fulfilling critical needs of startup ventures

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~ Mon 6/30/08: created this week’s blog post.

~ Tue 7/1/08: worked on creating a job requisition for an Executive to head-up JobStrap Workforce (sm) to be posted on job boards and emailed to contacts. Hunted online for descriptions that I could appropriate to compile a complete job description. Unfortunately, at this point, I was unable to find a preexisting job description that was a close match to what I was seeking.

~ Tue 7/1/08: I have been a bit stressed and distracted by income issues. Monday and today I was not effective in moving forward JobStrap. I also was not effective in taking actions to secure income from a work contract.

~ Wed 7/2/08: today I tried to obtain an EIN tax ID from IRS online. IRS had an absurd error in their form that prevented me from completing the application. The had “Texas (TX)” in a mandatory drop down box AND had field validation set to not accept “(” and “)” characaters. I wonder how long that error has been hosing online EIN applicants. I subsequently sent a message to IRS technical support with a description of the form error.

~ Wed 7/2/08: just finished obtaining an EIN. I will now be able to open a bank account for JobStrap.

~ Wed 7/2/08: worked more on Austin Community Foundation application for fiscal sponsorship. It appears to be complete with the exception of needing to develop and attach the Pro Forma Financial Statements. I have been trying to find someone who has the industry and agency expertise to help me build those documents.

~ Wed 7/2/08: made some minor changes to business cards and it took longer than planned to reformat for a reprinting. Took file to kinkos to be printed. Third print batch of business cards are ready to be distributed ;-))

~ Wed 7/2/08: went to a recruiting & HR industry networking mixer. May have made a couple of good contacts in my search for an executive for JobStrap Workforce. As I am networking for an executive I will be utilizing the same contacts for finding some contract work.

~ Thu 7/3/08: made some calls and did some emails.

~ Thu 7/3/08: will be holding-off opening a JobStrap bank account until I understand the ramifications of having one and using it at the same time as being under a fiscal sponsorship arrangement.

~ Thu 7/3/08: this morning I had my first laptop crash since loading XP Pro. Failure was related to a named dll display driver file. So far no more problems today. Lost my research for writing a job requisition for expert in recruiting & staffing agency operations, revenue growth, and scaling.

~ Thu 7/3/08: –

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This week I was lax in staying current in my postings. I was not being intentional in tracking my daily activity and posting it the blog.

~ Mon 6/23/08: created this week’s blog post.

~ Mon 6/23/08: focus for day was on work hunting activities.

~ Tue 6/24/08: set appointment with CEO/President of local non-profit that could be a major source of support for JobStrap and potentially be a vehicle for acquiring some funding.

~ Tue 6/24/08: acquired another board member. Next step is to have application reviewed by attorney to insure it is done appropriately. I am very close to finalizing and submitting my application for non-profit incorporation with the Texas Secretary of State.

~ Tue 6/24/08: most of day’s focus was on work hunting activities.

~ Wed 6/25/08: reformatted resume and published resume to http://www.NevilleReynolds.com

~ Wed 6/25/08: made some more contacts and shared information on JobStrap at MBC breakfast meeting.

~ Fri 6/27/08: finished non-profit incorporation with the Texas Secretary Of State. I can now open-up a business account for JobStrap and begin accepting funds.

~ Sat 6/28/08: was a presenter at two sessions at InnovationCamp Austin. Session titles were Creating Austin as The Emerald City and Revenue Models for Social Entrepreneurialism.

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~ Mon 6/16/08: created this week’s blog post

~ Mon 6/16/08: Devoted the entire day to starting and finishing the application to 2009 Leadership Austin Essential Class. Completed application and met due date/time.

~ Tue 6/17/08: I just received a call from Leadership Austin telling me that my application is incomplete and that I have to have my letters of recommendation in to them today. This information directly contradicts what was communicated to me during the informational session at by one of their volunteers at their information table. The change in requirements takes my focus away from hunting for work and puts me in an awkward position of making a request that impinges on whomever I will be asking to write the letter. What comes up for me is that I do not have very many people in my life who I can ask to write a letter of recommendation even under ideal conditions; adding the time time constraints really puts me in a double bind.

~ Tue 6/17/08: I received one commitment for a letter of recommendation at 10:08 am to be completed today and emailed to Leadership Austin this afternoon.

~ Tue 6/17/08: Met the letter of recommendation requirement. I had two letters emailed to Leadership Austin one at 1:14 pm and the other at 2:06 pm.

~ Tue 6/17/08: Afternoon has been and will be mostly filled with parenting my 12 yo daughter.

~ Tue 6/17/08: If my calls, emails, and appointments don’t directly have JobStrap as focus then they are not counted. This sometimes is a bit hard to make the determination; for example, calls and emails on work contracts or personal income opportunities do directly impact my ability to continue to drive forward JobStrap. As it stands, I have not been counting my actions on finding work or creating income as part of my statistics. I am counting actions that have a marketing or promotional impact for JobStrap.

~ Wed 6/18/08: completed and paid for application to sell legal services at downtown location of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

~ Thu 6/19/08: afternoon was filled with Pre-paid Legal training and an appointment with a woman who has experience launching non-profits. She also is “connected” in the Austin business and non-profit community. Early morning I did office stuff however non of it seemed to be particularly productive, and I had a late morning personal “check-in” appointment with a GM doctor. I was initially over-charged for a level three appointment and was able to get it reduced to a level two appointment. Since I don’t have health insurance the difference between the two was approximately $20. Rx costs for prescriptions are running about 300% higher without health insurance.

~ Fri 6/21/08: I attended an all day workshop on planned giving hosted by AFP [Association of Fundraising Professionals]. The workshop was excellent. In addition to promoted JobStrap, I acquired some new ideas, resources and a few valuable contacts.

~ Fri 6/21/08: Found another interim Board member to sit on BoD. I should be able to finalize JobStrap corporate application submission to Secretary of State on Monday.

~ Sat 6/21/08: participated in a meeting to relaunch the local chapter of PDMA. I was one of the original co-founders of the Austin chapter. Made some new contacts and reestablished some old contacts. The meeting was productive and I was encouraged by the attendance level of expressed commitment by the participants.

~ Sat 6/21/08: to do list today includes:

• searching for job req examples for an executive to grow and scale a recruiting and staffing firm

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~ Mon 6/9/08: created this week’s blog post

~ Mon 6/9/08: had an extended conversation with a non-profit tax accountant. Big THANK YOU to Ron Meyer. Mr. Meyer confirmed that I my focus and tasking has me firmly on track to attaining my 501(c)(3) status. In addition, I learned that I was much closer to be able to start fundraising than I realized. It may be possible for me to skip the step of obtaining a fiscal sponsor and go directly into launching operations without a go between. This new option is dependent on my ability to raise funds efficaciously. I will be evaluating this option. Information on Mr. Meyer’s practice can be found at www.RonMeyer.com

~ Mon 6/9/08: I redesigned my blog header today. Aesthetically, it was really buggin me and it was not accurately reflecting the progress I have been making in launching JobStrap.

~ Mon 6/9/08: I received my user ID from the Texas Secretary of State. I am starting the process of filing for a non-profit incorporation in Texas.

~ Mon 6/9/08: doing online research on forming boards and the role of Executive Director relative to Board. Read an excellent article on http://www.help4nonprofits.com on Founder’s Syndrome. One of my concerns is that I do not want to be voted-out prematurely by the Board I select and yet my higher level concern is for JobStrap to thrive. So I have been seeking ways to protect my control of JobStrap and at the same time ensuring its rapid growth, and creating a large social and economic impact. Upon refection, most of my concerns are about what I can’t control and about my survival needs. In short, my concerns do not serve my well-being, my self-expression, and my empowerment. My concerns are normal and ordinary. My concerns of control and personal survival are mostly limiting and uninspiring. Therefore, I have decided to release my concerns, and to place all of my focus, faith, and intention on building an extraordinary organization by recruiting extraordinary Board members and extraordinary staff.

~ Mon 6/9/08: I posed a question in a voice message to a staff attorney at the Texas Secetary Of State. My question was for clarification on requirements by TSOS that a non-profit have a minimum of 3 Directors, 1 President, and 1 Secretary. Can the President also be a Director? The TSOS online FAQ document doesn’t address this question or provide insight into the answer. What is clearly stated in the FAQ is the President can not also be the Secretary.

~ Tue 6/10/08: some of today’s tasks include: starting the process of recruiting both Board members and an experienced executive who has been successful in growing a staffing and recruiting services firm; Getting my answers to questions regarding Board requirements for TSOS, and can I recruit temporary Board members for the purposes of advancing my applications to TSOS and IRS while I recruit for best match Board replacements. [Obviously, I will make this very clear to the temporary Board members my intentions. I suppose there is some risk to this strategy however, it may work fine and be low risk if everything is clearly stated and agreed to in writing.] These tasks include creating my first posts on jobstrap.iapplicants.com website for contract work for myself, for Board members, and for a recruiting executive.

~ Tue 6/10/08: it is 6:34 am, I have been up for an hour, and I am now going to the gym to do my workout.

~ Tue 6/10/08: based on a preliminary commitment today, it looks like I have only one more Board member to recruit. Today I may have secured a Board member with deep expertise as a Comptroller. I have a lot of additional work to do in setting-up Board documents, guidelines, manual, and initial policies.

~ Wed 6/11/08: worked on building out LinkedIn contacts by loading “Insider” browser tool, Outlook tool, and culling which contacts to invite into my LinkedIn Network. Also began updating posted resume on Monster and on wwww.NevilleReynolds.com

~ Thu 6/12/08: finished editing and updating posted resumes, updating and adding new content on Monster.com profile, did more updates to LinkedIn Profile, went to a networking event.

~ Fri 6/13/08: today’s focus is hunting for work.

~ Fri 6/13/08: did some more format modifications to http://www.jobstrap.org to clean-up visuals and have more consistency across websites. This morning, I sent a couple of new emails. I am now off to a networking event.

~ Sat 6/14/08: at the last minute, learned about a educational and networking event; it was the first production of “Product Bootcamp”. I arrive just in time to attend the last session and then made the wrap-up happy hour event.

~ Sun 6/15/08: signed-up to market Pre-Paid Legal services as a way to generate income while I am self-funding JobStrap. My reasoning for accepting this opportunity is: (a) There is a high intersection of constituents for JobStrap and for Pre-Paid Legal such as bootstrappers, startups, and small business; (b) Pre-Paid Legal Services has most sustainable and best overall compensation plan I have seen for this type of business model; (c) Gets me in action and in communication with JobStrap constituents core; (d) Compliments JobStrap’s services by providing the high quality legal services at a very low cost; (e) Can be easily integrated into marketing JobStrap, fundraising, recruiting, and educational outreach; (f) Opens doors for also doing contract work and does not preclude me from pursuing contract work.

~ Sun 6/15/08: Over the 12 weeks, I attained my highest rate of performance this week in activities related to fundraising, promotion, and recruiting.

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~ Wed 6/4/08: first part of this week minimal time invested in JobStrap tasking. Focus on JobStrap has been diverted to creating personal income to meet survival needs. I have not been keeping-up with my self-imposed accountability structure nor have I been consistently logging contact my activity.

~ Wed 6/4/08: created this week’s blog post

~ Wed 6/4/08: going forward this blog will include my tasks associated with creating personal income. At this point, my priority is to create personal income. When this issue is resolved I will remove it from my accountability structure.

~ Thu 6/5/08: spent couple of hours this morning getting organized for hunting for work.

~ Fri 6/6/08: made a couple of calls, read Non-Profit FAQ document on Texas Secretary of State website, worked on strategy and tasks for generating income.

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