the housing market and the depression

I'm pretty bummed out right now. Our house has been on the market for about six months, and we're seeing very little activity. We had a flurry of interest when we first listed it, and we even had an offer in the first week (although it was a crappy offer for less than what we had paid for the house). But ever since the summer ended, our prospects seems to have also headed south for the winter.

Our agent suggested that we consider owner financing it. Although I'm sure it would make the house more attractive to prospective buyers who can't get a loan, it isn't going to help us at all with building our next house. We need that equity. I also don't like the possibility of someone defaulting on their payment and trashing the house, thereby making it even more difficult to sell. So I guess we'll have to just sit on it for now.

It's either that, or we try and come up with some sort of gimmick to try and entice buyers. I have heard of people offering a new car with the sale, and I've heard of special two week sales that lower the price by 15% or more (in the hopes of saving money on future mortgage payments should the house not sell for some time), but I'm not sure that I want to sink any more money into the house, nor lose any more money than we're already guaranteed to lose by signing with an agent. We've already spent so much time and effort making the house look good. We've touched up and replaced nearly everything except for the carpet and the furnace, and we're ready to grant a carpet allowance if it would help. But you never know what people are looking for in a house. I've heard of people spending tons of cash on new flooring or appliances, only to have the new owners come in and replace it to match their furniture. Most people want to make a house "their own". But I've also heard of buyers who have asked that furniture and decor be included in a sale. We even had an offer on our last house that asked to include the homemade curtains in my son's room that my wife had sewn to match his baby bedding. So you just never know.

If we believe all of the presidential hype, I guess we should sit it out and wait until next year for when the economy is supposed to somehow turn around. But I fear that house values could go down if we wait that long, and then we'll be out our initial 20% down payment, plus all of the money we spent on upgrades and mortgage payments while it was for sale.

Selling a house is definitely one of those crystal ball moments. You wish you could look into the future to see what the eventual sale price is going to be, so that you can know whether to accept low offers right now, or hold out. It's almost like gambling. You got to know when to hold 'em.

blacker than black friday

I'm not exactly sure why they call Black Friday "black" to begin with, but this week before Thanksgiving has been horrible when it comes to my affiliate marketing sites. Sales have been lower this week than they have been all year. Perhaps everyone is saving their money for official Black Friday sales, but I had hoped that internet sales wouldn't be as affected. What's strange is that my search ads are still getting as many clicks as before - they're just not converting this week. I'll have to try and remember this next year, and simply turn off my search marketing campaigns for the week prior to Thanksgiving.

I still can't help but wonder if the affiliate marketing networks aren't screwing us over. There are times when it seems too strange that we would be getting the usual click-through and yet the conversion rate drops so miserably. Or maybe it is the advertiser, hiding sales from the affiliate network. Either way, I hate the idea of my income depending on the honesty of someone who technically owes me commissions.

the sponsored body

"Wardrobe by Ralph Lauren. Body by Phentermine."


Who Cares?

Am I the only one who is getting sick of these pretentious advertisements that feel the need to tell us what clothes some Hollywood debutante is wearing, or what miracle drug she took to squeeze into them?

Why does America care so much? Haven't we been around marketing spin long enough to realize that buying the same products as the rich and famous isn't going to transform us to their level? Who are these morons that prefer to live vicariously through some airbrushed model on the sun-tempered coast?

I'd like to say that I have hope for the future; that our own children will evolve from this state of self-loathing and try to live up to their full potential, unshackling themselves from the ridiculous chains of high fashion and "taste". But I'd be lying. When I look around, I see children who are nothing more than clones of their confused parents. Their mommy wants designer clothes, so they must have them too. Daddy buys the latest techno-crap, and will eventually pass it down to his son. A true (micro) chip off th old block.

Sorry, I guess I'm in a mood today, but occasionally I see an advertisement that just sets me off. Somebody pass the soma. I promise to behave...

killing for fun or food

A good friend of mine recently informed me that he is picking up a hunting license so that he can go sport hunting for coyotes. I know that hunting is a very popular "sport" here in America, and I am aware of the proposed "ethics" behind it, but I have to say that I was totally shocked that my good friend would be interested in killing any kind of creature for fun. I could easily argue that we don't really need to hunt anymore now that we have domesticated livestock, and that the technology and equipment available to hunters gives them an unfair advantage over simple woodland creatures. But I didn't even go there. Honestly, if someone wants to hunt for food, and they are not hunting endangered species, I won't make a peep. I might even research it myself if things continue to look so bad with the global economy. It would be a good trade to master (in addition to gardening). But I had to argue a little with my friend, as I don't really see any use in hunting coyotes.

He was quick to defend the hunt, stating that coyotes are a natural predator that require population control, and that farmers and ranchers have trouble with them every year. My response was that he wasn't a rancher or a farmer, so it wasn't really a matter of protecting his own livestock. He was only doing it for fun. He then said that it would be good practice for when he starts hunting deer and elk (which he will kill for food). However, from what I understand, different game requires different equipment, and the only way he's going to get practice hunting deer is to go out and hunt deer.

None-the-less, we went round and round in circles. He is convinced that what he is doing is ethical and good. I am not. I guess it doesn't really matter, as it is his life. My disappointment in his ethical stance on the matter is only fueled by the fact that he was a die-hard vegan only a few years ago. I guess the coming apocalypse is affecting us all in strange ways...

when I grow up...

One of the things that I seem to struggle with daily is the fact that I still haven't figured out what I wan to do when I "grow up". If you've been reading this blog for any small length of time, you have probably noticed that this is a recurring theme. This may sound silly coming from a grown man in his thirties, but I'm dead serious about it. I like being self-employed, and web design is a fun and challenging field at times, but overall it doesn't really excite me as much as I had hoped it would. I find that the projects that I enjoy the most are the ones in which I am designing or programming something for myself. I have found over the years that I don't like altering good design work at someone else's lay request, and I don't enjoy trying to impress people or brown-nose. Of course, it beats the typical corporate employment hands down, but that doesn't means that it is perfect by any means.

One of the challenges that I am facing is this budding interest in becoming more of a luddite; someone who avoids unnecessary technological development. I find the lives of the Amish and Mennonite truly fascinating and, short of ditching my favorite CDs, could almost see myself living and working among them. Of course, the transition from white collar tech existence to blue collar farm hand might be difficult. I suspect that I am looking for more of a balance between my current form of existence and one that is more simplified. Of course, one can dream all he likes, but he never knows whether he will thrive in a particular lifestyle until he immerses himself in it.

the web designers curse

As a self-employed web designer, one of my greatest headaches is when I get a picky client who has no idea what they want in a website. It doesn't seem to matter how often I meet with them and we discuss design ideas. They invariably wait until I have cooked something up to determine what their "vision" of the site is going to be. I guess I can't really blame them. After all, they came to me to help create that vision. But it sucks when you waste time working on something that you may or may not get paid for. Granted, I could charge them on a per-hour accrual basis, but it seems like that generally scares away new web clients. Everybody wants a firm price quote. I'm the same way with just about any other service, so why should I expect my clients to be any different. I guess as web designers, part of our job is to assess what our clients are going to be like during the design process. If we suspect that they are going to be difficult to please or extremely high maintenance, we had better pad our estimates accordingly.

death of the heirloom

A long time ago, it was commonplace for family members to pass down pieces of furniture to younger generations. These days, it is largely unheard-of. Instead, most consumers are only interested in changing their furniture every few years. Few spend money on the solid hardwood pieces that our forefathers once valued. Rather, most people are intent on picking up modern furniture. In some cases, I can understand the concept behind wanting to own furniture that is lightweight and easy to move around - much of it modern in design. My own family has relocated nearly a dozen times in the last decade, and there were a number of furniture items that didn't make it through every move. Some weren't built to last. Others were just too heavy. Perhaps this explains the relative death of heirloom furniture. We are a much more transient society than our predecessors ever were.

the 'microsoft genuine advantage' disadvantage

Am I the only one who is sick and tired of having to endure countless Windows updates for their "Microsoft Genuine Advantage" tool? Talk about a joke. I could understand running this thing once, but this "update" pops up all the time. If my copy of Windows was authentic when I installed it, why wouldn't it still be authentic? Best of all, I love how they make the statement that the Genuine Advantage tool is to "help" the user by making sure that our copy of Windows is genuine. Yeah, sure.

This is one of those situations where a company is punishing everyone due to few bad nuts. I understand that there are fraudulent copies of software being sold in this world (usually on the streets of Japan, Thailand, and China, from what I have heard), but forcing everyone who runs windows to download a bogus "update" so often seems like overkill. It wastes my time and my bandwidth. I get particularly annoyed if it forces me to do a shut down, too.

outsourcing for success

My wife read that 4-Hour Work Week book some time ago, and said that the basic principle revolves around the concept of outsourcing, and the fact that you can nearly always find someone else to do your work for cheaper than you could do it for yourself. I understand the concept, but I'm not sure if I can relinquish enough control to apply it to my own business. But I'm determined to try, as I know that it is a legitimate concept that has worked for many others before me - perhaps for thousands of years...

Case in point: There's a company called Cydcor that specializes in outsourcing sales teams. And we're not just talking about telemarketing sales people who have no clue of the product that they are trying to sell. (I once had a telemarketer try to sell me a newspaper and they couldn't even tell me the city that the paper was based out of. I had never heard of it. For all I knew, she could be trying to sell me the morning news of Tibet!) Rather, this company deals in face-to-face sales outsourcing. Considering how much I hate playing the part of salesman, I guess I should take note. Here's the full press release for those who are interested:

"Cydcor Rewards Top Performers at Rising Star Event
Leading global provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams
hosts selected office owners at weekend retreat in Los Angeles
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (October 20, 2008) – This fall, Cydcor, the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams, hosted 19 owners of the most promising independent sales offices at the company’s 6th annual Rising Star weekend. The threeday event, a mix of business and pleasure, recognized up and coming office owners who have demonstrated superb sales performance. The weekend provided attendees, handpicked by Cydcor’s field executives, the chance to learn new business tactics and network with other owners and top level executives in an intimate setting.

“We’re thrilled to meet with and recognize these hard working office owners with a little down time, while also providing a venue for them to participate in training sessions to support their continued success,” said Gary Polson, chief executive officer of Cydcor. This year’s event, themed Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, was held near Cydcor’s headquarters at the Four Seasons Westlake Village. Attendees, from throughout the U.S. and Canada, arrived on a Thursday and met one-on-one with Cydcor President Jim Majeski, Chief Executive Officer Gary Polson and Senior National Consultant Brad Park. These exclusive meetings provided a unique opportunity for the group to engage in private conversations with Cydcor’s top leadership. On Friday, the group spent breakfast with team members at Cydcor’s headquarters and
then got to hear from Cydcor department heads. These presentations provided Rising Star owners with information about how Cydcor supports their efforts as entrepreneurial business owners. On the last full-day, the group enjoyed a renowned Ken Blanchard Situational Leadership II course. On Saturday evening, attendees boarded a “fun bus” into Hollywood for sightseeing and dinner in a private room at the House of Blues.

About Cydcor, Inc.
Cydcor, Inc., is the leading provider of outsourced, face-to-face sales teams to a diverse client base of companies in a range of industries, including telecommunications, office products, retail energy and financial services. Cydcor works with a network of independently owned corporate licensee (ICL) sales offices providing clients with access to more than 2,700 sales professionals and 200+ offices in North America. The privately held company is based in Westlake Village, California. For more information about Cydcor, log on to www.cydcor.com."

hide your guns from obama

Lately, I've been hearing a rumor that gun sales are skyrocketing. Some say that it has to do with the recession, and that gun sales typically go up in times of economic depression. Other people are saying that Obama is planning on tightening the gun control laws, so people are grabbing additional firearms while they can. Personally, I'm not sure what to believe, but I don't think it makes that much difference.

When it comes down to it, you'd have to invest a boatload of cash to pick up enough firepower to ward off all of the boogie men in a sudden case of anarchy. And even then, who has time to learn enough about their weapons, and to practice with them enough that they will be of any use? I have heard that the best self-defense weapon to pick up is a double barrel shotgun, because the "point and spray" method will work for nearly anyone in a close range situation. But I can't even imagine half the people I know being able to shoot a shotgun, much less load one properly.

I just hate to think that we'll ever get to a point where our personal safety and entitlement revolves around the number of guns and ammo we can carry. If we ever find ourselves in that position, I suspect that there will be much more to worry about.