By Jenny An

Tavit Geudelekian and Andy Kopas

Occupation: Video Game Producers and Designers

Business: King Post Productions

City: New York

Age: 28 and 26

Tavit Geudelekian and Andy Kopas took what they learned from the big guys and spun the experience into a more agile company of their own.

A year ago, they worked for Kill Screen Magazine to create an affiliated production label called Kill Screen MFG. They’ve built games for Puma, Pitchfork, Sony Records  and Incubus. The duo also has produced events and fetes for game publishers. The rest is a whale of a tale.

What’s your #BHAG2012?

Our BHAG is to create the foundation for our company to create a video game based on Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

Tavit and Andy built this game, Incubattle, for Sony and the band Incubus when they worked with Kill Screen. "It was a fun one-or-two-player, old-school, beat-'em-up game that featured all the members of the band as playable characters," Tavit says. The game launched in web browsers in July 2011 and was played over 100,000 times. Incubattle is currently not online but should be returning soon to a browser near you.

What skill did you learn on the job?

Salesmanship. We’ve always prided ourselves on the passion we bring to projects we work on, and this past year has been an exercise in turning that passion into a pitch.

How did you know you were ready to start your own company?

We always told ourselves, “Let’s not treat King Post like a business until it is a business.” Now that we have contracts lining up and more work on the horizon, we both just sort of shrugged and realized, we are a business.

What’s most rewarding about working for yourself?

The little victories are so much bigger when you’re working for yourself. Every efficiency we learn, every new friend/partnership or contact we make brings us a lot more joy.

A taste of Banana Bandits, a game that King Post is developing as we right this caption. Slated for release on the iTunes App Store in late July/early August.

Have you ever collaborated with anyone or an organization? Are you open to collaborations?

Our business is completely reliant upon collaboration.

We use a myriad of specialists from coders, to designers, to artists to digital marketers and community managers. That said, we’re always thrilled to meet new people and make new friends. We’re looking for experienced game developers, artists and designers, and we’re always open to helping nurture new talent that may not have experience in games but want to break into that industry.

Are you open to mentorships?

While we’re totally open to interns and mentorships, we’re still working to get stable as a company so we can truly provide these people with the value and education that we were provided in some of our best internships and mentorships. Once we reach a critical mass of projects, we’ll be wide open to the idea.

Email King Post Productions at kingpostproductions@gmail.com.

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On Mondays, DIY Business Association features a stand-out self-starter as our DIY Business of the Week. If you or someone you know is rocking an awesome small business in art, craft, tech, food, media—you name it—we want to know about it. Tell us about your DIY business on the DIY Together Facebook wall, or email stories@diybusinessassociation.com with a short description and links to the DIY business website and social media.

Brute Hustle #2, by K. Tighe

I’m smitten on sharing.

So when I decided to return to San Francisco earlier this year, I had one Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) in mind: do my part in moving the Collaborative Consumption movement forward.

This was serendipitously almost the exact moment that TaskRabbit—a company I deeply admire for its role as a pioneer in the Sharing Economy—invited me to work with them. Not a bad start to my #BHAG2012.

In the DIY community, we’ve long been wise to the values of collaboration and co-working. The flagship marketplace Etsy is rooted in peer-to-peer transaction—a cornerstone concept of the CollCons movement. Now, a new crop of companies has emerged in the sharing space, providing an infrastructure to help entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive. These sites lower the barrier for entry for entrepreneurs and float us through the broke times—all while helping move our brands forward.

Hustle Tip #2: Diversify your revenue streams and grow your brand by plugging into the Collaborative Consumption movement.

At Poor Taste, the food news startup I founded, we’re still very much in bootstrap mode. So how could we leverage the Sharing Economy to keep the lights on while pushing our brand forward? Here are the options we’re looking at:

Biz-Dev Idea #1. Pimp out our expertise by leading tours.

Through Vayable, our editors and contributors can set up neighborhood food tours in the cities we cover. We can show tourists and locals alike how to navigate the food scenes in L.A.’s Koreatown, Chicago’s Pilsen or San Francisco’s Mission. This lets us further position ourselves as experts in culinary awesomeness, allows us to meet would-be readers in an offline environment and puts a little coin in the pig.

Biz-Dev Idea #2. Hand down life lessons to other fledgling foodies.

We have mad skills when it comes to intimidating things like shopping at Thai grocery stores, making pie crust from scratch and pairing cheap (but yummy) wines with dinner. Through Skillshare, our editors and contributors can make money by teaching others. Poor Taste’s whole mission to smack the intimidation out of food and drink appreciation, and Skillshare provides another (paying) channel for that.

Biz-Dev Idea #3. Party like it’s our business.

One of the things all Poor Tasters share is an appreciation for the role food can play in gathering people together. There’s a spankin’ new company called LifeCrowd that provides an easy way for Poor Taste to make a little income hosting offline social food events. Events like grilled cheese cook-offs, speakeasy brunches, lowbrow high teas and culinary bookclubs. Lifecrowd already has a recurring Chinese food and Mahjong event—wish we’d thought of that.

Biz-Dev Idea #4. Take food errands off other people’s plates.

We already spend a lot of time at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, what if we could supplement our food budget by picking up other people’s groceries? That’s exactly what TaskRabbit makes possible by connecting busy people with neighbors like us who want to help out and make a little extra money. Since we’re also food experts, we can pick up tasks like selecting beer or wine, cooking dinner party meals in people’s homes and baking holiday cookies. We’d make some dough and probably nab some devoted readers along the way.

Biz-Dev Idea #5. Become a bed and breakfast.

Airbnb lets anyone with a spare room or futon make some extra income. We love the idea of being cultural ambassadors of our city by playing B&B host to food-minded out-of-towners. We’d stock the kitchen with local coffee, beer and baked goods, provide expert culinary guidance to off-the-beaten path eateries, and make sure every guest leaves with a local’s knowledge of our city (and the URL to Poor Taste, naturally).

Are you smitten on sharing now, too? For a crash course, check out Shareable, Rachel Botsman’s What’s Mine is Yours, and (TaskRabbit Founder) Leah Busque’s column on The Huffington Post.

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K. Tighe is the founder, publisher, editor-in-chief, and Chief Taco Officer of Poor Taste, a collaborative online magazine covering the underbelly of food and drink culture. In addition to basking in the bahn mi and bourbon perks associated with running a food publication, Tighe spends her days getting geeky over micro-entrepreneurship and the collaborative consumption movement as Content Strategist for TaskRabbit. Click here for the Brute Hustle Archive. @k_tighe | tighe.k@gmail.com

By Jenny An

Nate Cooper

Occupations: Educator and consultant focusing on technology and entrepreneurship

Business: Pedestrian Consulting

City: Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York

Age: 31

Nate Cooper is an entrepreneurship 2.0 success story.

The former trainer at Apple turned his tech savvy into a thriving personal business—with the help of organizations like the Freelancer’s Union, coworking space New Work City, Skillshare and Meetups.

The self-proclaimed “happiness evangelist” founded Pedestrian Consulting in 2011. Now, his days (and nights) are full of consulting gigs and working on a comic book that’ll teach readers how to build websites. He’s also a cofounder of Reboot Workshop, an “unconference” for freelancers and entrepreneurs on how to live their independent lives in an even more rocking way.

What’s your #BHAG2012?

Empower others to continue learning outside of academia, especially around entrepreneurship.

How did you acquire the skills you needed?

Let’s face it, IT people are a dime a dozen.

I like to think the reason people come to me is more because of the care and effort I take to train someone. I learned customer service at Apple when I worked in sales and as a trainer.

There’s no better way to learn about [customer care and engagement] than to work in a retail or customer-service job. When people ask me if I build websites, I say “sure,” but what I really offer is the option to learn to do it yourself.

What is your typical work day like?

Right now, I’m working on a book for No Starch Press. It’s a comic book based on my classes which teach how to build websites. I also do onsite consulting and teach classes in the evenings.

How did you know you were ready to go it on your own?

Toward the end of my time at Apple, I had developed a number of internal training modules and done a tremendous job building a team of top-notch people. At the end of the day, though, I didn’t get any credit.

I realized all of my accomplishments were done for other organizations and felt like the next step was building something where I was the product. Then Skillshare came along, and the rest is history.

Working alone can sometimes get lonely. Are you part of any organizations where you can meet like-minded people? Do you attend any events regularly?

The key to making it alone is to not let yourself feel alone. Go to a coworking space, join a Meetup. Freelancer’s Union is a great resource and anything hosted at New Work City. My friend Nate Heasley runs a meetup called Goodnik, and they have excellent mixers. Creative Interns and Be Social Change are also wonderful groups. Then, of course, Jim and I run events for Reboot.

Have you ever collaborated with anyone or an organization? Are you open to collaborations?

Yes, I regularly collaborate with designers. I meet quite a few through my classes. I’m always looking for people who can take on web gigs—design or development, especially WordPress—that I’m unable to. I tend to refer people since I’m more focused on teaching and consulting.

Reboot Nation is a growing group, and we need eager people to help out with any aspect of the running of the event whether it be promotion or just being on hand to check people in.

Are you open to mentorships?

Absolutely.

Nate Cooper | Facebook | Twitter

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On Mondays, DIY Business Association features a stand-out self-starter as our DIY Business of the Week. If you or someone you know is rocking an awesome small business in art, craft, tech, food, media—you name it—we want to know about it. Tell us about your DIY business on the DIY Together Facebook wall, or email stories@diybusinessassociation.com with a short description and links to the DIY business website and social media.

Amy Flurry, a media vet with 15 years of experience behind the editor's desk.

By Jenny An

Do you want to get your work noticed by magazine editors?

Master of publicity Amy Flurry offers these four tips from her book, Recipe for Press.

1. Think visually.

Photos sell.

“The first thing editors look at when they read your pitch via email or snail mail is the picture,” says Flurry. “And they know within a few seconds if the product will work for their pages and if they’re going to read on.”

2. Create an attention-grabbing one-liner that shows you know the publication.

“A great picture coupled with a punchy header—for example, ‘Wet-Weather Gear for Under $25′—lands your product into the publication even more quickly,” she says.

The header should make it clear to the editor that you read her pages or section and know the type of story or product the publication tends to run.

3. Make a strong first impression with your web site.

If an editor likes your pitch photo and header, he or she will likely visit your web site and social media to read more about you.

“Make sure your site is ready for that kind of scrutiny,” Flurry says. “If your site is still ‘under construction’ or in the middle of a facelift, then put the kibosh on pitching until after the unveiling.”

4. Contact the right person.

“All your hard work is for nothing if you don’t put your pitch in the hands—or inbox—of the right editor,” Flurry says.

Take time to double-check who actually edits the pages you want to be a part of. Read magazine mastheads to find out who’s-who, editorially speaking.

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Read more about Amy Flurry and her book, Recipe for Press, in our “DIY Business of the Week” feature about her.

15 Minutes of Dame #4, By Dixie Laite

“Give the people what they want.”—Everyone from Red Skelton to the Kinks 

“Don’t give people what they want. Give them what they need.”—Joss Whedon

People are so cute.

Lately I’ve had the pleasure to help several people use the 20-10-4 Personal Brand Words Exercise, and I was struck by a common misstep.

People would say something like, “I’m really good at surfing, love horror movies, play guitar and have amazing penmanship—so, what’s my personal brand?”

Your unique selling proposition (your good ol’ USP) is not meant to be a personal ad for a dating site. Your personal brand is your pithy way of capturing what you uniquely, reliably and engagingly bring to the table with your service or product.

Your USP is a way of expressing what you offer, what you value and what people can expect. It should be consistent, engaging and something people want. (And if they don’t want it now, you can persuasively tell them why they should.)

Think about your customers, what they might want, what they might need, and especially what it is about you that answers the question, “What’s in it for them?”

Don’t get me wrong, though. You don’t need hordes of people to want your USP—just enough people.

While it’s great to have something scalable that will draw the multitudes, to operate a successful business, you need a certain number of people who really want what you have (but more on the long tail in another column).

As you think about your personal brand, think about what you have to offer in terms of what people do or might want or need. Let’s say you’re a surfing horror-movie aficionado who can rock out and dash off a legible letter, and you want to start your own party-planning service. I should hire you because…?

Tell me why you’re a good—no, great—party planner. Based on what you’ve told me about yourself so far, I might imagine you’d say that you’re full of ideas on lots of ways people can have a good time; you make the whole planning process fun; you can improvise to make everything look seamless; and as fun-loving as you are, you’re also detail-oriented and nothing’s ever sloppy. I’d totally hire you!

Your brand needs to tell a story

And that story’s happy ending must include you getting hired (or selling something, or being booked, etc.).

Look for how your brand/story makes you special and how it makes what you do appealing. The fictional party planner that I want to hire might decide to go with a werewolf hanging ten as his logo, or he may just decide to find a phrase, title or tagline that expresses his brand promise of perfection powered by imagination and fun. (As you know, perfection isn’t always so lighthearted, so knowing you can get class without anal obsessiveness can be mighty attractive.)

The point is, as you explore your personal brand, don’t just think about you. Think about your customers, what they might want, what they might need and especially what it is about you that answers the question, “What’s in it for them?”

As you work on crafting your personal brand’s message, explore how your personal qualities might make you attractive to potential clients. Also, as I encouraged Liz Gold to do in my last column (“Are You a Talented Self-Starter Who Needs a Kick in the Brand?”), think about how your personal qualities, interests and experience might make you uniquely well-suited to serving (and uniquely appealing to) a particular niche market.

Remember, in business and in life, when you think about giving people what they want or need, you are much more likely to get what you want and need as well.

In my next column (on May 9, 2012), we’ll talk about not falling into the trap of only thinking about what people currently want or need. (Not pitfalling into the trap?) Anyway, until then, dolls, please feel free to let know how you’re doing and if there’s anything I might be able to do to help.

Mmmmwah!

This is the fourth episode of “15 Minutes of Dame,” a column to help you create, develop and promote the living crap out of your personal brand. Dixie Laite has been putting the “broad” in broadcasting for over 20 years, working in television, online, print and marketing for a variety of household name brands. She’s currently Senior Editorial Director for TeenNick and also freelances as a writer, speaker and digital content strategist. Dixie’s column is published every other Wednesday on diybusinessassociation.com. Follow Dixie @DameStyle, email her at diydamedixie@gmail.com and post your suggestions in Comments below.

Click here to read more 15 Minutes of Dame

Brute Hustle #1, by K. Tighe

What if you could get the people you admire most to advise you on your career and business decisions?

Don Draper could help spin your marketing strategy into poetic gold, Sheryl Sandberg could consult on building a bridge from hipness to monetized ubiquity and Henry David Thoreau could dish out inspiration while sharing some pond-side beers.

If only that pesky “reality” thing didn’t get in the way.

Since this spankin’ new column is all about sidestepping the status quo and hustling your way to a better business, we’re gonna bend the rules on reality with our very first Hustle Hint:

HUSTLE HINT #1: Assemble a Panel of Enablers

Be they living, dead or fictional, assemble a Panel of Enablers that inspire and motivate you. Distill the most important takeaways into a dossier on each of your Enablers, like I’ll do below for Henry David Thoreau.

When major decisions or doubts creep up, consult the dossiers and ask yourself, “What Would My Enablers Do?”

As for Thoreau, not only does his Walden experience resemble stepping into the great unknowns of starting a business, freelancing or working for a startup, his words reaffirm that we’re doing the right thing by bucking the status quo.

Professor Tighe with a Ph.D in kicking ass.

Henry’s Rules:

1. Sing Your Song

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

Henry was hip to the fact that people spend most of their lives putting off the things they really want to do. They let their perceived limitations enslave them, tell themselves they don’t have enough time or education or experience and never make that leap into living a life true to themselves.

Those of us who’ve entered into self-employment or the startup life are bravely starting to sing, sometimes out of tune without knowing the words, but always our own songs.

And First Mate Thoreau.

2. Kill the Status Quo

“Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.”

Working for yourself or a startup is a lifestyle decision. It means walking away from society’s definition of success, at least for a while. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that you have more control over your life than the cogs still riding the cubicles.

Whenever I start to panic about the riskiness of startup life, I think of how much more agile not having these expectations has made me.

3. Opportunity Cost Matters

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

Trading 40 hours a week to a company you don’t like much directly translates into 40 hours you didn’t spend building your business or developing new skills. As easy as it is to wallow in the “woulda-coulda-shoulda” triangle, let’s not.

Let’s just be honest with ourselves about the way labor is structured: You trade units of your life for money. Figure out what those units are really worth to you, and shift your actions accordingly.

Hack your way to success. The corporate ladder is so over.

4. Generalists Eat Specialists for Brunch

“Author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian and leading transcendentalist,” one look at his Wikipedia entry tells us that Thoreau was a generalist with an arsenal of skills he could transfer to any situation.

Since he was (among many things) a naturalist, let’s break this down biologically: Generalist species are able to adapt and thrive in all kinds of environments, and specialists kick serious ass under the exact right set of conditions. When those conditions change—which, let’s face it, they inevitably will—specialists face extinction while the generalists of the world adjust and keep right on hustlin’.

5. Suck the Marrow

“Suck the marrow out of life.”

If Thoreau intended to drive only one point home, it was this one. Figure out what you care about and do it.

Right now.

Consume every second of life as fully as you can. The happier you are, the more you notice positive things in your environment. The more engaged you are, the more you engage others. Cultivate optimism and you’ll see opportunities everywhere.

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K. Tighe is the founder, publisher, editor-in-chief, and Chief Taco Officer of Poor Taste, a collaborative online magazine covering the underbelly of food and drink culture. In addition to basking in the bahn mi and bourbon perks associated with running a food publication, Tighe spends her days getting geeky over micro-entrepreneurship and the collaborative consumption movement as Content Strategist for TaskRabbit. Click here for the Brute Hustle Archive. @k_tighe | tighe.k@gmail.com

By Jenny An

Amy Flurry

Occupations and businesses: Author of Recipe for Press ($23.95) and co-founder of Paper-Cut-Project, a company that creates paper styling elements.

City: Athens, Georgia

Age: 41

Amy Flurry has seen how the media sausage is made and wants to tell the tale.

After over 15 years of working as a magazine writer and editor racking up clips at bold-faced titles like InStyle, Conde Nast Traveler and Lucky, she’s turned that experience into a self-published how-to guide for entrepreneurs to get media buzz.

In the past, self-publishing was associated with “vanity presses” and other not-so-appealing things. But for Flurry, it simply meant complete and total control over her product from the words to the photography to the publicity machine.

What’s your #BHAG2012?

My #BHAG2012 is to empower such a large audience of entrepreneurs to use the power of publicity to tell and share their story that it increases a national mindfulness about what we buy, who’s behind it and where it’s made.

When did you decide to write Recipe for Press?

I’d been thinking about it for years but first decided to hold DIY publicity workshops to gauge the degree of interest. People were hungry for this information as told by someone who’s been on the other side of the desk for so long.

I never really considered a traditional publisher (though I will for reprints or a second title). I decided to self-publish, because I had very clear ideas on the book’s direction, the design and the timeline I wanted this to be done in. I completed the book and even went to see it come off the press all in less than a year. Talk about audacious—I printed 10,000 copies!

What skill or experience has come in handy?

Had I moved forward with a traditional publisher, I would not have enjoyed as much control. So my years of producing magazine spreads—including assisting photographers and styling—gave me the confidence to trust myself with the production of the book. Knowing how to meet deadlines didn’t hurt either.

How do you balance your multiple roles as a DIY business? Are there hours, days, weeks, etc. when one is a bigger priority?

For balancing my book promotion and speaking arrangements alongside my work for Paper-Cut-Project, there is no real balance. I find the time to do it because there’s nothing I want to be doing more. Of course when my kids come home, all bets are off!

Does having multiple interests detract or inspire each of your professional interests?

My interests complement each other extremely well. I have to practice what I teach in the book to promote Paper-Cut-Project on blogs and in print, and we have had incredible results. In turn, I’m more confident when I speak on the subject and in promoting the book because I know it works.

Have you ever collaborated with anyone or an organization? Are you open to collaborations?

I’m open to collaborations and I encourage them, too. What I really want is to work together with someone on a series of short videos.

Are you open to mentorships?

I do have interns (three currently), and for the last 10 years, I’ve offered internships at the University of Georgia. I’ve found these students’ input and insights to be invaluable, and I take very seriously my role as a mentor within our arrangement.

Recipe For Press | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Paper-Cut-Project

Want a taste of the tips you can read in Recipe for Press? Click here to read “Amy Flurry’s 4 Tips for Getting Press.”

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On Mondays, DIY Business Association features a stand-out self-starter as our DIY Business of the Week. If you or someone you know is rocking an awesome small business in art, craft, tech, food, media—you name it—we want to know about it. Tell us about your DIY business on the DIY Together Facebook wall, or email stories@diybusinessassociation.com with a short description and links to the DIY business website and social media.

Heather and Katie O'Neill, the masterminds behind fair-trade accessories brand Mushmina

Heather and Katie O’Neill

Occupation: Accessory Designers
Business: Mushmina
City: Philadelphia
Age: Heather 33, Katie 30

Heather and Katie O’Neill turned once-in-a-lifetime experiences into a business that they hope will positively touch more than a few lives.

The sisters spent time in Northern Africa—Heather in the Peace Corps in Morocco, Katie researching traditional handiwork techniques in Mali—and saw talented artisans who couldn’t make a lot of money from their work.

The locals, mostly women, couldn’t sell their wares at the local markets for a good price and didn’t have access to international markets.

“Despite challenges, the artisans are full of ideas, spirit, and vision,” the sisters said. “They are the reason we started this company.” The O’Neills founded Mushmina in 2009, and in a few weeks, the sisters will open their first storefront on Philadelphia’s South Street.

What’s your #BHAG2012?

To become recognized as an international brand of fair-trade accessories and a must-see boutique in Philadelphia.

The ladies with some of their artisans in Morocco.

When did you decide to work for yourself?

We’ve always been creative and made our own clothes, but our epiphany came in Fes, Morocco. We were having lunch at a traditional Moroccan restaurant, we were in our early twenties, and had the idea that if we started a design business we could employ women in the developing world. We worked for other entrepreneurs to gain experience, and decided to take the leap in 2009.

Mushmina's Blue Sprout tote.

What skill or experience unexpectedly came in handy?

Running a small business means you have to be a multitasker—shipping, sales, customer service, designer, driver, translator, you name it.

Working in Morocco involves letting some things take their own course. Patience comes in handy. As the Moroccans say, inshalla, or god willing.

What skill did you learn on the job?

We learned to speak Moroccan Arabic. A large part of doing business in Morocco is getting to know the people we work with. We’re invited for tea and couscous, and we had to learn how to say, “Thanks but I’m full”—Ana shebet.

Have you ever collaborated with anyone or an organization?

We’re a small company and have often collaborated with friends to help us get off the ground—photographers, web designers, Sherri Bolognone for a gorgeous spring shoot in her beautiful hometown of Medford Lakes, New Jersey, and the list goes on.

At this very moment, we’re in need of a PR person to help write press releases and get our story out to the community in Philadelphia and beyond.

The sister act exploring Morocco.

Are you open to mentorships?

Yes, we’re open to mentors and mentoring! The more ideas the better.

Mushmina.com | Facebook | Blog

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On Mondays, DIY Business Association features a stand-out self-starter as our DIY Business of the Week. If you or someone you know is rocking an awesome small business in art, craft, tech, food, media—you name it—we want to know about it. Tell us about your DIY business on the DIY Together Facebook wall, or email stories@diybusinessassociation.com with a short description and links to the DIY business website and social media.

By Amy Cuevas Schroeder

Author of, The Smarter Upstarter

Founder & CEO, DIY Business Association and DIY Together

Entrepreneurs and creative visionaries have no shortage of ideas, but they often need help creating a master plan for accomplishing their biggest goals.

As a serial entrepreneur who started her first business at 19 and majored in liberal arts (no MBA here!), I’m an example of someone who has enough energy, ambition and ideas to create businesses for the rest of my life. But I need a system to help me get the work done in a timely fashion. Without this system, I have a hard time staying focused and saying “no” to projects that take me off track.

Note: The Get Stuff Done System for DIY Businesses is not a business plan template, but it serves as a great component of your business plan and will help you actualize your business plan. In short, a business plan is just a stack of paper until you do the work, and this system is designed for people who are managing themselves.

Are you ready to thrive in the Entrepreneurial Age? Take a deep breath, and start where you are, one chunk of work at a time. (Photo of Amy Cuevas Schroeder at DIY Together Speed Connecting NYC on March 28, 2012. Photo by Eleanor Templeton)

Advice:

• The first step is taking the first step. Start where you are. Many DIY businesses (myself included) revise their BHAG and Major Milestones over time, which is totally fine. As a DIY business, you are a living, breathing entrepreneurial machine who rolls with the punches and needs to edit and pivot in, some cases, a moment’s notice. The point is to keep your happiness in check, do the work, keep moving and be flexible.

• After writing your BHAG, Milestones and NAAS, post them in a visible place and talk about your NAAS with people you trust. Otherwise, your creative genius has a funny way of forgetting where you want to go.

• Connect with people who can help you. Share your ideas and questions. Join a DIY Together group. Build from the ground up.

Amber J. Adams, on the left, inspired me to develop the Get Stuff Done System for DIY Businesses. (Photo taken at DIY Together Speed Connecting NYC on March 28, 2012, by Eleanor Templeton)

1. Create your BHAG

Thinking Big & Visionary

A Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (BHAG) embodies what you really want to do in life—professionally speaking. A BHAG is not a to-do list. It’s the vision for your personal big picture. Developing your BHAG is challenging but fun. Think big—if you do the work, your BHAG will likely come true.

For some people, a BHAG will take a year to accomplish. For others, five years or more, or even a lifetime. The timeframe of your BHAG comes down to the scope of your BHAG. Your BHAG is yours to design and to edit and revise—so own it. You can set BHAGs throughout life or continue to work on your BHAG when it’s most convenient for you. You can even start over midway through if you realize you don’t like your BHAG. In short, your BHAG is your baby, and you should treat it as an evolving animal.

Pronounced “bee-hag,” the term BHAG was coined by Jerry Porras and James Collins in their book Built to Last, which examines the qualities of successful visionary companies. They found that one factor that distinguished successful efforts from unsuccessful ones was the use of ambitious—even outrageous—goals to motivate people and focus them toward concrete accomplishments.

In Built to Last, the authors write: “A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so that you and other team players know when they’ve achieved the goal.”

Example of a personal BHAG for an individual:

Amber J. Adams: The Gen Y Journalist (member of DIY Together Beta Group)

Thefablifeproject.com

amberjadams.com • @amberjadams

“My Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal for 2012 is to promote Gen Y happiness in work and life, and become a thought leader for the unstoppable Generation Innovation movement.”

Example of a BHAG for companies:

Twitter: To become the pulse of the planet.

Amazon: Every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds. Also: Earth’s most customer-centric company.

2. Set Major Milestones

Laying the groundwork for accomplishing your BHAG

Congratulations—you’ve created your Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal to change the world in your own way. So how are you going to get there?

To lay the groundwork for your BHAG, setting Major Milestones are the next critical steps for getting the work done. Major Milestones are the significant points in development. Again, Major Milestones aren’t really a “to-do” list. Major Milestones are the significant achievements that you accomplish along the way to the finish line of your BHAG. I recommend developing a map of Major Milestones—a map could be over a six- or 12-month span or up to several years. Again, it depends on the scope of your BHAG.

Before setting Major Milestones, we recommend that you visualize your success. As in, picture yourself having accomplished your BHAG. Whether your BHAG is to become a leader in the New York Food Truck World or the Most Creative Web Developer for Indie Fashion Designers, picture yourself at the finish line. Now, take a look back at all the triumphs, accomplishments and hurdles that you jumped to get there. Can you see them? Great. Write them down immediately!

Example of my Major Milestones

My BHAG: To become a leading voice in the art of collaborative entrepreneurship.

Amy Cuevas Schroeder’s Major Milestones for a three-year plan:

• Take stock of my “former life’s work” as the founder/editor of Venus Zine. Create an online portfolio.
• Publish an article about collaborative entrepreneurship in a major publication or web site.
• Explore ways to grow DIY Business Association with the help of other leaders in the DIY business community.
• Figure out the best way to stay actively involved in the self-employed/DIY business community, as a writer and activist.

3. Next Attainable Action Steps (NAAS)

Chunking out the work, one month at a time

NAAS is an ambitious, realistic to-do list of chewable, bite-size tasks or to-do list to attain Major Milestones. We recommend that you set NAAS one month at a time. Once you accomplish a month’s worth of NAAS, you’ll create the following month’s NAAS. 

NAAS criteria:

• Based on the amount of time and energy you have (not wish you had), set a month’s worth of clear and attainable steps toward accomplishing your BHAG. Once you accomplish your first set of NAAS, you’ll set NAAS for the next month.

• Be specific about numbers and quantities.

• Edit yourself (or ask someone to help you). After writing your list of attainable next steps, briefly visualize yourself doing the tasks, and “calculate” the estimated hours to accomplish them. Add up the hours of all your NAAS. If the task hours exceed your available hours, trim the fat, and place leftovers on your NAAS list for the following month.

Remember: If you announce your next steps, you’re about 100% more likely to actually accomplish them.

Examples:

Read the DIY Together Beta Group’s very first NAAS here:

By Jenny An

Stephanie Layton

Occupation: Graphic Designer
Business: Red Scandal Graphics
City: Brooklyn, New York
Age: 28

Stephanie Layton’s first design was as low-tech as it gets. She took some paper, cut out letters and glued pieces onto another sheet.

That was before she learned Photoshop. Now the self-taught designer creates graphics, posters and campaigns that require a little more tech know-how than cut-and-paste skills. She designs for Broadway performers, record labels, fashion sites and more.

What’s your #BHAG2012?

To expand my skill set. I’ve been dabbling in photography and animation but want to get more serious.

What’s your startup story?

I went to the University of Michigan to get a BFA in Musical Theatre. While I was there, a friend wrote a play, and I offered to design poster art for him. I had no idea how to use any design software, so I literally cut out letters and glued them down. I was also working at a coffee shop at the time, and two of my co-workers were in bands, so I designed concert posters for them soon after. All for free, of course—college musicians don’t tend to turn down free poster offers.

It kind of started snowballing from there, and because I was in a music school, I had a sort of built-in clientele. The university computers were all equipped with the Adobe Creative Suite, so I started playing around with design software. After graduation, I didn’t know what to do, so I randomly took a Greyhound bus to Nashville, and lived in a hostel for three weeks so I could figure out what my next move should be while pouring over the ACS manual. I started to discover how much I loved the freedom that graphic design gave me, because I could do it from anywhere and found myself the happiest when working on art projects.

What’s your average work day like?

It really varies, but it usually starts with a handwritten to-do list (in order of priority) and some form of caffeine. I respond to emails first. Then I turn on NPR and listen to it constantly while I work. The only time I turn it off is when I’m on a phone call or working on something heavily text-based. I would say I finish, start or work on four or five projects in a day on average.

Yesterday I finished a postcard for an actor, created a showcase postcard, sent a client new file formats of program notes for his website, created a logo for a Disney-esque teen duo band, had a confusing back-and-forth email correspondence about budget with a guy who needs three band logos, and ordered some business cards for a client.

Do you work full time as a graphic designer?

I also supplement my income with piano accompanist gigs—playing for auditions, classes and shows.

When did you decide to be self-employed?

The graphic design thing has always been something I’ve done alone, and that was definitely part of its appeal. Working for myself allows me to pick and choose what projects I work on, my own rates, and my own hours. I can essentially take a vacation whenever I want, although I’m notoriously terrible at giving myself breaks.

I do sometimes miss having co-workers and a social work atmosphere, and it has crossed my mind to work for a larger design company. That said, I still like my freedom too much! I’ve developed my own aesthetic. And there is something really satisfying about seeing a poster of mine on public display or an ad of mine in Time Out New York and being able to say, “I did that.” Not “my company did that.” Is that egotistical? Maybe, but it’s pretty cool.

How do you find new jobs?

It’s almost purely word-of-mouth, and I feel so incredibly fortunate that I can depend on constant work as a freelancer. I do get some requests from people who have stumbled upon my website, but I’d guess that my Facebook portfolio probably gets the most traffic, and many people message me on there about jobs.

Have you ever collaborated with anyone or an organization? Are you open to collaborations?

I did the graphics for a pilot on Bravo last year, and it was a blast. It was only about a month’s work, but they moved me into my own office in Midtown. I loved sharing an office with other creative folks, so I’m interested in finding other opportunities that allow me to work side-by-side with other people in this way. I’m also interested in finding other graphic designers that I can share work with on occasion.

Are you open to mentorships?

Eventually, yes.

redscandalgraphics.com | Facebook

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On Mondays, DIY Business Association features a stand-out self-starter as our DIY Business of the Week. If you or someone you know is rocking an awesome small business in art, craft, tech, food, media—you name it—we want to know about it. Tell us about your DIY business on the DIY Together Facebook wall, or email stories@diybusinessassociation.com with a short description and links to the DIY business website and social media.