the agents of moxie :: live

It's nearly official . . . We've Moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:39:00 +0000

Please visit, comment, contribute maybe, but definitely visit -- http://blog.buildingmoxie.com.
Thank you Blogger . . . we'll meet again soon . . . maybe.

thanks for memories . . . blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:29:00 +0000

. . . but it feels like I never left

As you may have guessed from the sidebar over here (-->), I have decided to take this show over to the Wordpress platform. There are several reasons I have decided to make this move.

While developing the web component of my venture at http://www.buildingmoxie.com/, a Blogger blog presented a quick and easy way to manage the content I hoped to generate for/through the site. At the time, I had a few ideas about what I might cover using my blog. Unfortunately -- I found quickly that the variety of topics I ended up writing about spilled out beyond one simple, and centralized, location. So . . . as need arose, I created the additional extensions for Home (work around my house), for Jobs (work on other people's houses), and for the 'Hood (stories about houses and people near me).

For the last year, I posted on average one article a week to one of these places. But while traffic to the landing location AOM grew, my numbers in the auxiliary buckets remained somewhat flat. My assumption . . . perhaps you and others simply may not have known those other destinations also existed.

So with the long and the short, I am moving to Wordpress for their tabbed scalability (through both pages and categories) and for the ability to unify all of my content under one harmonious domain.

What's in a name?

During this process, I am taking the opportunity to rename and re-brand the blog. While I, of course, love both the phrase "agents of moxie" and further the way the word "agents" plays several meanings, it has in some regard failed largely to accomplish one primary goal. That is -- unless you found me through my website, you and others may not have noticed that this blog is in fact attached, and is meant to serve, my budding home improvement business.

While fun and flirty at first - "agents" had to go (at least as the domain name); enter, now, Building Moxie :: the Blog. The word "Building" hints that my business and my blog may have something to do with . . . well, construction, and it helps reinforce my brand as a whole.

And what will you find at http://blog.buildingmoxie.com/

In re-designing, I hope to come up with a snappy tag phrase that tells every visitor what they might find there (here). Something that says, "You are visiting the site of an aspiring entrepreneur." In visiting, you'll find content written by an analyst turned week long warrior -- who with some formal training has made his way through many, many home improvement projects using information collected not only from magazine articles, books and online resources, but also through the everyman's weapon of choice -- trial and error.

I mean -- I am actually to the point where I am considering a professional career with it! Am I crazy? A do-it-yourselver gone mad, and it, I feel, offers a unique, from-the-ground-up perspective of the industry.

And there you are - the theme, at least the one I am toying with -- "An end user's view to home (no, strikethru) life improvement." You'll find material on and from the agents of moxie, still, the full array: a person or business authorized to act on another's behalf; a natural force or object producing or used for obtaining specific results; Grammar. a form or construction; and so on.

I welcome you to come visit now, as I rework the blog in broad daylight. I will be noodling new sections and hopefully testing a new "thing" in the coming months. In the future, and when the re-design is complete, I hope you will return to read and leave comment.

I am always available at jb@buildingmoxie.com. Thank you all for your support and BMoxie BMore!

ps -- Oi! This time of year is really slowing this process down. Happy Holidays all! And If you are so inclined, feel free to contact me about becoming a sponsor and/or an advertiser; just sayin'. Thanks. jb

so what I am trying to say is . . . heavy on the one

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0000

my first guest post

Let me be honest, I obsess (usually afterwards) about almost everything that I write, and post. Yes, I am still in that phase. But . . . this post -- and how, and/or if, it fits -- has really troubled me.

I do revel in the opportunity to write from the hip; I find that it is often a great way to explore. But sometimes though -- like in life, walkabouts lead only to places that you know.

********

Thanks to Paul Anater at Kitchen and Residential Design for having me. I am one of eleven guest posters who are holding the fort while Paul gets some time away. Please check in throughout the week to see what is up!

Without further build-up, here is my first guest post: . . . heavy on the one

ps. Thanks to Barry at the Big Blog of Building and Mike at Home Path Products for getting my back, as always.

If only you could drive your house up to the home center

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Car guys vs. House guys (and yes girls and women can be guys too)

I have mentioned it previously; I am not really a car guy. Sure, I know a few things. I know how to operate a vehicle, and I know where the gasoline goes. I know that they ride on tires, which, in turn, must be rotated every so often.

OK . . . I am probably selling myself a little short here. I do know a few other things. I mean -- I know, for me, when issues arise, I do not always have the experience or the time to make a fix happen, well, efficiently.

So . . . I often opt to leave things for the pros. I mean – you can call me Frank, but cars, and/or learning how they work to any intimate degree, just do not interest me. To me – they are simply a more efficient means of getting the people I know and things I need from Point A to Point B.

No*Star

A few weeks back – I got the call. I picked up the phone in my office, and I heard it, the sound of panic in her voice . . . . She said, “My check engine light is on,” sigh . . . . “What I should do?”

A transcript (roughly) of the conversation that then followed:

I started with, “Jen, calm down.” Then, I proceeded to give her a brief outline of what I know. “It could mean anything . . . . It could mean it is time for regularly scheduled maintenance. Or, it could mean, well, that there is something seriously wrong.” I thought for a second, then I finished the first wave with, “How is the car running?”

She replied, “Well, it does feel a little sluggish – what should I do; should I not drive it?”

“We are going to have to have someone do a diagnostic on it.” But who, I thought.

Jen then said, “I guess I’ll have to go up to my parents and have Roy look at it.” (Roy is a "guy" in the classic sense of the word. For a loose definition, see the Moxie Mouth side bar here). “But that means driving up on a weekend – (paraphrased) and we are so busy.”

I said, “OK, let me call some places around here. We’ll get this checked out.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” But I continued, “Don’t worry about it – I think you are OK driving it for a little bit.”

Kinda like shopping bids for a home project

I proceeded, as promised, to call a couple of the places near us. Two, to be exact. Both regionally recognizable chains; we have visited both previously. $89.99 per hour for a diagnostic – “But it usually doesn’t take more than an hour,” the service tech said. My reply, “OK, thanks.”

So . . . I called the next place. “Whew,” I thought, “Only $89.99 for the test, and just the test, no by the hour included here.” And I reported back quickly. My wife’s reply sharp and clear, “I guess I am going to have to take it up to Roy.” The plan of action decided.

Now . . . my wife is a smart lady. She knows, like I do, that there are always options. So, she called her brother. Her brother, my brother-in-law, Darin is a smart guy, too, an engineer; he knows some things. And he is certainly more of a car guy than me.

Two days after that initial call, I picked up another call in my office. The excitement in her voice was pretty plain, “Darin says Auto Zone does free diagnostics.” I said, “Hmmm, wow, cool.” And a few days later my wife went to Auto Zone.

If only you could drive your house up to the home center

As with most events in life, this got me thinking. How does this translate to the home?

In a lot of ways, maintaining a home and maintaining an automobile are quite similar. Each has systems that effect overall performance, each is fairly expensive, and each requires routine maintenance, and regular care, to perform at its best.

These conditions are due, in part, to the temporal and fading nature of things. Much as a car’s odometer rolls with every tenth of a mile accumulated – your home loads on mileage, too, with each passing year. Short of noting proactive discretionary improvements, and extending beyond the mechanical equipment found in your home, all parts in, on, or of your home will wear, and ultimately fail (if left unchecked).

The timeline of failure, of course, can be accelerated by poor maintenance within interconnected systems. This has never been clearer than today, as many of us focus our attention on energy usage.

Enter the home energy audit, a diagnostic of home energy performance. These check-ups look at such things as the air-tightness of your home’s shell (the skin) and the health of its working parts (organs as such). It's kinda like a doctor’s visit, a house call.

Some of today’s home automation systems allow for in-line diagnostics of power-based components. But . . . still these controls are evolving and I can think that one day maybe homes, too, will fitted with a “Check Engine” light. Think about it – a LED blinking on at a centralized location to not only notify you at certain intervals, but also to highlight the detection of specific negative events.

Auto Zone is the sh*t (stand back now he's really rambling)

As my wife, her check engine light still lit, was finalizing plans to have Roy change the thermostat on her car, it happened, as if a cruel joke. My check engine light, with no regret or remorse, popped on. “Damn!” But I tried not to panic; I mean – after all, from recent experience I knew what I needed to do first. Head to Auto Zone. I just had to work it into my schedule.

It was a rainy Saturday, and early, when I walking in. There were two employees on duty, and one person in the store. I did my usual, with the body language, and not impatiently mind you. More in stance that says – “Yes, I am looking at these displays, but not because I intend to purchase anything off of them; instead, I am just killing time here until you ask me if I need assistance.”

When the staffer came over, and I didn’t have to wait long, he was pleasant enough. “Can I help you?” he asked.

I said, “I hear you are doing free diagnostics; and my check engine light is on.”

He said, “Sure. We are.” And he reached his hand back behind the island that holds the store’s computer monitors, he grabbed a handheld device, and we walked out to my truck, together.

Below the truck’s steering wheel and on the side of the console that houses my radio, there is a port. And he took this device (it wasn’t too far off of some the electrical testers I have seen), and he plugged it in. With a turn of the key, and shutting my wipers off, he captured an error code in a matter of seconds. He then said, “Let’s see what the computer says your problem might be.”

A minute later, and more time actually spent walking and chatting, I had a list of four possible issues (ad libbing a little here): the catalytic converter, a leak at the exhaust manifold, a dirty air flow sensor, or a blocked fuel injector. My problem to be found at one of these four points.

The first thing out of my mouth of course was – “Well, what do you think?” And we fired questions and answers back and forth for a few minutes. I finally, then, made the resolution to start the troubleshooting dance with the more inexpensive options.

Knowing full well that Auto Zone stocks injector cleaner, I asked, “How do I clean the air flow sensor?”

“I’ll show you . . . . Here,” he said, as he handed me a can that looked quite similar to spray paint. And I walked out of there that morning with cleaner for my air flow sensor, fuel injector cleaner, and a thermostat for a 2000 Volvo.

What a brilliant organizational decision!

The Auto Zone associate, very knowledgable, may I dare say a car guy, provided tips for troubleshooting, laid down the truth of things if my troubleshooting were to fail, and he assured me that I could confidently perform some of these steps myself. Then, he rang me up for the supplies that I would need. And we went about our days.

Systems normal

I find that when troubleshooting it is often best to get the easiest and least expensive possibilities out of the way first. And in my case, this time, those basic measures performed that Saturday worked. I was able to shut that sucka light off.

I also find that these aren’t the kind of things you usually want to let go for too long. As with our house above, causes and effects are all too often interrelated. In my case, and with my vehicle, data pointed to either the air intake or the fuel system, each potentially having compounding effects on the other.

Left unchecked, who knows, the issue could have effectively manifested into a larger (and more expensive) problem.

Plus, you have to admit, it sure is unsightly. The check engine light -- starting your car, and there in the dashboard, it stares back at you, telling you something isn’t quite right.

More Moxie:

Check engine light shot by Barry Morgan @ Barry's Big Blog of Building: http://bigblogofbuilding.blogspot.com/

As I was noodling this idea, I stumbled upon this outstanding article on "Your House as a System". Link courtesy of Extremehowto.com: http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article.asp?article_id=60917

A top publication on home controls and other electronics: http://www.electronichouse.com/eh/magazine/

Get in the Zone! Auto Zone: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/

ain't ain't a word (some freewriting on language and writing)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:03:00 +0000

I walked into it, as my wife was putting the girls down for the night. The first thing that I heard was, “No, dear. Ain’t isn’t a word.” The wife then turns to me, and she says, “Isn’t that right?”

Well, you know me. And I am not sure why this time, I unexpectedly answered, “Well, Evyn . . . it really depends how and when you use it.”

I guess it was the mood I was in – and after about 30 seconds of my wife’s ranting – I was ready for the debate. She ends by saying, “And You . . . You were an English major! Hrrrmmmph! -- (or some other equivalently weighted monosyllabic grunt).”

My response – “That’s right.”

Briefly on Dogmatism – where good thought goes bad

You know it starts in grade school as the preceding back and forth portrays. Your teachers say – it’s a rule, “Ain’t isn’t a word.” And that’s what we are taught. I might even suggest that, here, on that night, I probably should have landed on that side of the argument (you know, because we are trying to teach a six year old how to effectively use the language). But I didn’t, less to advocate the devil and more because I really feel that “ain’t is a word”.

In my eyes, “ain’t” is simply a synonym for the word “isn’t”. I mean – you understand what is meant when I say, “Dogmatism ain’t cool.” Right?

Or how about this – “pool tables ain’t the only type of game tables.” Here, that means -- games tables come in all shapes and all sizes, on which many different games are played.

My point is – and I won’t digress too deeply into my catholic school upbringing, nor will I address the actions of some of our supposed leaders. The point, though -- we as communicating creatures, smart enough to develop language, must realize that it is just a language – used, at times inadequately, to communicate true feelings, intentions and/or philosophical thought.

I mean -- why be so critical?

Means to the end

In a recent “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (one of my favs), Larry criticized his father for skimping by a few letter on his mother’s tomb stone. At the bottom, it read, “past in 2001” (or something in that line). OK, while probably not that respectful, it certainly was creative, and well, didn’t it still communicate the information it needed to?

Let’s put it this way. Likely, you use Twitter or you have turned to texting from your cell phone. Written communication, it seems, is being clipped at times to a set of commonly accepted acronyms and abbreviations.

That said -- I am almost certain that you know what these three-letter combinations mean -- LOL, IMO, WT*. And they work, they do a great job of saving valuable (cyber) space, and they do a pretty decent job at communicating . . . as long as everyone is on the same page, and speaking the same language.

. . . and of course I see the irony of it all

I swing to both ends of this. The rules debate. I will admit it – I am a notoriously bad speller, famous for dropping words, and even more guilty of not proofing what I spit out.

I, at times, justify this for myself by saying, well as long as I communicate what I am trying to communicate. And, yes, I know others say -- typos, mispellings, and dropped words are just plain unprofessional, and further -- they distract from the points you are trying to make. Those folks are probably right, and I work at improving my own shortcomings every day.

For me, and I want to give a big shout to all of the professional editors of the world, self-editing is hard! I mean this both from a proofreading level, as well as, and all the way up to content management. I am frequently amazed at what these people pull off on a repeatable basis.

Words are cheap, they say

And the question, again: There sure are a lot of expert writers providing outstanding content for a myriad of outlets. And I ask myself, why jump in?

Well, simply to try to communicate and connect with the people of the world. I hope I am doing a decent job.

Thanks for reading & BMoxie BMore!

More Moxie:

Curb Your Enthusiasm -- A genius of flow: http://www.hbo.com/larrydavid/

Communication is not limited to the written or spoken word, and it is probably the single most important aspect of a home project. Courtesy of friends @RemodelCrazy, Paul's series on professional communication:

http://www.remodelcrazy.com/2009/video/remodel-crazy-professional-verbal-skills-video-1.html

http://www.remodelcrazy.com/2009/headline/remodel-crazy-professional-communication-video-2.html

1 yr anniversary post :: thank you all for reading

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:36:00 +0000

Since November marks the one year anniversary of the Agents of Moxie -- I wanted to re-post my first few lines, well, mainly because you might have missed them.

But before I do -- I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has visited. I do my best to post something of interest to one of the four buckets at least once weekly.

I will probably be working at the beginning of 2010 to redesign the four into one. But until then, and I don't know about you, I want to say -- I have learned a lot. Thank You and BMoxie BMore! jb

: Agents of Moxie
I know. It sounds like that indy rock band I never formed. I mean, "The Agents of Moxie." And I began thinking about prototypical pieces for this portion of my undertaking. I already knew that this section should be dedicated to stories of persons, places and things that inspire us to expand ourselves. I knew it is about paying homage and giving back.

And there they were, after a few scattered hours of thought, ideas. And while there is no question that some of these topics will eventually appear in these pages, as the first article, they came and they went. Except this idea, this one idea came and it stuck. I said to myself, "I will lead with a piece about my grandfather." And in that, I realized the point. The "Agents of Moxie" is for me (or anyone else that writes here). It is in all ways self-serving, and maybe a little bit vain.

********

To read where most of my moxie comes from:

Once I saw my grandfather tune an engine with a box wrench (part 1): http://www.agentsofmoxie.com/2008/11/once-i-saw-my-grandfather-tune-engine.html

Once I saw my grandfather tune an engine with a box wrench (part 2): http://www.agentsofmoxie.com/2008/11/once-i-saw-my-grandfather-tune-engine_26.html

More Moxie:

the Agents of Moxie :: at home -- http://agentsofmoxie-home.blogspot.com
the Agents of Moxie :: on the job -- http://agentsofmoxie-jobs.blogspot.com
the Agents of Moxie :: in the 'hood -- http://agentsofmoxie-hood.blogspot.com

The Moxie of Interior Design (aka Legos and White Zombie)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:42:00 +0000

A Note from your host: I can always count on @ajwdesignco for daily tidbits of design advice. But when Alycia dropped a comment onto a recent post here, I just had to ask. You see, Alycia Wicker blogs at http://www.casamoxie.com. I mean -- how much do you love the word "Casa?" (smile) So I said, "Sister Moxie, do you want to do a guess post?" And well, here it is. Alycia's take on moxie in interior design. jb

A Guest Post by Alycia Wicker

As a certified interior designer, I like many other designers, have had to forge my own path. Finding my place in the world of design wasn’t an easy thing. The one thing that I have always had, though, was my determination to be the best person I could be, and a desire to do the best at whatever I attempted.

I grew up playing with Legos and consuming home floor plan magazines with a vengeance. I dreamed what it would be like to be in the spaces I was building, while visually devouring the rooms from the magazines. My mind was wrapped up early on in these thoughts; what was it like to be in these spaces, how did they function, and how did they affect the people who would be in them.

When I started out in design school, all I had was a dream. I wanted to design, but I had yet to discover what my design philosophy was. Looking around, though, I still thought I was way behind the others in my class, those who knew what their “style” was.

Of course, looking back, it didn’t really matter what my style was. I just knew I had to design things that reflected my personality and that stayed true to my sensibilities. This turned out to be my design philosophy: Do right by design, do right by people, and all is good.

*********

While in college, we had a project to redesign a firehouse into a bed and breakfast. Well, while my classmates went into their predictable designs, I went off the beaten path. I designed something that I thought only those interested in the macabre would enjoy. I called my bed and breakfast the “Devil’s Den”.

A part of this project also included building a model. So within the Devil’s Den, I created a glass coffin reception desk and added a chalk outline of a dead body in the reception area. The door to the elevator was a bookcase facade as a hat tip to the hidden passageways of old movies. The stair railing support was to be created with wrought iron in the design of a spider web, a spider on it. The wallpaper was black and white stripes reminiscent of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

When I presented this project, I played White Zombie’s “Super Charger Heaven”. I was so excited to present this idea that really interested me, yet was totally different than anything anyone else would have thought of. When I finished my presentation, the teacher asked, “Do you really think anyone would want to stay here? Class?”

My heart stopped. I could only wonder what my peers would think. I was pleasantly surprised when the entire class said they would love to stay in this place. Then they started discussing all the fun events that could be held at my fictitious bed and breakfast.

That’s when I realized the power of design and the power of moxie. I went my own way. I never knew if my design would be a hit, but going boldly into a different design path, one that hasn’t been seen a thousand times over I found what true interior design moxie is. By thinking outside of the box, getting excited about the design, and inspiring people to dream what is possible -- I found me.

Since then, I haven’t designed any more macabre designs, but I still think of that project from time to time. It reminds me to design in a way that makes people think. It reminds me to design for people. People who would rather keep it real, and not just go with what hoity-toity designers say is good.

And good interior design with moxie keeps it real for real people at all times.

-- Alycia Wicker is the Certified Interior Designer behind AJW Design Co and Casa Moxie, on twitter @ajwdesignco. She is based out of Corona, CA. As a former band geek, grave hunter, Elvis Presley fanatic, and Nascar fan, you'll find that she is not your average interior designer. She designs for Mr. and Mrs. America by creating rooms that can be implemented by the homeowner with no designer mark up.

More Moxie:
Inland Empire AJW Design Co Creates Happiness: http://ajwdesignco.com/
The Home of e-Decorating: http://casamoxie.com
Fundamental building blocks: http://www.lego.com/en-US/default.aspx

Ten Hammers (a dictum) aka deconstructing the hammer

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:59:00 +0000

Blogging since last November, this is only about the second time I am not exactly sure what will be coming out the other end. I apologize in advance if I am wordy or if I rant . . . and here it goes.

I have only spoken briefly about my last house – a 1920s cedar-shaked Colonial. It was a large hulking structure on a street filled with duplexes, I-houses, and bungalows. And that’s what my neighbor Thomas had . . . a bungalow.

Thomas and I are actually quite different. He is a smart, gritty, street-savvy entrepreneur, the owner of a local coffee establishment. He is in all ways representative of the diy super-culture that exists here in Baltimore. He is a friend.

As neighbors, we did share a couple common interests; for one, our love of beer. While he is strictly a micro-brew guy, for me, it’s always the mass-produced Miller Lite. For two, and another odd thing we had in common, we both lived in houses partially renovated by the same man, a carpenter.

Scott did a great job with both of these houses; there is no question. Yet, there was much work that remained. And when Thomas asked me up one Saturday, I knew I was going to be giving him help with an item on his to-do list.

Preparing the opening

Thomas didn’t call me over for my expertise; he had the matter well in hand. But this day, he needed, well, another hand.

Thomas had been working on installing pull down attic stairs. Like many bungalow owners with growing families, he was concerned about, and trying to access an underutilized portion of his house. With stairs, he’d be able to use a small bit of the “third floor” for storage.

The ceiling on his second floor was finished with plaster and lath. He had a very solid plan of attack for it. (More on this in the More Moxie section below.) I would be his spotter, or was that his “catcher;” he needed to protect his refinished floors from falling debris.

That day, he made some cuts and a smallish section of the ceiling was removed almost perfectly to plan. I did my part; I eased the cutout, extending from the existing attic access, down to the covered floor.

It’s heavy, hoppy micro-brew Time!

The origin of the Ten Hammers

So as Thomas and I hung for a bit, talking over a beer, it came up. I am not sure how. I don’t remember if it was before I told him about my time working for a general contractor, or after he had told me that his dad was a sheet metal contractor.

Not sure if it was before we laughed about my first experience with demoing plaster, or after he had told me he worked for a bit in set construction on stage crews. But he said it. “You know the saying . . .” he paused, “You give ten carpenters a hammer. . . .”

And that was it, or at least what I remember him actually saying. And to be honest, I did not know the saying.

The hammer is a tool used in construction, or . . . is that . . . “de”construction

So I left, and went about my business that Saturday. But here we are, and for some reason, those few little words, like a riddle, left me thinking.

Let’s be fair, too, and I will show my age, and expertise, I probably have as much experience with pneumatic tools as I do with a hammer. But . . . I still know what one is. It was the first known iteration of an impact tool; it is used to drive things, like nails.

It is a symbol of the worker, of the god, of the warrior, of the carpenter. Does it take skill and focus to wield a hammer? Yes, absolutely. I find that you (general) must focus dead set on your target, an extension of your hand, and becoming one with it, you deliver a blow.

So I try to finish the phrase. And I haven’t spoken with Thomas about this since. I think what he was trying to get across was . . . "You (can) give ten carpenters a (the same) hammer, and they will all swing it in 10 different ways." One hammer becomes ten.

The final blows and setting the nail

There are many different kinds of hammers, each with a design for its specific purpose. And you may have a favorite one for each of the myriad of construction-type tasks you must perform. (I always hear about Tom Silva’s series of 20 ouncers, you know, with the wooden handle shopped to look like Swiss cheese.)

Picking and using a hammer, for me, is all about feel. Sure, it’s OK to look for features, and to take your time when selecting.

(Question: Why don't hardware stores or home centers give you a place for a good test drive. A table where you could, I don't know, bang some nails? Liability?)

But . . . it should all come down to how that hammer feels in your hand. And remember, they are different one to the next.

So I think, in the end, what my neighbor Thomas was really trying to say that day, and I am not sure what sparked it, was -- Everyone is different, and that the hammer is really only as good as the person who wields it.

ps: If anyone would like to contribute a hammer story of any kind, please feel free. The photo above is courtesy of Mike Hines at HomePath Products (@eXapath). It is the world’s first (his words) Fiber-To-The-Hammer device.

More Moxie:
*Zeke’s Coffee -- locally roasted: http://www.zekescoffee.com/
*Ten Types of Hammers from HammerNet.com: http://www.hammernet.com/select.htm
*Tom Silva’s holey hammer -- can’t find it, but here is his bio for TOH: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/biography/0,,420219,00.html

A short how-to for making cutouts in plaster (This is the technique Thomas was using):

Because he was working from an existing attic access, which measured roughly 30x30, he needed only to extend the opening, making a cut-out long ways above the hallway. To do this, and since he was removing plaster and lath, he came up with this procedure. In his situation, the opening was to run with his framing. It requires two people, and the resulting waste will be heavy! So . . . SAFETY FIRST!

1. Take two or three 2x4s (preferably scrap) and cut two pieces just short of the length of the desired cut-out. Then cut four pieces just short of the width of the cut-out.
2. With two people, one working above, hold the longer 2x4s just slightly inside the perimeter of the planned opening.
3. With some sort of squared up working lines, and with a solid point of reference (gained maybe from several pilot holes), hold the shorter 2x4s at regular intervals across the proposed opening. Working together, screw two 3 1/2 inch screws into each board. These screws go up through the bottom cleat, through the plaster and lath, and into the cleat above. (Trust me – this will not be easy.)
4. Now, take a sturdy rope, approximately a 16 foot length, and attach it the top side of the assembly in some manner. Attach it at, at least, two points in a widespread manner.
5. Then, take the free end of the rope and tie it off somewhere. In our situation, a sturdy collar tie above our heads worked very nicely.
6. Drill a large starter hole, approximately 1 ¼”, just inside each corner of the proposed cut-out.
7. Note: We were going for a rough cut that day, but with a little more precision and accuracy, we could have made a full-blown jig for the cut-out we were creating. In other words, we could have made a full “ladder," offsetting it on the underside, and using it as a guide for the fence on our sawzall.
8. On the cut link – make your cut with a reciprocating, or a mess-making circular saw (using a disguardable blade). At this point, it is not a bad idea to have one person above holding the rope.
9. When the cut is complete, pry the lath away from the framing, untie the rope and lower the slab of now free plaster and lath to the ground. One person spots from below.

In doing this, and while you do need to be conscious of existing framing members, you will keep the plaster and lath coupled – greatly minimizing dust and debris. Later, Thomas came back -- to frame the opening, and finished with a standard set of pull down stairs.

assumptions make an . . . well, you know

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:56:00 +0000

Chicken and Egg

I want to state again for the record, and for full disclosure's sake that I have a day job. It has demands, deadlines, and I owe at least some loyalty to it. My employer, after all, trusted me (and my skills) enough to allow me to represent them, now, on two separate occasions.

My day job feeds my family, keeps me in clothes, and allows me to stay out of foreclosure. These are good things. Basic needs . . . one might say.

So . . . please, do not for one second assume that I have a thriving business. In fact, and in my mind, I haven’t even “launched” it yet. The target date for completion of my baseline infrastructure is softly set for March 1, 2010. This is the day that I plan to begin actively promoting myself, and my business.

Still -- you might ask -- Do you get inquiries now; is there interest; do you take jobs? Yes, Yes, and Yes. But the real answer is, for each of these questions – honestly, not enough to quit my day job.

Part of starting a business is finding a good financial planner

I have a network. (Yeah, one that doesn’t start with the word “social.”) Within that network, I am fortunate to have some professional-types, including, well, one hell of a top notch accountant. I think he would prefer, so I will say it; he is a “small business advisor."

I met Chris S. at his office around six. His office, a piece of work, is filled with more clocks than any one man needs . . . about 40 to be exact. (Hmmm . . . I wonder what point he is trying to get across.) He knew ahead of time I hoped to review the financials associated with my business plan. I assumed he wouldn't bill me, and in the end, he didn't.

Chris has some great stories, and offered many good points. For weeks after, though, it seemed I was left to mubble two things: 1. “What are my assumptions?” and 2. “Accountants are business people, too.”

assumptions make an a** out of me

I remember the first time I hung a full room of drywall. It was the middle room of our first house as a married couple, and not the ceiling, 12 sheets total. Sure, I worked around it as a punch-out guy. In fact, I had gotten pretty good at doing quick repairs on it. But I had never tackled an entire room solo.

I dialed up some how-to articles, asked some friends, and, in general, I studied. Hang, fasten, tape, block, skim, sand – easy enough.

In an old house – a 1920’s federal-style rowhome in Uppers Fells Point, the only full bath had at some point been awkwardly placed within the footprint of this room. By my estimates, the last time these rooms were updated – roughly 1980.

So the day came (this was back before I had kids). I probably loaded in the night before, and was ready to go with an eight am start – Saturday. And boom – like a superstar, I made it happen . . . the room was glued, screwed; taped and blocked by the end of that Sunday night. I was the man!

Then I went to work Monday morning. Back in those days, I would return home after work and would often get a few things accomplished. By Saturday of the next week, we were ready for primer – the “show coat." I primed, still super proud of myself, and after a few hours working side by side with my wife (she’s really the painter) – the walls were primed.

Two coats of deep red satin paint went on that Sunday.

More on the Show Coat

There is was, at the top of the wall -- the one you turned right into when you came up the stairs – a gigantic hump. Not a hump in my taping, you know, not poorly feathered edges, but a hump in the wall.

Now – if you know me by now, I am pretty neurotic. I couldn’t live with this. But I just didn't see it initially. So, what did I do? I cut it out, a 2x2 area, and it wasn’t easy – right there at the ceiling. But I did it, and I did get it fixed by the following weekend.

What was the problem? You might ask. Well, I made the stupid assumption that the walls I had just removed dated sheet-paneling from were . . . plumb and square!

Today, I work framing checks into all of my project schedules, and this has never happened to me again. But that first time, I had to learn, you know, the hard way.

Setting the record straight

You might have read recently about the roof job I finished for a neighbor. Simply put, I know I could have done a better job.

If you read it, I know where I went wrong . . . and maybe I still have much to learn (the issue much deeper). I assumed that the work my friend did prior to me arriving was, well, perfect. I didn’t realize that it wasn’t until it was far too late.

There and then, this piece was sparked. If I want to move forward with what I plan (here with Building Moxie), I better correct that behavior fast.

*******

As the big builder used to say, Rule #1 – Never put good work over bad. That is simple and smart. In other words, never assume that what has come before you is actually true and correct, because it may burn you. Always check! (And I won’t tell you what Rule #2 is.)

Green is the new black & all start ups are based on assumptions

I always like to say this in my big monster truck voice, hear me, “ASSUMPTIONS.” Yes, and all business plans are based on assumptions. I assume fundamentally that my prospects, my audience have a need for what I offer. If they do not, they will tell me. And I will react.

*******

I have been out in this "social" world, more than less openly, for the last three months. It strikes me as odd, though, as I began coming out, just how frequently I would be fingered as “green.”

Sure, there are some elements of me, and more elements of my business that are mindful of home-smart, earth-friendly techniques. But to come at me as if I am proponent of everything with a stamp of “green" on it, would be a bad assumption.

Building Moxie is, as I have told people (and some with more success than others), blue, brown & . . . green. And what I mean -- it is all the colors of a prism (and sometimes none), personally fitted to suit each individual's individual needs.

More Moxie:
Tons of great articles and videos out there on how to hang & finish drywall, I can't pick just one: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+hang+and+finish+drywall&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

do I as I do, not as I say

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:06:00 +0000

Just a . . .

I was hanging out after a concert with a friend I hadn't seen for awhile, when we got into a conversion with a woman who had also been in the show.

During the show, she (I think her name was Carol) had spun around quickly, and to the first person she could find, said, "Wow!" and pointing to the guy in front of her, "I have been married to this guy for 17 years!" And you can probably guess it -- the guy she was talking about was her husband, and the person she was speaking to was . . . me.

So . . . the occasion arose, and I gave her a card. To which she responded instantly, "So, you have moxie?" My answer, "I don't know that I have moxie, but read the card, I am building moxie."

And . . . I do think it is a collective activity :: Thank you all who have some, especially when you are willing to share. It is an ongoing process.

More Moxie:
Skunk Tech Boards :: http://www.skunktechboards.com

six of one, half dozen of another (and is there space in between?)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Sometimes . . . I think, I'm an enigma even to myself.

On one hand, and personally, I can be fairly impulsive. And when you work around homes, in construction, this probably is not a good way to be. In fact, it is the antithesis of what I preach. Building Moxie, I have hinted at this, is about doing your homework and making smart decisions.

So there, on the other hand – professionally – I have a way of breaking things down, well, systematically. I find that by looking at “data,” organized by task or system – you can set yourself up to analyze efficiently . . . and, hence, allow yourself to make good decisions. I can help you with this, and this is what I bring to the table.

Some are big . . .

Back briefly into the way-back machine, I think about my time when I was “right out of college.” I was working for the League of American Bicyclists as a part-time editorial assistant. After about nine months of doing this, and at 23, they offered me a full-time position. Doing what? I honestly don’t remember.

Conditional.

Now, at 23, I looked at myself. Was I ready for a full-time job? I don’t know – I guess I had a decision to make. So I did. That flowchart, and its path, lead out to Winter Park, CO for sun, fun, and one of the most beautiful parts of our country.

Wow – what an impact that decision probably made on my life. Good? Yes. Bad? Yes. Good/Bad, Bad/Good. Yes and No. In retrospect, that time, along with the few other rhombuses I have faced, was just a bit of the experience that makes up . . . me.

Will I ever have a chance, ever again, to be an editor at, say, Remodeling Magazine? Probably not. But hey – that decision I never regret; it freed me up, and I did other things.

End Process?

. . . and some are small

Decisions – now, that one above was a little life impacting; a “what if I would have went that way?”-type of decision . . . and I lead with it. Truth told, though, that really wasn't what got me thinking about this piece. It happened on a much more insignificant scale.

Maybe you read, in the summer, about my goings-on in our laundry room. The idea hit me there when I was, innocently, hanging the shelves in the room’s now refinished closet.

I mean – do you know the formula? Builders, thanks to the big brains of architects, know exactly the height at which shelving should go – designers/builders too . . . but me – working impulsively; I figured I could make that decision . . . on the fly.

I looked around, and I thought – hmmm wall cabinets; hmmm where is the wife? OK . . . out with the girls, and of course the bottoms at 54” from the floor.

What was this closet going to be used for? The wife and I had talked about it briefly; I mean -- about what was going into it. Was a decision made; was anything put on paper? Nope.

So as I sometimes do – I went with it. I thought to myself, "I need a broom." OK, and I grabbed a couple standard-sized sweeping brooms. (Judging from what I saw, and at least in my house, each -- right around 50 to 52 inches in height.)

That’s it! So I’ll set the bottom shelve at about 54”, and space the rest at about 11 inches apart (roughly the height of a standard liquid detergent bottle).

Yeah – that’s it, and in a matter of an hour, my salvaged wood shelves were installed. Two, at least. "Should I go for a third?"

Just about that time, my wife returned home from the pool, the grocery store, from shopping, or from wherever. “Hey babe. Do you like what I have going on in here?”

She said, “Yep, (long pause) the vacuum cleaners will fit, right?”

Data! Vacuum Cleaners! and they did fit easily.

Cons and Pros

There are many, many, many . . . decisions that we as hi-functioning and reasoning mammals must make in a lifetime. And there are few that must be made in the course of executing any home project.

In life, you’ll agree, there are big decisions, and there are little decisions. The big ones should not be taken lightly – and that statement may seem trite. But it is the little decisions, to me, that sometimes seem to get all of the attention. No?

And, well, as far as home decisions, are they all really six of one and half dozen of another?

Probably not, but a lot of times -- maybe it is just a matter of the language you use, or how you are keeping score.

More Moxie:
*Standard closet shelving height: http://www.closetmaid.com/Install/How_To_Guide/measspace.cfm

*Leaugue of American Bicyclists: http://www.bikeleague.org/

*The authoritative source for information on the remodeling industry, and the home of one rock star cool senior editor: http://www.remodeling.hw.net/

Building Moxie and Your Role in Sustainability

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:06:00 +0000

Note from the host:
When Mike and I started emailing back and forth, a couple of things came pretty clear pretty quickly. You can tell almost immediately that Mike is a guy who has not only put a ton of thought into what he is doing, but that he is also more than willing to, well, talk about it.

In a lot in a ways, we are a lot alike. So then, it hit me; and I say to him, "Mike, would you want to do a guest post on the blog?" He said, "OK." And without further ado, here are Mike's thoughts on moxie's role in our movement toward sustainability:

A Guest Post by Mike Hines

Recently I’ve come to understand more deeply that what brought our country to greatness revolves around innovation, risk-taking, motivation, and the freedom to make things happen. But nothing, however, happens without force-of-character, determination, and nerve. In short, it takes “moxie,” and it seems that this characteristic is sometimes a rarity.

Moxie is difficult to define, though, in a philosophic sense. It holds different meanings for everyone, and its importance and utility will vary by individual. To this, defining sustainability is equally evasive.

Sustainability, like moxie, is a broad topic, for sure. It is subject to interpretation dependent upon frame of reference. Its meaning to an architect differs from that of a wetlands expert, which varies from the product designer, which is dissimilar to the viewpoint of a homeowner, etc.

So why connect moxie and sustainability for this discussion?

The connection, I believe, is that moxie and sustainability are both lifelong journeys, and I find no downside to pursuing either or both. These are odysseys in which everyone has the chance to both participate and contribute in additive ways. In aggregate, then, enormous positive change becomes possible.

.......

It seems, too, that jb (your host) is building a repertoire of skills . . . much like our parents and grandparents did. These are tips and tricks most homeowners shy away from today, largely as a result of "throw away" societal habits. But I believe a growing portion of our population is primed to change this; and "building moxie" may be just the catalyst to ignite such a movement.

We have all heard, read about, or even participated in this “throw away” society. Now, however, we are beginning to see the leading edge of change on a grand scale. It’s encouraging to see many companies shifting to a reduce, reuse, and recycle model where their products and services provide opportunity for us, the users, to participate, too, in sustainability.

This shift may seem inconsequential on paper. In reality, though, this idea must permeate organizations to the level of each person, continually encouraging them to thoughtfully consider the choices they make. Yes, it comes back to individuals making deliberate decisions, learning about sustainability, and assuming greater responsibility for their affect on our environment.

It’s refreshing to witness the intellectual energy being applied to developing these better processes and practices, and it is gratifying to see these efforts affecting positive change for all.

jb’s tips and techniques are not new, but his approach to restoring individual confidence very definitely is. Through his blog, he’s reawakening the idea of moxie while fanning the flames of sustainability.

He prompts the basic questions we all should ask. Why discard and replace that widget rather than repair it? With ingenuity and elbow grease, we can avoid growing the landfill and the ensuing environmental problems. Why not think longer term, build for lasting value, and consume only for immediate needs?

jb practices reduce, reuse, and recycle. He’s applying what he learns, vetting what works and what doesn’t . . . and then edifying his readership through knowledge sharing and connection. He builds the confidence required to continually try new things . . . the moxie necessary to use and then share knowledge for the greater good.

Practice building your own moxie, find your own role in sustainability, see where it takes you, and encourage others to follow suit. Collectively, huge improvements will happen for all. ~

-- Mike Hines is co-founder and CEO of HomePath Products. He and his Connecticut-based team have developed the eXapath system. Building for the foreseeable future, this smart product is integrated into traditional building systems, and allows for the efficient upgrade of buildings' communications systems.

-- Here is a link to Mike's latest post discussing the implications of Intel's Light Peak technology: http://www.homepathproducts.com/blog1/?page_id=44

More Moxie:
For more information on HomePath and the eXapath system, visit Mike's website here: http://www.homepathproducts.com/homepath/introducing.php

Old House Web's Blogger Contest! I entered

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:16:00 +0000

In a highly unorthodox move, I submitted my Tom & Jerry piece for Old House Web's Blog Contest:

http://www.oldhouseweb.com/blog/Announcing-Old-House-Blogger-Contest/

Please vote for me. Thank You & BMoxie BMore!

More Moxie:

A leader in community-based (old-house) home improvement information for more than a decade (I think this is a relatively new look) -- The Old House Web: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/

What is Building Moxie (by jb bartkowiak)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:43:00 +0000

click here to see the last in this series

So . . . Why Write? Part 2 (aka “If it rains, the ground gets wet.”)

While writing is a great thinking tool and has, especially over the last 10 months, been very therapeutic for me, I put this series of posts down more in a way to define "what it is" as I begin introducing it, well, to the world.

In this series of posts (though sometimes between the lines), you’ll find:

I have a day job, and I like to write about myself.

I have a family with related responsibilities.

I am seeking a stronger connection between what I do for a living and what I love.

I have a business plan that, to some, is intriguing.

I have taken inspiration for that business plan from many aspects of my life.

I think a lot about duality, i.e. trying/doing, success/failure, etc., and the space that exists in between.

I am not a home improvement expert, and I do not have it all figured out.

I do not want a web-only business. &

I have had my share of stress and doubts during the development of this plan.

So . . . as much as I've heard that it makes good practical sense, to write a business plan, it was actually written more for me. While I always intended to present it to others, it served initially as a place to collect and elucidate ideas.

Which way do I go; Which way do I go

To date, I have presented portions of it, the ideas contained in the plan, to approximately 20 individuals. Feedback has varied. And while I have frequently heard, “I like it; I really like it,” I will admit – some feedback has been far less positive.

Here is a sampling of some of things I have heard:

“I really don’t understand what you are trying to do.”
“Your margin is too small; you need to minimize your labor commitment.”
“Why re-invent the wheel? There will always be a need for qualified and reliable remodelers.”
“Why are you bothering with this nickel and dime stuff?”
“I don’t understand how you are going to make money.” AND . . .

My favorites -- “Why are you bothering with a website?” or worse “How is your website coming along?” (That last one – drives me particularly crazy.) The website and this blog, for that matter, serve a true practical purpose.

The internet circles the globe, but probably has its biggest reach close to home

Sure, I tossed around big ideas of an interactive application that manages projects and project resources; yes, I toyed with the idea of building a how-to content aggregator; and, hey, I even had late night visions of hosting the next Facebook.

But after being talked off the ledge frequently, I figured that all of these things might end up being only bells and whistles -- flash (and truthfully, they were probably financially beyond my reach).

For now, my web presence, at its best, is a portal to my real world local business. More directly, though, it is a safe “testing ground.” With low entry and overhead costs, I hope to use it to fully gauge this "middle ground" market of which I speak, and I hope to quantify more completely their needs.

But the remoteness of the internet, for me, is both a benefit and hindrance here. I can do it, this, on the side with minimal promotion (in a way, the website promotes itself), but in another way -- it pigeonholes me. It is an asset (well, at least, after I build traffic), and it makes me more nibble/affluent.

Writing a biz plan is also about minimizing risk (aka there is always risk and hurdles)

Come March, 2010, and maybe you’ll put me on your calendar, I hope to have the solid basis for a viable business. Will I be quitting my day job on March 1? Probably not.

And before I get there, I know, there are a few hurdles I must still jump. Here is my short list, the action plan:

Step 1:
I need to be able to cover, with a professional/specialist, every common request I could possibly get. In other words, I must fill my Pros We Know page, and there are luckily handfuls of pros I know. With this, I must remind myself that this isn't about a short term sale; it is about a longer term relationship -- and my messaging must reflect that.

This task has been more difficult than I would have hoped. In some ways, the directory-orientated, and further, the lead generation websites -- appear to have created a stigma within the small to mid-sized contractor community. Even with guys I know well -- they hear "website" and their answer is "no".

Here's my plan, though, push through with perseverance.

Step 2:
Once step 1 is complete, I need to gain more buy-in, "emotionally" (both from myself as well as from others). I need to quell fears, and promote, promote, promote. Starting with a Facebook page, a blast to all my friends, and maybe a small PR effort, I need to begin systematically hitting every social networking site that I can find.

During this period, I will work to lock down my blog design, and link it in with the rest of the social world. The big question here: Is it better, as I have it now, to have an expanded footprint, or . . . should I consolidate? Currently, I have four loosely linked blogs on Blogger; should I combine these into one (with four or more tabs) on Wordpress?

Step 3:
I need to find another me – it’s that simple: A field technician, if you will, someone that has similar values and views. With licensure (which I hope to test for in the fall), there should be no reason why I couldn’t implement the “onsite” portion of my plan.

Action item – I plan on using Steps 1 & 2 above to help flush out this candidate.

If it rains, the ground gets wet (aka pick one thing and do it well)

I have published only a small portion of the services that I can see eventually offering. And truth is -- I probably would do it all for free, i.e. Help people with something I like; it is a no-brainer. But that is the challenge, and has been from the beginning: Do something you like, and make a steady income doing it.

I mean, to me, it is just intuitive. Who doesn't need another set of eyes or hands, pair of legs, or another head, sometimes? I know I do. And while I am no expert, per se -- I have been on at least three sides of a home improvement project.

And . . . in some ways, I offer myself up as a living, breathing, and walking case study. The website, and my presence here part one of this experiment.

*******

I am a "Smaltimorian." They say Baltimore is like a small town, everyone knows everyone -- and we are just slightly more than spitting distance from the larger markets of DC and Northern Virginia.

But . . . I am also a intelligent, supportive person, in general. I offer personalized advice and "professional" selections, allowing clients to find their own answers, and helping them with breaking down one barrier that often remains -- confidence.

That's right -- confidence . . . to "do-it-for-yourself" -- the tools, avenues, and info are there. And yes -- I am Building Moxie.

Thank you for reading, feel free to comment or email. Now, I will get back to writing about something that might appeal to a larger base.

More Moxie:
The Agents of Moxie :: At Home -- http://agentsofmoxie-home.blogspot.com/
The Agents of Moxie :: On the Job -- http://agentsofmoxie-jobs.blogspot.com/
The Agents of Moxie :: Around the Hood -- http://agentsofmoxie-hood.blogspot.com/

While I still question my skill as a writer, and as a blog editor -- I do it.

What is Building Moxie (aka they say when starting a small business it is better to follow then lead)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:02:00 +0000

Part 1 of 2 -- click here for the last post from this series

In my best Costanza . . .

Aside from my wife, my attorney, and a guy (yes, a guy) I call my Director of Visioning, no one knew. And it took me a year, but I did it. I wrote a business (read: life) plan – 120 pages all totaled (if you include the embedded attachments, and various worksheets). I learned a little bit about the players in the home improvement industry (both national and local), a lot about marketing in general, and I might even have learned a thing or two about myself.

Thank you, Good Night!

Ok, just kidding . . . . Going in, I knew it would be fluid; I guess that’s just how I am. What I mean by that -- my efforts, even if I just filed that document away -- never to touch it again, would never go to waste. From now on -- I would land correctly.

Among other things, some might say -- I now have that much of a leg up on about 75% of the general contractors out there today (if I ever wanted to try that again). Plus, I would be just that much more capable at helping my friends, and/or at executing work around my own house.

Networking (minus the social or something like that)

I guess I am fortunate really to have some bright people around me. In my camp, within my immediate circle, I have several marketers, entrepreneurs, and small business people. I have access to a prof in Hopkins' Business program, access to a vc (the biggest naysayer of the bunch), and I have access to an mba, who in my eyes, is a sales guru.

So . . . I spoke with them, September to November, 2008. I won’t go into too much detail here, but generally what I heard was, first, this plan is too long – “you need to break it up,” they said. So I did. I divided it into a short-term and a long-term plan.

(Now down to an 18-page PowerPoint presentation – the short-term portion details what I feel I can realistically accomplish before 2012.)

And second – this is what I heard across the board – “You will kill yourself if you don’t at least try AND . . . you won’t really know until you do.”

Those who cannot do -- teach, and those who cannot teach -- consult

It didn’t take long to find out that there was actually a name for what I was proposing . . .

There it was – and probably not that distant from what most owner-builder operations are doing -- “Checkpoint Consulting." But still . . . not widely documented and found almost exclusively related to the software industry.

This method of implementation – as I understand it -- says, “ok, I will help you do that; I will come in and partner with you . . . you will pay me for my time (whether I wear a toolbelt or not) at checkpoints along the process. And if you fail – I will be there to bail you out.”

Really doesn’t sound all that earth shattering, and especially considering I really don’t have the need, under my current revenue model (the two -- inseparable), fully gauged. But that’s what I came up with – in my eyes, a better how-to. (You know – kinda like a human-driven diy insurance policy, with a few other add-ins.)

Now – of course my vc friend objected all over this. . . . “There is so much free information out there,” he would say, “And how do you know there is even a need? It is going to be tough for you to find people to pay you." And I understood -- so the plan evolved, a little.

Subscription model . . . hmmm . . .ad revenue? No, well, ok maybe eventually, Subsidies always welcome!

I knew going in, and even though I was starting out only on a local scale, that I wanted both a strong online and offline presence. At this point to me, most solid, lasting organizations -- have both working in concert. There should be no division between the two.

Practically speaking, it, my website, was one asset I was willing to invest in.

And of course, I did consider generating how-to content for it. But . . . there are heap loads of it (some better than others) out there already. Some very excellent writers and personalities are staffing some very well-run websites, publications, and productions; others are working alone. Serving it up . . . and more is coming everyday.

So . . . those things considered -- I just didn’t see the point (tongue in check) . . . of diving in on that immediately. In general, I just let the information come, and I evaluate -- picking and choosing what we need.

So . . . why write?

I’ll admit – I think I drew, with my last two posts, a little more attention than I actually probably want, right now. It's true -- I am not planning any sort of general launch until about March of next year. I mean -- Baltimore doesn’t really even know I am here. Just you, and the 40 or so friends I have told.

Do I love my brand? Yes – it is very personal. (A mantra. In fact, I wanted to name my first daughter Foxie Moxie). Is it the best for my business? Maybe not.

Is my business plan complete? Nope – it never will be.

Those things said, though -- I do believe in the traditional values of truth, trust, and transparency. And if there is one thing that my professional career has taught me -- it is always best to know from where exactly someone is coming. And I offer it up – now, so you will know -- where I am at, and where I am coming from. Plus . . .

Who knows, maybe you will help, or maybe you could learn . . . or maybe . . . you'll tell me, "jb, you're a lune," and that I should just stop now.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to comment.

Next (and last in this series) --Short term obstacles and an action plan.
click here to see the next in this series

More Moxie:
I know it is not hard to tell -- and while I did not do-it-myself (I hired out the scripting & have an artist friend who helped with graphics and layout), I did teach myself enough html and css to slap a site together. For now, it fits my needs - and if you are wondering, it was about the 6th design I had on it -- each subsequent mock-up scaling back. Thanks for visiting and BMoxie BMore: http://www.buildingmoxie.com/

His website is currently in rework. Thanks for all your help so far -- the Artist :: Jack Pierce -- http://studiojacko.blogspot.com/

Building Building Moxie (the big boxes and you)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:02:00 +0000

click here to see the last post in this series

Repetition is the key :: This is true in strength training and in music and probably in a few other things

“you can do it we can help.”

Wow! When it comes to tag lines, they really don’t get much better than that.

And I do not know much about retail; it is true. But any discussion on the home improvement industry, I know enough, really isn’t complete without first visiting the Home Depot, and spending a minute or two talking about its impact on, well . . . all of us.

When Home Depot first appeared on my scene, I’ll admit – the only houses that interested me were those that contained a keg. I was aware of course of the idea of the home improvement “warehouse.” I was often sent to the one that preceded HD – to retrieve this, that, and/or the other thing.

However, while others faded from my local landscape, the big orange box repeated itself.

Eating, Drinking and the Home Depot

At this point, it seems that trips to the Home Depot are as base as eating, drinking, and sleeping. Ok, they are really not that frequent; they probably can be equated more with say trips to the grocery store . . . Once weekly at least.

I mean, I know my local Home Depot (same one for about seven years now) like the back of my own hand: In and out most times in five minutes or less.

And it probably wouldn’t fair to at least mention their chief competitor – Lowes Home Improvement (fewer, and farther between). I like Lowes too -- especially for certain things – but not the point of my rambling here. I will save that for another time.

Big things come in big boxes

So . . . Why did the Home Depot thrive where others failed? I have spent a little time on this recently.

Sure, they brought almost any product that you possibly could ever need for a home project together under one roof – economy of scale, buying in gigantic quantities – and delivering it all through a myriad of locations.

But that's not it alone. And I must give credit where credit is due -- They took the intangible, what your local hardware store had been offering for years, bundled it, packaged it, and presented it for easy consumption. Service with a smile -- Ok, no – the products with the know-how you need to get your project done.

“You can do it, We can help.”

Your Do-It-Yourself Home Center

USA Today formatted microbytes of just-in-time literature served up where and when you need it -- immediately above the items you are choosing from, at the initial point of sale. Good, Better, Best – just look up. Couple that with free weekend how-to clinics, and they empowered us to do it, do-it-ourselves.

Now, I know do-it-yourself was nothing new. My grandfather, your father, our ancestors throughout history didn’t “do-it-themselves.” They just did it, and it was done.

But at this point in history, I tend to think that the population simply bought in. Markets shifted, maybe? And hard data may not support any of this, but again my intuition tells me that a new pulse of the do-it-yourself thinking was thunk.

Home Depot helped to create a culture where even complex do-it-yourself projects were possible.

The try reflex

Now, you might be saying, “Come on, jb, out of the 1287 trips I have made to the Home Depot – why then is it so difficult to find a sales associate when I need help.” Answer -- You are not only one fighting for their attention; many have bought in. Plus Home Depot, physically, is a big store.

Marketing, pseudo-psycho, and other analytical terms aside – and whether or not Home Depot actually shifted market mentality, converting more do-it-yourself activity, they did make an impact on the American consciousness. They fostered, along with a few other factors, an effect that I sometimes call the “try reflex.”

I know this from being immersed in it, and having spoken with handfuls of friends. The thinking here is . . . “Hey, can I do that myself?”

Most times, in the demographic of my friends: late 30s, young families with above average incomes -- larger tasks actually in the end get hired out. It is true, and hence the need for a service like ServiceMagic.com. But, and again whether or not real data supports this, at least the impulse seems to be there . . . always.

Big boxes and little windows

It’s unfortunate really that Home Depot has never translated/addressed this, at least for me and others like me (hi-functioning do-it-yourselvers), to/in the online arena. There is a disconnect here.

And as much as I want to resist going here again – they are just missing one opportunity, one vehicle through which to support their clients, and better their sales. Maybe they feel they don’t have to – or the feasibility studies just don’t point to the immediacy.

In comparison -- take a look at Sears and the plethora of online tools and tips, as well as general access, that they offer in support of their customers. To highlight one in a suite of many -- and they are twitter friends, Manage My Home dot com.

That said, though, it happens to be another big box store, and the way they have done things in recent years, that I repeatedly come back to.

Ok, one or two more posts in this series, then I will get back to managing the delicate balance between supporting both home services firms and do-it-for-yourself activity -- More than likely next week sometime.

Here's the next.

More Moxie:

Home Depot's Clinics' website got a new look at some point in the last year: http://www.homeimproverclub.com/

And my fav for online home project management: http://www.managemyhome.com/

What is Building Moxie (an outtake)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:47:00 +0000

House keeping (or something like that)

For the record: I am a do-it-yourselfer. Always have and always will be, and that’s me.

Because it is right for me, and despite all philosophical discussion that could be had on the meaning of the words, does not necessarily suggest that I would ever prescribe this for all.

That simply would not make sound, practical advice (financial or otherwise). Many, many factors (esp. skill, time, and money) come into play when deciding whether or not to do a specific home project for yourself.

Building Building Moxie (the internet and you -- one of maybe two)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:51:00 +0000

click here to see the most recent post in this series

The online landscape

May 2008 -- I needed a place to start, a starting point, for a systematic review of the online landscape. And I found that rather quickly in http://alexa.com. Plugging in phrases like “Home Improvement” and “How-to,” boom, bam, like that I had a great point from which to begin my exploration.

Focused only on US-based websites, these initial searches yielded a list of about 400 sites. And . . . off I went asurfing the internet. I will point out again that I wasn’t necessarily reading content per se, or viewing galleries, at this point, I was looking, instead, at 1.What these sites were offering their visitors, and 2. How these sites were making their money.

I am not suggesting, no way no how, that just like that I had a comprehensive list. I am not certain that any list of websites could ever be totally and absolutely complete. The online landscape changes frequently.

Even recently, the Twittosphere has turned me onto http://www.homesavvi.com, a great site out of the Northwest, as well as a very promising community-oriented site in http://www.homedigz.com.

On the ground and running, though, banner, Google, and various other ads guided me down the right avenues. In the short term, my list grew . . . later, it ebbed.

Pondscapes (to borrow the name of a friend’s business)

First impressions -- well, since my first look, back in 2004, the online world had changed . . . a little; I was not oblivious to that. While not yet linked into the social networking scene, I was still aware of the movement towards “Web 2.0.”

With video streaming smoothly at that point, the online delivery of how-to video content was not only possible, but being done.

Nonetheless, I wouldn’t let that distract me. Technology had evolved a little, yes, delivery methods were maturing, but the audiences still there, were the same; right?

Chiseling (or is that raking and aerating)

I started first by systematically eliminating websites that were tightly tied to a product and/or a brand. In this category, http://www.benjaminmoore.com/ and http://minwax.com/ -- Great tools and tips available at both these and other locations, but not necessarily within the scope, and/or in the spirit of, my venture.

Mind you, too, that Alexa did not at the time have much focus on the blogosphere, and frankly I didn’t give it much credence either -- the irony in this of course is funny.

For me, blogging has been liberating, and certainly, there is great content being served up using better blogging tools. Strong and fluid voices are coming out of destinations like http://homefixated.com/ and http://www.younghouselove.com/ . . . to name a few.

But alas, these sites were not included in my research. And ultimately, I dwindled my list down to approximately 130 websites. These 130 sites, in the period between May 2008 and August 2008, were actively generating “how to”-oriented home improvement content.

Warning again – I am not suggesting that my list was anywhere near complete, nor on the other end, not overstated; but I did feel that it offered a large enough slice to allow me to do some significant analysis.

In the words of D.Boon . . . Enjoy the detour

In the five-month period that I researched, I categorized and I explored and I documented my impressions.

There were four websites, however, that had a course-changing impact on what and how I wanted to do my thing. I will talk briefly about three of them here: http://www.angieslist.com/, http://www.servicemagic.com/, and http://www.managemyhome.com/.

First, Angie’s List – I don’t think that there is anything more that needs to be said about this operation. Frankly, their growth strategy is tough to punch a hole in, and I admire, among other things, how they got that thing off the ground (shout to Angie Hicks). This service obviously has great value, and has gained many supporters/subscribers over the last few years.

Next, Service Magic – The near perfect home improvement website -- They balance equally do-it-for-me matchmaking with very robust, and intelligently-generated, support information. It was tough for me, when looking at this website (as someone who has worked in web development and who also understands their business model), not to simply drool all over myself. But . . . I didn't, and I will stop there.

The Spotlight Dance

And then, there it was . . . MMH – Manage My Home – I will call this website, flawed perfectly like a flower, the stunner (you know, that incredibly beautiful woman that walks into the room, stopping hearts, and spilling drinks).

In fact, if I were designing a website, this would be the website that I would want to model mine after. It’s the level of interactivity, laid out for those that like words, as well as pictures, for those that respect the AJAX, and for those who don’t like to click much -- that does it, all backed by expert experience and a vibrant homeowners community.

That said, though, they had me way before that: The one thing about MMH that really stood out for me -- their focus on the “you”. Countless numbers of great tools (synced with email reminders) just waiting to help you get things done around your house . . . with efficiency. And yes, I have occasionally referred my friends here. This site is simply a pleasure to visit and use.

Coming on like Vincent, the kid that tricked Elaine into bringing him vodka, cigs and a R rated movie (aka at this point, you might be saying, so what jb -- you haven’t done anything yet)

And it is true – I am in the early stages of slowly implementing my business plan. And with me, it is for practical reasons . . . this battle between ego/superego – ok no, it is a battle between sharing and guarding.

Bottom line is – I know what I want to do, I think -- thanks in part to the exploration above -- I know what I think my market might want, but I just don’t know fully how I am going to go about supporting it.

Maybe, I might write more about this in my next post, and thanks for reading.

click here to see the next in this series

More Moxie:
Understand that I can be overly verbose, poorly edited, and it was written by someone who is sometimes called a technical writer, but I would be willing to send the full copy of my Web Market Report to anyone who asks. There might be something useful for someone in there. Email: j.bmoxie@gmail.com -- Anyway, BMoxie BMore.

Building Building Moxie (an outtake)

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:19:00 +0000

no more writing on this this week . . . coming next week 8.9, I promise (I removed this from last because it flows better without it). Great weekend. jb

A lay over

I want to point out that I did look at other things -- Not just how-to websites. I explored several business models not limited to, but including -- 1. diy workshops 2. diy clubs 3. Owner-builder operations. Each was ruled out for their own reason, and guess what, here they are:

1. I felt that a diy workshop was not viable unless the space being used was doubling also as a shop for a contractor or a craftsperson. I have seen several go by the wayside in the last two years. Does Home Depot have the market cornered? Maybe not, but I figured I could do better.

2. Diy clubs were interesting -- and while I still envision hosting and/or proctoring one eventually, I moved on quickly; I did not feel they presented a strong enough nucleus, in a business sense, from which to build around.

3. Owner-builder services -- and there are franchising options. While these operations are probably doing a great job at assisting with the construction of new homes, it appeared that the framework many were using could not scale.

Building Building Moxie (developing a little business idea) aka . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Click here for last

I have done a few things; open a Lemonade stand wasn't one them

So . . . September, 2007 -- maybe under the cover of delusion, and definitely silent, I settled into the regiment. I would rise some mornings as early as 4am. I was going to knock out this business plan.

I had downloaded a template from sba.gov a few years back, and actually started working on it, then. It was a sample developed for a fictitious magazine publisher. For me, it seemed to work. My goal – already decided upon -- figure how to develop the better home improvement how-to.

It had been agreed upon, already, that since my wife really couldn’t contribute substantial household income until sometime around . . . September, 2009 (then, two years off), I had some time to work on this.

Carry on luggage

I feel in some ways that I have a slightly unique view of houses: 1. For me, they are very utilitarian; form and function, yes – but function over form, always. & 2. We (my wife & I – perpetually stepping up) simply have a high tolerance for the unfinished project. All projects eventually get completed, and these projects add value (this last point may only be true if you invest time and money wisely).

And they tell you that all business plans are based to some degree on, in my big monster truck voice, ASSUMPTIONS. And yes, I made some. Beyond these as I will tell you – I pretty much emptied my head of everything else.

Some people I have talked with do discount the idea of writing a formal business plan. SBA says something like only 15% of businesses have them, but, again, I simply had that time.

Writing for me has always been an incredible thinking tool, and, now with a business plan drafted, I can say with absolute certainty that it, the writing of it, was a fantastic way to corral a gagillion ideas.

The plan, in form

The template I was working with contained the following sections: Executive Summary, Venture Summary, Management Summary, Industry Analysis, Market Overview, Strategy & Summary, a Products section, a Sales Strategy section, and a space for Financial Analysis. (I added two additional sections later; these were called BuildingMoxie.com and Implementation/Exit Strategy.)

I started with some free writing under the heading Business Description. And I found quickly that I was still carrying some additional baggage. You see, having pored over many how-to articles through the years, I did have some preconceptions about them.

How-tos, no matter how well written, and except at either the highest level and/or at the lowest level . . . are merely starting points.

I can’t tell you how many times – even with some assembly instructions – I read and I followed, in the end, just to discard them because they did not fully apply, because I felt I could think of a better way, or because it felt as if the writer, simply a writer, had not actually performed the task.

Anyway, Band :: Guided by Voices, I moved forward

It was easy to complete the Management Summary portion of the plan. I assumed early on it would be me, and just me, managing this thing in the short term. Because of that, too, I would later assume that I simply would not have a lot capital to play with.

But with a draft for the Venture Summary completed, I moved onto the Industry and Marketing portions of the plan. Again, I highlight, I had no budget and was developing this in my free time. (I assumed -- Access to real market intelligence was either buried at the library, or simply out my reach, financially.)

Ok, Let's take off

The industry, that is the home improvement industry, typically divides its end users into two camps – do-it-yourself and do-it-for-me (you can throw buy-it-for-me in there if you want).

These audiences of course are addressed through three main channels: in the real world via suppliers and/or service organizations, through traditional media (print and television), and via the internet.

Industry research (aka. . . one simple truth)

The home improvement industry had consistently been growing for years and years and years, cool. (Remember: researching in 2007 – and we are seeing a little hiccup now.) The population had been growing: These people will eventually need a place to live, cool. The market had been expanding: Houses, especially in my locale, continue to age, cool.

Generally there was nothing that I saw that persuaded me to end this pursuit. One fundamental assumption was not disproven:

As long as there are homes, there will be need for . . . home improvement.

Getting scientific (almost)

I guess, they say, you need an offering that is unique from others, and you need someone who desires it. So for me – I started with a look at the lay of the land. What and who was out there, and what was missing. I mean, I already knew my target – Anyone who owns a house around Baltimore, Maryland (just kidding, I know a little more about my demographic than just that).

But that will have to wait for the next post . . . My research on Home Improvement websites, click here for that post.

More Moxie:

Helpful resources for small business owners: http://www.sba.gov/

These guys are smart: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/index.htm

And these guys have a lot of statistics: http://www.census.gov/

Ironically -- This DIY Workshop opened less than a mile from my house this past August -- and I have yet to speak with the proprietor, though I intend to. It surprised me, yet offered validation. I wish her luck: http://www.bethsdiyworkshop.com/

Building Moxie (part 4 of a few) aka you have to do what you need to do before you can do what you want to do

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Click here for part 3

(I might have to trademark the "un-post")

I was hanging a door, when I got the call. At some point after being let go, I must have put my resume up on Career Builder dot com. And that’s how they found me, I guess. My former company (remember that global web-software provider) called and said, “Do you want to come back?” I said, “Let me ask my wife.”

Well, and I almost laugh out loud, it had been a tough year – you know – not getting thrown into a new thing. Not having to dig up clients; not having to pay for health insurance; not having to pay taxes; not having to rehab a house, and definitely not having to figure out how to estimate and bill for the work I was doing.

What do you think my wife said? Well, . . . you know.

As with most things in life, I feel that I do more right than wrong

I consulted with my former boss (a one time custom home builder) before I jumped in. I said, “I guess I am just going to work for myself.” His initial response, “Just don’t make any mistakes.” Sound advice, I thought.

Did I make a mistake or two that year? Absolutely; actually I probably made a few more than that. And yes, some were . . . work related. I was hungry, after all – taking anything I could get my hands on, and just giving it away. A couple of the jobs I took on – well, I really didn’t "nail." And when you (as a new small guy trying to do right by clients) don’t hit expectations for quality and/or expenditure, it is tough to have billing power.

Do I regret some of the decisions I made? Absolutely not. (I mean, by now you should know me; I was . . . .) And I did learn a thing or two about myself that year. Most notably – that I, not as contractor, move slowly.

I also learned that the jobs I felt most comfortable doing, the ones I excelled at – were the larger ones, the ones where the client & I could engage each other early . . . in the planning phases. These jobs did not produce the pictures below (among some others):

Anyway, back on the horn

Financially, it was getting tight. Though the real estate market was slumping, we had funds left over from the sale of our most previous property. My wife, though, not working full time as it were – was getting even fewer leads and prospects, and we were burning through that cash quickly. The girls two and four then – were starting pre-school, and it was time to pay.

So, as any good head of the household, I sucked it up, negotiated a slightly higher salary, and, well, went back to the desk job I had abandoned four years earlier. And . . . as you might have guessed – I currently work that job. To make that decision sit, though – I told myself (and my wife) – I am going to take this time to finish that business plan, started back in August of 2004.

I mean, this was the only way I was going to possibly keep my sanity (or loose it).

Jobs do not make a career

I always squirm (especially now) when I get the question: What do you do? And I answer as best I can, “I am a software analyst,” my head nearly exploding.

I mean, don’t get me wrong. I really do like the company I work for, always have. I am proud of the product I work on, and of my contributions to it. I even own stock. And yes, I am risking myself by putting myself out here like this.

Though I do most of my research, development, and writing before I enter the workplace . . . well, to be honest, sometimes it is unavoidable – I just need a fix . . . .

I convince myself it is OK. Others surf YouTube, play fantasy football, and do this, that, and the other thing. I instead focus on my baby. And by September of 2007, I already had a name picked out; I was calling her “Show-How.”

Building Building Moxie :: Some Methods and Means

More Moxie:
Career Builder: http://www.careerbuilder.com/
The most fantastic school in the world: http://www.dulaneydayschool.com/

Building Moxie (part 3 of a few) - me and the Big Builder

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Click here for part 2

May, 2005 – I quit my job and started as a construction manager with a big builder. Sure, it was a little risky. And married to a real estate agent, I certainly wasn’t numb to the idea of the bubble-bursting, new reality that was headed our way.

We (my wife and I) had our second child, Eva, on the way, and we had just completed the purchase of our second property in Lauraville, an 1880’s farmhouse. (It can be categorized as a “fixer upper." LOL.) And . . .

Ok – I wasn’t the Construction Manager for our site; I was one of two assistant construction managers (I did not have experience in this field after all). The way our work duties were divided, more of my responsibilities fell to the finishing and service portions of the construction schedule. To spin it, I was a finish-end construction manager.

Stop here – I definitely have mixed feelings about my time with the big builder. And I am not sure exactly how this will all come out. But . . . I do not think it is wise for me to be overly critical of either the company I worked for, or of any of the people that worked with them. What I have to say, here, probably, is more indicative of the industry as a whole.

Just add water

This organization, a one-time Fortune 500 company, really seemed to have their act together; from the top, almost down to the bottom. They held (and probably still hold) a butt load of land, most of the material for certain building systems was integrated and generated internally, and they had an in-house architectural department putting out simply excellent floor plans.

To the public, to investors, and to prospective employees, this all added up to one hell of a bulletproof operation. They were leaders in what I like to call instant community. (Just add water and it grows.) The site at which I worked, to put it one way – was choice. It was choice Baltimore County property, a perfect location for a Luxury home line.

Building on paper (aka the formula)

I don’t want to get hung up here too much. They did what they do well. (And I did have enough experience to fit nicely into their system.) They were/are “production home builders” and that’s what they did: they produced houses. How/why would I have thought that that was anything less than the ultimate goal – I don’t know?

I guess, I did have a few preconceived expectations. No, I never thought that I was going to swing a hammer. Did I think I would learn the nitty gritty of how home systems actually work, and why things are done they way they are done? Yes, Yes I did – and I did learn a little bit about this and that. Did I think I was going to learn how to build a house? Yes, I did, and I did – just not in the manner that I expected.

You see, within the formula of production home building, clients pick their home site, a house style they like, and fill in the myriads of selections in a blitzkrieg of meetings that ultimately ensue.

My immediate boss, who I count as a friend and a mentor, did an excellent job of working with – to be fair, even if you read this, a “hard to please” clientele. Generally, the whole process (at least in this organization) was guided by top notch professionals.

With all these systems in place, you might think, the houses could build themselves

Quite frankly, this was a very stressful job. (And I think everyone that encountered me in that period of my life probably knew.) Did I like it? Yes; was it stressful? Yes; was I good at it? Well, maybe not. And I guess it was all in the management of things; Am I good at managing stress? Sometimes, No.

And sure on paper, you knew the selections, usually you knew what and how everything was going in – on what schedule. (This too comes from a guy who had spent some years managing “paper.”) But maybe the problem (at least for me) was the disconnect -- I mean, the communication tools were there, even service requests. This is a good way to be; I am in fact an advocate of getting things, and seeing things, in writing.

But I ask, does everything in construction actually happen as planned, as it is laid out on paper? What do you think? Paper doesn’t build houses, and paper doesn’t make new homeowners happy, people, and the things they do, do. (I said do do.)

And in lies another point at which I begin Building Moxie.

Laid out and laid off

I mean – you think I was in grade school again, not building million dollar houses. He said, she said (as much from the organization) – like you wouldn’t believe. And when push comes to shove, it really is the money that makes things happen. Again, I try to resist the urge of hammering any individuals; we all have our own stresses, strains, and others to answer to.

I really wasn’t that surprised when I got the word the day after Labor Day, 2006. Yes, I got laid off. Was it performance-related? Maybe, I kinda sucked. I was a little too soft with sub-contractors, and found that way too often (in a business sense) I sided with homeowners despite documented procedure.

I mean, I took it as a relief. It meant I could pursue other things; not least of all – working on our newly acquired fixer upper. Of course, I had thought about it previously, and as any good cast off construction manager, I thought to myself, "This might be my opportunity to pursue a business as a home improvement contractor."

My wife, however, was not so optimistic.

More Building Moxie soon. Thanks for reading.
Click here for part 4

More Moxie:

I actually grew up in Perry Hall; Baltimore County, MD: http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/

Building Moxie (part 2 of a few) aka -- it really is all about me . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Click here to see part 1

And . . . Proceed At Your Own Risk

Right around August, 2004, I moved into a position (coordinated by a friend) in Baltimore. My title – Process Analyst. I know, it sounds a little made up, but that’s what I did; I was charged with documenting and exploring organizational throughput.

I was qualified for this mainly because I had worked for a stint as a quality assurance analyst with a global web-software provider. It was the documentation part that made me right for this job and it was that aspect, in fact, that I always liked the most.

Change, as in the Incredible Hulk or Mr. Hyde

Right around the time, November or so, I finally got into really pouring over their accounts, something strange began to happen. . . (Heartburn maybe). I found that I was somehow looking at things a little more analytically. And, guess what, I started to look a little deeper at myself, too. Was this Mr. Miller’s voice popping into my head? And I asked myself, “Are you happy?”

I mean – You can imagine -- Is this really what I want to do for the rest of life? Will this be my legacy -- a bunch of unread help files and some flow charts? Blahhhk. And I didn’t like it. Something had to change, and I literally figured that out overnight.

Change starts with where you're at (aka you must find point A to move to point B)

By this point, we (my wife and I) had successfully completed do it yourself renovations on our first house (second property), a Federal-style row home in Upper Fells Point, Baltimore. We had bought a larger cedar-shaked “Colonial” (loosely categorized) in the North East Baltimore neighborhood of Lauraville. Our daughter, Evyn, had just turned one.

The house, in Lauraville, though mostly re-finished (Scott P. who came before us had done a good job), still needed some work in the front rooms, in the kitchen, and on the exterior.

And I was ready. At this point, I was pretty well locked in. TOH had been nightly reading for years, and I was now set up with TIVO. It would record any Ask This Old House that might pop up. In general, I was studying. I was exploring books of all sorts under the category of Remodeling.

It didn’t end at home though; you might know how it is – you sit behind a computer and sometimes you stray. And there, at work, as a Process Analyst -- it began; my search to carve a niche in something that made sense for me.

I guess it started as simply as putting one and one (and one) together

Step 1 – Look at myself. What can I do? Well, I accessed. 1. I knew a little bit about the internet. 2. I can write how-to or help documentation. & 3. I can do a few things on houses.

Step 2 – Figure what line of work fits the basic skill set provided by Step 1.

Step 3 – Find a point to start: How-to websites. Elementary!

So I began collecting data and analyzing.

How-to home improvement websites – the first few weeks of looking

Now, plugging anything I needed into Google wasn't anything new to me. I mean, while no "cybrarian," I was pretty good at filtering through results, finding what I needed.

But this was the first time that I looked at things in this way. I wasn’t looking for information, per se; I was looking instead at what sources of information were available. Whether I knew or not, I was looking at a market niche.

My first instinct, as it is probably pretty obvious, was to try to find places where I might make some submissions. I had tried freelancing previously; though published a few times, I was generally unsuccessful. I just didn't have the make-up, I guess. So I moved beyond that pretty quickly.

I, instead, began looking for holes. What I found was -- and again, pretty quickly -- that there were really not that many . . . even in 2004. eHow, About -- Super sites; outlets overflowing from other media -- TOH, Home Again, HGTV; DIY sites and forums -- DoItYourself.com and many, many more.

But still – there must be room for me.

How-to without enough know-how

Now, having some experience both as professional, and, on the other end of it, as a do it yourselfer, I felt like I was in a pretty good position to do something. But what, how, and did I actually have enough know-how?

I mean what would qualify me to either write or host a site on home improvement? Nothing really -- was the answer I came up with at that time. So, I knew I would have to learn more . . . but how?

Then, one night probably March the following year, with our second child abrewing, I found myself at a dinner party in Columbia. We bumped into one of my wife’s friends. I knew Missy, of course, but I never knew that she worked in the regional office of a large, respectable, national builder. . . . And by May of that year, it was done. A job as a Construction Manager, and wringing my hands, I was really going to learn.

Unfortunately, what I ultimately learned -- really wasn't what I expected.

More soon. And I warned you.
Click here for part 3

More Moxie:
TOH: http://www.thisoldhouse.com

Building Moxie (another outtake) Two things that woke me up in the middle of the night last night

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:47:00 +0000

The internet and the opposable thumb

My junior year of college, 4th year in real time, I was at Towson State University and I had settled on English as a major with a loose concentration in Writing. At this point, I was writing some for the school paper, I had a full-time waiting tables gig, and I was of course keeping up with my course work. My second semester at Towson, Style in Non-Fiction (or something like that) – and one point applies.

I don’t recall the total number of papers we were responsible for during this class, but the year was 1991. For, let’s say, the middle project that semester, I submitted a poorly conceived and poorly executed article on technology and the opposable thumb.

The broad premise of it was this: as technology advanced the population in general would move away from doing things with their hands (in the traditional sense), and that, in some ways, was not desirable. Now, with only a 100-level anthropology class under my belt, could I have possibly been qualified to write such an essay? No way.

In these cases, most good writers will turn to experts in related fields to provide credible info and perspective. Did I in this case? Nope, not a good writer I guess.

I got a C on this paper, and if I remember correctly that was probably generous. Still, I got the impression some way, some how that the prof was somewhat put off by the idea. I guess – her professional interests might have overruled her first love -- the game of tennis.

I wonder if today, being of the same physical capability, she dedicates more, less or the same amount of time actually doing that endeavor that she loved so much.

Writing is re-writing and . . .

The question really is -- has technology freed up time for you, or has it taken time from you?

Let me know what you think. Can technology, over the past 18 years, and the most widely advanced child of it, the internet and its mobile offshoots, be credited with a diminished use of your hands (in the traditional sense)?

Don’t mind your one thumb that probably isn’t doing anything much as you do not comment below.

Sorry about side tracking. I will be back on the story of Building Moxie, sprinkled with a little more about home improvement and the internet, tomorrow.

More Moxie:

Props (though maybe unrelated) to @Make (Make Magazine) for their “Lost Knowledge” component: http://www.makezine.com/

The school formally known as Towson State University: http://www.towson.edu/

Building Moxie (an outtake) Two things that woke me up in the middle of the night last night

noreply@blogger.com (Building Moxie) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:58:00 +0000

The Best Thing to happen to Home Improvement since the Hammer

I recently signed up for Twitter. You know, it, Twitter, has been all the “tweet.” I signed up with the sole purpose of tweeting back to the website that I recently put up, http://www.buildingmoxie.com/. With a little widget there, I can keep my visitors in tune with my “status.”

I really don’t know how to use it yet, I will admit, RT and @ = confused. I can’t really provide assurance on when exactly I will start using it for its intended purpose. But its value, beyond my status, is already tremendously clear.

If you care, my handle is @BMoxieBMore (and yes I use it as a salutation)

About a week or so in, I had some free time, so I started to dig a little. First, I was amazed by the number of tweets that were actually about Twitter (or other social networking vehicles) – Meta-tweeting, I'll call it. Second, I figured I needed to follow a few others.

I started by searching for a few organizations that I really respect; This Old House, Fine HomeBuilding, etc. Then I figured I should look a little closer to home, here, in Baltimore; The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, etc. It was during this rally that I stumbled across @BaltimoreHUD -- Baltimore HUD Homes. It worked -- #Houses, #Baltimore = Follow.

Now, @BaltimoreHUD likes to tweet. I mean, I know I am only following like 30 some people/organizations, but already there have been several times when these folks have filled my entire home page. Every five minutes, all day long, it seems. Link, Link, Link, Link . . . . Sure I am interested in some of the things they want to present, but come on – I am this close (can you visualize me holding up my fingers?) to blocking them.

And . . . I have heard (but have not checked the validity of this claim) that some organizations are tweeting their heads off simply to decrease the amount of money they must pay Google and other search engines for sponsored placement.

I guess, in the end – I don’t know their motives, and I will not begin to explore their organizational structure, but right now, reality is -- they are just noise to me. I don’t even look at their posts – and it is a waste, because I am certain I am missing something useful.

More Moxie:

Baltimore HUD Homes: http://twitter.com/BaltimoreHUD