Purchases Made!!!

One of my friends has an amazing camera...

I thought it might be a great idea to get an amazing camera too... Well, an amazing camcorder... Maybe not as expensive as my friend's camera, but it's the quality that counts, right?

*******

I finally decided that purchasing a NEW camcorder would be more of a benefit than a loss... Stumbled upon a really cute HD digital camcorder that can take pictures. It even had a $50 discount attached until Sept. 3, 2011. Why not, right? It comes with the memory card, a battery, a pouch, a charger and cords to attach it to the computer and television.


I asked the guy at the counter what camera would be best for shooting television commercials and he suggested this one. Luckily, I had cash on me (yes, I'm one of those awful people who limits my spending by carrying only $300 in my wallet and leaving my cards at home), so making the purchase was a no brainer.


I already have everything else needed at home: A tripod, a bag, unused DV tapes (that I no longer need because this NEW camcorder uses a card!!!) ...Oh the list goes on. Just things for the old camera too.


Can you see the difference between the NEW camera and the chunky old one?

Seriously?

I am still astounded... I have no idea why it took me THIS LONG to purchase a domain name and post a website. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??? For goodness' sake...

http://www.zavtraklove.com

Another current painting:

Alright!!! Finally Did SOMETHING!!! Some THINGS, Actually...

I've decided to treat you with the most recent painting (finished August 19, 2011) before listing the amazing mini-things I did for Zavtrak...

1. Created a couple Facebook pages:

• www.facebook.com/Zavtrak.Love
• This one is for "friends" (aka whomever feels like shooting FB messages)
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zavtrak/232864010084757
• This one is the "fan" page (it needs a minimum of 25 fans for a user name - click "like")

2. FINALLY ordered materials... Unfortunately, nothing for the stuffed animals just yet

• 250 sheets of colored cardstock (8.5"x11")
• glue
• sharpies
• construction paper
• 150 sheets of white cardstock (8.5"x11")
• ...All of this to make some awesome stuff... Pictures will be posted ...Eventually

3. For the other business I'm juggling...

• Called the post office about a mailing permit (~$195/yr + mailing fees)
• E-mailed MoneyMailer (and apologized for taking so long to respond)
• E-mailed the Comcast representative, explaining that I had no idea what in the world the two charts she sent meant. I also mentioned that I'm planning on making a 30 second FLASH animation some time in the future for Zavtrak... I don't know what the other business wants though (the other business run by 4 or 5 Russian guys).

I've Been Slacking

Привет!!!

Excuses for why I haven't been posting:

August 19 - My mother's birthday

August 20 - Uh... ummm... I was fighting a giant octupus in the depths of the ocean...

Oh well, now I'm back. Can't get rid of me that easily, right? Anyhow, I've been slacking so I guess I'll start with a to-do list.

Today -

1. Alphabetize the book shelf (I started reading all of my books and now I can't find books all that quickly when I sell them)

2. Delete Amazon account (there's a better way...)

3. Open an eHow account (I had one years ago but forgot the password... I hate it when this happens)

4. Purchase felt and stuffing to make stuffed animals (been thinking about this over the past 2 weeks, I have no idea why I haven't gotten on with it just yet)

Let's see how far I get with all of this.

For the rest of the week:

1. Open a new bank account, checking and savings

2. August 23 - Meeting at the post office for "How to Grow Your Business"

3. Buy firewire cable and camera charger

4. Upload all movies

5. Create YouTube account and post movie portfolio

Oh gosh.

Here's a random image for you - Made this maybe 5 or 6 years ago...

Sold it to one of my friends for $25...

Size: 18"x24"

Mixed Media: Pastel, acrylic, charcoal and chalk

In Which I Realize the Importance of Images...

Simple mathematics. A concise entry with an ample amount of images. Even I prefer this over an essay with a poorly thought out title. Considering that I have a limited amount of time right now, I will do just that... With one image.

This, dear reader, is an image of my brain (painted by yours truly, about a year ago). Like the fire, one simple idea (such as starting a business) scatters into branches. I've got an awful rep for having a rather short attention span. By the time I think through the idea, I usually forget the point of it. Look at the apple (yes, it's an apple) - Call that Zavtrak. Amazing. There's that business idea! Follow my thought process - There's the spark that lights the wick and turns into fire. The idea grows into a flame full of random thoughts that shift quite often. In the end, my focus stays on the tips of the fire, completely forgetting about the apple. If I'm not careful, that apple will burn (or melt, if it's a wax apple).

Всего наилучшего to those walking on the same journey!

That's it for now... I'm currently working on a painting of a blue rose. A lovely lady gave me a mini-bag that she knitted. I had no present for her at that moment, so I decided to paint a blue rose for her.

A Shift in Time

Things I do usually never go as planned. I've known this for quite a while, but for some odd reason, I always forget this. Apparently, I owed my mother a few hundred dollars for something from a few months ago... and a few hundred more for another something. I had forgotten this one minor detail... And because of this, everything's been set back for a little while longer. (Not too long, of course, considering I have no intention of waiting until 2012 to get this business rolling.)

Anyhow, I forked over a few hundred to my mother today... and in a couple more days, another few hundred... as well as a well-thought-out birthday present that I hope she will enjoy.

This minor set-back is no biggie, considering there's always a positive attached. After conversing with my mother, she suggested I should use imports as well. Alright, why not? I just have to do a little extra research on importing goods from Asia.

Considering I am the only one running the company and considering I am the only one making the gifts I plan on distributing, importing other gifts doesn't sound like a bad idea. Why not, right? Surprisingly, I've been getting a lot of support for this business. It's now a matter of how I can develop the company with the help of family and friends.

I just need to push it right now by creating the first gift sets (because I'm getting tired of selling used books on Amazon) and by getting the most important thing... A business license.

ALRIGHT! LET'S GO!
Хорошо! Поехали!

In Which Everything Begins

Like my room as a teen, my brain is full of clutter. It's as though a giant tornado decided to visit in search of its long lost relatives, which of course were nowhere to be found. During this tornado's search, it ripped apart all filing compartments, strewing all sorts of information everywhere.

Now that we've got that cleared up, this is my first time on Blogspot. I've heard a lot about it, but I never knew why anyone would ever bother having a blog. I've never been a blogger, but I've been pretty great at rambling on Facebook around 2am or 3am. I figured since people suggest I publish my ramblings, I might as well start with a blog.

Anyhow, the only thing that pushed me into starting a blog after all these years is the idea that has been dancing around in my head for a good four or five years. Having my own business. I'd like to start a business, I thought. Wouldn't it be nice if I could have my own business, I thought. No use thinking.

Nothing happens if you do nothing but sit around and hope everything falls in your lap in time. Some people are lucky like that, but think about it... If you sit in your room listening to music all day and everyday, hoping that someone will realize you're this amazing person that deserves fame and fortune, what are the odds of agents (or anyone else for that matter) crashing through your ceiling and falling into your lap? First you're at home, doing nothing and suddenly, someone falls from the sky, through your roof, into your lap and deems you king of the world.

Finally coming to this realization, I decided I should actually do something about this whole business ordeal. So what did I do? I started thinking about WHAT business I actually wanted to start. Over the past two years, I've gone from an art store, to a department store, to a book store and who knows what else. Too many ideas, too little time.

Not knowing what to pick, I started selling books on Amazon.com ...I had fun with that one. I learned that making a profit is easy, but making a large profit isn't always a piece of cake. I don't have a business account on Amazon, so I have to give them some sort of payment for everything I sell. In just one month, Amazon made $300. That's not fair, I thought. What's up with that? As time passed, I noticed there were some months when Amazon made more money than I did.

What was I doing wrong? Easy. On Amazon, you can change the prices of your product(s) - Amazon is kind enough to give you the lowest price from other sellers. I was rather stupid about it for about a year, thinking it was better to go cheaper. I had forgotten the rules of supply and demand. Some of my products were listed for just a penny. As time passed, I realized I wasn't the only individual seller. I hiked up my prices (some to a ridiculous amount) and waited. I was still selling the same books and the same amount of books. I made more money, but it took a lot longer.

How does this work? People only have so many of a certain product. Once they run out of their products, they can't sell that product anymore. I simply waited until the other sellers ran out of their books. This finally made my product the cheapest. Millions of orders are made on Amazon, so I knew that other sellers would quickly run out of their products. Thus, I raised my profits by at least 300% (yes, my books were THAT cheap in the beginning). This system doesn't always work in other businesses outside of Amazon, I'm sure. Amazon was just one of my get-rich-quick/easy money schemes.

I have to admit, however, that the Amazon thing did me a lot of good. Once I actually started using my brain, I started thinking more about business. I started learning. I opened a new account and named it ZAVTRAK. Businesses have to start somewhere, right?

Now I just have to get the clutter in my brain cleaned up. Dust off those cobwebs and reorganize everything. Once I can think straight and focus, I'm sure I can figure out how to continue this ZAVTRAK idea... I just have to figure out what I want.

ZAVTRAK (завтрак) - Russian for "breakfast" - I was hungry when I came up with the name.