and I think that there should be more of these “shared office space” concepts. I also plan to write a featurette of WorkSpace soon. Stay tuned!

In the mean time, I’d like to thank The Network Hub and their team (especially Minna and Robert) for all their support with the Third Tuesdays, Net Tuesdays AND with last night’s WordCamp.