LifeAfterCubes

Unanchor Semi-Annual 2-Day Sale — FREE Travel Guides Thursday & Friday Only!

Jason — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:00:18 +0000

It’s time again for another Unanchor Kindle Travel Guide 2-day sale! Starting today (May 9) through Friday (May 10), we have 100 Unanchor Amazon Kindle travel guides available for FREE! See below for direct links to every guide.

What is an Unanchor Travel Guide Itinerary?

A self-guided tour itinerary is a logical list of prioritized sights and attractions with detailed directions & maps.

Please Help Us & Leave a Review

I have a big favor to ask you. These guides take hours to write, create and update. Normally, they cost anywhere from $5 to $10, but today they’re free!

If you download a guide, can you give us your feedback? Email us at feedback@unanchor.com or leave a review directly on Amazon (details on how to do this are on the last page of every guide). Reviews are tremendously helpful to the writers & to us, allowing us to continuously improve each guide.

Get Your FREE Unanchor Guides on Amazon

Starting right now and through midnight Pacific time on Friday (May 10) you can download all of our Amazon Kindle itineraries for FREE! Head on over to Amazon and download your guides now. Don’t forget to share & tweet this with your friends! Here is what’s available:

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The Sales Email Template with Nearly 100% Response Rate

Jason — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 13:38:49 +0000

The past year I’ve been working for This Week In and LAUNCH. My job has primarily been comprised of sales and business development. It’s my first sales job and has been a huge learning experience from prospecting, to finding almost anyone’s email address, learning empathy, and most importantly, how to write a good email. While I still have a long way to go on the email front, I wanted to share my favorite email template.

This email has gotten such a high response rate that I debated just keeping it to myself. Many people have literally not responded in months to me and then they get this email and are so impressed by it that they’ve not only responded, but have complimented me on the email.

When Do I Send This Email?

The scenario I typically send this note is to someone who has “gone cold”, meaning we’ve exchanged emails in the past or have had a phone conversation and they’ve inexplicably stopped responding to me. I’ll typically send 2 to 3 emails (and sometimes up to 5) before I go with this email.

When a prospect has gone cold it’s easy to assume that they’re no longer interested, however I’ve found this is almost always not the case. Instead they’re focused on something else and are just too busy to respond.

The other reason I send this email is if a deadline is approaching. Many of the things I sell for are events, so there’s a deadline that people have to choose whether they’re in or out.

The Email

Subject: ☛ Should I stay or should I go? (I include a symbol in the subject line)

Body:

Hi FIRSTNAME,

I know you’re busy. Just give me a 1, 2, or 3 –

We’ll pass on partnering with EVENT NAME this year, thanks for the offer!
We’re interested in the Event, but it’s not a good time, reach back out to me in 1 month.
I’m interested — let’s talk!

Thanks!

Jason

=================

Some of the responses I’ve received recently:

Awesome email Jason. Unfortunately time is forcing me to choose 2.
Jason I’m interested lets talk. Call me this afternoon at 3.
You are brilliant – 2 – will know next week
So sorry for being MIA, we’ve got our biggest launch so far next week and my inbox got de-prioritized.

Simple and extremely effective.

Thoughts on the email? Have an amazingly effective email template you’d like to share? Leave a comment below!

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Unanchor Holiday 2-Day Sale – FREE Travel Guides Thursday & Friday only!

Jason — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:05:02 +0000

The dream of Unanchor is still alive and kicking. The amount of time I can personally dedicate to working on the site has significantly decreased, but despite that, the site continues to grow. We have over 130 itineraries on Unanchor.com and over 70 Kindle books now. In 2012 we’ve had monthly revenue grow from $100 per month to over $1500 per month. It’s been a fun 2012. And we’re ending the year with a HUGE sale.

It’s time again for another Unanchor Kindle Travel Guide 2-day sale! Starting today (12/13) through Friday (12/14), we have over 70 Unanchor Amazon Kindle travel guides available for FREE.

Why do we run these sales? To get reviews! If you download a guide, it would be a tremendous help to us if you could also leave a review. See below for all of the links and details.

What is an Unanchor Travel Guide Itinerary?

A self-guided tour itinerary is a logical list of prioritized sights and attractions with detailed directions & maps.

Please Help Us & Leave a Review

I have a big favor to ask you. These guides take hours to write, create and update. Normally they cost anywhere from $5 to $10, but today they’re free.

If you download a guide can you leave us a review? Email us at feedback@unanchor.com or leave a review directly on Amazon. Reviews are tremendously helpful to the writers & us, allowing us to continuously improve each guide. Thanks!

Get Yours FREE on Amazon

Starting right now and through midnight pacific on Friday (12/14) you can download all of our Amazon Kindle itineraries for FREE! Head on over to Amazon and download your guides. Don’t forget to tell your friends. Here’s what’s available:

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Unanchor Summer 2-Day Sale – FREE Travel Guides Thursday & Friday Only!

Jason — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 12:10:34 +0000

It’s time again for another Unanchor Kindle Travel Guide sale! Our last sale was a huge success and we’re making it bigger and better this time. We have over 20 Unanchor Amazon Kindle travel guides available for FREE. See below for all of the links.

What is an Unanchor Travel Guide Itinerary?

A self-guided tour itinerary is a logical list of prioritized sights and attractions with detailed directions & maps.

Leave a Review

I have a big favor to ask you. These guides take hours to write, create and update. Normally they cost anywhere from $5 to $10, but today they’re free.

If you download a guide can you leave us a review? Email us at feedback@unanchor.com or leave a review directly on Amazon. Reviews are tremendously helpful to us, allowing us to continuously improve each guide. Thanks!

Get Yours FREE on Amazon

Starting right now and through midnight pacific on Friday you can download all of our Amazon Kindle itineraries for FREE! Head on over to Amazon and download your guides. Don’t forget to tell your friends. Here’s what’s available:

Enjoy this article? Help us share it:

Housewifery, Pregnancy, and Me

Sharon — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:00:09 +0000

It’s hard to believe we were still residents of South Korea a little over 3 months ago. We have changed virtually every aspect of our lives since then; Jason works full time while I am now the Housewife, we live in a city where we can communicate without circus gestures, we have carpeted floors in our apartment, our shower is a separate entity from the bathroom as a whole, we’re expecting our first baby (girl) in October, and most importantly… we have a garbage disposal.

You heard right. The first baby Demantski is on its way! Conceived while we were still in Korea, and now a resident of the worldy city of San Francisco, this unborn baby girl is already more cultured than most adults. I’m guessing she will be eating kimchi at one week old and will be reading “The Ramayana” as she exits my womb.

Although we couldn’t be happier about our upcoming baby, I have to admit that my first pregnancy hasn’t been easy. Not only did I throw up 4 times on the plane ride home from Korea to SFO (in barf bags), but later (6 weeks into the pregnancy) I started getting real, full-blown morning sickness. Why they call it “morning” sickness I will never know. Apparently, for me, “morning” lasts the minute you wake up to the second you fall asleep at night. I was miserable. All. Day. Long. And it’s not just the feeling of having to constantly throw up all day, but the thought that this could last for months was very unnerving.

Along with the beautiful side effect of “All-Day Sickness”, I also couldn’t stand about 95% of most smells. This included the smell of fresh produce, the entire kitchen, the entire fridge, any cooked food, my prenatal vitamins, and people’s breath. I’m surprised I didn’t pass out from holding my breath so much during the first trimester, because I could barely walk into our apartment without gagging from the everyday, normal smells. Poor Jason could barely get close to his miserable wife even after showering and downing a tin of mints.

Anyone who knew me pre-pregnancy knows that I am a garbage disposal, meaning I eat almost everything. Once I started feeling the nausea and smell aversions, however, I became Jason’s worst nightmare. The only foods I could eat were things that are on Jason’s “Hell No” list of foods, such as Campbell’s soup from a can (only chicken noodle or vegetable), tons of carbs (pasta, mac and cheese, bread, bagels), crackers, strawberries, and cereal. The best part: an empty stomach aggravated my nausea, so Jason had to watch me eat these things at least every hour. It was a rough time for both Daddy and Mommy.

I’m happy to say that I am now well into my second trimester, the nausea is gone, and I’m eating healthy again. Unfortunately, the minute the nausea left, I started getting pregnancy back pains that became so bad at one point that I could barely move. But thankfully that has improved and I am now active and exercising regularly. This little baby is going to get as much nurturing inside the womb as possible! How else is Jason going to get his Steve Jobs entrepreneurial child?

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Coming Back Home – Reverse Culture Shock, Life in SF & Work

Jason — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:00:57 +0000

It’s been a common question — what’s it like being back home? In this hodgepodge post I wanted to give an update on the “reverse culture shock” I experienced, what it’s like being back home and what I’m doing now for work.

Reverse Culture Shock

In Korea we called it “reverse culture shock” — getting readjusted to living back in America. Overall though, I haven’t experienced much, and I’ve been been really happy living in San Francisco. However, there have been times where it’s felt “weird” to be back home. Such as –

The first couple of times I walked into a convenience store, I wanted to say “Ahnyanghaseyo” and bow, rather than the standard hello.
For the first couple of weeks I consistently passed my credit card to the cashier with two hands out of respect.
When I went into a coffee shop and could understand all of the conversations going around me — that was weird.
In general being able to communicate with all restaurant and shop employees.

In Korea I assumed that the people around me couldn’t understand my conversation (as long as I spoke quickly). When walking around the streets of Seoul, for example, Sharon and I would often find something we found funny. We’d elbow each other and talk about it — not usually in a whisper either. They couldn’t understand us, so it didn’t matter. We were walking around San Francisco a few weeks ago and saw someone wearing hammer pants holding the hand of an attractive woman who was dressed in completely normal clothes. I of course elbowed Sharon to point it out, and then I made comment in a voice that was far too loud. Fortunately, I don’t think he heard me, but it was a reverse culture situation where I realized I’m not in Seoul anymore and can’t assume people don’t understand me.

Thoughts On Being Back Home

I’m excited to be back in California. What’s made the transition easier and more exciting is that we’ve never lived in San Francisco before. Now we live in the heart of SF in Nob Hill. I don’t know the city very well, so there have been a lot of new experiences and new things to learn. If we had moved back to where we had previously lived, San Jose, I suspect my feelings would be very different.

The Job

I’m happy to say I found a great job. In Seoul I helped organize two “This Week in Startups” meetups. I worked with very closely with the ThisWeekIn teams to coordinate these. It was a time consuming and fun process, and it turned out to be essentially part of an interview process.

When I was getting ready to move back, I reached out to Jason Calacanis (the host) for advice on the job search process. I was secretly hoping he would introduce me to some of his angel investments, but instead, he told me of an open “Sales Manager” position at ThisWeekIn. It was a pretty short interview process and after some internal debate I took the job. The company is located in LA, but they want me in San Francisco. I work from home, which I’ve really enjoyed. While only there a couple months, I’ve seen my responsibilities increase to also include business development and I’m loving it. I’m doing different things everyday, meeting lots of new people and learning a lot. We’re a very small team and I’m making an impact — exactly what I wanted.

Final Thoughts

There are a few funny “wow, we’re not in Seoul anymore” moments that pop up now and then. I still find myself bowing my head slightly to bus drivers or the occasional shop owner. The amount of “crazies” in this city is still hard to believe. Sharon and I also get very excited when we overhear Korean. Unfortunately we’re both too shy to say anything though. Maybe one day I’ll work up the courage to say — “hankook saram-ee-ay-o?” (Are you Korean?)

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Unanchor Update – FREE Travel Guides on Kindle – Today & Tomorrow Only!

Jason — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:00:17 +0000

What’s been going on?

Sharon and I have settled down in San Francisco’s Nob Hill area and are really enjoying being back. I’ve even found myself a day job — more on this in a future post.

I haven’t given up on Unanchor though. Mohammad and I are still plugging away on the business as our nights & weekend project.

What’s Unanchor?

As a quick reminder — Unanchor is a marketplace of online travel guides that we call self-guided tour itineraries. Our itineraries are all written by local experts and are the perfect solution for the last-minute traveler. We say it’s like having your own local tour guide, but at your own pace. Check out an example of San Francisco.

Get Our Guides FREE on Amazon!

We’re continually exploring ways to get our awesome itineraries in the hands of more travelers. Our most recent channel to do so is through the Amazon Kindle store. And to kick things off, we’re offering 10 of our most popular itineraries for FREE today & tomorrow only. Please tell your friends, and as always, let us know what you think of the guides — we need your feedback to make them better.

Here’s what’s available:

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Mix and Match your Travel Accommodations!

Sharon — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:04:24 +0000

We are officially San Francisco residents! Jason and I might have thrown in our travel towels for the time being, but our time abroad did leave us with some valuable insight into the many different types of accommodations to choose from. Many people assume that all long-time backpackers book hostels and that all short-time vacationists choose hotels. In reality, there are infinite ways to mix and match, and I personally believe it makes your trip more exciting; one week you’re in a hostel, then the next weekend you’re in a homestay followed by a week at a $7 luxury hotel (only if you’re in a country as cheap and awesome as Vietnam).

Here are the main forms of accommodations that we would recommend to any traveler:

Hotels. Kind of a no brainer, but around the world there are so many different types of hotels to choose from. Of course if you’re in a city like Paris you are going to shell out hundreds of bucks for a decent hotel, but if you’re traveling around the cheaper countries you’d be surprised at what places you can find for dirt cheap. Either do your research and book online, or take a chance and find a hotel wandering around the city. The latter is how we found one of our FAVORITE (and one of the cheapest) hotels on our year-long trip.
Hostels. No, hostels are not filled with murder-crazed psychopaths and horrible acting. Many hostels that we stayed at were actually nicer and cleaner than the local hotels. The word “hostel” scares some people, but it’s just a name for a hotel with a wider variety of accommodation options; 2, 4, 8 and sometimes even 12 or 24 bed dormitories, and of course there are usually private rooms with your own bathroom. Sometimes hostels are even more expensive than hotels because they provide the “traveler-friendly”, open environment where it’s easy to meet like-minded people. Our favorite booking site was Hostelworld.com. We found the reviews to be honest and typically spot-on.
Homestays. There are people all around the world who open their own home up for travelers. These might be a little harder to find, but try asking locals and fellow travelers if they know of any great places. Some homestays will provide home-cooked food with your room, but others will only offer hundreds of mosquito bites (TRUE STORY), so be aware and ask to look at the room/bathroom before you buy!
Timeshares. Perhaps if you’re looking for something a little more long term and quiet, renting a timeshare could be exactly what you want. Similar to vacation rentals, I’d say they’re difficult to find, but there are some great sites out there like Sellmytimesharenow.com that will help you find gems. Jason and I personally never rented a timeshare during our trip, but we have rented many in the past. If you want you can even part-own the place and come back every year. Hopefully we can do this somewhere… Maybe Vietnam… Mmmm Vietnamese food…
Overnight buses/trains. This might sound strange, but in many countries there are trains and buses that will take you long distances overnight. The genius thing about these is that you are paying for travel and accommodation all in one price! If you’re on a budget, this is a great option rather than an expensive flight. Warning: If you think sleeping in tiny quarters around strangers is absolutely icky, this probably isn’t for you. I have to say, though, that even though I am not a fan of it either, I was able to live through it a few times. TIP: If there are no assigned beds, get in line EARLY. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET THERE EARLY.
Couch Surfing. Ever heard of couchsurfing.org? The title explains what it is- locals with extra space offer up their apartment/house for travelers to stay in for free. Keep in mind that with Couchsurfing you might be sleeping in your own bed in a private room, or you might just be sleeping on the floor. It completely depends on how much space they have in their home. Also, most travelers will only stay at one place for a couple nights and most people who offer their couch/bed/floor will prefer a traveler who wants to be social.
Airbnb. Similar to Couchsurfing, this website lists rooms/beds offered by locals in their own home. The difference with Airbnb is that the homeowners will charge for accommodation, although the rates are usually cheaper than the going hotel rate in that area. Also, sometimes the homeowner will rent out their whole house, whereas some will rent just one room. The idea here is that if you’re going to pay for accommodation, might as well stay with a local.

Full Disclosure: We were compensated for a portion of this article. However, the article topic was chosen and written by us. Thanks for the support!

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My LASIK Laser Eye Surgery Story in Seoul

Sharon — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:25:02 +0000

My eyessss! My eyessss!

Technology is amazing. One day you’re blind and the next day you can have better than perfect vision (after shelling out thousands of dollars for someone to cut holes and burn your eyeballs with lasers, of course).

I never thought I would undergo eye surgery while wide-awake; the concept always freaked me out. Last week, however, I found myself in a hospital gown and cap with a Korean nurse wiping my face with brown disinfectant, asking me what type of music I wanted to hear in the operation room. It was actually happening- I was getting LASIK!

It all started with a free consultation at the Dream Eye Clinic in Myeong Dong (Seoul) that consisted of 1.5 hours of eye testing to make sure I was a good candidate for the surgery. Five days later I returned with Jason in tow. I knew what would happen to my eyes during the surgery, and to be honest I was pretty damn nervous. I get really queasy when it comes to medical poking and prodding of my body. The last time I donated blood I literally just laid on the table and cried while the red stuff was pumped out of my veins. Imagine my nerves when they used a can opener to open my eyeball (I actually have no idea what the tool looked like). Good thing they gave me a stuffed animal to hold on to during the surgery.

The entire surgery took approximately 10 minutes, and yes, I was wide awake the whole time. They do anesthetize your eyes so you feel absolutely no pain, and they put some sort of liquid in your eyes that doesn’t make them dry out. I could, though, distinctly feel the pressure they put on my eyeballs during each step. And, of course, I could see everything! Shout out to Jason who stood next to me and watched the entire process through a close-up video screen without making gasping sounds. I could not promise the same discretion if I were in his place, that’s for sure.

After 10 minutes of holding back the shakes, I was finished! My doctor was pretty awesome; he spoke to me very calmly during the procedure and reassured me after each eye was finished that it was successful and that I did a great job. The trip back home with Jason was a tad miserable, though. I could barely open my eyes, the dull pain was coming in strong, and everything was blurry. When we got home I slept for about 3 or 4 hours and felt completely fine when I woke up. The next day I went back in to the office for a post-surgery check up and had 20/13 vision ALREADY! What?! How?! Magic!

Granted, I do have to put eye drops in every 2 hours and I can’t wear eye make-up for 2 weeks. The upside: I get some super sweet eye shields to wear when I sleep. They’re kind of awesome. Jason has to shoo the crowds of men off that gather around me when I wear them, so who wants dibs when I’m done with them?

Random Thought of the Day: I heard (2 days after the surgery) that some women experience vision changes after having a baby, thus making pre-pregnancy LASIK basically worthless. Can anyone confirm or deny this vicious rumor? If it’s true, then I may have made an expensive mistake. Oooopsies! (NOT PREGNANT, just thinking about the future…)

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The End of Our Life After Cubes?

Jason — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:00:29 +0000

We quit our jobs, sold all of our stuff and left the states in October of 2009. We traveled through Asia and visited 10 different countries. Next, we headed back to the states for a couple months and got married. Most recently we’ve lived in South Korea for a year teaching English (Sharon) and launching an online business (me). The next phase of our life has finally been decided — Sharon and I are officially moving back to San Francisco. We’ve booked our 1-way tickets back home – February 17^th ICN-YVR-SFO.

Sharon’s 1-year teaching contract is up February 15^th. We always knew she wasn’t going to sign on for another year. We had considered staying another year with her at a different teaching job. I also applied for incubator programs with Unanchor in San Francisco, Chile and New York — all of which have not worked out. Ultimately it’s time for us to return home.

Our plan when we return is to look for jobs. Having found a passion for startups and entrepreneurship, I’d like to continue working with startups or join one.

Sharon is considering going back to school and getting her teaching credential as well as applying for the “Teach for America” program.

What does this mean for Unanchor?

Unanchor has not taken off like we had hoped. However, there are a lot of positive signs, so we’re not going to give up. Like many entrepreneurs, Unanchor will become my “nights and weekend” project. We’re going to continue improving it and hopefully one day it can become my full-time job again.

Finding a Job

I was thinking about it the other day and I realized I hadn’t looked for a job since I graduated college in 2005. A lot of things have changed since then. Any advice?

Twist Seoul 2

As an aside, I co-organized and hosted the “This Week in Startups” Seoul meetup episode last Saturday. It was another successful event. We had over 125 people in attendance and 5 amazing companies pitched live on the show. Check out who won and what Jason Calacanis had to say about the Korean startup companies –

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