I’m getting antsy. I’ve finished my dissertation writing and have 1 month before my defense. Since I don’t have a ‘formal job’ to go to on a daily basis and I spend my days managing products orders, writing articles & blogs, consulting, and providing training services….I’m getting impatient to move in to the next phase of my business transition. That being, open up a physical address and start training people hands on, on a daily basis again. I’m still waiting to hear about the outcome of the facility in Apex and my eagerness to get going is leading me to think I might just move down to the Apex/Cary/Raleigh area next week. I’ve got an apartment deal already set up from when I was down there a couple weeks back and by moving there I’d at least be able to begin pounding the pavement to make connections, move in to an apartment, incorporate in NC (oddly, I’m currently incorporated in CA), and potentially start making equipment orders for the facility. I haven’t been able to do the last 2 things because I don’t have a physical address in NC. I might even be able to start taking on some clients if I am able to train people at local parks, tracks, or even globo-gym fitness centers. My wife and daughter would likely stay in OH for a while until I get settled. Then I’d go back and drive down with them and all our stuff (which I’d probably leave in OH if I go to NC next week).

One of my tools for getting things done is keeping what amounts to an online version of a whiteboard and making sure I add tasks to the whiteboard as they arise and then check them off when I’ve finished the task. Adding them helps me remember what I need to do…something which isn’t easy if you have difficulty focusing like I do. Checking them off gives you a little ‘reward’ for getting things done and makes it easier to track how much and what you’re doing. To this end, I’ve found it’s even beneficial to sub-divide major tasks in to parts. This is because the mere act of checking things off the list is kinda therapeutic and a good motivator to keep knocking things out. The web tool I use web 2.0 is a site called Gubb. There are tons of options out there and I played with many of them but this one was definitely the best for me. It allows me to handle my daily tasks and categorize them in to different areas. The workflow is SUPER simple and really easy to use….kinda like a whiteboard with benefits (you can share lists, access them remotely, have Gubb text them to you when you’re away, etc). I’d played around with plenty of other GTD tools but in the end my ADHD brain found the work flow too complicated. To ensure that I get things done on a daily basis and don’t leave anything lagging too far behind, I’ve come up with a rule of 10. Each day, I make sure that I get AT LEAST 10 things checked off my various lists. Some days this can be relatively easy and I might get 15-20 things done if the tasks I do don’t take much time. In general though, things balance out. And on average it ensures I get quite a bit done every day. Setting my objective at 10 tasks also sets a very realistic and readily attainable goal for the day. Setting expectations too high always leads to decreased productivity because it inevitably leads to the dreaded ‘where do I start’ syndrome. If you’ve got a lot on your plate and need to manage your daily todos, try out Gubb and use the rule of 10 (or whatever arbitrary number you see fit). If it helps let me know.

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You may have noticed that one thing that was conspicuously absent from my update yesterday was any mention of my upcoming relocation to the Triangle area of NC. The reason there wasn’t an update was because I’ve been placed in a holding pattern. The building that I was going to lease is apparently being sold which makes any leasing agreements impossible. In fact, it potentially puts the use of that building in question because it really is (was?) an UNBELIEVABLE bargain. In 2 years of looking at facilities, this one was by far the cheapest I had seen for the size (3,000 sqft). And I know if I just purchased the building I’d probably be looking to get much more in monthly payments out of it than what the current owner is getting. Sooooo, right now I’m just waiting to hear what the plan is with this facility: whether it’s being sold; and if so, what the plans of the new owner are.

Wow. Long time no see…and much has happened. I don’t know where to start so here’s a quick rundown:

1. I got deathly ill. DEATHLY. At least that’s what it felt like. I’m still not feeling well. I think I got a bacterial infection from my father-in-law by way of my daughter. I’ve consumed more drugs, cough drops, and green / white tea then I had in the previous 31 years of my life. Normally, I prefer to go au natural / homeopathic route but this one was kicking my tail and I had several huge deadlines looming that I couldn’t afford to miss.
2. I finished all writing and editing on my dissertation and it is now in the hands of my dissertation committee. All 403 pages of it. Oddly, my most productive week of writing in the past 6 months came while I was probably writing under the influence of vicodin, pseudo-ephidrine, mucinex, tylenol. I’m in the process of scheduling my defense and as of 3am on the 27th it looks like it’ll be on February 26th. I should know for sure by tomorrow.
3. The combination of the two above points have made me virtually web-silent over the past 10 days….little blogging, forum posting, tweeting, etc because I was either nearly dead or nearly dead and writing.
4. Lost Season 5 premiered. Awesomeness. As I’ve mentioned before, I love the show. It’s about the only one that I actually watch. If you’re not a fan…what’s wrong with you?
5. My great friend Ron Grigg hooked me up with a recommendation to work with one of the top USATF Level 1 school organizers in the country. My first gig will be in late May in Orlando. This is exciting because 1) I love to teach in the coaches ed program; 2) I’ll get to see Ron in Orlando; and 3) this could potentially lead to regular and fairly frequent Level 1 teaching assignments (I usually teach 3 a year right now) which is potentially another source of income to keep my freelancing / entrepreneurial pursuits afloat.
6. I was tentatively invited to speak at the Beijing sports institute in May or June. I missed out going to Beijing for the Olympics so this will be a nice opportunity to see the fastest growing nation in the world and arguably the best sport system.
7. The proposed nutritional company partnership that I’ve blogged about in the past has moved forward and the HPC Elite Team will be receiving supplements in exchange for blogging, appearances, etc. Bigger than this though are some bigger plans to actually partner with them on some bigger sport performance web ventures and also become a part of an already established combine tour.
8. The HPC Elite Team has been off to a great start for the indoor season. Four members of the team have competed in 8 meets and we have 2 personal bests and 7 event wins. The only non-event win could even be considered a win since she won her heat of the 55m dash and I advised her to not run in the final due to some concerns about her hamstring.
9. Chinese New Year
10. Oh yeah, we got a new President too!

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Last Friday I trekked the 6 hours South from OH to Apex, NC to meet with Dan Kopitzke and check out a facility we may be sharing soon. The trip went great and if all goes well that’s where I’m going to end up. Here’s the low-down…

I left the Athens, OH area around noon and with only one stop made it to my hotel in Morrisville, NC in just under 6 hours. Since proximity to my wife’s family is one of the major factors in choosing a city to set up shop, the 6 hour drive time worked great considering that it’s easily within a days drive and much closer than the last 2 places we’ve lived. The drive was one of the most scenic road trips I’ve taken on the East coast (tough to beat 17 mile drive in NorCal). The weather was San Francisco like….blue skies, 55-60 degrees, and cool evenings. That’s a nice change from the 20-30 degree weather we had been getting in OH. When I arrived I picked up a quick dinner from Smithfield’s Chicken & BBQ (a little disapointing if you ask me) and then had a great meeting with Jonas Sahratian, the Men’s Basketball Strength Coach at UNC. We had a great visit and chatted for several hours. We’d corresponded via email before but this was the first time we had met. Jonas is really sharp and has spent a lot of time studying under some great coaches both in and out of the strength and conditioning field. That meeting set the tone for the rest of my trip as it got me pretty amped to see that there were similarly passionate ‘athletic developers’ in the area who I could collaborate with. Needless to say, I had dificulty sleeping that night and probably didn’t get to bed until around 4am….30-60 minutes later than usual.

The next morning I drove in to Apex to meet Dan and check out the facility. He’s currently occupying about 3200 sqft of a 6000 sqft building. The plan was to chat about how we could work together and I could move in to the other side of the building (which is currently just being used for storage). He had done a great job with his half of the facility and was turning profits and building client base after only a couple months of being in business. Our meeting was great and we actually spend almost the entire day together. Other than a 2 hour block where he had lessons to give, we talked shop (and more) from 10am til around midnight. In fact, Dan and his girlfriend Natalie actually invited me over to a family dinner. This went great, made me feel ‘at home’ and gave me a nice opportunity to meet some very friendly locals. Sunday morning, I went over to Ulmstead State Park to take a little run. The park system in the area seems amazing and something I’ll be sure to take advantage of. After taking care of some client training I headed back to OH with much to think about.

Right now, I’m all set to move down. The area is great and I can tell the quality of life will be excellent. Weather is decent enough year round to get the job done by training outside for 95% of the year. The airport checked out as good (close to get to, not so big that you have NY metro airport delays, lots of daily flights) which is important since I fly about 30 times a year and am eventually expecting athletes to be coming in for training camps. The overall population is among the most highly educated per capita in the U.S. which means higher disposable income, appreciation of a science-based training program, and lots of resources for collaboration. I’ve got connections set up at UNC, Wake Forest, and Duke and I’ve found a good therapist for the elite training group I’m looking to set up. What am I waiting for? I’m waiting to hear back from the landlord of the facility that he’s willing to open up the other half of the building for rent at the same cost he’s renting to Dan. As soon as I get the green light on that, I’ll be packing my bags to head down, buying equipment for the facility, and preparing to rock-n-roll. Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned.

Tomorrow morning I’m off to Apex, NC to check out a facility. I already have a general idea of what it looks like inside and what I can do with it but it hasn’t stopped me from doing a lot of day dreaming about what I want to do with my fairly limited startup budget. Space won’t be an issue. I believe it’s 10,000 sqft with the option to expand to 20k sqft. I couldn’t fill that with equipment if I wanted to. Right now I’m thinking about getting 4 full Olympic bumper sets, 4 power cages, and 4 sets of steel weight sets. I keep running through all the logistics and possible arrangements and combinations for equipment. It’s like I was 10 years old all over again assembling something new with legos. I could do without as many racks but I think that’s what people first look at. And while I’m certainly not aiming to have the wow factor of a health club, my intentional design is spartan as it is so there has to be something to attract clients who might immediately dismiss a place that doesn’t have a setup for bench pressing. In my next couple posts I’ll try to cover my equipment buying decisions and thought process.

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• Moving and Shaking

Ok it’s been a while since my last post and much has happened. I had a great Christmas and New Years and got to spend a lot of time with the family. I also did quite a bit on my dissertation after my advisor got my drafts back to me. More importantly though is what’s gone on with HPC. We’ve come closer to finalizing a deal with the international apparel and shoe company; caught the eye of a GREAT supplement company that wants to collaborate on some exciting projects; and this weekend I’m going down to NC to take a site visit at a facility in Apex , a suburb right outside of Raleigh. I’m leaving on Friday morning to check out a 10,000 sqft facility that is currently being used by an old acquaintance. I’m really excited about the opportunities that this presents and can’t wait to get started. 2009 is going to be big.