Hard to believe that we are halfway through 2018 already! You probably don’t want to hear this but, as of this writing, we’re less than 115 days until Halloween, 135 days until Thanksgiving weekend (including Black Friday and Small Business Saturday) and 170 days until Christmas. Hopefully you’re already planning for these events…now is the time!
Over the past several days, the thought has come to me multiple times to highlight and share with you some of the fun things Kristen and I have been up to since January 1st. There is so much more that we are investing our time and resources into than just teaching online classes. We stay pretty busy, but it’s a very focused kind of busy.
Online Training…
This year has brought with it some really fun trainings, courses and resources! It’s been really cool to share what I’ve been doing with Public Domain content, kid’s books and more! Here is a list of what I’ve covered so far this year…
- Advanced Ecom Design
- Public Domain Ecom Design
- Public Domain Book Hacks
- Pop Scenes Art
- Kid’s Book Challenge
- Genealogy Detectives: Records
- Hybrid Illustration Styles
- Content Kickstart
- Coloring Book Kickstart
You can learn more about them over at Expert Media Hub (https://www.expertmediahub.com/courses)
What the future holds…. While I believe in planning ahead, I’m also someone who very much believes in staying flexible enough to shift and adapt quickly as needed. That said, I do have a few things planned for later 2018. Here are some current thoughts (all subject to change)…
- Genealogy Detectives: DNA (mid-August)
- Creative Design Academy (End of July)
- Kid’s Book Challenge 2.0 (Fall 2018)
- Public Domain Image Hacks (Fall 2018)
- Photography Kickstart (Late Summer 2018)
- Public Domain Kickstart (Fall 2018)
These may all happen…or not…and, knowing myself, I can also guarantee there will be new training ideas that haven’t come to me yet. It’s how I roll! There are a few more older (but awesome) courses I plan to retire this year, so watch for those special deals. And I’m also exploring the possibility of turning some of my bestseller digital courses into physical courses with DVDs, printed manuals and more! More details to come.
Nerd Unscripted
On April 3rd I began a new, weekly webinar series called, Nerd Unscripted. The weekly live sessions and replays are free (you can register and catch the replays here: https://www.nerdunscripted.com). Each week I share random topics that are interesting to me or that I’ve experienced in life. Many of these are topics can be controversial, insightful or forward-thinking. Here is what we’ve talked about so far…
- Show 1: Introduction to the Show
- Show 2: UFO’s, Aliens and Alternate Realities
- Show 3: The Importance and Influence of Mentors
- Show 4: Location-Based Energetic Trauma
- Show 5: The Connection Between Dispersion, Language and Your DNA
- Show 6: The Experiments>
- Show 7: Disclosure Through Cinema
- Show 8: Special Guest Elaine Ireland (Psychic and Tarot Reader)
- Show 9: What If? The Transforming Power of Questions
- Show 10: Gratitude: A Force to Reckon With
- Show 11: Part Two – Taking Responsibility
- Show 12: Hello From the Other Side
- Show 13: Days of Future Past
- Show 14: Good & Evil vs. Cause & Effect
I’ve had a LOT of fun with this show and have plans to explore many more rabbit holes, book reviews, more special guests and more NERD!
Retail Stores
Last July, Kristen and I opened our first retail store, Toy Box Gifts & Wonder. June 1st this year we opened store #2, Nerdvana Outpost (yes…2 stores in 11 months). We’ve learned a LOT about retail since then…it’s a LOT different (and more expensive) than selling online. So why do it? The simplest answer is that we wanted to invest in our community. When teaching online, we can reach the world. While that’s an amazing privilege, local people are the ones we see daily. And so to be able to interact with children and parents face-to-face on a daily or weekly basis is something we’ve missed and cannot experience online. Also, we want to make a difference in our town and in the lives of children, teens and adults. We are doing that through providing awesome products and through creating shopping experiences our customers will remember. We are also providing local jobs, which we love! Currently we have 10 full or part-time employees between our two stores.
Toy Box Gifts & Wonder focuses on children birth to 12-years-old. We’ve been shifting it to a battery-free store model and have increased our vision related to dinosaurs, education and special needs children.
Nerdvana Outpost serves the 13+ crowd with a focus on nerd collectibles, gaming and pop culture. We keep a very active promo schedule for both stores with in-store events, sponsored events, video, social media and more!
If you like, you can keep up with what we’re doing with our stores on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/toyboxgifts/
https://www.facebook.com/nerdvanaoutpost/
What does the future hold for our retail adventures? Plenty! We have several new retail stores planned…a Candy Store and Ice Cream Parlor, a Rock Shop and Gem Mine, a Book Store and Writer’s Co-op and others.We’ll see how it all plays out but we have a plan…a 10-year plan…that we’re following like a playbook. Should be one heck of a ride!
In Summary…
You’ve probably noticed that I’m doing a LOT with Nerd-related topics…a weekly Nerd show, a Nerd-focused ecom store and a Nerd retail store! What’s up with that? It’s simple…a year ago I made a choice to fully embrace what makes me “me” without worrying about what other people thought…to be true to myself. The revelation was simple…I’m a nerd and have always been one. I collect toys, love research, geek out on science and math stuff, love playing games and practically live in pop culture t-shirts…total NERD! But I also LOVE children’s books, photography, the public domain and more. So when you look at what I’m spending my time, energy and money on, it really comes down to embracing (and loving) who I am and why I’m here on this planet. And I have to tell you, it’s incredibly rewarding! You should try it!
