I’m loving this season of life. In 2005, I did a start-up but it was different. The scale was much smaller and I had a full-time job. So in some ways this season feels familiar and in other ways it’s all new.
If you’ve read the blog for long you know how much I value transparency. In fact, transparency is a value Marko and I have carried into the very DNA of The Youth Cartel. In order to stir things to change– transparency is required, right?
Here are some updates on how things are going, in a few categories.
Cartel Stuff
- The weekly newsletters we started are doing really well! Youth workers are especially resonating with YouTube You Can Use. The growth of those, numerically, speaks to their usefulness. Both of those are kind of our flagship stuff right now.
- This weekend Marko is in Michigan hosting our first official event, the Middle School Ministry Campference. The lead-up for that has been very successful and we can’t wait to see how it goes.
- Our next event is the Extended Adolescence Symposium on November 21st. The planning for that is going great. We could really use your help in getting people there, though. If you live in the Atlanta area send me an email because I have a favor to ask. (adam@theyouthcartel.com)
- I’ve been kicking around the idea of starting a ministry innovators coaching group. I kicked it around last Winter and didn’t make it happen. Thinking about it more seriously now.
- We are dreaming of our next events, which is super fun.
- We have a couple other initiatives coming along which I’m really excited about. But I’m quickly learning that “talking about” doesn’t always pan out!
Client Stuff
- I’ve been very busy on the website side of things. This could be an entire division of our company… building, maintaining, and growing organizations/individuals web presence. (Which is good, because it kind of is a division of our company!)
- The Concierge Service is finally taking off! (Flat rate WordPress design, a great 2nd step for bloggers and small organizations.) We have the capacity to handle 2-3 of these per week and are really getting it down.
- I’m about 2 weeks away from completely rebooting the website for a youth ministry organization. That’s been a great project and I think we’re set up for a nice long-term relationship.
- We have a really cool project we’re unveiling at NYWC. This project deeply resonates with me and is the kind of thing every youth worker is going to want to look at.
- I’m on the lookout for 2012 projects. Individuals, churches, organizations, start-ups, yada yada yada.
Personal Stuff
- Health insurance: Super excited that we can get that through Kristen’s work. A huge relief there!
- Work time: The home office is great and I’m loving going to a co-working place 2 days per week. There are actually a group of us now looking for a real office to share… fingers crossed!
- Speaking of balance: As I mentioned a few times already, the summer was nuts. But I’ve been able to shake those 16 work days for the most part. I’m way more available (and present) on nights & weekends than I have been in a long time. Loving that.
- Cash flow: As someone who has had a paycheck every 2 weeks for the last 17 years this is the scariest part. So far, so good though. It’s fun to see the connection between what I do and what I bring home so concretely.
- Joy factor: This whole thing is a blast. It’s a good kind of scary.
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