taking action

after my week of ‘vacation’, one of the first things i did monday was to fill out and submit paperwork to start up my own sole proprietorship. the task included registering my home-based business with my city hall. (i’ll save details of how that worked out for me in the sf bay area, CA for another post, a ‘how-to’.)

the week before while on ‘vacation’ at home, i received a lead for a potential freelancing gig from a good friend of mine from college. currently employed with the said university, one of his supervisors knew someone as part of a private non-profit organization who had been looking for some assistance revamping their website for quite awhile. i was grateful and elated for this immediate opportunity.

after a bit of phone tagging, the main contact at the facility and i communicated, and expressed mutual interest in working together to produce an improved site for the organization.

that week, i also updated my resume, and my profile on linkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site.

i also began putting together a site for my business. it was very simple at first, as i wanted to ensure that i had basic information up and available, to be ’spruced up’ later.

i also began browsing the available jobs and gigs posts on craigslist with more interest. somewhat casually, as i did not want to jump into anything too big too suddenly, but also eagerly, as i was excited and enthusiastic about moving forward with my newfound freelancing career.

i also coordinated picking up any remaining possessions — particularly code (data) — from my old computer’s hard drive with my previous employer. they were courteous enough to allow and encourage me to acquire copies of my work, as it was apparently as much my work as theirs. there was a bit of back and forth visits, e-mails, and text messages, as the initial batch of discs/data turned out rather defective, and i needed to request a new set. it was admittedly a little annoying, as there was a lot of ‘tagging’ coordinating this exchange having just gotten laid off and attempting to ‘regroup’, i did not particularly enjoy having to continue communications so much with them whilst i still ‘recovered’ mentally/emotionally.

i also swung by the nolo press bookstore in berkeley to pick up a few books to help me with the beginnings of entrepreneurship. apparently, they sell their books on sale to match their website prices. the books — all written by stephen fishman — were:

• working for yourself
• home business tax deductions
• web and software development

a little while back, i had also ordered wow! i’m in business through amazon (but by nolo).

nolo has a really well put together website in my opinion, by the way, with lots of informative resources.

i also received my first unemployment check.  although i was preparing to become self-employed, i did not yet have any actual clients, working, or making any significant amount of money.

how i was feeling

looking back, i had accomplished a lot (relatively). especially given that i had only a week before gotten laid off and was in a confused mental state for several days in a row.

what i did was towards the end of the previous week, particularly the friday and weekend before, i told myself that i would throw myself full-on into doing what i had been dreaming of for quite some time now — working for myself! my situation was a blessing in disguise! i should be leaping — LEAPING, i tell you! — towards the self-employed opportunity! and i believed (in) myself. i told myself that come monday, i would make it all happen.

i was pretty much over the getting-laid-off-suddenly thing.  i had more important things to do than wallow in self-pity.

book cover from saturn resource management (publisher)

in mid-november, my first book giveaway contest ended.  the book was the homeowner’s handbook to energy efficiency.

i looked at all the comments that were posted (minus spam, trackbacks, etc.) within my control panel during the valid date range, and selected the winner based on a generated random number at random.org.

congrats to mbh (mighty bargain hunter) for winning the book!

although this result post has been long overdue, i had contacted john last month and already sent the book away to him then.

thanks to everyone who left a comment at FWP.  i hope that you might come back to visit the site again as a regular reader of my blog, and/or to participate in any future activities hosted here.

snow falling in tahoe

welcome to the December 29, 2008 edition of do it yourself jubilee!

it’s been a chilly winter season for us here in the sf bay area of california.  and that’s only at the lowest maybe 30 degrees fahrenheit!  i know that others experience cold much lower than that elsewhere, so i won’t even start with the complaining here.  onwards!

what is the DIY jubilee ?!

especially during these times of recession, many of us are finding ways to cut back on our expenses. this might include taking action ourselves for tasks that we normally might have done by someone else, or creating something with our own hands (or machines, etc.) rather than buying it from someone else.

how have you been DIY-ing?

the idea is that the project or task was done with the primary motivation being to save money.  my hope is that the editions will be accessible and appealing to money-conscious readers first.  enjoying the DIY task (while allowed of course!) is secondary.

there were a number of submissions that fell in the ‘financial matters’ related category.  admittedly, i am still working on determining if these would truly fit with the DIY goals i had envisioned for this carnival’s accepted posts.  they are a bit different from the other categories.  on the other hand, there would be no doubt that stories such as ‘how to sell your house yourself without a real estate agency’ or ‘how to count a million unrolled coins for cheap quickly’ qualify to be included in an edition.  for now, i have included the submissions below.  this approach may change in future issues.

check out these accepted submissions from november covering areas of home improvement, food, and more !

please visit the writers’ sites and offer feedback and support.  and while you’re at it, why not promote this carnival by sharing this edition on the web, with friends, and family?

home improvement

• JCL flips houses, makes profit doing most of his own work in Rehab Your Own Houses or Write a Check? posted at The Real Estate Investing Journey, saying, “For people who invest in real estate and love to DIY, a fresh perspective on how to avoid burnout.”
• Mike Sowden presents ecosalon :: the green gathering :: 12 Fun DIY Projects for the Chic Green Geek posted at Ecosalon, saying, “From the oldest paint in the world to the newest (it’s alive!), from lining radiators to turfind roofs, there are plenty of DIY improvements around the homethat make a good green difference. Here are a few!” here are some alternative reuse uses of every day items from milk to pillow cases.
• Don recommends 5 things to consider in Choosing Replacement Basement Windows posted at Replacement Basement Windows, saying, “Selecting and choosing the right replacement windows can save you money in the long run”.
• Margaret Garcia outlines a handful of things one can do to Spruce it Up – 25 DIY Tips to Improve your Home’s Exterior posted at Top Online Engineering Degree.

snow in truck refrigerating milk!

in the kitchen

• Heather Levin tells us how handy hydrogen peroxide can be as a cleaner in Green Cleaning: How To Use Hydrogen Peroxide To Clean Your Home | The Greenest Dollar posted at The Greenest Dollar.
• vh suggests reusing those nylon mesh bags with a sponge to make a scrubber, in Two DIY mesh bag hacks posted at Funny about Money
• Buck Weber offers a recipe for making Friendship Soup Mix posted at THE BUCK LIST, saying, “A frugal gift idea!”