50 Hours Straight!

I did something I thought I would never do.
Wednesday 27 Jun, 2007 12:32 am

It was not planned, and if you asked me if it was possible I would have said no. I would never imagined that I am even capable of doing what I did, but I did it and I amazed myself. Something so totally extreme that if it had been planned, I would have dreaded it immensely. In the end, it wasn't as hard to do as I would have imagined, yet I paid for it for days afterward.

What is this terrible thing I have done? I worked non-stop for more than 50 hours straight! No sleep, no stopping, just constant work the whole time. I should also mention that my wife Carrie remained awake, alert and at my side the entire time. Oh, she got a little loopy there at the end, but she was there when I needed her and is one more reason I love her so much.

There were a number of factors that caused us to have to work at that pace. The deadline for printing kind of snuck up on us; a few content contributors pulled at the last minute; I'm still getting the hang of the Mac and Adobe InDesign; I was not prepared enough; I'm a one man show for the most part; and my work flow (if you could call it that), stinks. I learned a great deal as each hour passed, but the most poignant lesson was that I never want to do that again.

After my body and mind took two days off, I began to look at what went wrong and what I could do to prevent this from happening again. Carrie and I decided that the main thing is better planning. We've already made some changes that will help next month. I did think back to my Dave 2.0 articles where I expressed my intent to be more organized. I have made great strides to that end but I have also added a bazillion new tasks to organize. 

Another reason I was ill prepared is right after I got the first issue of Soky Happenings published and distributed, I receive a couple more websites and the deadline for the July issue snuck up and bit me in the pants. On top of that, Carrie has been expressing a renewed interest in getting her travel agency going and though it is exciting, it is more work.

I'm kind of torn as to what to do with the web side of my companies because the magazine has been exceptionally well received. I know the web business and do enjoy it, but I'm finding it very difficult to juggle the tasks of being a web developer and magazine publisher. I am confident it would not be so difficult if I didn't have to do all of the work myself, and that is exactly why I'm holding out for a decision.

Bottom line, if I could get that right mix of staff members and revenue, I would be exceptionally happy to continue to develop, host, manage and consult on websites as well as create, write, layout, print, distribute and sell Soky Happenings. I'm in that all too familiar position of having too much work, not enough revenue and an unwillingness to go into debt.

I believe that the August issue of Soky Happenings is going to have a help wanted announcement. Actually, there may be a few jobs listed. By August, I should have my office location selected and some financing arranged. I could spend that month conducting interviews and preparing to bring on staff. This raises yet another issue that must be addressed and that is the human resource management aspect of my companies.

I've learned over the years that subordinates need a good understanding of the job requirements and the expectations they are to live up to. Even with a friend, a son and a wife as my staff, I can see that the lack of direction as well as a general lack of supervision is making their job harder and productivity waning. Before I publish a help wanted announcement, I must write a very specific overview of the job, the tasks and the methods that will be used to measure effectiveness. (Yes, another task to my to-do list.)

The advantages of writing out job descriptions and thinking through each 8 hour shift also helps a small businessman think consider the needs of the company as well as the desired skills of a candidate. Going through the process of spelling out the expectations of the employee helps the manager consider ways that performance can be benchmarked and monitored.

In my last article I mentioned catching a wave and surfing it, I was brutally reminded that a good surfer prepares for surfing, has good equipment and sound judgment. I feel as though I am prepared enough to enter the water, but after being bounced off of a few rocks this month, I realize that I may have to take some time to prepare for the next wave. That's what I'm doing by planning for August well in advance and putting some thought into the staff I hope to hire soon.

Warbird Adventures

Everyone should have a goal (grin)
Sunday 24 Jun, 2007

WARBIRD ADVENTURES, INC. The world's largest and most experienced T-6 flight school. Located in Kissimmee (ISM), Florida. T-6 checkout's, aerobatics, tailwheel & formation training available 7 days/week with high time instructors. All training is video taped for student review. Insurance approved. (800) 386-1593. http://www.warbirdadventures.com

Introducing Soky Happenings Magazine

About Soky Happenings? I'm glad you asked. This is my personal introduction found on page 4 of our first issue.

Introducing SOKY HAPPENINGS!
This is our answer to the question, "What's going on?"
By David Francis, Publisher Soky Happenings.
June 1, 2007

Hi, my name is David Francis and I am the publisher of Soky Happenings. This is the first time I've ever had an editorial column to write and frankly, I find it intimidating. My mind whirls with thoughts of what I would like to say, points I would like to make and things I think you should know. In the end however, this magazine is not about me, it's about you and the community we share.

I stare at the blank screen and realize that my points are not as important as your questions. This is the first issue and you are probably wondering, "What is this?" and "What's your point?" That's fair enough.

In short, the Soky Happenings magazine will be focused on people, places and events in our community. It will be written by and for the people of south central Kentucky. It will focus on the places to go, things to do and people who make it happen.

We will write about the places to go, not about the places not to go. We will write about the things to do, not about the things not to do. We will write about the people who contribute to making southern Kentucky such a wonderful place to live, not about those who do otherwise.

It is not intended to be a newspaper. Bowling Green has one of those and it is great! We will seek to provide a simple guide to events and offer positive perspectives on our community. My vision for this magazine does not include journalistic reports; it will focus on creative stories and personal narratives relating to the community we love.

As members of the community, we knew there was plenty of things to do in and around Bowling Green but we lacked a central resource dedicated to the many exciting people, places and events in south central Kentucky. Soky Happenings is intended to be a resource that you will find useful and entertaining.

The process of bringing the magazine to you was amazingly more complicated than coming up with the idea. I have experience in the Air Force managing a Public Affairs staff that produced a periodical, actually assembling the team from scratch and bringing all of the pieces together proved to be unexpectedly challenging. In the end, hard work, long hours and great people enabled us to bring this to you. Friends, family and people I've never met before offered to help bring this exciting project to market. The fact is, without their help this would have likely been published in December if at all.

A spark rekindled a dream and it happened in the first week of March this year. A dream that would be difficult to make real; I knew this would take some time so we aimed for the 4th of July. What I didn't consider was the excitement from and the support this would receive from our community. What I didn't know was how willing my close friends were to help me. What I never dreamed of was the enthusiasm we would receive from local area businesses and their willingness to sponsor an unpublished area events magazine.

I talk about me because many people have asked the questions addressed above, but the fact is we have a team of people who are dedicated to bringing a high quality, accurate and creative resource to the community.

My wife Carrie has worked tirelessly gathering contact information and events schedules resulting in more than 650 events listed in the June calendar grid.

Both of my sons wanted to help and while my youngest son Jesse, goes off to basic military training this month, my eldest son Trey has agreed to work full time for Soky Happenings in ad sales. He's doing great.

Then there is my great friend Andy Baker who has been there for me at all hours of the day as I transform myself into a print man. Andy has supplied a wealth of insight based on his experience publishing the local area community telephone directory. Thanks to Andy I am now a Macintosh user and can speak a whole new language shared by those who put ink on paper instead of pixels on a screen.

There are many others who have offered priceless ideas, tips, guidance, counsel and advice. I thank you all and hope to repay you by creating a useful resource. The writers and editors, some of whom I didn't know a month ago are precious to me and I look forward to working with them for years to come.

This is a complicated and expensive endeavor. I must admit that without the help of the people I love and trust this would not have happened. Thank you! Without the support of our sponsors and their willingness to take a chance on a new unseen publication, bringing this to you would be impossible.

The sponsors are listed on the back cover: These are the people who had faith in a dream and were willing to invest in the community and my new company. We contacted hundreds of businesses in the area during March, April and May; the sponsors of this issue are different than any other because they took a chance on us. We are honored by this and will never forget those who helped make Soky Happenings happen.

Published in the June 2007 issue of Soky Happenings magazine, Bowling Green KY USA
Copyright Soky Happenings, all rights reserved.

Pizza Hut to offer online ordering at nearly all locations

7:12:58 AM ET 6/5/2007 LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Pizza Hut unit of Yum Brands (YUM) said it's going to offer online ordering at nearly all of its U.S. delivery locations. Customers can create customized "pizza playlists" that contain their favorite pizza orders, the company said. Online orders have grown six-fold in the last three years, the company added. http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/myway-com/news-story.asp?dateid=39238.3006722801-897322154

Oh How Things Change

I just peeked at some older blog posts here on my personal website and noticed how different my life is now from just a couple short years ago. My business is completely different and my plans have changed tremendously. My dreams now include print publishing and associated staff, a larger web company with more capabilities, a totally different travel agency that is not only a different brand, but a whole different plan all together. My plans for downtown development remain even if a secret for now.

When I started this blog, I would have never imagined that I would have just published a magazine; I would have never known the difference between heat-set and cold-set web presses or even what a web press means. When I started this, web meant the internet and publishing meant servers, now my world is different. Now my world has more opportunities, now my world includes dreams of a larger staff, more products and greater income potential than ever before.

As I read the posts of the previous years I realize that I have to be more careful who I trust not to mention more careful what I share. I just posted a long post on the www.Soky.biz website that covers many topics relating to risk management.

Short term plans?
For this blog, not much will change except perhaps for the software I use to publish it as well as a focus on politics, news and events from my personal perspective. I will likely remove a good number of posts but other than that, it will remain the same. My other sites however will be completely changed, upto and including my small business blog. That site will be completely overhauled and be something entirely different. Soky.net will no longer be my web company site, it will become much different.

On the heels of our first issue of Soky Happenings, we see many things that people like about it and a few things to do differently. We have received great ideas as well as willing contributors to grow and expand the magazine... perhaps too many ideas for a monthly. I've decided to "go with the flow" and seize ever single opportunity that presents itself. Who knows where my new publishing company will take me or what new products I will introduce.

I know I have "warned" of changes in the past... this time it's a little different because my course is already implemented and my direction is chosen by the vessel I'm already in. Before, I would talk of dreams and hopes, this time I talk about things that have already taken place. It's a good feeling to have accomplished so much in so short of time. Sure, my workload is greater than I expected, but with new products as well as new clients, I can share about a path I am actually traveling instead of one I hope to take.

Long term plans?
Who knows!?! Most of the events I plan in the next 12 months cannot be disclosed but looking longer still, I have great ideas and a means to get there. I do intend to stick to my core values and grow a business that contributes to the community, helps her grow, make her more enjoyable to live in and as a result, I have no doubt as to the rewards.

I will do many things differently, will include many more members of the team, will reach out into uncharted territories... I did it with the magazine and proved to myself that some careful study, a lot of hard work and the right resources can make many things I thought impossible... possible. I'm excited for the future while enjoying the present and appreciating the past.

Thank you for reading!