Entrepreneurship is hard, no, real entrepreneurship is hard, I say real because many young people call themselves entrepreneurs, but they really don’t know the half of it.

For the last year and a half I’ve been working on launching my company, EduFocal Limited. That dream became a reality on March 15th, 2012 when we finally launched at the Jamaica Pegasus. I’ve smiled, I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, but most importantly I’ve learned life lessons.

I’ll be doing some guest posts regularly at virgin.com. I write about life and my experiences as a young entrepreneur. This is my first post there. Feedback is great, let me know if you liked it or it sucked.

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When you visit a there are a wealth of games to choose from. Some favorites include texas hold em poker, slot
machines, horse racing and blackjack. Best of all, if you are new to iPad gaming, the rules are
available and easy to understand.

You can play for real money at a casino online on the iPad. Simply find your WiFi
connection, choose your favorite games, and add credits and play! You can try the games with
demonstration credits before you wager your own money so you can experience the games
with no initial detriment to your wallet. The option of playing for fun or for money, opens the
gaming to a wider range of people.

Online gaming has truly found its niche with the iPad do to its portability, powerful graphics
and accessibility. The clear casino sounds along with the sharp images make the experience
that much more enjoyable. If you need a little escape from your day just spin the roulette
wheel a few times or play a few hands of blackjack.

Whether you’ve been to Las Vegas, a local casino or played online casino games on a
personal computer, the gaming experience on the iPad can be just as exciting. Wherever you
are or whatever your doing there’s always a minute or two for a quick game. Just download
the applications from iTunes and you’ll be on your way to loads of fun. Good luck and happy
gaming!

Google Sync

I’ve been using Google Sync for about 2 years and it’s definitely a life saver. It’s useful, easy to setup and it’s supported on a ton of devices ( Blackberry, iPhone, Android etc). Not only is it good for backing up your contacts and keeping them in sync across devices, it’s also good for calendar synchronization. Google Sync provides over-the-air synchronization so you never have to plug anything into your computer.

Practicality

I use two mobile phones; (Oh, How I hate walking around with two devices) an iPhone and a Blackberry. Both have different address books. Depending on who I’m calling I prefer to use one over the other. It’s never an issue trying to remember which one of the phones I added the person on because both my address books are in Sync. So let’s say I added John Doe to my iPhone as a contact, within minutes the the contact would automatically be pushed to my blackberry. If John told me that there’s two e’s in his last name I can easily modify from either phone and it would be pushed to the other.

Check out this video for an explanation of Google Sync:

You can find the instructions for setting up Google Sync here. Try it out. It’s one of those apps that you’ll setup and not worry about after you do. If you’re having issues setting up drop me comment and I’ll be happy to help you out.

In 2010 i started to take my blog and writing more seriously. A lot happened, alas my memory sucks so i won’t try and remember the finer details. World Cup was in 2010 right? or was it 2009? Anyway, i guess i’ll add that to my 2011 resolution. Document, everything. Evernote i’m looking in your direction.

In order of highest traffic to least:

#1 Digicel and its indifference to Customers:

Digicel; that cool Irish telecommunications operator that rescued Jamaicans from the clutches of the Monopoly at the time Cable and Wireless Jamaica, circa 2001 ( Now LIME Jamaica) , has apparently grown tremendously over a short period of time and is supposedly too big to value one disgruntled customer (disgruntled, for good reason).

#2 Online resources to keep abreast of situation in Jamaica ( Dudus):

At no point in time has Jamaica been able to utilize Social Media as it is now. People are exchanging information via Twitter, Facebook and other social utilities to quickly and effectively disseminate information to each other where conventional media has clearly fallen short.

#3 Digicel Jamaica, Doing with the Internet what they did with Mobile

The only reason this post has this title is because i had it in my drafts and i couldn’t be bothered to change it. Let’s say if i didn’t start writing this post already while fully knowing about the hell I’d have to go through this morning; the title may have been “Digicel’s Failed 4G Launch”, but anyway; i digress.

#4 The 10 Day Challenge.

On March 3,2010 @ 7:21 PM I disabled both my Facebook and twitter account. Why? no other reason but to challenge myself. Challenge myself by taking away things that provide solace for me.

#5 Jamaica’s first “Bloggers Meetup” by the Jamaica Tourist Board, Day 1

Over 20+ bloggers/writers from the United States converged on Jamaican soil yesterday afternoon to “Experience Jamaica” for the next 5 days; a first for the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB). To make this experience even more memorable a team of Jamaican bloggers were invited by the JTB to compliment the assembly of bloggers/writers to ensure the Jamaican experience was as authentic as possible.

#6 So, you want to be an Entrepreneur? Or Maybe Not

We’re in a time (In Jamaica and around the world) where economies are begging for entrepreneurs, risk-takers or “Linch-Pins” as the great Seth Godin calls them, just turn on your TV, it’s the new buzz word, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship.

#7 Blackberry Go Bye-Bye

Now, i have my reservations about the Bible, but that one verse was pretty potent. My Blackberry was my right hand and it was causing me great pain ( Way to take the Lord’s word literally eh?) . Crappy battery life, non functional keys, and a plethora of other issues. Now, I can’t recall it leaving my hand and making contact with the wall, but it happened and it happened fast, Jesus guided my hand maybe?

#8 I’m an analytics monkey, get Clicky!

I’m not writing this post because Clicky Web Analytics is providing monetary incentive–because to be honest it’s really not much. I’m writing this because i actually love them.

#9 Common Sense Foursquare Tips

And all the other Location based apps…I apologize for the title in advance, because if it was common sense i really wouldn’t need to be writing this post now would i? Many Jamaicans seem to be catching on to foursquare, but many do not realize how unsafe it can be. Here’s a few tips that I’m sure will be beneficial to and your friends:

#10 JTB Bloggers Meetup Post Roundup

It has been approximately 2 weeks since the Bloggers Meetup in Montego Bay and the euphoria from being on the trip has just about died. Though many (hint: Stunner) found it hard to “integrate” themselves back into so-called real life, it was inevitable ; now it’s no longer euphoria, but instead, nostalgia; nostalgic about experiencing such an amazing meet up and becoming acquainted with so many cool people.

We’re in a time (In Jamaica and around the world) where economies are begging for entrepreneurs, risk-takers or “Linch-Pins” as the great Seth Godin calls them, just turn on your TV, it’s the new buzz word, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship.

But, here’s the problem. You can’t ask for these type of people when the school system does not facilitate them. You’re asking me to be one thing, but training me to be another? Hmm, sort of contradictory right? We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. (Albert Einstein).

In his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Seth Godin explains it best:

Studies show us that things learned in frightening circumstances are sticky. We remember what we learn on the battlefield, or when we burn a finger on a hot tea kettle. We remember what we learn in situations where successful action avoids a threat.
Schools have figured this out. They need shortcuts in order to successfully process millions of students a year, and they’ve discovered that fear is a great shortcut on the way to teaching compliance. Classrooms become fear-based, test-based battlefields, when they could so easily be organized to encourage the heretical thought we so badly need.
So, is it any surprise that people have learned to fit in, do the standardized test, keep heads down, obey instructions? Decades of school have drilled that into us–fear, fear, and more fear. Fear of getting a D-minus. Fear of not getting a job right out of school. Fear of not fitting in.

Another bit that I liked from his book:

Answering questions like “When was the War of 1812?” is a useless skill in an always-on Wikipedia world. It’s far more useful to be able to answer the kind of question for which using Google won’t help. Questions like, “What should I do next?

The ones among us who become the free thinkers and leaders are not the ones who subscribe to the status quo  that schools try so hard to make everyone subscribe to, the ones among us who do well are the ones who go against the grain. Academic wise I’ve always been average in school, and it’s not because i wasn’t smart enough to do the work, it’s because i was never interested in what they were teaching. Of course, at that time i couldn’t figure out why i couldn’t pay attention to the chalk board for more than 10 minutes; the teachers claimed i had a short attention-span, but now that I’m old enough to know better, so i disagree.

My passion was and has always been entrepreneurship–even before I knew what the word meant, I like to lead, I like to create opportunity and I’ve always been a thinker.  In 2005, i created Advance-Gamers.com ( i was 15): I was brokering business deals, I was recruiting staff members, I was maintaining a community of over 100+ people, i was networking with the PR in  big gaming companies like ( Activision, EA Games etc), I was receiving games to review from said companies and smaller ones and i was making money, alas not enough to feed my passion at the time–gaming (haha).  All that at 15+. “AG” as it was called by many went on to become arguably the largest gaming website in the Caribbean at the time with close to 50,000 hits daily (see Gleaner article here), but eventually I had to shut the website down because it demanded a lot of my time which consequently caused me to fall behind in you guessed it…school. Maybe that would have turned out differently if I was actually being encouraged. But, I guess we’ll never know.

Prior to my gaming website, I owned other websites ( younger than  age 15). I had competition, we competed and it felt good, I felt good. Eventually one of my competitors approached me with the idea of partnership, i accepted the offer and up to this very day we’re still business partners. I failed ( and continue to fail) as much as I’ve won, but it has never felt that way, because I love what I do, that’s my passion, finding the area of a rectangle isn’t. I agree with Seth when he said the contributions of school are often superfluous.

Years later, at 20. I’ve incorporated a company that millions have been invested in. And I’m confident in my ability, knowledge and experience that I’ve gotten over the years that I will make it a successful one(and with the help of others). And yes, my competitor turned partner that i met online years ago, is apart of it too…

When you have a Jamaican who’s afraid to take a  JMD $30,000 loan to start an in-school business because he wants to stay safe and avoid risk, what sense does it make for our Finance Minister to be seeking money to fund small, medium and micro businesses in Jamaica if we have a nation of people who share this general sentiment, a country full of people who are not taught to think or who are afraid to think because their awesome was killed somewhere along the way, a country where one would rather secure a Job at Digicel (They can only hire so many people, and the Company didn’t start itself…somebody had to take the initiative to start it) and seek hand outs from its Government?

Instead of helping to fuel my passion this is what school was doing to me and continues to do to other people:

Fit in.  Follow instructions. Use #2 pencils. Take good notes. Show up every day. Cram for tests and don’t miss deadlines. Have good handwriting. Punctuate. Buy the things the other kids are buying. Don’t ask questions.  Don’t challenge authority. Do the minimum amount required so you’ll have time to work on another subject. Get into college.Have a good resume. Don’t fail Don’t say anything that might embarrass you. Be passably good at sports, or perhaps extremely good at being a quarterback. Participate in a large number of extracurricular activities. Be a generalist. Try not to have the other kids talk about you. Once you learn a topic, move on. – An excerpt from Seth’s book.

And yes, I am in University, but if you want to know what my thoughts are on that, then you should read this article by Jason Baptiste.

Don’t let school…or anyone else stifle the artist and the awesome in you.  Being good at school is a fine skill if you intend to do school forever. (Seth Godin)

Seth’s Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? is probably the best book I’ve ever read in a long time ( It inspired this post). And I’m not even finished reading yet. It has helped me to verbalize what I’ve believed and practiced for a long time. I would love to copy and paste the whole book here, but I’d probably get in trouble. Please, please, Give it a read. You can buy it here

And remember, people who change the world rarely follow the rules. I’m a rebel, i knew it all along, but now i wholeheartedly accept it. A new level of awareness

P.S First resolution for 2011 has began: Start writing about entrepreneurship on my blog. Hopefully i can inspire someone to take that leap in 2011.

It’s also unfortunate that those who need to read, don’t read. If you have a friend that you think this entry could help, please share.

image from:Education-Portal.com

An ode to my Mother:

Taking care of yourself is very hard, I started to realize that fact after moving to Kingston; after finally figuring that out, I think I started to appreciate you and your role as a Mother more. Being a successful entrepreneur, a fearless mother and a model wife, well that’s something…not something many women can pull off.  How you manage to raise three children is beyond me, especially me; I know fully well that I am more than a handful to raise. You’re a Queen among women Mom and I love you.

An ode to my Father:

Dear ol’ Dad, if you were not a stubborn man you would have probably given up on me, but you didn’t and as a result you had me saying “I hate you” a lot growing up, but you knew better. I never took school seriously, I remember the teachers always writing on my report: “Gordon has potential” that’s  teacher euphemism for “There’s no hope for this guy”.

I recall constantly getting into fights and you always bailing me out, I also remember you always taking those knives that I felt the need to buy and walk around with, which could have possibly landed me into bigger problems. I could go on and on about the great deal of headaches I caused you, but alas! Without you I would have been a totally different person in a totally different place, or maybe even dead.

Thank you for guiding me through my rebellious childhood phase Daddy, love you!

Everything I am, and everything I will become I owe to my parents, they complement each other and they complete me. They were brought together for a reason, because no one person could handle raising me.

I am grateful that my parents decided to live and work in rural Jamaica because through that I’ve experienced things city dwellers don’t usually get the opportunity to experience.  On the 18th of November i would have completed the teenage leg of my life and though I’m not extremely happy with my accomplishments thus far, i am content and I’m working hard to see my goals through. Now, growing up in the country was a wonderful experience for me ( Christiana, Jamaica), and i never really appreciated it until i moved to Kingston, though that’s a given as you’ll never feel nostalgic about something until you don’t have it anymore. There was  barely any crime (apart from the occasional larceny), plenty of yard space ( and i mean acres), and an overabundance of food and a pretty big house to grow up in.

Life in the city is a far cry from what life is like in the country…I’m not sure if I’m the only one who finds it weird for a child to grow up on an apartment complex ( I wonder what that does to them, but i guess it doesn’t bother them because that’s the norm). It’s not often that you find people my age leaving Urban Jamaica and going to rural Jamaica seeking opportunities or for schooling. I remember coming into Kingston with my dad as a youngster for whatever reason; for me everywhere felt like one big maze then ( and in some ways it sort of still does).

There’s absolutely nothing like the “Country come a town” experience, it has helped me to grow and everyday i learn more.  If you think about it though, many never have that opportunity.  For them, everything happens in the city–you’re born in the city, you grow up in the city, you go to school in the city and for many they end up living and working in the city post school life. Most of which happens while living with their next of kin. Post secondary school life is a different ball game for rural dwellers though; it’s where you leave the comfort of home in the country and move to the city to persue  tertiary levels studies. That’s what I’m really happy for. I was forced to grow, think, be responsible and  inevitably expedite the process of me becoming a man.

I’ll never forget the first night living on my own…It was now my responsibility  to cook ( cooking was second nature to me as i was always in the kitchen with my mother honing my culinary skills), clean, wash, find my way to school and everything else in between. Now imagine a privileged country boy who did not know life without a helper in it moving to Kingston with the responsibility of taking care of himself full-time? ( scary thought).  The first day out the door was the worst for me as i had no idea how to find school or how to use the transportation system in Kingston, but thankfully i asked around and figured it out. Now contrast that to a first year student starting University like me that day but has lived in Kingston all his/her life? Only difference for them is the exciting opportunities that university presents.

Fast forward a year later I’m in my second year of University, I’m no longer on foot, I’m more acquainted  with the city, I’ve grown both physically and mentally, I’m more mature, I’ve acquired new skills, I’m (still)  young, I’m ambitious and I’m ready to take on the world.

Now, i have my reservations about the Bible, but that one verse was pretty potent.  My Blackberry was my right hand and it was causing me great pain ( Way to take the Lord’s word literally eh?) . Crappy battery life, non functional keys, and a plethora of other issues.  Now, I can’t recall it leaving my hand and making contact with the wall, but it happened and it happened fast, Jesus guided my hand maybe?

Make no mistake i love(ed) my blackberry. It made me a little more productive, but also caused me to be a little less productive.  Even though it’s sitting in a garbage bin nearby i will miss it dearly and have already started to miss it. I’ve been hearing Blackberry Messenger notifications all day and I’ve been seeing flashing LED lights on things that aren’t supposed to be flashing (like my macbook…call me crazy).  I’ve also been reaching for it to make phone calls only to realize it’s not there ( not to mention I’m without a mobile phone now).

But that’s fine, life is all about change and sometimes we become so caught up with vanity that we forget to pay attention to the finer things in life. Maybe I’ll pay more attention in my lectures  and actually listen to my friends when they’re speaking to me. If i could, i would do it again. Make no mistake i value my gadgets, but if any of them ( even my macbook) start causing me great distress then I’ll smash it too.

Financially, I’m not in a position to buy a new smartphone, but that’s cool. This smartphone sabbatical will be good for me, it will also give me some time to actually think about my next smartphone purchase. Whether it be an android, an iPhone or even another Blackberry.

The Blackberry Bold 9000 in Queston

]]> http://gordonswaby.com/2010/09/blackberry-go-bye-bye/feed/ 15 http://gordonswaby.com/2010/08/common-sense-foursquare-tips/ http://gordonswaby.com/2010/08/common-sense-foursquare-tips/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:25:23 +0000 Gordon http://www.gordonswaby.com/?p=765 And all the other Location based apps…I apologize for the title in advance, because if it was common sense i really wouldn’t need to be writing this post now would i?  Many Jamaicans seem to be catching on to foursquare, but many do not realize how unsafe it can be. Here’s a few tips that I’m sure will be beneficial to and your friends:

Don’t Check-in at Home: Never check-in at home.  That’s just silly. Scenario: You check in at home; a few hours later you check in at another location. You live alone; you don’t think thieves and robbers use the internet? Sure, your home address can be found if people really need to find it, but do you really want to make it that easy and  plant the seed of misdeed ? If you really need to check-in at home do it privately.

Don’t Check-in to a whole Parish: Ok, this one is funny. Why would you check into a whole Parish? I’m surprised someone hasn’t checked into Jamaica yet…

Don’t Check-in to your friend’s house: This is also a big no no.  You don’t want your home address out there just the same with your friend’s address. If you want to seek their permission. Checking in “Off the grid” works here too.

Common sense tips aside, if you’re going to use foursquare make it funny for everybody and leave tips at locations you visit. Happy Foursquaring!

Check out Foursuare’s “Privacy 101″ here

I was going to wait a few more days to post this, but i felt the need to put this out there now.  David Mullings wrote an excellent post about Foursquare mayship and privacy on foursqaure in general.  Check it out

Final note: I’ll update this post as soon as i can think of other tips.

At about 9:00 AM this morning i got a call from a Digicel sales agent; she was pleasant, thanking me for signing up etc. She confirmed the information i submitted via their website and told me where i could pick up my modem. Because i signed up online i was eligible for a limited edition gift, she told me i had the choice between a USB Pen or a wireless mouse.  I went to the 2  locations closest  to me only to find out that they were not yet set up to sell the devices. You would think that a company would have all this sorted out before they decide to launch the product (Obviously the sales agent who i spoke to had no idea that these locations were either not stocked or ready to sell the devices), but alas.  I decided  to check out the other retail locations in my region on their website by calling them instead of wasting my time to check each location individually only to find out that most were not stocked, and one dealer had no idea what i was talking about, mind you this is a retailer listed ON the Digicel website.

I visited the only location selling the device and after battling with them initially (the wait and other minor annoyances) they finally started giving me some attention. Now i realized that signing up online was useless because 1. They didn’t know that i signed up online and also had no idea that you could and 2. They did not know that i was eligible for a gift and other incentives if i did sign up online even though it is clearly stated on the website.

I told her i would return for my gift in a few days ( She did not deny me the gift, but was honest and said she knew nothing about it, she claimed they have not been trained yet and would be attending a training seminar soon). Not to lay the blame squarely at her feet–i blame Digicel for not training their employees prior to launch…

The Process

To purchase the Digicel 4G Modem  you need 2 recent utility bills and some sort of identification ( Driver’s License, Voters ID etc if not you need a letter that is signed and stamped by a JP). They will make copies of these.  After purchasing the modem they will test it to ensure it’s in full working order by connecting it to a laptop and check for a connection. Once a connection has been established they will direct the browser to the Digicel 4G website where registration of the device is done. You’ll also choose the username and password for your self-care login

Payment Options

Payment for Modems ( You have a choice of a 2. The CPE Wifi Modem (Less Portable) or the USB Dongle Modem ( more portable)) comes in 2 flavors, prepaid and post paid. With prepaid you have the option of paying for 7, 14 or 30 days while with postpaid you pay for 30 days.

I chose the postpaid plan which requires a deposit of $3,000 (Which is all you need to pay, because the modem is free with the postpaid plan) which you get back at the end of the 1 year contract. The first month is free, after which as seen in the image above you pay $2,500 monthly ( 30 day cycle)

Speed

Speed i imagine depends greatly on signal strength, which is measured from 1 to 3).

1. - The signal is on, but the reception is poor. <- Which i got.
2. - The signal strength is in the range between 16 and 24 – Good reception
3. - The signal strength is greater than or equal to 25 dBm – Excellent Reception

The reception can also be checked from your Web Configurator page. Wifi can also be turned on from your web config page; this is explained in depth in the Quick Start Guide that you receive with your modem.

Conclusion

Digicel has a plan, and i may have had a bad experience acquiring my service, but it will inevitably get better. They will soon be offering Laptops with their plans which is good. And for the people that may have a hard time paying for it Digicel has partnered with NCB in offering loans up to $150,000. Not only is this beneficial to Digicel, it is beneficial to Jamaica and will aid in propelling our nation into the future; there’s nothing like access to knowledge and the internet provides that. Prices will also be competitive because they have other networks to contend with ( LIME, Claro and Flow)

If you have any question please feel free to leave a comment.