2024-08-29 - 11:42 a.m.

I am starting late working today as my body needed rest after a bad night's 😴
Due to pain in leg, .
RIGHT Shins and KNEE

I ran yesterday. I expect a little bit of pain. I did not take anything but perhaps an anti-inflammatory would have been smart.

I know this is normal and not an alarming amount of discomfort so 🤷 just waited it out and fell in and out of sleep. I had been asleep 😴 when boyfriend came to bed after his moonlighting work ( 3am?).

Trouble was when he cane to bed it took me quite a while to fall back asleep. Unusual gor me but tye pain was there throbbing and stabbing in my right shin.

I awake stiff bit after move a bit it is OK and the pain mitigated.

My boyfriend is up nights after a late afternoon or early eve nap after the day job work ( typically) programming til wee hrs

As ready to roll out his 👶, his creation.

He built a social network and almost sold it 30 yrs ago and was in negotiations with a large company. Then the VP who wanted to roll that out got fired. Deal fizzled.

Thus is another 😎 cool thing. Geeky. Maintain privacy so won't say. Almost ready for full official launch. I should plan a party 🥳 for him!

In past, years ago when he built a social network ( pre Facebook) AOL had been couring him for years, trying to get him on board. He Said no first hoping to sell his product. Came close. Deal died and he said ok to AOL...

Then joined them. Weirdly

It was after my ex who worked there left them!

Weirdly ha has exact job title which is bizarre.

He was one of those dudes you envision programming in their garage, but he doesn't have a garage but instead was literally programming from a rented home with a pack of friends that ran a company out of it while he couch surfed for years fresh out of college. He had a rented bed in a crappy trailer, the owner of which was an actor constantly auditioning and never landing parts while waiting tables who increasingly was getting depressed it sounds like so the dude was more of a slob than imaginable for living in a trailer. My boyfriend just kinda used that as an address and literally couch surfed for years when trying to
sell his product.

Then came AOL years of the huge sinking ship throwing lifeboats off the side where he bounced from boat to boat alongside the CTO trying to keep viable projects going while cutting off other projects and letting the main ship sink, 🚢 is how he describes his years at AOL as it whittled down to one small remaining vessel.

He came in after the bubble. Lol. Had he said yes to AOL initially and not gone solo when built his first product I think trajectory would have been different. I would likely not have met him when did for sure!

He left AOL then went elsewhere and has been in the same place rest of his career.

Honestly think if a yr ago he got some seed angel investors and hired talent he could more easily launch this brain child. But some don't get it that collaboration can make you stronger and more likely to succeed big. And some don't really WANT that but just want to do what they love! So be it.
Amen
He is happy doing his thing. I don't think he wants to be pushed out of his comfort zone like a larger success would demand. He wants the joy of creating the cool things. I respect that. More the artist personality than businessman.

✔️ with what I value for sure!!

It's fun yo watch someone joyfully doing work they love.

Ok so back at it for me. Done ✍️/ procrastinating.

I have a doc to draft.

My gut tells me not yo spend too much time as I am billable

The thing is I have worked with this potential partner so many times ( for other smalls) that this time around I know this may be a good chance its just a waste of time and money.

For real

Some partners are not trustworthy.

My client is courting a player

I know it.

I think they know it 🤔

I will tell them our next call....but so be it. I will draft a contract to send the player. But I won't play the ridiculous game of letting them enter a protracted negotiation and suck up time and money with this small biz if it's BS and they are not going to really step up to plate.

Not worth the small's time.

I have already done that with this potential partner numerous times for the naive.

Don't want to have a preconceived judgment however so trying to enter this work optimistically. But leadership needs to know " trust but verify" for this one. The potential partner in my view has a shitty rep.

Success in business I think is contingent on:

Not trying to do it all oneself. And
Choosing your partners wisely.

I read about successfully family owned businesses. #1 tip there was the ones that last -
Diversify
Give leadership to family only when the fam first work elsewhere to lean skills and prove self after education . ( Kudos HHHunt who did this. N Carolina company) Education and knowledge first, then skill building.

Grow into leadership only if good fit.

But the successful family owned smalls diversify! They run multiple businesses with divergent things/ in divergent markets! I bet based on passions interests of those doing the work! And

They let those not great invite business world still have skin in the game of family businesses ( if they want) by- this is brilliant to me for the wealthy, being involved working in the non-profit philanthropy part of portfolio putting energy into their passions doing social good. 👏 ( Again kudos to HHHunt....again a family business that diversified then sold off the part that was the spun off. It was sorta social good. Healthcare. They did it well in Assisten Living but then sold at a profit. Again...tge way fam biz makes money..not sure about any non profit bit I would not be surprised if they run one).

With non profits, family foundations,
The business gurus thereby support good work and passion projects of the others in their fam which do provide social good. It was a Mackinsey (Mckinsey? ) article I found parsing this out. Non profits dont actually need to be profitable, but balance their books and have enough reserve to keep going and exist. Can funnel corporate donations from the profitable businesses into the nonprofit for good work to be done while getting a tax write off. It's the way ot works for the most successful family owned businesses.

I think this can work on a small scale!

My goal is to viability follow that model as can, but in the container of the profitable small business only for starters. Not with non profit philanthropy but actual by finding or creating profitable part time meaningful work for my fam who want to work part time in areas they are qualified for.

Diversification based on their education, experience and interests of my college grads that are not currently able yo work full time as they have sone chronic health issues is the goal/ plan.

As a small business I am not subject to EEOC hiring at this building of a family business stage. And hey , I started my business to find work of those valuable not finding work on their own honestly! My whole business model is really to grow by finding work for folks to do their thing they do well PART time at a livable wage for their disabled bodies rather thsn be reliant on SSDI to be quite honest!

I can help support family a bit to try to find meaningful work they can do as disabled people.

Worth it to set intention and think of plan
Then take time for next step action items
Project planning
And pushing each to move forward.

Steps are being taken little at a time as they can manage.

Weekly business meetings with family are on my agenda now. To help project manage their goals just a little.

Guide and encourage as they figure it out.

One currently is an" intern" who with a bit more training and work on project plan I think soon may be ready to jump in doing work for a client.

Also watching for part time postings that they might like ( actual job with others). If they find one great. That adult child wrnt to a professional conference and it was great. Learned much. Validated knows much! Yes! There were trainings with info my kid knows exceptionally well that the field I am in is just pay8ng attention to. So the kid can have real added value to help move that knowledge and understanding and best practices forward.

Ok. Back to work for my paying client. Will be positive this potential partner of theirs is genuinely interested and won't ghost them.

( Trying to forget the times they ghosted others I worked for in the past!! I feel like when I was an RA and watched the older student fall in love with the guy I knew was a junkie....but I had confidentiality obligations so could not straight up TELL her the FACTS I knew and HOW knew them

" By the way I know your boyfriend shoots up. Look for tracks and ask questions."

But knowing she was very naive I did feel an obligation to let her know there were rumors he was a hard drug user and she should look into them. I did let her know , I couldn't not. I tried to be tactful .

Sometimes there is no possibility and usefulness for tactful.

NDAs are not something I will violate however.

So in this case really have to give benefit of doubt.

Weirdly isn't the meaning of that the other way around? Benefit of non-doubt?

Is it really only a benefit when do have doubt if one pays attention to it to avoid bad decisions?

Yeah, I believe do. The phrase " benefit of doubt" is really actually used with the opposite meaning of the literal words.

I will do the assigned task. Not violate an NDA
But do it " good enough" to:
Minimize risk. And
Minimize Billable hrs for my client.

And can hint about the rumors and bad rep of the " player" potential partner who Courts everyone but never heads to the alter but for once in a while only to ghost the expectant bride at the altar.

This parter doesn't like to share.
I swear they will create some spin off company 😒 total legal
With same damn team players from their core home team
But call it a different company then compete for the very work that some small brought to them.

People. Always sign your NDA and TAs with particularly of scope of work and exclusivity.

Gov con space can get ugly.

I just hope to find some obscure arty grants without much competition cause few artists understand the overly complex strange workd of fed procurement, for others.

While I keep rocking the art of contract management.

( And hope someday to master the art of understanding socially and professionally when to speak up and when to remain silent!)

�

�