July 2018: What's Ahead, 3 New Mini-Experiments & My Goal For The Month
What's ahead for the month of July?
Here are some rapid-fire insights on my horizon as well as three new experiments.
While I had a larger client temporarily pull back significantly on the monthly batch count in July, I've had several other companies quickly fill in the vacuum (thank you Jesus!). I am relieved and grateful for the change, which helps keep me agile.
At the conclusion of June, we had a slight surplus of dollars allowing us to pay extra on our Kia Sedona payment, meaning we only owe $1,170.83 on the minivan! We'll pay it off in August, a month ahead of schedule. I'm already eyeing the obliteration of our remaining student loans, now sitting just north of $30k. With $2,600 payments per month, they'll be done within a year.
Last month, I only published three new blogs, down from my average of twelve. This month, I'm ramping my activities back up and my rejuvenated state is excited to make it happen. Expect to see twelve or thirteen published articles by month's end with additional future posts in the hopper. The machine will continue until I tally a total of 400 published articles, likely sometime in November.
The Goal For July 2018
Earlier this year, my monthly goal list included multiple items which got trimmed down to three. Last month, I cut it down to one, which will be where it stays for the foreseeable future.
And that one is moving my second book (The Jump - Launching the Perpetual Small Business Forward) to the next stage. I'm 20% complete reading through it from beginning to end. My goal this month is to finish this pass. My stretch goal is to read and edit it along the way twice.
Sandboxing My Life
This is the area where I share new things I'm trying out, and how well they're working (or not).
New Experiments
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There is a tool called Trim that negotiates better rates on recurring personal bills. I signed up, but need to explore it further.
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One of the service offerings I provide to my small business clients is growing teams. While working with numerous companies over the past few years, I've tapped into some great talent, but they're also limited in how much they can contribute. I can't bring them all to every customer! As a result, I've now been experimenting with an Upwork alternative called Freeeup. What's great about them is they filter the freelancers and much of their process and expectations is similar to my Path Of The Freelancer approach to freelancing. My experience so far has been positive and I'm now an affiliate of their company.
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Last year, I traded my services to go through the Leader Lyceum leadership program. It was a terrific anticipated experience. This year, I'm experimenting with compensation on a new project where I get paid half my hourly rate ($45 instead of $90/hour) but when we complete our objectives, I'll get paid $180/hour for the time I've accumulated in the process. There is a pool of shared risk between myself and my client (should we fail), but there's also a compelling reward for finishing the mission. The risk married with an expectation of some compensation allows me to benefit without the risk of walking away empty handed.
Existing Experiment Updates
I don't have anything new to report on existing experiments. Check back in next month for updates.
What about you? Have you written down your goals for the month of July? When it ends, what do you hope to accomplish?
Hero Photo by Josh Bedford on Unsplash
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