Week 09, 2024 - Diary of a Revenue Engineer

**Quote of the week:**
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” - Chinese Proverb

What I thought…

So my battles are continuing, both through a redundancy process and with regards finding new employment as a basic and sustainable way of living.

I must say, again, that the quotes which are being generated by my CustomGPT are really hitting home for me and inspiring me a great deal.

I’m sure it’s psychosomatic, but each one seems to accurately and succinctly define the stage I’m at psychologically and emotionally.

How this weeks one impacts me is simple. I’m at a crossroads.

Do I jump back into the 9-5, the commute, the rat race and the seeming security of a regular job, or do I dive out of the plane and hope I can build a parachute on the way down?

I could replace our current financial needs, currently solved through regular employment, with only two extra clients. That feels so close, I can almost touch it.

So, here we are again, the grate internal debate.

I’m going to speak to more friends about what mad next steps should best apply, but the draw is more tempting than ever before.

Watch this space…

AI generated image of a busy room with lots going on

What I learned…

I learned a lot about my own partner and our shared goals and dreams this week. Mainly because she created and ran our own personal conference which she called “Booty-camp” (a play on words for bootcamp and booty as in a pirates treasure to help us find options for our shared future).

Not only was it super fun, I revelled in her geekiness (I am a major geek) and her joy at creating the conference, running it and also naming the little sessions.

She used to do this professionally, she’s an academic with a super-interesting slant and skill set in revenue generation too and currently helps a Major University look for monetisation options for their physical and digital content. So, she’s pretty cool and I enjoyed the session,

One of our ideas ran into a concept for a cafe-come-kids-roleplay centre, which took us on a deep dive into the operations and options for building something which could give us the community, space and financial freedom we’ve been looking for.

Long story short - it’s possible… but I think it’s only possible if you build it to create a multi-location franchise. This means playbooks, flows, processes, documentation… oh my if we haven’t just stumbled into a situation which makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. It also needs to be run super lean and I think (taking into account true cost of production) we can create a cup of coffee for £1.10. Amazingly… 60p of this is paying the person for the 3 minutes to make it.

An exciting conversation and an enjoyable spreadsheet session in any case - even if it doesn’t lead anywhere right now. But I did learn a lot about physical, product based businesses.

AI generated image of building relationships and routes to market with customer interviews

What I built…

This week was focused on building stronger relationships with those in my immediate family as we plan and create our future together, as well as supporting a few clients on some bigger business decisions.

I created a route to market for a tech startup who needed to better understand how and who to sell their new product to. We created a series of customer interviews and information based on the book “The Mom Test” as well as some experience we all had in the industry. The results are already coming in and it’s super interesting to see how easy it can be to create a proposition, USP and route to market - just ask the people you’re going to sell to!

Person practicing yoga in a serene studio, embodying flexibility and health for longevity, inspired by martial arts discipline against self.

How I lived longer…

My partner, a keen practitioner of Yoga, took me to one of her Yoga classes during the booty camp. It was actually great and I totally understand and agree with what Joe Rogan said about Yoga, that it’s “martial arts against yourself”.

Flexibility is a major part of my focus on Healthspan and longevity and it’s 100% something I need to get better at, so this kick started my inclusion of it in my routine… I haven’t found a reliable space for it yet, but I will do.

"Serene meditation scene reflecting mindfulness and connection, with a person in meditation pose inspired by the calm app's course, surrounded by symbols of love and tranquility, emphasizing the impact of mindfulness on personal happiness

How I stayed happier…

For me this was all bout being in the moment with those I love the most. The beginners course to meditation on the calm app is something I’ve spoken about before and I’m on my 2nd run through as we speak. I think working on meditation, on mindfulness and being in the moment with those I care about could be some of the biggest impacts to my happiness that' I’ve been able to achieve.

Inspirational image of self-discovery and growth journey, featuring a new sapling in a pot, an open notebook with reflective blog entries, and a hopeful figure, symbolizing the start of personal development and gratitude for life's path.

Final Thoughts…

With all that’s going on, I’m so excited and grateful to be going on this journey of self discovery and capability. Even this blog is a great reminder of what I’ve done, how I’m helping people and how I’m progressing personally.

So, I may not have planted my tree 20 years ago, but there’s a sapling there now - I assure you.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck in your journey too.