Nick's Blog

Nor-Cal Life and Adventures in Entrepreneurship

Entries Tagged ‘success’

Automation Domination

I had a small victory this week in my ongoing effort to automate and simplify day-to-day tasks.  Because shoe inventory is always changing, one of my biggest challenges is keeping all the product links up-to-date.
Up until about 15 months ago, I was doing all this manually, individually checking each link.  It was a very slow, [...]

On Entrepreneurship

“Running a start-up is like being punched in the face repeatedly.  But working for a large corporation is like being waterboarded.” –Paul Graham, founder of Y Combinator
This quote was from a recent issue of Inc. magazine, but I don’t really like it that much.  It takes a pretty negative outlook on both start-ups and “normal” [...]

Celebrating One Year of “Retirement”

It’s pretty exciting to have made it a full year on my own without having to look for another job.  Still, with the Internet and the economy changing so fast, nothing is certain.
Last summer for example, I fell victim to the “Google Slap” and lost 75%+ of my traffic and revenue for three months.  Stressful.  [...]

New Boots, Courtesy of Shoeline.com

I knew I’d made the big time when Shoeline.com offered to send me a pair of any shoes on their site for free.  They are a relatively new partner on Shoes ‘R Us but the early results have been great.  And since this is the first pair of free shoes I’ve gotten in my 5 [...]

Mt. Baker Climb

Mt. Baker has been on my to-do list for a long time, and Chris and I finally got down to it this past weekend.  At an elevation of 10,781 ft, it is the 4th highest peak in Washington* and the second most-glaciated after Mt. Rainier.  For me, it was the last of the five Washington [...]

Smart vs. Effective

The passage below is an excerpt from Mike Garvey’s article in the Spring 2009 UW Foster School of Business magazine.  I thought it was a great story to keep in mind the next time someone calls you “smart.”
When an academic or lawyer calls someone “smart,” it is meant as a compliment.  It usually means that [...]

I Needed a Triple for the Cycle…

… And had two chances to get it during last night’s softball game.
My first chance I was walked on four straight pitches.  I’m not saying it was an “intentional” walk, but these balls weren’t even close.  I mean who wants to walk in softball?  If it’s close, I’m swinging.
My second chance I hit a rocket [...]

I Won $6.8 Million (Tips For Spammers)

And all I have to do to claim my winnings is send my bank account information to some guy in Nigeria with a hotmail email address.   Here is the super-official text of my winning notification:
From: House Of The Senate House
Subject: Attn
This is to officially inform you that 6.8 Million Dollars has been credited
to you. for [...]

OK, I’m Not a Power Hitter

So when I hit an opposite-field inside-the-park home run in Tuesday’s softball game, it was kind of a big deal.  I think it was my first home run of any kind since I was 12.
Did you know?
The Major League record for the longest homer-less streak belongs to Bill Holbert, who singled his way to that [...]

After 10 Years…

Bryn and I are engaged!  No immediate plans for a wedding, but at least she’s got a shiny ring.
This is a fun timeline. Watch as she just gets prettier and prettier, while I just lose more hair.  Good thing I’ve got her locked in now!
1999 – Hanging out back in the day

2000 – College visits, [...]