What is Building Moxie (aka they say when starting a small business it is better to follow then lead)

Part 1 of 2 -- click here for the last post from this series

In my best Costanza . . .

Aside from my wife, my attorney, and a guy (yes, a guy) I call my Director of Visioning, no one knew. And it took me a year, but I did it. I wrote a business (read: life) plan – 120 pages all totaled (if you include the embedded attachments, and various worksheets). I learned a little bit about the players in the home improvement industry (both national and local), a lot about marketing in general, and I might even have learned a thing or two about myself.

Thank you, Good Night!

Ok, just kidding . . . . Going in, I knew it would be fluid; I guess that’s just how I am. What I mean by that -- my efforts, even if I just filed that document away -- never to touch it again, would never go to waste. From now on -- I would land correctly.

Among other things, some might say -- I now have that much of a leg up on about 75% of the general contractors out there today (if I ever wanted to try that again). Plus, I would be just that much more capable at helping my friends, and/or at executing work around my own house.

Networking (minus the social or something like that)

I guess I am fortunate really to have some bright people around me. In my camp, within my immediate circle, I have several marketers, entrepreneurs, and small business people. I have access to a prof in Hopkins' Business program, access to a vc (the biggest naysayer of the bunch), and I have access to an mba, who in my eyes, is a sales guru.

So . . . I spoke with them, September to November, 2008. I won’t go into too much detail here, but generally what I heard was, first, this plan is too long – “you need to break it up,” they said. So I did. I divided it into a short-term and a long-term plan.

(Now down to an 18-page PowerPoint presentation – the short-term portion details what I feel I can realistically accomplish before 2012.)

And second – this is what I heard across the board – “You will kill yourself if you don’t at least try AND . . . you won’t really know until you do.”

Those who cannot do -- teach, and those who cannot teach -- consult

It didn’t take long to find out that there was actually a name for what I was proposing . . .

There it was – and probably not that distant from what most owner-builder operations are doing -- “Checkpoint Consulting." But still . . . not widely documented and found almost exclusively related to the software industry.

This method of implementation – as I understand it -- says, “ok, I will help you do that; I will come in and partner with you . . . you will pay me for my time (whether I wear a toolbelt or not) at checkpoints along the process. And if you fail – I will be there to bail you out.”

Really doesn’t sound all that earth shattering, and especially considering I really don’t have the need, under my current revenue model (the two -- inseparable), fully gauged. But that’s what I came up with – in my eyes, a better how-to. (You know – kinda like a human-driven diy insurance policy, with a few other add-ins.)

Now – of course my vc friend objected all over this. . . . “There is so much free information out there,” he would say, “And how do you know there is even a need? It is going to be tough for you to find people to pay you." And I understood -- so the plan evolved, a little.

Subscription model . . . hmmm . . .ad revenue? No, well, ok maybe eventually, Subsidies always welcome!

I knew going in, and even though I was starting out only on a local scale, that I wanted both a strong online and offline presence. At this point to me, most solid, lasting organizations -- have both working in concert. There should be no division between the two.

Practically speaking, it, my website, was one asset I was willing to invest in.

And of course, I did consider generating how-to content for it. But . . . there are heap loads of it (some better than others) out there already. Some very excellent writers and personalities are staffing some very well-run websites, publications, and productions; others are working alone. Serving it up . . . and more is coming everyday.

So . . . those things considered -- I just didn’t see the point (tongue in check) . . . of diving in on that immediately. In general, I just let the information come, and I evaluate -- picking and choosing what we need.

So . . . why write?

I’ll admit – I think I drew, with my last two posts, a little more attention than I actually probably want, right now. It's true -- I am not planning any sort of general launch until about March of next year. I mean -- Baltimore doesn’t really even know I am here. Just you, and the 40 or so friends I have told.

Do I love my brand? Yes – it is very personal. (A mantra. In fact, I wanted to name my first daughter Foxie Moxie). Is it the best for my business? Maybe not.

Is my business plan complete? Nope – it never will be.

Those things said, though -- I do believe in the traditional values of truth, trust, and transparency. And if there is one thing that my professional career has taught me -- it is always best to know from where exactly someone is coming. And I offer it up – now, so you will know -- where I am at, and where I am coming from. Plus . . .

Who knows, maybe you will help, or maybe you could learn . . . or maybe . . . you'll tell me, "jb, you're a lune," and that I should just stop now.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment.

Next (and last in this series) --Short term obstacles and an action plan.
click here to see the next in this series

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More Moxie:
I know it is not hard to tell -- and while I did not do-it-myself (I hired out the scripting & have an artist friend who helped with graphics and layout), I did teach myself enough html and css to slap a site together. For now, it fits my needs - and if you are wondering, it was about the 6th design I had on it -- each subsequent mock-up scaling back. Thanks for visiting and BMoxie BMore: http://www.buildingmoxie.com/

His website is currently in rework. Thanks for all your help so far -- the Artist :: Jack Pierce -- http://studiojacko.blogspot.com/