Wednesday, September 16, 2009

I guess it gets harder the closer you get

Over the last 2 years, I've been working on the Enercient project, and I'll admit that there've been a few ups and downs- but overall we have been able to keep our eyes on the goal and to stay focused on where we need to be.

However, Lately, It's been exceptionally tough. I know that there are several things contributing to this, but the recent abrupt change with PCF didn't help. I really wasn't planning on going full-time into doing my own thing, and was counting on the part-time salary I was getting from them to pay the bills. Alas, I suppose there are more important buttercups in the fields.

August went quick, we stayed busy, and we paid (most of) the bills. We had a couple nice projects, and I actually had to hire in some supplemental help. September is a "whole nother" story. The phone ain't ringing for service work because its been relatively cool all month. The other ventures I'm working on will be very lucrative in short order, and the Enercient project overall is going along well. We have a new salesman coming on board, we are nearly complete with the prototype, and we are beginning to make some traction in potential sales.

It's just that right now, this week, this month we are slow, I'm outta cash and I'm praying for something good to happen soon.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Enercient Updates

I haven't blogged in a while, so I thought I'd hit a few highs and lows from the last couple months- so here's the update.
Last year, after reading GTD, and the 4HWW- I decided I needed to diversify my income portfolio. I took on a consulting gig last August that actually lasted for a year. Some of the things I learned from it are:
1. Set an end-date for the contract. My feeling is that the customer is going to want to set some pretty lofty goals for completion- and as a consultant you don't have much influence over how much work the customer is going to do, or what changes they will make based on your recommendations. So when you write a consulting agreement, write it with an end date. This way you can do what you promised, and leave it up to the customer to implement the changes and make the improvements you recommended.
2. Make the things that you are going to deliver very clear. You are there to help them improve something, change something, implement something, etc. So create a clear and definite list of your deliverables and deliver them.
3. Don't give away freebies just because you're excited to sign on a customer. It will be tempting to act like a member of the team when you are in a customer's office, and start picking up slack- just remember you don't actually work there. Give them what you promised, and don't pick up their problems. Let the phone ring. Let that person who comes in with questions ask someone else. Be polite, and don't let the building burn down- but remember you are there to accomplish a list of tasks related to an agreement. You're not there to be supplemental staffing for every crisis that comes along.
Enercient has had its highs and lows- The strides we've made in development have been amazing, and the list of vendors and trade agreements we've made is almost staggering, but I have to admit there are times when this thing feels like a very expensive, time consuming hobby.
I know that we are making progress, and I know that things are going to pick up soon, I'd just like to have a little money in my pocket at some point that isn't earmarked for something else.
We're trying to buy a house in Frederick, and we haven't been in business for 2 years, so that's been a real adventure in rejection...I keep telling myself the stupid Col. Sanders story.
Finally, on the positive side, We moved into our new office in Clarksville this week, and it feels good to be able to say "at my office" again. Since I left Amtek, a bunch of my "stuff" has been sitting in boxes in the basement, and it felt like a part of my life had a big unknown black hole- "Where's my...oh yeah- it's with my office stuff"
Enercient has it's bright moments, We still have a great opportunity with some investors in Baltimore, and we're going to get a blurb in the Baltimore Sun in a couple weeks. We have a few commercial contracts for the "local office" and our prototype is almost done. here's a peek

Things are going to get crazy as we approach the beginning of next year, because I've stacked the deck so I guess I should be grateful for the quiet right now.
More updates to follow...