The Road Less Traveled pt2

By Brandon Gaskins

    My vision for Idea Tank75 is to not help rebuild our communities through small business endeavors. For example, someone in the community bakes the best cakes you have ever tasted and they need one thousand dollars to start a home bakery, or someone wants to sponsor, charter bus trips and need fifteen hundred for the down payment and someone else needs seven hundred dollars to start a crafting business. Well Idea Tank75 through networking events can bring those people together along with community investors to fund their business endeavors. The website will be used not only for information but also a place where users can connect with one another to discuss small business endeavors and community development.

 Everyone deserves to live a life they can be proud of and one that affords them the time to pursue their interest. You should not have to compromise your happiness and your dreams because you do not have the right resources or connections. There a literally millions of people across the world that have great ideas which can impact the lives of us all.        

   Idea Tank75 has become my life's mission,I refuse to allow doubt and fear stop me and you from impacting the lives of so many people. I started a blog called ideatank75.blogspot.com a few months back, my blog is all about providing positive information with a focus on encouraging entrepreneurship. I recently realized that without the proper networking, I am limited in the number of lives I can impact.This is why I have a project on Kickstarter, to reach a larger number people to join our community.

  Once I am able to reach my funding goal I plan to use the money to enhance my blog or convert to a website, trademarking my logo, incorporate my blog into a business,place a down payment on a small location to host my first networking event, promotion,a camera to record this event and to take pictures with. Any other funds will be used to seek out guest speakers and those with resources to enhance my event. After my first successful networking event in Baltimore,Md I plan to travel to nearby cities to continue spreading the word and building our community. 

  In order to get the word out about my project, I will not only use social media but I will be in the public eye promoting myself, similar to that of a politician during election season. I will be out with my signs communicating with everyone I meet. I will be giving away free water and other low cost items (with my own money) as a way to encourage the support of my project. I will not be promoting a few days a week, instead I will be doing this everyday even after my goal is met. By funding my project you will not only be changing my life but possibly, changing the life of every person I meet. I know that with your help we can help create entrepreneurs and help people retire comfortably.

The only risk or challenge I face are the ones I place on myself by not committing myself 100% everyday. I am convinced that with properly networking there is nothing to stop us from changing our lives. I recently left my full time job so I can devote the bulk of my time and energy to grow Idea Tank75.

The Road Less Traveled

By Brandon Gaskins

    There are literally millions of bloggers across the globe, who on a daily, weekly or monthly cycle post topics they feel their readers would be interested in reading. Some do this for a hobby, some do it for feedback but there are a small few that do it for a living. However if you asked most bloggers, if they would like to turn their blog into a business, the overwhelming answer would be yes. Unfortunately, most bloggers will never be able to live out that dream of being a business owner, for various reasons.

   First of all the internet is saturated with websites that may offer the same content you offer and much more, so its hard to build a loyal following. Secondly, most bloggers have full time jobs that take up the bulk of their time that could be used to develop their blogs and promote their blogs to the general public. Also, many bloggers focus too much attention on what other bloggers are doing, this keeps their blog from being unique. In my opinion, the number one reason why many bloggers fail at turning their blog ideas into a business is because they only focus on putting information on their blog, they don't think outside the box and envision their blog as being part of  a larger business.

    When I envisioned Idea Tank75, I immediately thought of it as a business first and a blog second. My dilemma came when I tried to eek out small time periods to develop my idea. I shortly realized if I was going to do this I had to downsize my lifestyle and commit myself to pursuing my dream and not live my life building someones else dream. This required me to leave my full time job as a bus driver and the management position they offered me. The decision to leave was not a hard one because for one, I was not happy and two in my heart I know if I commit myself and endure the early periods of fear and doubt, I could turn my idea into a very successful business.  Next I had to make sure Idea Tank75 was not just a business that I could benefit from but a business that could impact the lives of many many people; and after many conversations with myself and other people I think I have accomplished that.

    So now the only thing left for me to do was put my plan into action, oh wait I need funds to make this possible. This is where many people (including myself for a brief period) give up, if they do not already have the funds or the credit needed to acquire the funds. This is another stage of conquering your fears and doubts. I began to research other avenues of fund raising and stumbled upon Kickstarter, which is a crowdfunding website that allows people to invest in ideas with small amounts of money. For example, you want to start a mobile oil change business but you need seven thousand dollars to start the business, well crowdfunding allows you to raise that money by presenting to many investors who give small amounts of money (even $1). You as the potential business owner give rewards for the dollar amount donated. Using the same mobile oil change business, for one dollar you may offer a simple e-card but for a thirty dollar donation you may offer a free oil change; The higher the donation, the better the reward.

    So I decided to start my own crowdfunding campaign for Idea Tank75; as I researched other campaigns I noticed that more campaigns go unfunded than those that get fully funded. The reason is many people don't market and promote their campaignss to successfully fund their projects. So after much soul searching I have decided to take my fundraising to the public before i put it on a crowdfunding platform, so investors can see that I am dedicated to building Idea Tank75 into a business. My next post will show what my campaign  looks like so far.

Broke Is The New Rich

By: Brandon Gaskins

    Most people will never know whats its like to be homeless and penny less, but for those who have dreams and the commitment to follow their hearts will tell you, being broke was probably the best thing to ever happen to them. When you are at your lowest point, that's when you find out what your really made of and if those around you really want to see you succeed. The following people found themselves at their lowest points but instead of giving up, they followed their hearts and became a success.

    Chris Gardner was accepted into a Dean Witter Reynolds trainee program for finance, despite not having any experience or a college degree. The meager salary was not enough to live off and so Chris was forced to live on the streets of New York with his young son. The movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness", was based off his life. Chris is the CEO of Gardner Rich LLC, a New York Times bestselling author and a motivational speaker.

    Oscar award winning actress, Halle Berry has beauty that is timeless and you would think her looks kept her from ever having to deal with being broke or homeless. However when Berry was in her early twenties she moved to Chicago to chase her dreams of becoming an actress. She soon ran out of money and her mother thought it would be best if she did not send Halle any money. Halle admitted she had to sleep in homeless shelters until things turned around for her.

Jim Carrey an In Loving Color alumni, is arguably one of the funniest men on the planet. Before Jim became a Hollywood superstar he was broke and homeless. Carrey dropped out of high school and lived out of a VW camper, before eventually living out of a tent on his oldest sister lawn. Its been nothing but green pastures since then.

Ella Fitzgerald, to many is the best jazz female vocalist of all time. Before Ella received 13 Grammy awards and medals from President Reagan and President George H. Bush, she would deal with being abused by her step father, being a runaway and working for the mafia. She was discovered when she got up the nerve to perform at the famous Apollo theater in 1934.

Most Know Daniel Craig as the action hero star 007 or James Bond. What they don't know is Daniel slept on park benches in London before he got his big break.

Sylvester Stallone is one of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood, he has played easy to love characters, Rambo and Rocky. Before Stallone got his first paying role in a softcore adult movie titled, "The Party at Kitty and Studs" in which he was paid $200 for two days, Stallone spent 3 weeks sleeping at the, port authority bus station.

You Deserve To Do What You Love

By: Brandon Gaskins

    Have you ever heard the phrase, "Do what you have to, until you can do what you want to"? I would tell myself this everyday as I went to work at a job I hated. I was miserable and did not see an end to my misery. Everyday I would wake up around 4:00am, averaging about five hours of sleep a day. I could literally feel my body aging everyday, I was "running on fumes". I drove buses and straight trucks, I chose this profession because I like to travel, love the outdoors and enjoy physical activity. I have had several office jobs that bored me completely, one office job had me in a cubicle facing a brick wall and my internet access was restricted, I hated it so much but it paid the bills.

    Well unless we are ready to downsize our lifestyle, we will always have bills that keep us, doing what we have to in order to pay bills. Why buy a house or even a new car if you are not happy at your profession or if your profession does not allow you the financial freedom to make those purchases using your own money. How can you say, "I just bought a house", when all your doing is making payments on one, what you just purchased was a financial burden. 

    The truth is we create our own road blocks, we make the decisions that keep us from living a life we can be happy with, instead of a life being contempt or just plain miserable. Some of us love to write, others love to work with their hands and some enjoy public speaking, regardless of whatever you love to do, you deserve to be able to do it as a profession. When you are miserable it affects you and everyone else around you.  The same goes when you have joy in your heart, we have all seen that person who is always smiling, always has a positive attitude, its infectious and admirable. You have to make the decisions that will put you closer to doing the things you love to do.   

    Sure there is a risk in pursuing your passions but there is an even greater risk on settling for a job that does not satisfy you. Being miserable affects your physical and mental health. We have all heard the term, "going postal" referring to postal workers, whose anger for their job boils over and the postal worker has a violent outburst. Postal workers are paid a pretty good salary but it requires so much of your time and energy. You will never hear a postal worker or correctional officer say, "I am doing what I love to do". A good paying job could never replace the joy from doing what you love to do, and over time your earnings can surpass that of a dead end job.

The Key To Closing The Economic Gap Is To Encourage Entrepreneurship In Our Children

By: Brandon Gaskins

    This past June, thousands of students graduated from educational institutions across the country. Some went on to continue their education at other educational facilities, while others went on to become working adults; contributing, unknowingly to the capitalistic culture of America. I was one of those proud parents attending my daughters fifth grade graduation. However unlike many parents who attended the graduation I knew in a very short amount of time she would be graduating from high school. I then had to ask myself am I doing everything I can to put her in a position to be successful, sadly that answer is no. Sure I do my part to make sure my children have morals and values, I make sure they respect themselves and others. I even try to encourage them to chase their dreams and not settle for being an employee but that is not enough. 

    If, I want my children to face their fears and pursue a path that is less traveled then I must do the same. It is not enough for me to tell my children to follow their dreams, I have to set the example and take the necessary steps to pursue my own goals. As parents we have a favorite saying, "don't do as I do, do as I say". We say this because we have already adopted bad habits that interfere with us becoming the best person we can be.  Many parents are not financially sound and are not doing enough to make sure their elder years are not spent in despair, trying to make ends meet. We go through life expecting the best, but not doing enough to get the best results. We work two jobs, sign up for as much overtime our employers offer and still we find ourselves falling deeper into debt.

    We may not realize this but everyday the cost of living increases, our dollars are buying less and less and employers are not willing to increase our wages. The average employee will only receive a fifty cent raise on their yearly evaluations, meanwhile that raise will get absorbed by the cost of living, leaving the employee unable to have any kind of social mobility. So many parents are pleased when their children reach the age where they can contribute financially to the household. While this seems like a natural progression, it is one that is stifling most working class families ability to close the economic gap. When young adults are not encouraged to pursue the dreams or motivated to become entrepreneurs, their future income is drastically reduced.

  You don't need an independent study to know that young adults who do not settle for the workforce an instead opt to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors make more than their counterparts and I would imagine they are much more happier. So instead of motivating our youth to get underpaying jobs that will leave them unsatisfied and unmotivated, encourage them to pursue those things that make them happy and then help them find a way to turn that passion into a business.

    

Call To Arms

By Brandon Gaskins

                                                                                                                                                                        My intentions for Idea Tank75 is for it not to be just another personal blog, I want it to become a community blog that grows into a movement, bringing citizens together to create economic change using our own resources. Their is so much more that needs to be done and I am going to need help. If you are a cartoonist, guest blogger, journalist, photographer, someone who needs to be interviewed or a person of interest, a small business owner or citizen that can provide knowledge and resources please email me at ideatank75@gmail.com . Although I cannot pay you for your services, I will gladly provide you with a platform to be seen and express yourself.

Where Is Your Faith?

By Brandon Gaskins

    Ask most people where does their faith lay and they will point to their religion; I question why they are not able to separate the two.   I am not here to judge one's belief or spiritual healing, just as long as you are in the business of spreading love. In my opinion, religions are great at providing someone who is depleted spiritually a base to rebuild themselves from the inside out. No person can become the best person they can be without having a spiritual base and a purpose. Most people find the latter of the two hard to achieve.  Living your life with a purpose requires great sacrifices and a lot of patience. However if you do not have faith you will never be able to live a purposeful life.

It is no small task to say I am going to live the rest of my life not taking the traditional path that everyone else takes, that I am willing to become the hunter instead of being hunted. Meaning you are willing to pursue your dreams instead of expecting things to happen on their own. The reason why there are not more entrepreneurs is because people are scared of taking a risk, they are so dependent on a paycheck that they never get a chance to live a life where their dreams can become a reality.

    So many of us claim to have faith, when in reality most have little to none. Its the reason why we idolize celebrities and athletes so much, because we try to live vicariously through their success,instead of focus our attention on achieving our own dreams. You cannot measure your success by what someone else has done with their life. You have you own path to follow and that may not mean fame and fortune. However do not despair because we know fame and fortune sometimes comes with a price we are not willing to pay. If you dream of becoming your own boss, you must be determined and driven. You must stay the course when the waters get rough and doubt is tapping you on the shoulder. Life will not allow you to just simply wish things would change, it forces you to make decisions that will affect how you will live your life. Have the faith and courage to make the tough decisions or life will choose for you.

10 Tax Benefits Small Business Owners May Not Be Aware Of (Including Writers)

By Brandon Gaskins

1. 50% of your business related meals are covered, be sure to keep receipt.
2. 100% of your business related meals (including rental space and catering) and entertainment (including recreational facilities) are covered, if you are promoting goodwill in the community.
3. Any and all cost related to advertising including website design and hosting fees.
4. If you have a home office you can deduct a portion of your rent, if you buy property that you will be using for business purposes you can deduct a portion of your taxes due to depreciation. 
5. Business travel expenses for conferences, seminars, classes and tours are covered, including flight and hotel. However meals are only covered at 50%.
6. 100% of your health insurance is deductible.
7. Hiring an editor or proof reader is 100% deductible.

   

   Bright ideas start with a connection
   

                                                                                                                                                                                                            

8. Vehicle expenses used for business purposes including maintenance and gasoline, be sure to record mileage.
9. Bad debt due to not being paid by a client; if you claimed the expected income on that years taxes but was never paid you can deduct that loss the following year as bad debt.
10. 100% of your rental car fees are deductible however any personal usage must be subtracted from the amount used as a tax deduction. 

Dont Let Financial Burderns Stop You From Chasing Your Dreams

By: Brandon Gaskins

                                           

   Financial burdens are those material objects that absorb an abundance of our income instead of making us money. The secret is out, America's culture as a collective is to shop shop shop. We are so far removed from the notion that we can become our own boss so we try to spend like one. Even when you become your own boss you should avoid the pitfalls of financial burdens. 

   Most financial burdens occur when people try to present an image that is far removed from their actual income; they try to present an image of someone that has expensive taste and can afford to make big ticket purchases without it affecting their lifestyle. Their chasing a status that says, I am better than you because my car is better than yours,my house is better than yours and my clothes cost more than your rent. Sit on the bus stop for awhile and you will get looks of superiority from many drivers that look your way, even though they are driving in cars they cannot afford. You ever see someone driving an expensive car like they are they only person on the road. They feel as though certain common sense rules do not apply to them because they are in an expensive vehicle. What about the person driving an Audi but living in an apartment or the person that pays $2,000 a month for a rental property they will never own. We spend so much time trying to follow public opinion on what a successful life entails that we fail to listen to our inner voices that beckons us to follow our hearts and dreams to become the best person we can be.

Your wants are just that , wants; you have everything you will ever need to succeed but you continue to look around for your wants. The truth is, if we put forth the same effort chasing our dreams, that we use to chase our wants, we would have all those things and more. You do not have to compromise on your happiness, you don't have to purchase your happiness, it is already a part of who you are. Depression and doubt sets in when we stop believing we can make a difference in our lives and those around us. You were not put on this earth to work for someone else your entire adulthood and live a stressful, unfulfilled life. You were put here to learn, grow and make a difference; you cannot allow other entities to dictate how you will live while on this planet. Live your life with a purpose, as if your mission is to follow your dreams and inspire others to live their dreams as well. If you look around and your unsatisfied with the life you have created for yourself, then maybe its time to hit the reset button and focus on that energy which will bring you closer to your dreams; do not forget to show appreciation to those that assist you with trying to follow your heart.

Think of Yourself as A Business, Before You Become A Business Owner

By Brandon Gaskins

                                                                        

   All businesses started from an idea, it then became the responsibility of that person to do their due diligence to see that idea develop into a business.What does that mean? Well it means you will have to make some sacrifices that you may not be ready for. There is alot of reading, writing and planning that goes into starting a business. Your personal, social and financial life will all have to take a backseat to following your dream. Many recommend quitting your full time job and instead take a part time job or find a service/product you can offer the public. You will have to free up plenty of time to devote to your new business venture. Remember, starting a business is not a part time job, it is a life changing event.

   Their is nothing wrong with wanting nice things but you have to make sure you can afford it and the purchase makes sense. The housing market collapse that happened just a few years ago showed us how people wants were being preyed upon when it came to buying a house. From the moment you become an adult you are told the "American Dream" is home ownership, so its no wonder why so many would sign up for almost any type of home loan. The same goes for car loans, home leases and credit cards, these financial burdens account for the majority of many paychecks. If you ever want to become a business owner you are going to have to stop creating financial burdens. Once you become a business owner you can have those things and much more.

   You will never hear a business owner say,"I'm just working for the weekend". If you do, they wont be a business owner for long. In today's global market, business owners scamper to find ways to market their product or service and spend countless hours doing so. Your business is a product of the work you put into building and maintaining it. The energy you put into properly writing a business plan, handing out business cards, using your public library to give a presentation, all of these steps bring you closer to achieving your goal of building your business or brand. It is an absolute must that you do everything you can to change your lifestyle so that you are the business before one even exists. Even your dress should change, you should have some business and business casual attire in your closet.