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688 – Case Study – Austin Brawner Reveals A Profound Business Model Transformation
The effort of launching live event after live event was taking its toll on Austin Brawner. That's when he met James Schramko and was pointed to the paid membership business model. What that transition did to his business and to his lifestyle is revealed in this episode of SuperFastBusiness.
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Austin Brawner
01:55 – The continual launch trap
03:08 – Meeting James and what changed
06:50 – Is everyone going to leave?
09:45 – Like raising a child
11:18 – Retaining and getting members
16:06 – What things look like after a year
18:27 – The role that team plays
22:35 – Recurring product, recurring relationships
26:03 – Consider this mindset change
28:19 – Where to from here?
30:43 – The tech side of things
31:40 – Getting help versus venturing solo
Let James match you with your ideal business model inside SuperFastBusiness membership
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James: James Schramko here. Welcome back to SuperFastBusiness.com. This is Episode 688, and we're having a chat with Austin from Texas. That's confusing.
Austin: It is, it is. I do live in Austin, Texas now. So it's been a funny transition.
James: Austin, you are somewhat of a god with ecommerce. Let's be honest. You're good at it. And I've loved watching your growth journey, from the time we got introduced. I think we sat next to each other at Ezra Firestone's event, an ecommerce event in San Diego where you and I both spoke. And we've remained in touch since then. And you've had quite the journey with your own ecommerce consulting services, because I think you'd worked your way up to the point where you were a tremendous expert at Klaviyo and email campaigns. And people were seeking you out to come and help them with their campaigns. And you were often running high-level boot camps on a sort of semi-frequent basis, reasonably high ticket events with serious ecommerce customers. And that's when you and I were chatting about your business model. And I'd love to sort of pick up the story and see what happens, because it's fascinating and a great learnable case study that could apply to lots of people who listen to this podcast.
The continual launch trap
Austin: Yeah. No, that's exactly where we met. I think at that point, I had a business that I'd been running. I transitioned away from having an email marketing agency, because I really wasn't passionate about that. It wasn't a good fit. But I was really passionate about doing live events and boot camps. So I'd been doing these kind of intensive workshop, email marketing boot camps around the country, and I was doing basically one every two to three months. And they were profitable events. They were good for my clients, they were good for me.
But the downside was that I was just caught in this rut of continually launching new events, continually selling, and then putting on these events that were really taxing. And if anybody's put on a live event, doesn't matter how big the live event is, it is exhausting. And I remember sitting by, there's a thing called Barton Springs here in Austin, Texas; it was February of, I believe it was last year. And I was sitting by the springs, and I was just completely worn out. I was so exhausted. I had another event that was coming up. But I just been launching over and over and over again. And so, sales weren't where I wanted them to be. And I just sat there and I was talking to my wife and I was like, you know, there's got to be a different, better way to do this. Because I have an audience, you know, let's figure out a way to transition.
Meeting James and what changed
And then we got in contact. And I reached out, I think, might have even have been like that next week. And we started sort of talking and working together. And that's kind of the start of where my model changed from what I had, which was just launching events, to what I've got now, which is a two-tier membership coaching group, and I have my events as well.
James: Why don't you mention your membership site so that people can look it up and get some context? And also obviously, if they have an ecommerce store, you would be a really good provider of coaching, specially high end. I recommend people go there these days, if they're needing some help with ecommerce.
Austin: Yeah, so you can check it out. It's called jointhecoalition.com. Coalition is my coaching membership. And that's where you can join, get one-on-one help from me, and also go through a lot of the trainings, ecommerce trainings that I put together over the last four or five years. It was a really good way, you know, you helped me think about it a little bit differently, and put a lot of the stuff that I've been creating this content over years and years into one space. And then use that as a way to direct people to the right content at the right time, versus just putting out content continuously, which has been a learning experience in itself, going through this process of trying to evolve my business.
James: Well, I love when you evolved your business, I also learnt things as well, because what I got to witness was someone with a really good ecommerce and automation and email strength, applying a business model a little bit like mine to their field. But you actually innovated a few things that rolled out to my side as well. One of the memorable ones was the auto post for new members.
Austin: Sure.
James: Just to get people started and to engage in the membership, I noticed that you had created the automation where when someone joins, it automatically post for them. So anyone in my membership in SuperFastBusiness, who's had a welcome automated post to, you know, video from me, that was an Austin Brawner innovation. And, you know, I'm quick to see the opportunity in that and to roll it out. So thank you for that. And I guess in your case, you ended up with a business model like mine. So you've completely changed your business. So you've gone from this semi-regular, somewhat exhausting and draining events, getting in touch with me.
By the way, almost everyone who gets in touch with me is in, near, or has had some kind of crisis or event that makes them feel like they're ready to change. It reminds me of the podcast I did with Nir Eyal, about why we do the things we do. And it's almost always to avoid pain.
"Membership is hard at the beginning. That's where all the work is done."
James: Because we're dissatisfied, or we're not feeling like we're in the right zone, so we'll actually take action to get out of it. But the funny thing is, when we talked about the model, and we proposed the change, it wasn't all smooth sailing, was it? Especially the mental game of adjusting to something that you hadn't done before. It's kind of like Tarzan, swinging from a vine in the jungle, you've got a pretty good grip on the current vine, and then so you got to go and get a new one. So it's like, hope this one holds me; I hope it supports me. And you had some concerns at the beginning, especially because the membership is hard at the beginning. That's where all the work is done. There's usually the least revenue. You can jumpstart them with an initial offering, but then you're not sure what's going to happen after that. Talk me through that phase of what we did.
Austin: Sure. So you know, we kicked things off, I think, by, we talked about implementation and moving quickly. But you know, I think, February, I decided to make a change. We started talking in March or April. By like, May 1st, I decided that I was going to move forward with the membership site. Within 30 days, I had the membership site built. So it was from deciding to do it to actually launching was less than 30 days.
Is everyone going to leave?
But then at that point, I launched and I had these people signed up, but it was kind of like, All right, now I gotta figure out what the hell I've got. Because I had an idea and a framework based on some of the stuff you told me and I was kind of just drafting on some of the stuff that you'd done. But then I got, you know, 80 to 100 members in there. And we're just trying to figure it out. And that was probably the most challenging part, was going from, you know, initially, the sales were great, and it felt really good. But then those first three months, every single day of waking up thinking to myself, is everyone going to leave? Like, am I going to lose everybody tomorrow? And I think that's super common, right? It's super, super common, because it is a totally new business model, at least for me. And, you know, I'm just kind of picking out the things that people are interested in, and also learning what people aren't interested in, and trying to eliminate that from the membership.
So those, you know, I would say the first three months, it was nervousness around people leaving. Turns out, they didn't leave, you know? Some people did, and that's just normal. But, you know, people stuck around, and after those three months, it changed in my mind, and it was no longer, I'm worried about people leaving, it's more about, all right, now this thing is still in its infancy. And it's not generating enough sales really to justify the amount of time and energy that I'm putting into it. But I believe in the future it can be better than it is right now. So I'm going to double down and continue to work through this time where it's a lot of work, not as much income as launching a one-off course, for example, or one-off live event. But I can see the future. And the future was that it was going to grow and get better. And then basically six months in, I realized I had an issue with, I was retaining people, but I couldn't bring enough people in. I really dove in for about three months to figure out, how can I bring people in month over month and build a system for that. And that has been kind of a game changer for me and for the business.
James: Right. So a couple of points there. I'm like you – I care a lot about my members, and I definitely took it personally when people would leave. I'm like, oh, I've somehow failed. Not that many people leave my membership. And I've been blessed to have been running a membership now for over a decade. So I've got the hang of it. And it's all about caring for your existing members.
And then of course, you need a way to fill the membership. For me, podcasts have been solid. Videos, of late, have worked well. Publishing a book really helped. The occasional speaking opportunity. There are things you can do.
"Product launches are a good promotional thing, but they're not a great business model."
And I agree that the slow burn of a membership, it really gets into your mind in the beginning, because you might wonder, is this going to sustain? You could have done a launch of a $2,000 product, and you would have had a lot more revenue. But then what you discover with launch math is, there's payment plans; there's costs that come back out; often there's affiliates; there's a lot of wear and tear, which you were trying to avoid from the launch model. So product launches are a good promotional thing, but they're not a great business model.
Like raising a child
And the membership, if you can get through that first phase, and validate it, and you find your mojo and you pick up a culture in that community – which we can talk about more – it starts to take on a personality, a lot like an infant. I often equate a membership like raising a child. You know, you don't know how the birth is going to go, it's a bit scary, you're in a bit of shock. When the thing's screaming and can't talk or eat by itself or change its own nappies, it can be hard work. But you've got to see the potential; you got to think, this will grow up one day; maybe we'll have grandkids and it'll be amazing or you go on family holidays. Like, the memberships get better and better with age. And I have membership now that's gone over 10 years, and one that's coming up to 10 years. And they've constantly innovated and changed.
And one thing that's always amazed me is the culture of the people inside the membership. It shifts as you shift members gently over time. In any given year, you might have a third or a half of your members churn depending on how your churn rate looks. And you'll have people coming in. And the general number, hopefully over time, is either static or going up. And as you improve your expertise, and you get more confident with pricing, your profitability can rise. And as you get better and better at running a forum and managing a forum, you can actually reduce the amount of time you put into it. So if you take a mature one, they're an amazing business. And it would be a mistake to look at someone's mature membership and think that you're going to start like that.
"It would be a mistake to look at someone's mature membership and think that you're going to start like that."
So you found your feet. You stayed out that first scary phase.
Austin: Yeah.
Retaining and getting members
James: You realized you needed to get members. I know someone listening to this would ask, Austin, how did you decide to generate members? So I mean, two things there, really. I'd love you to talk about churn and how you retain members. But I'd also love you to talk about how you get members, because these are the two major levers for a membership.
Austin: Sure. So I can start with churn. A couple things that I've learned around this over the last year and a couple of months that I've been running this. So, the more that I press for members, meaning the more I open up and do launches – you probably feel the same; probably the same experience, James – the higher the churn is going to be after. So if I ever do a launch – and I do a launch once or twice a year, it's what I've been doing – I always will bump up a bunch of people, and then I'll lose people with high churn rates right afterwards.
What I've been doing to reduce churn, a lot of what I've focused on has been implementing kind of some of the best practices that you told me, like making sure that you've got an email sequence, following up with new members, onboarding them to content, trying to get them a result right away. I try to send them a direct message through the private coaching thread, and follow up with people and give them some sort of a wow moment right away, through either a video message or just helping them solve a problem that's really, really helpful right off the bat as far as reducing churn. Trying to get people to post, that is always my goal initially, is to try to people involved and posting.
There's a couple of things I'm working on. My thought process over the last year has kind of been in quarters. Like, one quarter, I'll work on growing the membership. And the next quarter, I'll work on churn. Because I typically find ways to grow, and then as I grow, I realize I need to go back and work on retention. So this next quarter is going to be more focused on retention, and the previous quarter was focused on growth.
And a lot of what I was doing, you mentioned this earlier, a lot of my strength is in email marketing and marketing automation. So the big changes that I've made, one of them was, I put in towards the beginning of this last year, a really killer email onboarding sequence, as a free download with all these tools. And people could sign up for that. And then once they came in, I had about a 30-day email sequence that was extremely, extremely packed with value, even taking select chunks of things that I found valuable in my membership and putting them in an onboarding sequence, and then giving people results in advance, like trying to make sure that they felt like they were getting a ton of value from me before even signing up. And then pushing people to try out and see if it was a good fit for them in those emails. So that kind of got me to a consistent drip of people joining month in and month out. And then I could turn that up and turn that off by adding more people into that sequence.
And then like I mentioned earlier, I did an opening to my entire list with a complete rebrand in June and July. It was interesting – after about a year, I realized what we talked about, is that the culture had changed. Not necessarily the culture had changed, but just what people found valuable was different than what I initially was selling. And so with that, I needed to rebrand a little bit. When I say rebrand, change up my landing page, and change the copy on it. So I spent about a month and a half working on that, and re-launched it – with new copy, new sales page, everything – to my entire audience and added a bunch of members, upped the price to reflect the new value. And that's kind of how I was able to gain some new members as of late.
Now it's back to continue to focus back on retention, because it always comes back to continually providing value, and not getting too far ahead of yourself with adding members that you can't service it, but you have to build your team. So there's definitely a lot of facets. And it's been really interesting and fascinating.
You being 10 years ahead, or I guess nine years ahead with these membership communities has been really helpful because a lot of these things you faced and have seen. And so it's been helpful to kind of get some feedback on, Okay, this is what's going to be coming down the pike around the corner here.
James: Yeah, it's like, have confidence that it can work. And I've seen enough people set up memberships and run them now to get a sense of what is likely to work or not work and where they're getting stuck. But I love how strong you are on the automation and the email game is good. A lot of the best trainings in SuperFastBusiness people love the most are the advanced email training, the cart abandonment training.
James: And so email is still consistently the number one performer for me in terms of turning a prospect into a customer.
Austin: A hundred percent.
What things look like after a year
James: And I can see how you've, you know, you're using your own methodologies there. Tell me, what does business look like now? Like, you're a little past a year down the track. Do you still have concerns about profitability or the success of the membership? And do you ever pinch yourself and realize that, you know, this momentum you've created is going to survive for a long time based on your current run rates of retention?
Austin: Yeah. I mean, my challenges have definitely changed over the last year. And I say that because I'm always an optimistic person; I usually am having fun doing this all the time. But what's been interesting is that I've been shifting away from my challenge a year ago, which was Okay, can I can I sell an event? And am I going to be burned out, too? Now it's like, well, what's the right team member to add? What's the right team member to add to help me sustain this? I've a very profitable business now, but I also am looking to now kind of sustain a lifestyle that I want. And I can continue to go in the direction that I'm going and it's growing super fast, but it's now a tradeoff of lifestyle and profitability. So it's like, I got to pick the right person to add to the team to be able to help us grow and continue to grow, and allow me to also participate, help people as much as I can, but also not spend all my time working. Because the growth has led to me being in a position where money is now less valuable than time. And my thought process is, okay, you got to find the right person. And it's a challenge, no matter what, because we do want to find a really, really good person who could be really helpful to our community. That's what I'm struggling with now, versus a year ago.
It's really, really great, going into a month having a really good idea of what you're going to bring in. That's a wonderful feeling. And for someone who's run a business, you know, if you're running a business right now, and that's not something that you are familiar with, or you're still in the position where it's boom or bust, it really does take a lot of stress out of your life. It's still there in different ways, right? You got to be consistent. And consistency is super important with a membership. But there is a huge difference between where I was at a year ago and where I'm at now. That's the difference with recurring revenue and some of what I talk a lot about with my clients. It's like, can you build something that is actually valuable and is recurring?
The role that team plays
James: Yeah, recurring revenue. And I've enjoyed a long time of recurring revenue. And I think it is helping me stay more chilled. People who know me now versus before, they know a different version of me. Because you've got that confidence; you can invest in team. My team members are actually coming up to 10 years as well, which is interesting. There's a strong correlation between recurring revenue and having a good solid, stable team, because everyone knows that the job is safe, that the business is strong. I'd love to get a sense of what your team looks like at the moment, because that would be quite interesting, I think, to see where you've built your team over the last year.
Austin: Sure. Well, you're going to be surprised. It's not huge at this point, it's still quite small. It's just me. I have a project manager who's full time in the States, when I say project manager, she does a lot. She posts in the membership with me, and also helps me with our events, emails going out. We have almost a full time, well, still part time, about 30 hours a week, executive assistant, who is highly skilled, based in the US. And she helps with managing my emails, my calendar, my schedule, as well as helps us send out the emails that we send out. We send a lot of emails, probably three a week, to different segments of my audience. And I have a podcast producer. And that's it. And that's where, you know, one of the things I mentioned is why I'm feeling the pinch is because the business has grown; the team has not grown yet to kind of match where we're at. We've all adjusted our work, but that's still kind of the next step. We actually just went through the whole hiring process, had somebody commit, sign a contract, we booked flights. And then the 11th hour, they're like, Oh, I got a retention offer from my current company, where I'm going to go back to that company. And it was just, it was very frustrating.
James: Yeah, it can be.
Austin: It's just the way that it works in hiring, you know? It's just you, that's part of the process.
James: Yeah. One of the popular training in SuperFastBusiness is how to recruit your next team member. And I broke down my whole hiring process from when I was running the Mercedes-Benz dealerships. I put the job ad, the skills and checklists, the methodology and the psychology behind how to get great team members. But team is really your asset. When you get a good team, they're good. And sounds like we've got some overlap there. I've got my team helping out with emails and podcasts production.
Austin: Very much.
"You get a good team behind you, you're away."
James: I want them to do everything other than the bit that only I can do. Me talking to you on this podcast is an important role for me. My main role is content creation and delivery. I deliver on my coaching, that's it. And you know, the rest is just like, finding opportunities, putting together revenue share deals, and managing investments and so forth. But the team are just phenomenal. You get a good team behind you, you're away. And you really got to the point now in terms of your revenue and your profit where you can afford team. And you've got that stability, knowing that you can sustain it for a long time, because you can keep an eye on your churn rate. And you'll have a pretty good indicator and predictor as to how your numbers look like in six months or a year from now. I mean, your membership, I imagine, is similar to mine, where you're keeping people in excess of, certainly the whole time you've run it, I bet you've got members who have been with you the whole time.
James: Because I have members staying almost three years. So yeah, you know, you're probably not even halfway through the customer lifetime value yet at this stage you're at with the membership. So it's pretty exciting to think about where that's going.
And one thing that's vitally important to mention here, and I can't overstate this, but you have to have good product, or you've got to be good at what you do, if you expect people to stick around. The old membership model that was flogged about seven or eight years ago, was, you know, put up a sales page, sell people an autoresponder of information, and then they'll last about three months. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about a fully committed, leaning into your audience type service, where you are helping people get results. And you're expecting them to be aware of their billing and you want them to stick around and they want to be there. In fact, they almost panic if they get locked out because of a billing failure or something.
Recurring product, recurring relationships
You know, that's when you know you've got a strong product, when people miss it. And they remember the fun times. You know, we just did one of our monthly calls in SuperFastBusiness. And it's just like getting back with old friends, like chatting to familiar faces. I love having that recurring relationship. How about you, Austin, where you've got the same people over and over again?
"You know you've got a strong product, when people miss it."
Austin: A hundred percent. That's one of the things that I feel like I've gotten the most out of the last year, is having a lot more in-depth relationships with people that I've worked with over the entire year. And the same thing, I have a call on once a month, and people will hop on and we'll go through and troubleshoot issues right there on the call. It's actually translated to is that my in-person events have become a lot more exciting, because the people that are showing up are people that I've been working with through coaching over the last year, and then they show up and I get to hang out with them in person. And the membership feeds the in-person events, the in-person events feed the membership. It's a lot of fun to kind of combine all of them together. And I definitely feel like I have built relationships with people. It's cool. All over the world – I got people in Sweden, Germany, in the Czech Republic that I'm messaging, and it's cool. I was just traveling, and as I was traveling around Europe, there were people there that were messaging me and helping me go. Like, I was in Turkey, and somebody who has been a longtime listener sent me a list of all restaurant recommendations in Istanbul. And it was super cool to have that happen.
James: I adore my community. Just the best. And you've mentioned a really big tip there, is combining events. The events are an amazing opportunity to sell memberships. If you have a community who is strong and they represent well at events, if you have externally sold events, which I do, SuperFastBusiness Live is first available to members and then it goes to the public. And about, I think, somewhere between half and three quarters of the event will be members. And the others, they're definitely going to be members after spending a couple of days with my members.
And I just got back from the Maldives, and I spent two weeks there with 20 entrepreneurs, two separate groups. And almost all of them are SuperFastBusiness or SilverCircle members. And they're from all around the world – UK, USA, Thailand. They come in, they converge. We had Germans, Italian. It was really interesting. But they do become friends. And you learn from your clients, and you share experiences, and it just deepens your life experience. It's so much better than doing a big launch of a course and having a flurry and then it's finished. And then Okay, what's next? And I see a lot of unfulfilled people. But also, it really takes care of another vital secret in business. And if you speak to any good copywriter, or anyone who's good at their field, they'll be doing a lot of research. That, how good is a membership for R&D, for getting to know your customers, what they like and what they don't like and what their challenges are? And how does that help you solve their problems so much better when you get that close to them? And also, if you do local meetups, that can help.
Austin: One hundred percent. It's a very interesting place. I find that a lot of my private coaching conversations have led me to be a better result as well, when I go and I meet with people in person for my workshops. I'm just kind of continuing to learn from that.
Consider this mindset change
I think that just the biggest takeaway from this whole process – we had a conversation a year ago, and I remember we were talking about my audience and where I was at, and you said flat out, you're not earning what you should be earning based on the size of your audience. And a lot of that, I think, came down to just a fundamental difference between value capture, like there's value produced, value captured. And when you are creating a lot of value and not capturing that value, it can be frustrating. It can lead people to capture a lot of value in a short period of time around a launch, when instead if you change up your thought process and say, Well, I'm going to be consistent and capture value consistently over time, then you can increase the amount of value that you capture, relative to the amount that you produce. And do it in a way that allows you to – I sometimes hate the word "scale", because it's like, overused, and people are like, always want to scale up everything. But really what it comes down to is, if you have the recurring revenue in your business, it's really the first thing that's going to allow you to be able to actually scale up your business, because you don't think in terms of launches; you think in terms of investment. You think in terms of investing in the future. And that's been just a huge, huge change in my mindset. I encourage anybody who's thinking about it to kind of think about that mindset change.
James: Yeah, absolutely. The growth, the sake of growth thing, that gets a bit stressful.
Austin: Yeah, understatement there.
James: You know, you got a lot of these funded companies, on borrowed funds, trying to get the plane off the ground before the runway ends. The membership is almost the antithesis of that, where you're getting paid along the way to grow and develop and learn. And it's definitely not for everyone. I think you have to be very responsible. I think you have to have a good product or ability to solve problems. And you have to care, you really have to care about your customers. And I see one trend with experts is quite often they're keen to set these things up, but try not to be involved as much as possible. And I think that's almost a mistake. I think a membership works really well for someone who wants to be a bit involved, who doesn't mind nurturing a community. That will be a point of difference, and it will be a strong selling feature if you're able to offer that.
Austin: Sure. Hundred percent.
James: Yep. So what's next for Austin? You already have a very strong podcast as well. So I imagine that that, coupled up with your membership, it was the perfect way to capture the value of the amazing podcast you already have. Why don't you mention the podcast so listeners can go and check it out.?
Austin: Yeah. So my podcast is The Ecommerce Influence Podcast. And we talk about kind of advanced marketing traffic and conversion strategies for ecommerce businesses. We've been doing it for, man, almost four and a half, five years; over 200 and something episodes, and it comes out every week. Again, it's for the established ecommerce business owner or marketer. And yeah, James has been on it. It's a lot of fun. It's another way for me to learn from really, really smart, incredible guests.
James: So what are you going to do now with the membership? The next phase is Build Team, and dare I say, serve more people?
Austin: Yeah. No, I mean, that's where we're headed. I mean, like I mentioned, we go in terms of quarters and what we're focused on, and this next quarter, it's going to be continuing to dive back into systems to help people get more engaged. I think that's the trouble, that anybody who's starting a membership, it's trying to build systems to help people, make it easier for people to get started, get engaged, and get what they want out of the business.
So my next step is building an onboarding process, that from the time somebody signs up, it goes through and gets all the answers to the questions that I need to best serve them, and also for them to have a better introduction to the community. So one struggle with the software that we both use is it requires people to go in there and fill out their information and add a photo and all those different things. But we can build some things. We're working on building a process that once they sign up, we're going to get all the information, photo, what they want to achieve, where they might be interested in meetups, all that information plugged right in to improve the community so they can be paired with the right people right away. And that's my next step, is continuing to focus on building that and then continuing to grow. So that's my focus right now. It's something that I'm excited about, because I know it can be better. And that's also one thing that I realized over time, like, you look back, and you're like, Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I launched with that. But it's the right thing to do. You know, you have to launch at a certain point and then you just iterate over that.
The tech side of things
James: You got to launch. I mean, like, we've been using software that's been around for a while. And we've had to put some bits and pieces together. And with your automations and some of the other innovations, I got a few from Kevin Rogers, and also from Dave Wooding, who's been putting them together. I sat down side by side with my friend John Lint, and he's created an even more perfect solution with 10XPRO that most of my members are using now. If you're starting today, that's the solution that I recommend, because it pulls in the picture automatically, and he can make it do all the things we wanted to be able to do but we've had to pull together bits and pieces.
James: It's usually actually the first thing that people talk about, is tech. We got over half an hour before we even mentioned any tech, and that's the beauty of what we wanted to talk about. I think the big story was the change in business model, the resistance at first and the uncertainty, and then getting through that to a point where I think you mentioned to me, at some point, business is actually the best that's ever been in your life. That's phenomenal.
Getting help versus venturing solo
So when you reflect back on the process, would you say that it was helpful to get some guidance in that early phase and to help set up and get up and running versus trying to figure it out yourself?
Austin: Yeah, I mean, I have been running a business for, I don't know, five, six years now. And the longer that I've run the business, the less I mess around trying to do something and reinvent the wheel. Because so much of what is success comes down to just picking something and doing it consistently, picking the right thing and doing it consistently. So yeah, it was extremely helpful. We're able to go through work together; you're able to give me some guidance and just give me the confidence to be able to execute quickly and launch, and then iterate from there. And that's the difference. It's just having the confidence to push through the times where you're going to have uncertainty changing up your business model. There's no question, it's going to be uncertain.
James: It's such a mental game, isn't it?
Austin: It is. And that's what I'm dealing with right now. You're right, the businesses is bigger than it's ever been. And it's growing, and it's growing really quickly. And things are starting to break. I am feeling the inevitable, self-sabotage that can come when your business gets bigger than you're comfortable with. And that's the next step. Right? It's continuing to go into the mindset game of, Okay, well, we're going to reset all expectations about what this can be and go from there.
James: Well, I look at Austin, and I see a young man with huge talent, who's only been in business a relatively short time and already kicking ass. I see massive things for you. If you pace yourself well, and you keep a level head on your shoulders, I'm certain that you'll be growing this thing into something substantial. Because you've definitely got execution ability beyond the average person. I just want to point that out. Austin's results aren't typical, because he's a very good executor, and he brought a really strong talent to the table. What we really found was a way better business model that has got long legs. You're going to be doing spectacularly well in another year from now, but in three to five years from now, you know, we'll look back at this episode 688 and have a laugh about Austin in the infancy days before he was a big timer. No doubt. I've seen it before. I've seen it with Ezra Firestone. I've seen it with Ryan Levesque. I've seen it with Clay Collins. Like, I can see talent coming through. Watch out world, Austin Brawner's on a tear.
Austin: Thanks, James.
James: Thank you for coming and sharing your membership insights, getting a little bit behind the scenes. I know you don't have to do that. But it's really helpful for someone on the journey. And I think there's some really valuable lessons in there. And I wish you tremendous success on the next stage of your journey. And I hope we see you at a SuperFastBusiness Live at some point, because I think the world needs to hear what you got to say about ecommerce, which is your core specialty, of course.
Austin: A hundred percent. So it's March – what's the dates?
James: March the 12th and 13th in Sydney, Australia.
Austin: Exciting.
James: That's the next one. Yes. Thanks, mate.
Austin: All right. Thanks, James.
James: There you go, Austin Brawner. And give out your website address again, for your membership.
Austin: Yeah. So if you want to go join the membership, you can go check it out at jointhecoalition.com. And you can check out my podcast as well, if you just want to listen in and see if it's the right fit – ecommerceinfluence.com.
James: Thanks, buddy.
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"SEC Addresses Cybersecurity Concerns About Stock-Investor Data," The Wall Street Journal, March 27, 2019. SEC restricts personally identifiable information in shared investment database.
How do you collect and retain enough data to enforce securities laws but not put private information at too much risk of being hacked? Don't businesses face similar dilemmas every day, when deciding how much protection/control to put around what information in their possession and control? Isn't Governance the mechanism by which those decisions are made, and who makes them?


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Take "being green" a step further by learning how to compost your organic waste.
To many, "being green" simply involves turning off lights and making sure not to run the water while brushing their teeth. Though both of these things are good for the environment (and your wallet), sometimes the urge to do more takes over. So, what other small-scale, green activity can you do at home? Try composting—it's an eco-friendly way to put your organic waste to good use in your yard. Plus, it's an easy way to turn would-be trash into nutrient-rich resources, which saves you even more money in the long-run.
How does it work? Composting involves placing organic waste into a pile, where bacteria and other microorganisms break it down and turn it into fertilizer. It costs less than typical disposal methods, improves your soil and saves precious space in landfills. We'll show you how to compost at home so you can reap the benefits for your garden or lawn year-round.
Efficient composting involves three major ingredient groups: browns, greens and water. Browns (dead leaves, branches and twigs) supply the carbon. Greens (grass clippings, vegetable waste and fruit scraps) supply the nitrogen. Water is the moisturizer that allows the organic products in the pile to be broken down.
Where you place your compost is important. Try to find a dry, shady area, ideally next to a water source, like a hose. If you plan on disposing of food waste, you may want to purchase a compost bin to deter animals and pests from getting at it. You can also compost indoors, using an indoor compost bin.
Add your browns and greens first, making sure to break down or shred the larger pieces. As you add more to the pile, douse it with water so that the pile is damp all the way through. Once you have a decent-sized pile, wait it out. It may take months or even years before it's ready to use—you'll know when the bottom layers are dark, crumbly and richly colored. Turning the materials in your pile every couple of weeks can speed this process.
There are certain things you should avoid while composting, as they can have negative effects on your yard if used as fertilizer. Avoid black walnut leaves, dairy products, diseased plants, meat bones or scraps, fatty foods, pet wastes and chemically-treated yard trimmings.


A successful company is a company with successful leaders and workers; although many organisations have not yet realised the importance of motivated staff; this will play an important role in the accomplishment of the corporation's objectives and vision. So why are there so many sectors that do not pay attention to the enthusiasm of their workforce? Why so many businesses do not apply the incentive needed to keep a happy staff? The reality is that many organisations have continued using old management styles without taking into account the workforce and their biggest challenge to keep on running in the long term will be finding qualified staff, people with the knowledge and skills to maintain the business profitable; staff turnover is one of the reasons why so many small companies go bust; when they leave, they take with them the knowledge on how the business runs and what needs to be done.
Employee retention and employee turnover should be a key activity managed by the human resources team or in the case of small companies by the owners or managers; this is one of the biggest problems that many corporations in developed countries such as United States and United Kingdom are facing nowadays; the innumerable career opportunities available in the market, make it even harder to retain your best staff.
1) Flexible working: Employees prefer to arrange their own working hours; many companies are happy with this arrangement as long as the work gets done. Productivity levels in many corporations have showed a boost with this approach.
2) Opportunities to Develop: Career development opportunities will always be on the mind of highly motivated and focused workers. This is a key benefit that should be provided in any company to motivate and engage the staff.
3) Financial Incentive: Salary is one of the main motivational factors in the workplace; a slightly better than average salary for key staff has always been used in many organisations; the problem is when other people at the same level realised that there is a difference. Spot bonuses, performance bonuses, share scheme plans should be part of your human resources policy.
4) Respect to Employees and Open Door Policy: Approachable managers with an open door policy culture will motivate staff to do their work; the trust built by this kind of relationship will also be an important factor to control staff turnover. The acknowledgement of the unique skills sets that employees have should also be part of the organisation culture; as well as a respectful feedback when things do not go according to plan.
5) Mission, Vision, Objectives and Targets: Explaining the big picture to the staff will reinforce the bonding and loyalty between corporation and workforce. Measurable goals and targets will also boost the confidence and satisfaction of the employees, especially if they are linked to a good rewarding scheme.


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Apr 12, 2019, 10:17am EDT
Meet The Nikola Tesla Of Facials: Melanie Simon Inventor Of ZIIP
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Holiday Gift Guide 2018: Best Gifts For Women Entrepreneurs
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Why Win-Win-Win Propositions Are The Future Of Business
The Vinetta ProjectFormer Contributor
Closing the gender based funding gap for female tech founders
Founder and CEO of Seeds. I write about entrepreneurship, mobile applications and socially good innovations.
For decades, people have divided organizations into two categories: for-profit and non-profit. It's common knowledge that those lines are increasingly blurring, and we're reaching a pivotal moment in history at which businesses need to incorporate social good in order to stay competitive — particularly if they want to attract business from Millennials and Generation Z, reports Nielsen.
The convergence of doing business and doing good has actually been underway for a long time, but like any Darwinian process worth its salt, it's been a tortuous and often haphazard journey. The earliest iterations involved major corporations opening corporate social responsibility (CSR) departments, which were essentially separate, non-profit extensions of the for-profit entity. These were often added as an afterthought, mere efforts to improve a brand's public perception, and therefore its revenue.
The focus later shifted to the triple bottom line — a philosophy that factors in the financial bottom line of a company, but also its social and environmental impacts. First adopted in 1994 by John Elkington, this idea focused on the "three P's: profit, people and planet." (Incidentally, the '90s were the heyday of the cliched corporate mnemonic device). More genuine in their purpose than the CSR movement, triple bottom line companies prioritize success measures that truly do have positive implications for the greater good. But because these measures are not necessarily integral to an entity's profit-engine, their capacity for doing good is still removed from the core of what drives a business forward, which inherently hobbles their prosocial intentions.
But as this evolutionary process of socially conscious capitalism continues to mature into the 21st Century, we're seeing a more functional and effective model emerge, one that builds social good directly into business models. The 2015 Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report showed that 66% of all consumers are willing to spend more for products that come from sustainable brands. As consumers demand more socially conscious behaviors from the brands they buy, businesses mindfully addressing this have created a wholly new system: the win-win-win. Everyone in the value chain benefits financially — the business, the customer and those in need.
Where corporate charitability was once a tax deductible afterthought, the future marketplace will be... [+] full of businesses with social good built into their core models.
The quintessential example of this paradigm shift, of course, is TOMS. Blake Mycoskie created the company after seeing the desperate need for shoes in poor Latin American communities. His strategy was to develop a business that sold a style of Argentine shoe, the "alpargata," in the North American market. By advertising that each pair of shoes sold would provide a free pair to someone in need, Mycoskie's company became an overnight sensation, selling 9x their available stock in their first few months online. This phenomenon marked a fundamental shift in the collective perception of how a for-profit business can have a truly symbiotic relationship with the common good.
Following in their footsteps have come a new generation of businesses who have adopted this model of "conscious capitalism." Warby Parker emulates a similar model to TOMS, but with eyeglasses. Bureo Skateboards makes their skateboards from recycled fishing nets, helping to clean up their local shorelines with each new product and incentivizing fishermen to exchange their old fish nets rather than leave them out at sea. Even advertising agencies like DesignGood build their business models to explicitly support socially conscious and sustainable businesses, doing their part to empower companies like the aforementioned to achieve their greatest potential impact.
While your grandfather's capitalism may have considered altruism as anathema to good business, it's becoming ever more clear that contributing to the common good and making serious profit are no longer mutually exclusive. And as we've learned from the evolutionary history of the corporate conscience, the key factor is that this conscience needs to be built into a business at the start. So if you're an entrepreneur with an interest in developing your own prosocial business enterprise but don't know where to begin, here are a few ideas to get your gears turning:
One-lever thinking. Ask yourself: How can I pull one lever and rake in wins across the board like the aforementioned companies? Make a spreadsheet with three columns: Company, Consumer, Society. Play with ideas until you have something that works across all three columns. Remember, a socially conscious model only works if it's built that way from the start
Work backward. Instead of trying to think of what kind of business you want to start, first ask yourself, What issues am I passionate about? What deep needs in the world can I help address? It may turn out that your passion for a particular issue may lead you to the right type of business to uniquely address it. TOMS addressed the need for shoes, Warby Parker the need for eyeglasses. Of course yours may not be so straight forward, but it's important to consider that particular industries may be more conducive to addressing particular needs than others.
Build products that perpetuate social good. Elon Musk is the current king of this concept, Tesla being a forerunner in the sustainable energy market with its increasingly available line of electric vehicles, solar roof tiles, and pioneering battery technology. Sunrun is another example of a leader in the solar industry, paving the way for energy independent homes all over the world.
Build good directly into your product. Fifty dollars may not seem like much when you're talking start-up funds, but if you live in the developing world it can make all the difference. Companies like Seeds allow any company with a website or an app to donate a portion of sales to microloans that provide sustainable help to entrepreneurs in needy communities around the world. Statistics show that consumers are 60% more likely to spend when a social benefit is attached to a potential purchase, making for a rock solid case that contributing to the greater good isn't just a boost for the image...it's also great for business.
With Millennials becoming ever more influential in the marketplace and Gen Z right on their heels, the old for-profit/nonprofit dichotomy will only recede further into the distance. And as we become increasingly disillusioned by the socially irresponsible behaviors inherent to many of our major corporations, the demand for conscientious business will only continue to grow. If you're an entrepreneur, this means opportunity. Altruism is in, it's extremely marketable and those who find innovative and effective ways to implement it into their business models will surely be ahead of the curve.
The Vinetta Project
Vinetta is on a mission to close the gender based funding gap. Through strategic event programming Vinetta sees and supports over 1000 companies per year and engages with…
Vinetta is on a mission to close the gender based funding gap. Through strategic event programming Vinetta sees and supports over 1000 companies per year and engages with hundreds of investors, corporate partners and acquirers. We have been able to facilitate the flow of over $150M in early stage venture funding to seed stage technology startups who have participated in Vinetta Programming.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Squares in Lucas sequences Good night, everyone!
According to a celebrated result by J. H. Cohn, the only perfect squares in the Fibonacci sequence are $F_{0}=0$, $F_{1}=F_{2}=1$, and $F_{12}=144$. It is also known that the only perfect squares in the Lucas numbers are $L_{1}=1$ and $L_{3}=4$.
Do you know other (interesting) examples of Lucas sequences with few perfect squares among their terms? I am specially interested in examples in which the determination of the squares is more straightforward than Cohn's proof of the aforementioned theorem.
Thanks for your attention.

A: I will give a few references which could be considered as some answer to this question. Though the matter of "straight forward" is up to interpretation. Furthermore, I am far from any kind of expert on these sequences. I have written a paper on (some combinatorial aspects of) Lucas sequences and remember some references from when I was reading up on them.
First there are a lot of second order linear reccurences which have few (= finitely many) perfect square terms. In Perfect powers in second order linear recurrences by Pethö a special case of the main theorem says that for a second order linear recurrence $G_n = AG_{n-1} + BG_{n-2}$ there are only finitely many perfect square terms provided some conditions. The conditions are that $A \neq 0$, $|G_0| + |G_1| \neq 0$, $\gcd(A,B) = 1$, $A \neq iB$ for $i \in \{1,2,3,4\}$, and $D$ is not a perfect square if $BC = 0$. Here $C = G_1^2 - AG_0G_1 + BG_1^2$ and $D = A^2 - 4B$. This paper gives some bounds on where perfect squares can arise, but since Lucas sequences are special one may want to know more.
In The Square Terms in Lucas Sequences by Ribenboim and McDaniel is in shown more precisely where perfect square terms can arise in Lucas sequences under some conditions. Under the conditions that $P$ and $Q$ are odd, $\gcd(P,Q) = 1$, and $D = P^2 - 4Q > 0$ it is shown that

*

*if $V_n(P,Q)$ is a perfect square, then $n \in \{1,3,5\}$.

*if $U_n(P,Q)$ is a perfect square, then $n \in \{0,1,2,3,6,12\}$.

Here the notation matches with the usual notation which is given the OEIS link "Lucas sequences" in the question. We see this result agrees with what is known for $F_n$ and $L_n$. Again I am not an expert, but I think exactly where squares occur depends on particular choices of $P$ and $Q$ and I am not familiar with particular of methods used in various cases. You can find more papers like Lucas sequences whose 12th or 9th term is a square
 by Bremner and Tzanakis. Looking at these papers with their references + google scholar gives more information on this problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Q: Can't grant privileges to users on Azure MySQL database yesterday I deployed a MySQL database image from the Azure marketplace. It is this one issued by Microsoft. I can connect with the user I specified in the Azure portal and was able to create an additional user for testing purposes and grant it all privileges on two different databases. However, if try to do the same today I get the infamous Error Code: 1044. Access denied for user 'admin'@'%' to database 'mysql'. I have read that some MySQL versions on Azure do not support user privilege handling, but I was already able to do it with this image version. I even verified that the created user had access to the specified databases and inserting/selecting data from it was also working. I have tried setting up a fresh database with a new testuser to no avail, as i received the same error. This is basically what I did:
CREATE USER 'user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'pw';
GRANT INSERT  ON db.* TO 'user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'pw';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

After the user was created I also checked with SHOW GRANTS FOR 'user'@'%' for the given permissions and they were there. The admin user specified in the Azure portal also has grant_priv privileges. Can someone please help me to understand why all of a sudden it is not possible for me to grant even simple privileges to newly created users? It should be possible as this Blogpost from an Microsoft employee suggests. Clearly I am missing something as such a basic feature should be included.


Combining weather data with existing information provides organisations with decision-making power for relevant and real-time planning to ensure better service delivery and other efficiencies.
South Africa is traditionally not affected by extreme weather conditions, thus we tend to underestimate the value of weather prediction and analyses. The ability to access weather information before and after the fact can save money and optimise gains if used effectively.
Fig. 1: The weather API offers access to historical and current weather conditions.
Insurance companies can minimise losses due to hail damage and more accurately verify insurance claims associated with hail damage.
Courier companies can adjust routes and schedules to avoid adverse weather conditions.
Early warning systems can be put in place by municipalities to ensure public safety and be better prepared to handle adverse conditions.
Providing this type of timeous information is not a new concept, but the availability of this data in combination with the latest developments in technology is making the data easier to access and disseminate, as well as making it more relevant and more accurate.
AfriGIS and the South African Weather Services (SAWS) have made available various SAWS weather feeds for current and historic events through a simple and easy to use location-sensitive application programming interface (API). Feeds can be seamlessly incorporated into existing systems, minimising additional development and associated cost. Go to AfriGIS Weather (https://weather.afrigis.co.za) to view the weather activity in your area.
AfriGIS is also able to deliver SAWS storm, hail and lightning prediction in their various data feeds.
The AfriGIS Weather API provides access to different historical and current weather conditions, including storm activities, hail and lightning. The intensity, shape and direction of storms can be visualised, with current storm location, as well as predicted storm activity. Information can be passed on a specific coordinate or on a national level to view where storms are situated and where and how they are developing and moving.
The API also provides information on historic lightning strikes, indicating the number of strikes during a specific time period in the vicinity of a specific coordinate. New features will also include prediction and probability of lightning and hail. The application has endless value propositions for various use cases and can be executed in bulk or in a tracking context with information delivered as both SMSs or notifications inside applications.
Having access to this information will not only allow organisations to provide optimised service to customers, it will also enable them to optimise internal savings by allowing for better planning. Optimising the use of weather information can save lives, improve deliveries, streamline claims processes and enhance service delivery.
South Africa is traditionally not focused on adverse weather conditions as our climate is usually temperate. However, taking recent weather conditions and events into consideration, it is likely that businesses will have to start realising that adverse weather conditions will most probably become more prevalent and applicable in our daily lives and activities.


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Diam's (* 25. Juli 1980 in Nikosia auf Zypern; bürgerlich Mélanie Georgiades) ist eine griechisch-zyprischstämmige französische Rapperin.

Biographie
Ihre Mutter ist Französin, ihr Vater griechischer Zypriote. Er verließ die Familie jedoch früh und so wurde sie von ihrer Mutter großgezogen. Ihre Mutter verließ Zypern, als Melanie vier Jahre alt war. Sie wuchs in einem Vorort von Paris im Département Essonne auf.

Seit 1995 benutzt sie das Pseudonym Diam's.
Sie wurde 2003 durch ihre Single DJ einem größeren Publikum bekannt. Der Titel stammte von ihrem zweiten Album Brut de femme und erreichte Platz 2 der französischen Charts. Brut de femme wurde auf einem Majorlabel veröffentlicht, während ihr erstes Album Premier Mandat noch unabhängig veröffentlicht wurde. Diam's wuchs mit der französischen Popmusik der 1980er und 1990er Jahre auf (z. B. Jean-Jacques Goldman, Cabrel et Dance Machine). Aber schon bald begeisterte sie sich vor allem für den Rap, besonders das erste Album des Rappers Dr. Dre aus Los Angeles scheint sie stark geprägt zu haben. Mélanie, die gerne Gedichte verfasst, setzte sich gegen ihre Mutter durch und wurde Rapperin. 1999 erschien ihr erstes Album Premier mandat. 2006 hatte sie mit dem Titel La boulette (génération nan nan) einen Nr.-1-Hit in Frankreich.

Diam's konvertierte im September 2009 zum Islam (salafistischer Orientierung) und beendete daraufhin ihre musikalische Karriere.

Auszeichnungen
Diam's wurde in Frankreich als "Beste Sängerin", "Bestes Lied" für "La boulette (génération nan nan)" und "Bestes Album" für "Dans ma bulle" ausgezeichnet bei der Veranstaltung "L'année du Hip-Hop" im Olympia (2007).

Diskografie

Alben

Livealben

Singles

Gastbeiträge

Boxsets

Videoalben

Weitere Videoalben
 2006: Ma vie, mon live (FR: )

Einzelnachweise

Weblinks
 Website
 Biografie (engl.)
 Diam's Diskographie
 biographie (fra.)
 Top Lieder (fra.)

Rapper
Pseudonym
Franzose
Geboren 1980
Frau

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Weird Stuff That Works
A look at some of the innovative products in this wonderful, weird new world. Running used to be easy. Left, right, repeat. It still is.
What Will They Think of Next?
You can head out the door anytime, outfitted with nothing but shorts and shoes.
The shoes alone, however, seem to be returning to simpler profiles of years gone by. Everything else has gotten more complicated. The latest tinkering, applied to our training, recovery, the air that we breathe and the blood that circulates inside our veins, can make the sport resemble something out of an MIT lab.
Not surprisingly, it's the elite athletes, from Galen Rupp to Lauren Fleshman, who've been the earliest adopters of the newest running technology. Lucky for us, their fun--and sometimes wacky--new toys are quickly becoming accessible to all.
While some new products might be distracting and cumbersome (if not downright dangerous), the innovations outlined on the pages to come show promise for enhancing your running life.
Yes, running is still left, right, repeat. But where you do that, and what you do before and after? That's full of new possibilities.
Prices vary by provider
A cold laser, also known as low-level light therapy (LLLT), could be the best thing that's happened to your aching knee or frayed Achilles. The cold laser uses specific wavelengths of light that stimulate mitochondria in cells to accelerate cellular repair, which assists in healing injuries and reducing recovery time, says Dr. David Pascal, a chiropractor at the Health Institute of North Carolina in Cary, N.C.
Jason Piken of Innate Chiropractic of Manhattan treats everyday runners and says he's seen Morton's neuroma, Achilles tendinitis and tendinitis of the knee "melt away" after cold laser treatments. Typical treatment takes from five to 15 minutes and most patients are treated three to four times per week until the injury is healed. Treatment is usually about $50 per session, although prices vary. Unlike deep-tissue massage, cold laser treatment is also effective and safe to use before races. "Over the past 12 years I have treated many, many runners (including sprinters like Justin Gatlin) just moments before they have gone from the warm-up track to the stadium at the Olympic Games, world track and field championships, Olympic trials and U.S. championships," Pascal says.
--NICOLE ESPLIN
Cold Roller
tptherapy.com // $ 109.99
HURTS SO GOOD
This roller scared us a little at first. It looks like the frozen flagpole our little brother stuck his tongue on during recess. Rest assured, no one lost any skin while we were testing it, and we came to appreciate the unique combination of sensations the cold roller produced.
The people at Trigger Point Performance Therapy make numerous products designed for myofascial release, the relaxing of fascial pressure points and tight muscular nodes (hence the "trigger point"). Cassidy Phillips, Trigger Point's founder, says for a year he was mulling over how to combine the recovery properties of an ice bath with the myofascial compression technique produced by their Quad Baller and other rollers. The result is the Cold Roller, made of stainless steel with a patented gel core that retains its temperature for up to three hours after removing it from your freezer. Phillips achieved his goal, as rolling with the device feels a bit like getting a massage while in an ice bath. Soreness disappears quickly, leaving muscles feeling refreshed.
--JONATHAN BEVERLY
nwfootankle.com // $65
THE RUNNER'S PEDICURE
Correct Toes are designed to make your feet look and function like they did when you were a baby: toes widely spaced, pointing straight ahead. Developed by Dr. Ray McClanahan, a Portland-based sports podiatrist and former elite runner, the flexible silicone shapes slip over your toes to align them correctly. The device aims to reverse the damage of modern shoes, which too often crush toes together and cause misalignment, particularly in the critical big toe.
Olympic track stars Sanya Richards-Ross and Lisa Uhl are just two of many believers. Setting toes in the right position can help "every injury upstream from the feet," says Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a Correct Toes fan and RT contributor who has outfitted hundreds of runners with the product. According to Cucuzzella, Correct Toes can strengthen the foot and improve natural balance, essential skills for runners looking to move to more minimal shoes and improve their stride.
While wedging a piece of silicone between each toe might sound awkward, the feel is similar to wearing a pair of Vibram FiveFingers, and surprisingly comfortable after a break-in period. Correct Toes can be worn while running, for recovery after workouts and throughout the day.
Roll Recovery
R8 Roller
rollrecovery.com // $99.00
WRAPAROUND ROLLER
When Jeremy Nelson, husband of elite marathoner Adriana (Pirtea) Nelson, started training seriously, he found that none of the tools available for self-massage provided the feeling of "really flushing the leg out" that he experienced when a massage therapist worked on him. The simplicity of this product, which looks like eight Rollerblade wheels mounted on a square spring, belies the thought that went into each detail. A slight curve in the line of wheels wraps the pressure around the user's leg, and the tension of the spring produces optimal force for a wide range of athlete sizes. We tested the R8 and found that it provides a unique, squeezing massage that can't be replicated by a foam or stick-type roller. The R8 can't be used on every body part, so don't toss your old massage tools, but we liked its portability, ease of use--and the fact that it doesn't charge us $150/hour.
Moji 360 Massager
gomoji.com // $59.95
EVERY WHICH WAY
The Moji 360° Massager takes The Stick one step farther, providing rolling motions in all directions by using ball bearings rather than round roller beads, and producing a slight wrapping effect around the target area with smaller balls in the middle of the curve. The innovation's best advantage is that it gets to hard-to-reach areas, like shoulders or adductors, and places where a circular massage motion is most appropriate, like the lower back.
--JONATHAN BEVERLY.
Hydroworx Underwater Treadmill
hydroworx.com
WATER WORKOUT
HydroWorx treadmills run hydraulically (no electricity, which makes sense), so runners log their miles by tracking time and changing the speed--which is listed in miles per hour and controlled by a knob in the center of the console. Runners can also add resistance by increasing jet power at the front of the treadmill. That jet power provides a current to keep the athlete "grounded."
Alberto Salazar, coach to Farah, Rupp and Ritzenhein, uses the treadmills year-round to increase his athletes' mileage, while saving their legs from too much pounding. "My strategy is to run [Rupp] 105 to 110 miles per week outside at full weight, and then another 30 to 35 miles per week on the HydroWorx underwater treadmill," he says. "I find that they are getting not only the conditioning that they would get from running the extra miles outside, but they're getting extra muscular conditioning going against the resistance of the water."
Installing a complete HydroWorx system in your home costs about $30,000, but the treadmills are located in gyms, sports training facilities, physical therapy clinics, hospitals and retirement communities around the world. Call 800-7539633 to find the closest treadmill.
ElliptiGO
elliptigo.com
INJURIES TO GO
Made famous as a cross-training option by the likes of injured pros from Lauren Fleshman to Adam Goucher, the ElliptiGO is touted as the closest thing you can get to running while not actually touching the ground. Half bike, half elliptical machine, the ElliptiGO mimics the standard gym equipment, but it allows runners to get outside and cover the same terrain they normally would on foot, without the impact. Three different models range in price from $1,799 (basic) to $3,499 for the high-end, carbon-fiber drive designed for racing. Yes, once just thought of as a cross-training option to allow runners to bide time and keep in shape while injured, now the ElliptiGO is a sport unto itself. At press time, Goucher, who retired from competitive running in 2011 with a knee injury, was scheduled to race the Founders' Cup, the world championship of elliptical bike racing.
--ERIN STROUT
Elevation Training Mask 2.0
trainingmask.com // $79.99
PORTABLE ALTITUDE
Popular with the MMA (mixed martial arts) crowd, the Elevation Training Mask claims to improve lung capacity, anaerobic threshold, oxygen efficiency, energy production, physical stamina and mental focus. What's the truth? Can a simple device--essentially a gas mask that restricts the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out--simulate living and training at altitude? Can altitude training be portable?
Wearing the mask feels similar to breathing through a frozen balaclava on a cold winter run. But because it's cumbersome, you're unlikely to wear the mask long enough to make changes in your blood chemistry from reduced oxygen, which reduces the chance of any VO2 max or aerobic threshold gains. Studies on restrictive breathing devices do show an increase in lung capacity and power, but are inconclusive on whether this actually leads to performance improvement. Our conclusion: Wearing the mask during easy days and/or during warm-ups, drills and core work could enhance lung capacity and mental focus. It will certainly freak out the competition.
Mio Alpha Heart Rate Monitor
alphaheartrate.com // $199
STRAPLESS LITTLE NUMBER
A heart rate monitor without a chest strap? That's the idea behind the Alpha, the newest device from this maker of heart rate monitoring devices, which displays heart rate--accurately--for a runner at speeds up to 12 miles per hour (5 minutes per mile). The technology uses a motion detector, two light beams and an electro-optical cell to measure blood volume under a runner's skin at the wrist. Users have compared the Alpha with more traditional heart rate measuring technology, and the Alpha matches the readings almost exactly. If you want to capture the Alpha's heart rate data, you'll need to use a smartphone app, like RunKeeper or MapMyRun. The company turned to kickstarter.com for the last $100,000 of funding and aims to sell the Alpha to the public starting in November.
--SARAH LORGE BUTLER
Inside Tracker
insidetracker.com
IT'S IN YOUR BLOOD
Like the old-school TV ads for Geritol, I exercise, watch my (vegetarian) diet, and take my multivitamin every day. But how could I know if that was really doing the trick? A new service, InsideTracker, allows curious individuals to check under the hood and get a dip-stick analysis of what's happening internally. Given my love and devotion to this magazine, I was willing to bleed as its lab rat.
The first step was going to a local LabCorp location--there are about 1,500 in the U.S.--and having my blood drawn. I completed an online questionnaire for InsideTracker about my fitness level, diet and some other lifestyle details. Several days later, I received a detailed analysis of key blood biomarkers and an individualized nutrition assessment with personal recommendations based on the test results.
What I learned was interesting: As a vegetarian who follows an "all carbs, all the time" policy, essentially living off of cereal, I overdo it when it comes to B12 and folic acid. That's a sign that the fortified foods and multivitamin I was taking had too great a cumulative effect, even for a veggie. As a result, I've stopped taking the multivitamin on a daily basis. But more important, I can rest assured I'm fine when it comes to other biomarker categories such as protein, testosterone, cholesterol, hemoglobin, chromium, white blood cells, ferritin, potassium, sodium and calcium.
The cost ranges between $50 and $500, depending on whether you already have blood samples that can be analyzed and the level of analysis and follow-up you desire.
--ADAM W. CHASE
Sub 4 Jogger
worldsfastestjogger.com // $899
MOMMY'S LITTLE HELPER
Quarter repeats with Junior? That's possible, with what phil&ted's, a New Zealand-based company that makes baby products, dubs the "world's fastest jogger." Boasting an aerodynamic design, advanced suspension (so the little tyke doesn't roll over when you hit a bump rounding a corner at tempo pace), disc brakes, no rear axle (allowing you to stretch out your stride), and what the company calls "easy one-hand maneuverability," this new stroller means speed work doesn't have to suffer. Now, if they could only figure out how to keep the sprout from staging a tantrum on your fourth rep.
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text:
What Are the Different Types of Prostatitis Antibiotics?
Bobbie Fredericks
Because oral antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria in the body, physicians may suggest probiotic supplements to replenish beneficial bacteria.
There are many different prostatitis antibiotics, including pills and intravenous drugs. The one prescribed depends on several factors, including the health and allergies of the patient as well as the severity of symptoms. Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, which is usually caused by infection. It can be either chronic, with recurring symptoms over a period of months, or acute, with rapid onset symptoms.
Since the urethra travels through the prostate, any swelling results in difficulty urinating. Urination may also be painful. Other symptoms include pain in the abdomen or lower back, painful orgasms, and flu-like symptoms.
Prostatitis is caused by the inflammation of the prostate.
The most common prostatitis antibiotic for acute prostatitis is ciprofloxacin, given in a dose of 500 milligrams twice daily for 28 days. Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone class. Patients who have had an allergic or adverse reaction to another fluoroquinolone should not take ciprofloxiacin. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headache. This antibiotic increases the risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture, which may occur up to several months after treatment has ended.
Certain antibiotics of all classes can trigger mild side effects in patients.
Ofloxacin is another form of prostatitis antibiotics for the acute form of the disease. This drug is also a fluoroquinolone. The dosage is usually 200 milligrams for 28 days. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, gas, loss of appetite, dizziness, and tiredness. More serious side effects include hoarseness, fever, loss of consciousness, muscle or joint pain, and shortness of breath. This medication also increases risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture.
Bacterial cultures may be used to identify the effectiveness of antibiotics for a specific infection.
There are some patients who are allergic to both of these prostatitis antibiotics. For these men, the combination drug sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim is often prescribed. The usual dose is one tablet containing 800 milligrams sulfamethoxazole and 160 milligrams trimethoprim, taken once a day for 28 days. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and increased sensitivity to the sun. More serious side effects include hepatitis, hyperkalemia, kidney failure, depression, hallucinations, and convulsions.
Vomiting is a common side effect of many prostatitis antibiotics.
Chronic prostatitis is also often treated with fluoroquinolones. In the event of fluoroquinolone allergy, doxycycline is often used. The dosage typically prescribed is 100 milligrams twice daily for 28 days. Doxycycline is in the tetracycline drug group. Side effects include diarrhea, sore mouth, and itching of the rectum.
More serious acute cases may require intravenous prostatitis antibiotics. Ceftriaxone is one drug commonly used. It is given in a hospital setting over a period of 12-24 hours, depending on the severity of the infection. Ceftriaxone is a cephalosporin antibiotic. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness.
What Are the Most Common Sulfamethoxazole Side Effects?
What Are the Signs of a Tetracycline Allergy?
How Effective Is Ciprofloxacin for Prostatitis?
What Is a Ciprofloxacin Allergy?
What Are the Causes of a Headache during Orgasm?
How do I Choose the Best Chronic Prostatitis Treatment?
What is Prostate Inflammation?
anon315096
Try the Avelox and Doxycycline one by one without a gap.
serenesurface
@feruze, @alisha-- Prostatitis antibiotics cannot be changed just because you feel like it. Doctors decide on the antibiotic based on the urine cultures. This helps them figure out which antibiotic the infection is going to react to the best.
The only circumstances under which it should be stopped and/or switched is if there is an allergic reaction or if the infection is not responding to the antibiotic despite the full course of treatment.
If the antibiotic doesn't seem to be working, there could be other infections, health issues that are going on. Or it could be a nonbacterial prostatitis. But following treatment as directed will make doctor's job a lot easier.
discographer
@feruze-- I haven't heard of that antibiotic before but I personally used Ciproflaxcin for a long time for my chronic prostatitis treatment. It did work, but it always seemed to take a very long time to do so.
I decided to get a second opinion from another urologist who suggested that I stop taking the antibiotics since I had been on them for months. He said that some antibiotics, despite having treated the problem, might not cause the symptoms to go away right away. And many doctors do not want to stop treatment while the patient is still complaining about pain and difficulty urinating.
I followed his advice and about a month afterward, my symptoms went away on its own. I'm not saying that this will be the case for you. But antibiotics seem to work differently for different people. Also, another doctor might be able to prescribe a different antibiotic or recommend a different treatment which works better in case your doctor is not giving you many options.
I'm taking an antibiotic called cephalexin for my chronic prostatitis. In the beginning, I was taking it in higher doses (1000mg per day) over a course of several weeks. It would treat my prostatitis but as soon as I finished the course, it would come back.
Right now, I'm still on cephalexin, but on a much smaller dose as a long term treatment. I feel that this is keeping my prostatis away but the issue is that I can't keep taking antibiotics infinitely.
Unfortunately, our family doctor isn't the best and the antibiotics he suggests are ones I've already tried. I wish there was an antibiotic which could treat my prostatitis permanently and in one course.
Has anyone had a successful chronic prostatitis treatment? Which antibiotic did you use and at what dose did you take it?
By: svetavo
By: tomschoumakers
By: Alliance
By: A Oller
By: olly
By: dragon_fang
Side effects of prostatitis antibiotics may include nausea.
By: elizalebedewa
Some prostatitis antibiotics can cause dizziness.
By: 7activestudio
Although chronic prostatitis originates in the prostate gland, the condition can produce symptoms commonly associated with urinary tract disorders.
By: tawesit
Some acute cases of prostatitis require antibiotics to be given through an intravenous line.


I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called What Makes a Great Business Report Presentation? and is located at https://www.presentation-guru.com/what-makes-a-great-business-report-presentation/.
The elements that make a consultant's report presentation great are almost the same that make any presentation great.
At the end of the day, keep your audience at the centre, be creative and thoughtful of their needs; use design and visuals to your advantage and integrate them early on, not as an afterthought. And remember: Sometimes, less is more.
The less is more principle – use data to back your insights, rather than make the data the focus of the slide.
Clean and simple slides remove distraction and place emphasis on your message.
A good rule of thumb in your report presentation is to use clear, minimally-styled fonts so your message doesn't get lost in a web of visual distraction.
Good, relevant visuals amplify your message because they elicit emotional responses, helping your audience retain key points.
A clear flow to the presentation – perhaps even with a tracking tool on each slide to follow progress – will help the audience's retention rate.
Breaking down your solution step-by-step is the best way to increase the effectiveness of your presentation.
Personalise it to give tailored advice to the stakeholders. What makes a great consultant is his or her ability to go beyond surface data to give clients real, actionable insight.
Bitesize can still be meaty. Remember, quality over quantity.
Your photo will help them remember who you are.
You can check out all the great examples at 25 Powerful Report Presentations And How To Make Your Own.


I want a baby Alpaca.
Posted July 6, 2011 by Ellee & filed under Uncategorized.
A household discussion led to the conclusion that we will not be getting a baby Alpaca. After passing numerous Alpaca farms on my tour with Laura in the Willamette Valley wine country, my affinity for this Dr. Seussesque animal with its fuzzy, dinosaur-like neck and giant chocolate eyes went throught the roof.
Did you know that there are dozens of Alpaca farms in the Willamette Valley? I found this out as I was researching the cost of a baby Alpaca (which turned out to be rather cost restrictive). It's a high-demand, niche industry of the valley that adds infinitely more charm to a cycling tour.
Alpacas and all, the tour was cyclo-hedonism. It was fitting that Laura and I ended the tour with a bang with our last stop and tasting at Willakenzie Winery (at the top of a .38 mile steep grade). Talk about an impressive place to eat a picnic. The panorama captured hills of curling vines and the verdant valley.