And so, one fine day I found lumosity.com. What a great day indeed! Halleluiah! The day I found a comprehensive solution to wake my neurons up.

Without I realising it, some parts of my brain were sleeping all these while. They were sleeping because I rarely use them. They were not growing all these while. Their growth, their development stopped because I rarely feed them with tasks. Sorry, Mr. Brain. I shouldn’t have neglected you. I should have given you the right mental challenges, workouts that you need to grow and to stay awake.

Now, with lumosity.com (Lumosity), I can make my brain busy and active by playing mental stimulating games, which are scientifically designed for certain brain functions (cognitive areas) i.e. speed, memory, attention, flexibility and problem solving.

New scientific research shows that we can improve the health and function of our brains with the right mental workouts.
- Lumosity

What Are The Mental Workout Games That I Played?

My favourite game for cognitive speed is Speed Match, an information processing game. It is designed to improve our thinking speed and reaction time, and speed up our cognitive processes. I hope that I could improve my response times and enhance my ability to adapt to changing environments, such as driving in the city or engaging in a heated debate. Try it!

For cognitive memory, I recommend you to play Monster Garden (improves working memory), Memory Match (also improves working memory), Name Tag (improves face-name recall) and Moneycomb (improves spatial recall). You can try Memory Matrix too (also improves spatial recall). These games do look simple, or should I say, like children’s games. Do not be deceived. They aren’t simply children’s games. They are scientifically designed to improve cognitive memory for everyone (you, me, granny and children). What I hope from these games? I hope that I could remember locations and names better, improve sense of direction, and recall important information more quickly and accurately.

Cognitive attention – it is hard to pay attention when there are too many things happening around us, right? Simply too many distractions! To improve my cognitive attention, I play Birdwatching (improves visual field), Lost in Migration (improves focus), Playing Koi (also improves focus) and Top Chimp (also improves visual field). By improving my ability to avoid distraction and increase my productivity and concentration, my life would certainly be better!

Although I am a (self-claim) multitasker, my ability to do multitasking has been reducing over the years. I am also having problem to resist temptations sometimes (but luckily it is still controllable most of the time). Therefore, I need to improve my cognitive flexibility! If you want to improve your cognitive flexibility too, the games that I recommended to you are Brain Shift (improves task switching), Color Match (improves response inhibition), Word Bubbles (improves verbal fluency) and Penguin Pursuit (improves spatial orientation). I am still playing Route to Sprout (improves planning). My initial thought on this game is it is a recommendable game too.

One of the most important functions of the brain is problem solving. I feel that I do not have much problem with this but nevertheless, I want to improve my cognitive problem solving skill. The most recommended cognitive problem solving improvement game in Lumosity is Raindrops (improves arithmetic). Tell you, the math problems drop like rain drops! Solve them quickly or else, game over! My other recommendations are Chalkboard Challenge (improves quantitative reasoning) and By the Rules (improves logical reasoning).

When polled, 98% of subscribers said they recommend Lumosity to friends and family.
- Lumosity

How Do I Measure My Performance?

Adding thrills and excitements to you, Lumosity measures your Brain Performance Index (BPI) level. Your BPI is how you measure and track your cognitive performance in Lumosity. Your Overall BPI is your average BPI across each of the 5 cognitive areas: attention, memory, speed, flexibility and problem solving. It is useful in tracking your improvement and comparing yourself to others.

Try to compare your BPI with others of the same age with you in ‘Your Profile’ > ‘Brain Profile’. It is measured in percentile. Explanation: For example, 46% Overall BPI means you are doing better than 46% of the other people of your age, but the rest (54%) are doing better than you.

Snapshot of BPI Benchmarking (with others of the same age): Big room for improvement.

Try to see your BPI history in ‘Your Profile’ > ‘History’. Is it improving? Good!

Snapshot of BPI History: Improved! Improved!

So, are you interested?

Signup link: https://www.lumosity.com/sign_up (not an affiliate link)

Lumosity Mental Workout Courses

Lumosity also has Basic Training courses for its registered members. There are 40 daily sessions altogether. And there are 5 games that you need to play during each session. It takes less than 10 minutes a day to complete these games. And you know what? You can opt to accelerate your Basic Training courses. I take 2 daily sessions a day!

When you had completed Basic Training courses, you may enrol in other Lumosity’s Core Brain Training courses, i.e. Speed Boost (think fast), Memory Boost (sharpen memory), Attention Boost (strengthen attention abilities), Flexibility Boost (improves focus and verbal abilities), Problem Solving Boost (upgrade math and quantitative reasoning skills), Basic Training II (has more challenging games than Basic Training course) and Lumosity Basic Training CB (but excludes games which require being able to tell the difference between colours).

Are you serious in improving your brain power? Lumosity has Peak Performance courses for you (but you must complete Basic Training courses first). It consists of Lumosity Peak Performance (most challenging games, help you achieve peak mental performance), Advanced Memory Training (best memory training activities on Lumosity) and Dual N-Back course (improves fluid intelligence, a trait that is similar to IQ and is critical in creatively solving new problems).

Beside Basic Training and Peak Performance course categories, Lumosity also provides Student courses and Medical Conditions courses. These training courses are designed specifically for students/children (Lumosity Scholar course and Lumosity Math Tutor course), and those with certain medical conditions that requires mental workouts, e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), cancer (recovery from chemotheraphy) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

In addition to enrolling in those courses, you may participate in Lumosity Assessments, a quick brain tests to evaluate cognitive abilities. It is recommended that we take these assessments periodically in addition to regular Lumosity training.

Beyond the exercise that Lumosity provides the brain, wellness is supplemented by diet and other lifestyle factors.
- Lumosity

Do I Need To Pay Anything?

Is it free? I am currently playing, brain-exercising for free in Lumosity. I can choose to upgrade as a paid subscriber later to have full access. There are 4 billing plans available. And the most popular billing plan is yearly subscription at $6.70 per month (2010 rate). Tell you, wrong decisions from unhealthy brains could cost thousands or even millions dollars. Therefore, this $6.70 per month is ‘nothing’ for those who are serious in keeping their brain healthy, in improving themselves! Let me finish the Basic Training courses first before I decide whether to upgrade or not.

Start your training today: https://www.lumosity.com/sign_up (not an affiliate link)

Or visit to learn more about it: http://www.lumosity.com/ (not an affiliate link)

Good luck!

Disclaimer: IanKree.com does not receive any benefits from Lumosity by recommending its products and services. $ mentioned in this article is in U.S. dollar currency (USD).

I skip its introduction part to bring your attention to the most important issue; how it could help us?

Being a “geek” (opps …) during my university-years, I had assembled my own PC. It was a nice experience. I liken it to playing-with-Lego experience, literally. Do some researches on PC components. Buy PC components that suit my computing needs. Read the manual/guide-book of each component. Assemble the PC components together. Press the Start button. Wow, it is alive! Install the operating system. Install the software. And it is ready to use! One of the most important skills that I had learnt from that experience is “Tactical Procurement.” Let me explain it further.

Tactical Procurement starts by identifying vendors/suppliers. Then we survey/ask for the price list. Go back home or stop by at a café somewhere to study the available options. Our objective is to get the cheapest that meet our requirements. We execute the negotiation and buying process once the decision had been finalised.

Back to the main question; how HardwareZone.com could help us? HardwareZone.com saves us from driving and walking around PC shops in undertaking the Tactical Procurement process. And bear in mind that some of the PC shops are located elsewhere, far from us (I would not waste my petrol for it). It also allows us to download the latest PC components’ price lists. Hence, we know what the latest market price is for each PC component. And we also could know where to get the cheapest, preferably the nearest to us. In short, HardwareZone.com saves our precious time and money!

It is really helpful. Remember some of the incidents when we thought that we had bought the best offer in the market, the cheapest, only to find out that the other shop is selling much cheaper. I can think of several of such incidents. For example, I thought that the furniture shop where I bought my sofa from (I’ve been eyeing on it for two years) were offering me a bargain. Next, I found cheaper, much cheaper one (same thing!) being offered at another furniture shop. I’ve learnt my lesson with hundreds dollar tuition fee. And that is why we highlight HardwareZone.com in this IanKree.com’s issue; it supports smart consumerism.

Beside PC components price lists, HardwareZone.com also offers price lists for PC system (e.g., operating system and software), notebooks, games, electronics, mobile phones and gadgets. And that’s includes the SD/SDHC card that I’m looking for. Visit it today!

Link: http://www.hardwarezone.com

Other local links:
Singapore: http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg
Malaysia: http://www.hardwarezone.com.my
Philippines: http://ph.hardwarezone.com
Thailand: http://www.thhardwarezone.com
Australia: http://www.hardwarezone.com.au

P/S: I wish that HardwareZone.com would do better to attract more PC/IT and mobile phone shops to participate.

Disclaimer: We do not receive any financial benefit (or other forms of benefit) by promoting these website (mudah.my and HardwareZone.com). We are also not associated with them in any kind.

Photo by Samantha Villagran

I followed a conversation last month. There was this person, a lady, who told us that her elder brother recommended her to invest in mutual fund. But don’t get it wrong, her brother is not a mutual fund agent. It was a sincere, brotherly suggestion. What he said to her was something like this, “You could be a millionaire, err … after 25 years, if you invest constantly in mutual fund for example two hundred a month.”

This lady rejected her brother’s suggestion saying that she can’t wait that long. I didn’t comment anything at that table (typical Asian like me avoids direct conflict). In my thought, “Cannot wait for what?” Perhaps what she was trying to say is that she better spend that two hundred than waiting that long. To me (and perhaps to you) that was childish, that was short-sighted. OK, maybe she is not dreaming of becoming a millionaire, not her type, but she could still have tens thousand after 5 years or hundreds thousand after 10 years. Which one is better – spending hundreds now or spending thousands later? Few hundreds cannot bring me visiting interesting places abroad. Few hundreds cannot buy me car or house. But thousands can. Millions even better. (Delay gratification helps! – We get better deals.)

A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desired result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, to accomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find there is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending.
- The Art of Money Getting, by P. T. Barnum

Her decision measures her financial IQ. But she is not the only one who has low financial IQ. Look around us and look at ourselves. We could have made the same mistake in the past. How much, how many opportunities did we lost? Our life could have been much better now. Did we repeat the same mistake recently? And most importantly, are we going to repeat the same mistake again?

Please use this story (a case study) as a good example of bad example of view on money to improve yourself.

Disclaimer: The figures used here are oversimplified. Don’t take my words for them.

Photo by Miguel Ugalde

Pssst … my little secret … I’ve been telling a story to my unborn baby in my wife’s womb (almost) every night for the past one month. I believe that this, and some others that my wife and I do, could stimulate her brain. For your information, the unborn babies could start to hear sound in their fifth month. The story’s title is ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker,’ retold by Sara Miles. I had been repeating the same story (almost) every night till I can memorize (now almost) every sentence. At first, frankly, to me it was all about the elves, the shoes that they stitched, the leather that was cut into shapes, the shoemaker and his wife, and his customers. But then, gradually, the story tells me about running a business. Truly a great story for your little ones!

The following is what you could tell to your little ones, after you read them this story.

In order for a business to make money, a business needs a product or a service, which the customers buy. You can make money out of almost anything in this world. For example, you could assemble and sell computers, manufacture and sell clothes, import and sell books, offer baby-sitting services, and offer hair cut services. In the shoemaker’s case, obviously, he is making and selling shoes.

A business requires some inputs to produce or to have a product or a service. The inputs could be the shop, workers, equipments, and so on. The shoemaker needs a workshop, which is also his shop and his house, some shoe making tools, and leather. He doesn’t need worker as his business is just a small business and he himself knows how to make shoes. But recently he has some mystery workers, who stitch the shoes for him at midnight. Who are they? The three elves! How the shoemaker paid them for their shoe stitching service? He gave them some warm clothes, and the elves were very happy till they danced! In real life, businesses give their workers salaries and some other benefits in return for their workers’ services.

The business is said profitable when what the customers paid is more than enough to cover the costs of these inputs. And the business is said not profitable or, in other words, making losses when what the customers paid is less than enough to cover the costs of these inputs. The business is also making losses when no customer is buying its product or service. The business needs to make money at least enough to cover the cost of these business inputs to be sustainable (meaning to survive, to keep running).

At the beginning of the story, the shoemaker was so worry that he has enough leather just enough to make one pair of shoes. His business was not really profitable. But his fading fate turns bright when the elves started to help to stitch the shoes for him. The first customer in the story, a lady, paid more than what he had asked. With more money in his hands, he is then able to buy more leather. The elves stitched two pairs of shoes. He later sold that two pairs of shoes to two men. Then he bought more leather. The elves made four pairs of shoes. And shoes are made day after day.

The shoemaker is able to buy more leather, which is needed to produce shoes, because the customers paid more than enough for his business to run. More leather means more shoes, and that means more money.

I am sure that you could share more things to your little ones about this story, more than what I wrote here. Good luck!

P/S: In contrast to we think, children learn better than us adults, because their ‘cups’ are simply empty. Our ‘cups’ are either full or half-full. We put so many but’s and if’s to ourselves till we think that running business is hard.

Wikipedia’s link on ‘The Elves and the Shoemaker’

I bought that book at Popular Bookstore. I tried to Google for it and found that it is for sale online at Singapore’s Popular On-Line Bookstore (not an affiliation link).

By Anissa Thompson

A confession: my plan Z (or somewhere near Z) i.e. when I couldn’t think of other things to do, or when my brain and limps feel like idling is play computer games. I could play whole day! My wife likes to tease me, “small kid”, whenever I play. But somehow she just let me playing, let me have time for myself. You see, it is important to have time for yourself, a short time period of freedom, freedom from thinking about the world. Else, you would never stop thinking about money, commitments, responsibilities and problems. Take a break!

I don’t simply play any game. Mind challenging entrepreneurial type of game such as pizza business, ala-monopoly, stock market simulation and city building (remember SimCity?) is my field. Believe it or not, these games do give me benefits, subtle but yet important benefits.

The key to reap benefits from playing game is: do not simply play but play with strategy. Try to bring along your pen or pencil, scrap book and calculator. Write down notes. Do calculations. Think deeply. Take actions. If you do these, you’ll learn something out of it. In some cases, I even use Microsoft Excel application – see how serious I play.

One particular game that I like is Tradewinds, which I will use as the basis for this discussion. Allow me to write one paragraph to introduce it to you before I proceed with the main agenda: what I’ve learnt when I played computer games.

Tradewinds

Tradewinds is a sea combat and trade game developed by Wild Tangent, Inc. Player maintains, defends and upgrades a fleet of ships that transport trade cargo between sea trading ports. Each of the ports, Jia Ching, Shangri-La, Lama Sut and Edamame could have:

• Marketplace
  Is where the trading taking place. All ports have this.
• Money lender
  When the player needs money when he has none or little, this is where to go. All money lenders are interlinked.
• Port authority
  This is where players could buy warehouse and pay for it protection services; and to collect bounty for defeating wanted pirates.
• Alehouse
  Is a bar where players could get tips.
• Shipyard
  Is where player could buy new ships and cannons; and get his ships repaired.
• Bank
  Players could deposit and withdraw money here at any of the banks at the ports.
• Warehouse
  Player could buy and own, manage and protect warehouses to store goods at ports. The warehouses do not interlink with each other.

So, what I’ve learnt?

I am sure that you and I could learn more than these from computer games. In SimCity, for example, player needs to manage commercial, industrial, residential and infrastructural development, and the city’s fund.

Before I end this article, I would like to share an article, titled “Using virtual worlds and video games to teach the lessons of reality“. Have fun playing and learning!

Link to Wild Tangent, Inc: Click Here

My wife and I developed the ‘money in the envelopes’ system when we were facing financial difficulty last year, year 2009. That year (during 2008/2009 global financial crisis), my salary was temporarily reduced (all employees in my company were affected by salary reduction program) and therefore we have a very little buffer for our expenses. During that time, our monthly expenses frequently exceeded our monthly income, our reduced income that is. Therefore, we frequently dig into our saving to cover the excess. This situation did affect us morally. (I’m telling you, I don’t want to get into that situation again, ever again.) But most importantly, this situation forced us to think of better ways to manage our monthly expenses – this we will never regret.

At that time, I remember about a quote, which tells, more or less (I can’t remember exactly what it was), that a big goal, which seems impossible, could be achieved if we break it into few sub-goals or missions. It actually rang in my mind. The thinking bulb turned on. I told myself, if $400 a month is hard to manage, perhaps $100 a week is easier. And indeed it is.

So what my wife and I did was, we estimated total monthly food cost (exclude those food items which we bought once a month/few months like ketchup, sauce, milk powder and sugar that are budgeted separately in ‘MISC’) and total monthly fuel cost; and we divided each of those figures by 4 – because generally there are 4 calendar weeks in a month. And we put the money into 4 envelopes for each food and fuel. For example, $400 monthly budget for food is divided and put into 4 envelopes of $100, one envelope for each week.

Since a month normally have 5 to 6 calendar weeks, we absorbed the extra incomplete calendar weeks (having less than 7 days in a week) into the complete calendar weeks (having 7 days in a week). And we gave extra budget allocation to the weeks that have more than 7 days.

I wrote on each sealed envelope the purpose (i.e. food and fuel) and the to-and-from dates of the assigned calendar weeks and how much cash inside. My wife and I would open them only when their times come (similar to Christmas gifts – “do not open this present until Christmas”). For example:

Food
1-7-2009 to 11-7-2009
$115

Food
12-7-2009 to 18-7-2009
$95

What I like about this financial project is that it costs us nothing since we use ‘free’ blank envelopes, courtesy of mobile operator (i.e. Celcom) and banks, but we get a lot of benefits from it. (So, please do not simply throw away those envelopes from mobile operators and banks.) My wife and I do this on monthly basis, right after the pay day. The exact planning stage actually started long before that – since we planned our monthly budgets in advance.

And it works! Ever since we discovered and applied this ‘money in the envelopes’ method, we rarely run into a situation where we have financial difficulty at the month end. Our moral improved. And we were ‘happy’ despite the salary reduction. Well, at least I didn’t lose my job – this is something to thank God about.

Now the company where I am working is ‘healed’ from global financial crisis and the salary reduction program has ended – for good! And I even got a ‘handsome’ salary increment. But my wife and I continue practicing ‘money in the envelopes’ method. With this method, we are able to better manage our monthly expenses. We rarely exceed our monthly budget and hence, we could save more money and/or pay extra to monthly instalments.

Sandy is a fellow Zazzler, as you all might be aware.

She has these 5 stores on Zazzle:
PostCards From Friday Harbor: An Island Toggery – photography and graphic designs by Sandy at http://www.zazzle.com/sandybuckley*
The Party Shoppe – the wedding and party destination at http://www.zazzle.com/thebirthdayshop*
The Flower Shoppe – add a touch of floral elegant beauty to all of your mailings at http://www.zazzle.com/theflowershop*
The Damask Shoppe – Damask designs for all occasions at http://www.zazzle.com/damaskdiva*
The Paper Mill – to bring back the grace in written communication at http://www.zazzle.com/thepapermill*

Sandy has her blog at http://fridayharborhappenings.blogspot.com/

Here’s how Sandy describes her journey in creativity:

First, I’ll state the obvious. Everyone is creative. There is not a person on Earth that is incapable of coming up with a new idea. The question for me, however, was how to embrace that concept in my life. So, in 2005 I decided to distract myself from reality, move 3000 miles across the country and immerse myself in a sleepy little island community off the coast of Washington State called Friday Harbor. Photography in an island paradise comes naturally so that is where I began dabbling in the arts. Within months I had collected many photos of seascapes, orca whales and wildlife and turned to the internet to see what options existed for sharing the beauty I had discovered. Just three years out of the beta mode, Zazzle seemed like a great place to see if the world would share my enthusiasm. I joined the community in 2006.

Interview

Vipul:
Sandy for this interview, including me, there are 6 people on the interview panel today. I’ll continue with the suspense and will reveal them as the interview progresses.

Sandy:
Love a good mystery.

Vipul:
Sandy, tell us about yourself. Are you a full-time Zazzler? Do you earn your livelihood through Zazzle or are you also pursuing another profession?

Sandy:
When I originally joined the Zazzle community in 2006, I was employed as a Risk manager for an insurance agency with Zazzle being simply a hobby. This past September, though, I officially became a full timer at Zazzle.

Vipul:
And Sandy, are you a professional photographer? Do you do commissioned photography work? Or do you only put up your work at Zazzle?

Sandy:
Funny you should ask that question. When I joined Zazzle I was simply attempting to showcase some of the beauty of the islands where I live here in Friday Harbor. Over the years and with Zazzle’s assistance, I have become a professional photographer and do get commissions for work that I create. I used to sell photos on pay per photo sites but I found time and energy spent on Zazzle was much more fulfilling and lucrative. I do have work on Fine Art America and Imagekind, though, just for fun. I work from home – no studio since I am not usually photographing people.

Vipul:
Wow! Great to know Zazzle has played that kind of a role! (ed. of helping you become a professional photographer)

Sandy:
It sure has. When I started on Zazzle, no one on the islands had ever heard of them. I believe there are about 25 people from the San Juan Islands now on Zazzle.

Vipul:
I guess this is one similarity a lot of us will have … of us coming across Zazzle and it then empowering each of our lives!

Sandy:
The Zazzle marketplace and the community have both been very empowering for me as an artist. I am awed by the talent I see in our artists and love the sense of camaraderie and friendship I feel here.

Vipul:
Yes, I’m sure this is a sentiment shared by many … the Zazzle marketplace and the community are truly amazing.

Sandy:
I’ve never seen anything like it. And I am honored to part of it.

Vipul:
Sandy I’d a great time browsing through your store http://www.zazzle.com/sandybuckley*. Apart from this you’ve 4 other Zazzle stores. Tell us about your journey at Zazzle.

You’ve an interesting quote on creating stores in one of your store profiles “I have opened galleries as outlets — looking for ways to market concepts as opposed to content, each gallery holding a spot near and dear to my heart.”

Sandy:
The gallery you’ve linked to here, Sandybuckley – was my first interlude into the “arts” so to speak. I moved here from Maryland in 2005 and had never seen such a beautiful place. Like I said, I wanted to share the beauty.

But then I became interested in actual design work and saw the potential and opportunities in broadening my horizons. Hence, TheBirthdayshoppe was “born.”

I opened each subsequent gallery based on what I saw as a need in the Zazzle marketplace – from DamaskDiva to WinterWonderland – there’s always a theme.

Keep in mind, this was years ago … not sure how I would assess that “need” in 2010.

Ultimately, I became hooked on designing, so now I spend about 1/3 of my time photographing and the rest of the time in Photoshop.

Vipul:
I find it very interesting that being a photographer you haven’t restricted yourself to just photography, but have also opened shops with products created through designing.

Sandy:
Back in 2006 I became involved with a group of artists on the island who invited me to join them each Sunday. It is a close knit group of artists (colored pencil, water colors, oils, etc) — and I really have to give them a great amount of credit for allowing me to embrace the larger concepts of art and not limiting myself only to photography.

Amazing where you can find your inspirations.

Vipul:
You’ve some great – beautiful – elegant designs. Are there any specific products you love designing for? Do you have a personal favorite like business cards or wedding invitations?

Sandy:
Thank you! Now that Zazzle has begun offering invitations, I’d have to say that I am focused on designing birthday party, bridal shower and wedding invites. There are so many great colors out there and I love trying to get into the “bride’s mind” to see what they will find perfect for their big day. And business cards are one of my mainstays — I’ll always enjoy trying to come up with designs that people will want to use as first impressions to clients. I am honored with each sale.

Vipul:
Oh, I came across an amazing business card designed by you while I was browsing through your stores.

‘Hi-tech Metallic Construction Business Card’ at http://www.zazzle.com/hi_tech_metallic_construction_auto_reconstruction_business_card-240817298954743301?rf=238422370704227362

Its awesome!

Hi Tech Metallic Construction Auto Reconstruction by sandybuckley
Browse other Metallic businesscards Business Cards

Sandy:
Thanks. We recently went through an extensive renovation of our home and had contractors here for five months. Lots of photo ops!

Vipul:
Sandy are there any resources for images and artwork that you use and recommend.

Sandy:
I have never purchased photography online – so I can’t really speak to that. That being said, lots of my designs are based on clipart purchased from either clipart.com or various digital arts and crafts companies which allow CU with the sale. For the price, clipart.com cannot be beat – and you get a good basic designs from which you can build upon using various design programs.

Designious.com is another company from whom I purchase design work too.

Vipul:
Sandy, is there a trend to the sales in the two product lines (i) wedding products (ii) party products? Do the sales pick up during any particular month or period?

Sandy:
That’s a tough question. There are certainly lulls throughout the year but I really do not see months where sales “pick up” more so than others. I am seeing a trend of many more requests for customization, especially in the wedding market. I have noticed, though, in my galleries, a distinct decrease in sales of “party related” stamps and cards – but I tend to chalk that up a bit to the current economy.

Vipul:
That’s interesting to know. I somehow had the impression that atleast with wedding products, there would be a higher demand around Valentines day … but no, its like the sales remain steady throughout for them.

Sandy:
That has not been the case in my stores, but it may very well be a trend over all of Zazzle. It’s a difficult question because with the wedding lines, brides are purchasing at different timeframes – well before the actual event. So some may be buying invites for a June wedding in December, others may be shopping in March. Hard to guess when the market goes high or low… for me that is.

Vipul:
Sure.

Vipul:
Sandy, I’ve gone through each of your 5 Zazzle stores. If among all the varied products you’ve designed, if you were to choose 3 of your favorites, which ones would they be?

Sandy:
Wow, another tough question. It’s funny that my “favorites” are not necessairly “favorites” with the buyers.

I really like the cleanness of the design on this card, which i actually use as my business card.

http://www.zazzle.com/architect_interior_designer_home_fashion_business_business_card-240781005607784903?gl=thebirthdayshop&rf=238118872107452670

Architect Interior Designer Home Fashion Business by thebirthdayshop
make business cards at zazzle.com

Vipul:
Yes, its different. Unique!

Sandy:
As far as invitations go, I did a series of variations of this design, which I became obsessed with, liked the lines.

http://www.zazzle.com/bridal_shower_invitations_hot_pink_white_damask-161655242952216953?gl=DamaskDiva&rf=238118872107452670

Bridal Shower Invitations Hot Pink & White Damask by DamaskDiva
Design announcements with zazzle

Vipul:
Its beautiful!

Sandy:
Thank you!

Sandy:
And this was one of my most challenging designs which I love because it has my favorite photos of our endangered southern resident community of orca whales, who are all near and dear to my heart.

http://www.zazzle.com/orca_whale_photo_binder-127136306051154790?gl=sandybuckley&rf=238118872107452670

Orca Whale Photo Binder by sandybuckley
Browse other Photo book binders Binders

Vipul:
Wow!

Michelle Millar:
Your photo’s are incredible. Did you study photography, or are you one of those super lucky people, who were born with a good eye and a flair for producing stunning images?

Sandy:
Thank you very much Michelle! I literally took my very first photo when I moved to the islands in 2005. The pacific northwest certainly provides many resources for unrivaled beauty every turn..the pictures really do tend to take themselves. There are several professional mentors who have taken me under their wings, providing endless hours of critique and instruction as well. This summer, I did take my first photography class – I am sure there will be plenty more in my future – I adore learning!

Justin Hill:
If there’s a secret to taking photographs of Orca Whales and other wildlife what is it?

Sandy:
Patience. And a good lens helps too. In that order.

With wildlife photography it really is all about being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes it happens in five minutes, others in 5 months and 3,000 photos later.

Justin Hill:
Apart from whales what other subject do you love to photograph?

Sandy:
I have recently developed a passion for finding and photographing textures and patterns that at first sight may be dismissed or overlooked. Rust, stones, old walls – that sort of thing. I really love the lines of old cars and steel mechanisms too – still learning how take something that you would miss at first sight and create a visual that “wows.”

Vipul:
Sandy, lets say a novice photographer like me, I visit a beautiful place and want to take photographs that I’d like to post on Zazzle as postcards or prints, is there anything I should look into, so that the photographs come out really well on the Zazzle products?

Sandy:
When the photos are printed the most important aspect of quality is resolution, just like you see in a JPG or PNG file. The most important lesson I have learned is to be sure to shoot at the highest resolution possible (RAW vs JPG) and then save your files at the minimum of 300dpi for printing on Zazzle.

Lora Severson:
Your photographs are amazing. Do you ever have a creative block? How do you get around it when you do?

Sandy:
Thank you, Lora, that certainly means a lot to me. It really seems as though I spend alot of time struggling with the creative block syndrome. In fact, I went from August until December without taking a single photo. What I usually have to do is simply wait it out, knowing that something will inspire me and being sure to keep my eyes open at every turn. This year it took a trip off island to get me out of the rut. As much as I love it here, sometimes I need a little diversity.

Dean T. Hamilton:
What advice do you have for aspiring photographers?

Sandy:
An investment in the best camera you can afford and taking the time to learn its capabilities is number one. Coupled with your talent, you’ll make a great pair if you get to know each other. And try not to compare yourself to other photographers – it takes time to develop your own individual style … and that’s what photography is all about. If YOU like it, that is all that matters.

Dean T. Hamilton:
Apart from photography what is your preferred medium?

Sandy:
While I love watercolor and colored pencil work, my favorite “medium” is Photoshop CS4, if not simply for the amount of time I spend there. I love having a design in mind and seeing if I can translate that via software with more immediacy than painting.

Dean T. Hamilton:
What is the one product you would like Zazzle to provide that you think would improve your business?

Sandy:
Dean, that is a great question! Since the introduction of invitations at Zazzle, I really think they touched upon a potentially huge market out there. I would love it if the entire invitation program could be reviewed with competitors sites in mind. This could be a HUGE market for us as designers – and I would like to have the ability to have similar offerings that competing marketplaces have (different sizes, table cards, rsvp cards … the whole gamut). I do think Zazzle will eventually realize this and cultivate the offering – I bet they are working on it now… fingers crossed.

Kyle Treadwell:
At what royalty do you feel that your products are most successful at?

Sandy:
Kyle, in my experience the royalty “success” rate depends on the product being offered. What I tend to do is look at the cost to the consumer and say “Would I pay that much?” I also spend some time on the internet seeing what comparable products cost (i.e. invitations and cards). My royalties literally range from 10% (on expensive stuff like Keds) to 40%.

Kyle Treadwell:
Which is your best sell product?

Sandy:
Business cards are by far my best sellers in most of the stores, closely followed by stickers – especially wedding stickers.

Michelle Millar:
If you could give one nugget of advice to a new Zazzler what would it be?

Sandy:
Michelle, that’s a TOUGH question. There are so many little nuggets you accumulate over the years. If I had to stick with one … hmmm … try and think like the end consumer when you are creating and tagging your products. I have found tagging correctly and focusing on accurate product descriptions and titles make a world of difference in product search order, both in Zazzle and in the larger web based marketplace.

Lora Severson:
You have a full time job, many stores on Zazzle, make jewelry and are a photographer. How do you find the time to do all that you do?

Sandy:
I gave up sleeping a while ago … only kidding. I actually did give up the full time job in September to devote more time to the things that truly interest and positively motivate me. When you live on a little island there are fewer distractions too – so I find myself better able to allocate and make use of waking hours. Its always a challenge though.

Vipul:
This interview is now in its 180th minute. Thank you so much for your time and patience, Sandy! Appreciate it.

We’ll now move to our quickfire round, I’ll ask you 5 Q’s in quick succession, so here goes …

Vipul:
Which is your favorite photography moment?

Sandy:
I was sitting on the rocks at Lime Kiln watching the whales go by. I had brought the wrong lens – a flat 300, and the whales came into shore within ten feet of me. I put the camera down and enjoyed the pass – and loved every second of it even knowing there would not be one photo taken.

I think I realized what were priorities at that moment.

Vipul:
What is the most recent thing you’ve learned?

Sandy:
Although I have not posted any of these yet … I am learning how to integrate design and photography … and what a learning curve that is. For instance, I’ll photograph a wall, manipulate the textures in Lightroom and the come over to photoshop and “cut holes in the wall.” Then I sit back and imagine what I can see through the wall (given the texture, etc) – and add a photo as a view through the hole. Not sure if that makes sense, but I’m having a blast seeing if one of these will really “work.” If you see one posted, you know I figured out the learning cure.

Bottom line, how to integrate dual software programs to achieve effects.

Vipul:
Wow! Thats really interesting, will look forward to it!

Dean T. Hamilton:
If you could go anywhere and capture just one photo of that place where would you go and what would it be of?

Sandy:
Dean, to be honest, I am not sure I have an answer to that question. There are so many animals and landscapes and structures all over the world, that is really tough. I lean towards africa, though – but the “photo” will have to be a collage.

Vipul:
Which 3 promotion tools you’ve found most fruitful/effective?

Sandy:
Facebook, my blog and word of mouth by happy clients – referrals when they are good ones, cannot be beaten!

Vipul:
Which is your favorite photograph, Sandy?

Sandy:
http://www.zazzle.com/orca_whale_killer_whale_endangered_species_card-137091375987207742?gl=sandybuckley&rf=238894206883078609

Orca Whale Killer Whale Endangered Species Card by sandybuckley
Browse other Orca whales Cards

Vipul:
Its a beautiful photograph!

Sandy:
Thank you very much. I was lucky enough to be on the lighthouse rocks again on this day. I had spent all summer and countless hours trying to capture the faces of the orcas. During this shoot, I thought I came away empty. Much to my delight, the two orcas surfacing together would become one of my favorites, and I could finally stop chasing the “face shots” that summer!

Vipul:
This was the last of the questions Sandy. We’ve been now on this interview now for close to 220 minutes! This has been one mammoth interview. Thank you so much for your time, and for sharing your journey & thoughts, Sandy!

Sandy:
Vipul, thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to be interviewed. I am so proud to be part of the Zazzle community and am truly in awe of the collective talents here. I am honored to have had this time with you.

Vipul:
Sandy your photographs and work are a delight to go through, and so was taking your interview today!

It has been a pleasure to interview you!

Vipul:
Thank you once again, from the whole panel! We wish you all the very best with your work and your Zazzling!

Sandy:
Thank you and thank you panel members for the thought provoking questions. I think I’ve learned things about myself too today! Thanks again and see you Zazzle!

Interview Panels

• Vipul Sharma http://www.zazzle.com/renascencepub*
• Lora Severson http://www.zazzle.com/loraseverson*
• Dean T Hamilton http://www.zazzle.com/ricaso_graphics*
• Michelle Millar http://www.zazzle.co.uk/michiemoo*
• Justin Hill http://www.zazzle.com/gingerbloke*
• Kyle Treadwell http://www.zazzle.com/ktreadwe*

And in return to her special attention, these students do listen to her and make her as their friend, their sister. They frequently share their problems with her – that’s how much they trust her as their ‘sister.’ And so, my wife is one of few teachers who frequently get invitations to students’ and ex-students’ activities e.g. parties and watching movies. Her Friendster and Facebook are full with students!

My story actually starts here: this year she has one special student. In fact she has special students of unique character every year. This particular student happened to be teachers’ enemy number one. Teachers could tell many bad things about him.

Lucky for him, my wife, his class teacher this year, sees him differently. What other teachers don’t see is that this kid is actually smart. He is not just smart but smart and wise. He might not be doing well academically but he is good in making money, in business. That is more than enough for my wife to have a respect for him. For my wife and I, a kid must be good in either academic or money making or better, both. Well, if he can’t become a highly paid professional, he can become a rich businessman. (If a kid isn’t good in any of these, then only it is a problem, BIG problem. They aren’t rich businessmen and they can’t become highly paid professionals. How’s their future will look like?)

Our message to kids

If you are not good in your education, you better be good in making money.

One fine day, my wife did have a fruitful, insightful heart-to-heart talk with him. He told her that his father started to coach him in business since he was 13 (now he is coming to 18). Their family has two car shops and a hand phone shop (hand phone is also known as cellular or mobile phone). And he personally looks after the hand phone shop for the family. He, a teenage businessman, even gave his business card to my wife. He managed to say all those without boasting. He does talk like a salesman, a matured man. My wife describes him as a fast thinker and sweet talker.

But he also complained about his daily routine – thinking of making money, making money every day. He told my wife that he is actually longing for ordinary family life, and that he envies his friends who live ordinary life. He asked my wife, “Should I study or do business?” My wife answered him, “You better study more about business but you mustn’t skip school.”

Should I study or do business?

This question shows the dilemma that he (and other teenage businessmen) is facing. His family assures him that business is the only way to live a better life. He knows many self-made millionaire accumulated their wealth from business and they live in abundance, abundance of food, money and so on. But at the same time, teachers (and society) assure him that education is the only way to live a better life. He also knows many doctors and engineers live comfortable life – they get these high paying jobs because they are highly educated. These two conflicting views make him confuse. Therefore, naturally and being a teenager, he is unsure of his life’s direction. Should he follow what his family is saying or what his teachers telling him? Should he focus on his study or on his family’s business?

You better study more about business but you mustn’t skip school

This is the best advice for him (and other teenage businessmen like him): study more about business. Since he is good in business but weak in his study, he shouldn’t be a doctor or an engineer or other professional. It would be a waste to him, to his family and to our society. He should be a businessman, who provides investment opportunities to investors, business opportunities to other businessmen and job opportunities to other people, and good services and products to public.

But he mustn’t skip school. There is so much to learn from school other than the academic stuffs, things which are subtle but vital in his character building. He could learn to respect other people, especially teachers. He could network with his school mates, which would be investors, businessmen, business partners, middle-class professionals and government officers, his general workers and his customers in the future. He could learn English and Chinese in speaking, reading and writing, professional writing. He could learn proper problem solving. He could learn to accept challenges. He could learn leadership and teamwork. He could learn friendship. And he could learn to love someone. (Sadly, many ‘good’ students are too focused with their studies and missed all these. They become inhuman, more like ‘robot.’)

Frankly, we don’t have any worry for him, the ‘problematic student.’ We believe that he would make it.

Good luck to him.

Clothing is perhaps one of your must-have monthly expenses, especially if you are a woman. I know this from my wife. A typical working Malaysian woman could spend between $50 and $200 a month for clothing. Although percentage wise, out of the total income, this could be a small amount (which seldom go beyond 5% and rarely go beyond 10% – of the total income), this expenses category could promise us many benefits if its total expenses is reduced.

I would like to share my experience managing my family’s clothing expenses in this article. Here you go …

Last weekend, my wife and I did an exciting cost saving project: sewing maternity dress for her. We called it ‘Project Runaway’, borrowing the project name from a popular American reality show, which focuses on fashion design. We tailored a beautiful maternity dress at material cost. And it is an interesting family project.

To start the story with, my wife is a high school teacher. Her teaching career demands her to dress properly. She also needs to have plenty of clothes, so that she doesn’t repeat the same dress every week. And currently, she is expecting our first baby and therefore she needs a new set of dress: maternity dress. A new set of dress calls for new budget, new expenses. And her tummy grows every day! That calls for ‘Red Alert’ – she is in a need for many maternity dresses urgently. As family’s CFO, I have to balance this need with other needs.

The following tells our journey.

1st Milestone

We bought a maternity dress of high end brand. It costs us around $125. It is expensive. We know that we have to save more money for other costs i.e. O&G services, food supplements for expecting mothers, baby delivery, post-deliver cares and treatments, baby stuffs, and so on. We must do cost saving!

2nd Milestone

Then we did ask a local tailor to sew maternity dress for her. We bought the material around $30 at Kamdar. We came out with the design after we studied fashion magazines. But the tailor charged us $40 for her service: that is more than the material cost. Thus the total cost for it was $70 a piece ($30 + $40 = $70). We are quite satisfied with the completed dress. And we had saved around $45 a piece ($125 – $70 = $45). Anyway, we do think that we could still lower the cost further.

3rd Milestone

Then we did buy some maternity dresses of brands that aren’t popular, which cost us roughly $50 a piece. Their quality isn’t bad. And we had saved around $75 a piece this way ($125 – $50 = $75). Yet we think that we could still lower the cost.

4th Milestone

Next, my wife came out with a brilliant cost saving idea: maternity dress DIY. Luckily, she knows how to sew using sewing machine as she used to operate her mother’s sewing machine (at kampong). That’s mean less a hurdle for her. And my mother (here in Kuching) has just got her long-idle sewing machine fixed. My wife tailored the material which we bought long time ago, that we haven’t sent to tailor. The total cost of the dress is $35 ($30 material + $5 accessories). The completed dress isn’t really up to our expectation. But I said to her, “Never mind. It was your first try. Try again.” Anyway, we had saved $90 a piece ($125 – $35 = $90).

5th Milestone

I gave her $30 encouragement – we bought two materials at Kamdar, two meters each, one costs $5 a meter and another costs $10 a meter. Last Sunday, we sew one dress for her. (Proudly) I helped her to co-design her latest DIY dress. It was quite interesting and challenging. This mini project made my brain’s neurons fired actively. Lucky for me, my wife always ask me for opinions whenever she buys new dresses and whenever she designs dress to send to tailor. Hence, I know which dress is good on her and which dress isn’t. It took us few hours to nearly complete one dress from measuring to cutting to sewing. We cannot accomplish the last steps with her mother’s (aging) sewing machine – will complete it with my mother’s this coming weekends. When both completed, one would cost us $10 and another would cost us $20. It would save us $105 and $115 a piece. And most importantly, we are very satisfied with the initial result. We think our DIY dress is at par with the dress on the shelves at dress shops. I asked her, “Are you considering opening a maternity dress boutique?” She replied, “Maybe. It would be interesting. So, when are you going to design my next dress?”

Dress cost equals material cost, plus exciting experience and better relationship!

The Financial Outcomes

Two possible financial outcomes, lower dress cost means:

• we could buy more dresses with the same amount of money; and/or
• we could save more money or divert the budget allocation to other necessities.

Our Advices

Our advices for beginners:

• Utilise your existing resources
  We used our mothers’ sewing machines. We experimented with our unused material first before buying new materials specifically for this project.
• Do not be over ambitious with your first experiment
  Build your confident by trying simple dress design that you could use at your home e.g. night gown. Once you are confident with your sewing skill, then you could try more complicated designs.
• Think then cut
  You might be too excited to cut and sew. Do not do this but design, plan, measure and mark first before you begin cutting and sewing the material.
• Go to class
  Or learn from your mother.

Husbands, give encouragements and supports; and participate.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: We didn’t receive any kind of benefit from Kamdar by mentioning it in this article.

I received an email from my aunty. It is a very inspiring story and I think I better share it with my readers. So here you are …

Good morning said a woman as she walked up to the man sitting on ground.

The man slowly looked up.

This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like she had never missed a meal in her life.

His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before. “Leave me alone,” he growled.

To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling – her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. “Are you hungry?” she asked.

“No,” he answered sarcastically. “I’ve just come from dining with the president. Now go away.”

The woman’s smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm.

“What are you doing, lady?” the man asked angrily. “I said to leave me alone.”

Just then a policeman came up. “Is there any problem, ma’am?” he asked.

“No problem here, officer,” the woman answered. “I’m just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?”

The officer scratched his head. “That’s old Jack. He’s been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?”

“See that cafeteria over there?” she asked. “I’m going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile.”

“Are you crazy, lady?” the homeless man resisted. “I don’t want to go in there!” Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. “Let me go, officer. I didn’t do anything.”

“This is a good deal for you, Jack,” the officer answered. “Don’t blow it.”

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived.

The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by his table. “What’s going on here, officer?” he asked. “What is all this, is this man in trouble?”

“This lady brought this man in here to be fed,” the policeman answered.

“Not in here!” the manager replied angrily. “Having a person like that here is bad for business.”

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. “See, lady. I told you so. Now if you’ll let me go. I didn’t want to come here in the first place.”

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. “Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?”

“Of course I am,” the manager answered impatiently. “They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms.”

“And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly meetings?”

“What business is that of yours?”

“I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company.”

“Oh.”

The woman smiled again. “I thought that might make a difference.” She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. “Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?”

“No thanks, ma’am,” the officer replied. “I’m on duty.”

“Then, perhaps a cup of coffee to go?”

“Yes, ma’am. That would be very nice.”

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel, “I’ll get your coffee for you right away, officer.”

The officer watched him walk away. “You certainly put him in his place,” he said.

“That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this.” She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. “Jack, do you remember me?”

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes. “I think so – I mean you do look familiar.”

“I’m a little older perhaps,” she said. “Maybe I’ve even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry.”

“Ma’am?” the officer said questioningly. He couldn’t believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

“I was just out of college,” the woman began. “I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn’t find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat.”

Jack lit up with a smile. “Now I remember,” he said. “I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy.”

“I know,” the woman continued. “Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, when I looked over and saw you put the price of my food in the cash register, I knew then that everything would be all right.”

“So you started your own business?” Old Jack said.

“I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered.” She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. “When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He’s the personnel director of my company. I’ll go talk to him now and I’m certain he’ll find something for you to do around the office.” She smiled. “I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet. If you ever need anything, my door is always opened to you.”

There were tears in the old man’s eyes. “How can I ever thank you?” he said.

“Don’t thank me,” the woman answered. “To God goes the glory. Thank Jesus. He led me to you.”

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways.

“Thank you for all your help, officer,” she said.

“On the contrary, Ms. Eddy,” he answered. “Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And … and thank you for the coffee.”

It is a good story, right? Share it with your friend!