It seems like most of the time successful entrepreneurs are assumed to be savvy business people who have everything figured out and obviously don’t make missteps. Otherwise, how could they be successful? This assumption could not be further from the truth.

It used to be somewhat common knowledge that to be successful at any business venture you had to get up and work hard every day. You had to put in more time than anyone else and devote everything to the focus and success of your venture. Maybe, after years of hard work, the fruits of that labor would pay off. Somewhere between the “overnight millionaire success stories” of the dot com boom and the emerging coming-of-age of the “entitled generation”; the knowledge that used to be common has swayed the other way. Now, any actually successful entrepreneurs know it is not different. To truly succeed the formula has not changed. Yet to the outside world the raw truth of the path to that success is lost.

Any successful venture does take time. You very well may have small victories that reap benefits almost instantly.  You have to take these as positives that allow you to move on to the next step. There is always more preparation and the next 3 steps you take are more important than the last 2 you just completed. Among the most valuable in any of these are the missteps and mistakes. Believe it or not, these are where the real lessons are contained. Failing is a key part of the evolution of character, personality, experience, and especially in business. The trick is to fail forward. You have to use the failure of today to inform and correct the success of tomorrow. Be just as thankful (if not more) for the not-so-perfect-days as the ones in the limelight. They give you awareness of what to watch for and make the success that you experience become intentional and not accidental.
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The end journey of your success will most likely take years, but that is the war. You have to get up every day and fight the small battles. You will win some and you will most definitely lose some. Set the destination with an eye down the road, but make course adjustments daily. When you finally get there you will have blazed a trail that is your own and one you will intimately know every step of the way. You have the power to turn negatives into positives and grow your business and yourself along the way. Embrace failure and then keep walking until you get to hug success.

As is the habit of my brain, I am always looking for ways to create additional revenue streams and grow businesses out of them.  Because of this my main company, 5Block Radius, is now the parent of several internally incubated ventures. Some of those business ventures came because of deliberate thought and planning, and a few of them just happened thru crazy random happenstance.  One of which is what has become Mechanical Buggy and will eventually include AmishBox.com.

I use Craigslist randomly (and cautiously) to check out any opportunities that people may have posted. You would be surprised what kind of lead generation can happen when you are just clicking around.  One day, I noticed a local listing that would prove to turn into a viable side business on it's own.  The ad stated that transportation was needed for a crew of Amish workers who were building houses for a contractor. The pay was a set amount every day and the only requirement was that you supply the vehicle and be timely and dependable. After figuring the drive time I calculated it was about 4 hours worth of work every day and would fall very early in the morning and in the late afternoon (toward the end of the traditional business day). Considering the pay would potentially generate $1000+ monthly, I decided to give it a try.

To be honest, I am not sure what I expected at first. I know there are many people who have daily dealings with the Amish and have known them for years. For me, the only things I had ever experienced were what I had seen in movies or TV or the occasional sight of them at a distance. Making the first trip out to where they lived showed me the basics of their lifestyle and desire to attain "simple living" and be unattached from what they perceive to be the hang-ups of the modern world. The choices of how they dress and live were not what surprised me (I already knew that mostly). The thing that immediately struck me was how dedicated and strict they are to a schedule. Their entire lives are streamlined around getting the most done every single day. By the time I arrived at the first worker's house in the mornings it was 7 a.m. and they already had been up for at least 3 hours and done more "morning chores" than the average person probably does all week. Yet, there they were ready to load up in the van and get going to the job site to build a house for the next 8 hours. After taking them home around 5 or 6 p.m. they would then proceed to do "evening chores". In the 6 months I personally drove them, I never heard any of the 7 or 8 workers that I met complain in the least. This is not just expected of them but it is accepted by them gratefully. Clearly a stark contrast to the attitude and outlook that most people have in the modern world.

The other aspect that jumped out at me was one that I recognized and appreciated greatly. The Amish devote much planning and hard work to developing multiple income streams so that they are not reliant on just one source of income.  The past few years have seen a major focus arise in the business, start-up, and "side-hustle" communities on the importance and flexibility of having multiple income streams.  To hear some people talk about it there is almost the feeling that it is a new and revolutionary concept.  Let me just say, I think the Amish are old hands at it. It was refreshing to see them taking the same concepts of what so many online and in business hope to achieve and doing it on a small, direct, "offline" scale. Of the families I had the privilege to meet, there were varying scales of income from ventures ranging from raising cows, selling milk & eggs, planting & harvesting crops, saddle/leatherwork, baking, cleaning services, and, of course, the contracting of house construction services. These were just the ones made known to me.  I have to believe that there are surely more across the entire community.

I have since hired a driver at an hourly rate to drive the van I dedicated for this route. 

You have a lean startup, which means you are on the tightest of budgets. Why blow money on traditional services when you can use these 5 ways to save money and still close the deal?

Over the last 12+ years I have had to travel fairly frequently for work. For the last 4 of those years, I have been in charge of booking all the arrangements on a budget.  Since I only had limited resources (sometimes even spending my own money), I have had to get smart about the choices I make.  This made me realize that others out there might benefit from some of these suggestions. If you are starting your own business and are a lean startup, things can be really tight.  Travelling to land that big account might be exactly what you need to kickstart your success – but you can’t go bankrupt in the process of getting there.  Here are 5 things I have learned and used that could be a help to you:

1. MegaBus (www.MegaBus.com)

If you are not opposed to ground transportation between cities, then MegaBus.com might be your most affordable option.  The company is operated by Coach USA who is well known for running charter buses.  They employ some of their fleet in the spin-off company Megabus. These double decker buses offer low rates in between cities with minimal stops on the way.  As opposed to the comparable “Greyhound” system which stops every 20 or so miles in between, Megabus opts to give you only 1 rest stop in between each advertised hub. This allows for the cheaper rates by cutting costs and conserving fuel.  They even have an advertised $1 rate (although I have yet to actually experience it).  To give a real world example, I am able to travel from Kansas City to Chicago (some 800 miles one way) for about $30 ROUNDTRIP on average. I have even travelled down in the $15 to $20 range on numerous occasions.

One of the down sides would definitely be the limited locations that are serviced.  For me I have to travel about 3 hours to get to the nearest pickup/drop-off.  This is not entirely bad considering the price, but if you have to go to a location that is far from any of their locations then the extra cost of further travel might quickly erase the savings.

PROS: Free Wi-Fi, power outlets, air conditioning, minimal stops, mostly comfortable seats, no extra charge for bags
CONS: Minimal stops, limited service locations (most major cities included), passenger quality, seats get somewhat uncomfortable over long distances (this could be an opinion)

2. Spirit Airlines (www.Spirit.com)

I like to affectionately call them the “MegaBus of the Air”.  Much of the same applies here but with air travel.  Spirit has grown steadily over the last few years as they are offering ultra-low fares between several dozen locations (including some international). Just as with MegaBus, if the serviced locations are not where you need to go then additional travel may make this not as ideal. However, they mostly service all major metropolitan areas and I have used them many times for business travel. If it is within your budget, you can even “upgrade” your boarding priority, seating assignment, and baggage for not much more.  These features are even more affordable if you join the “$9 Fare Club”.  This annual membership of $59 gives you even deeper discounts than the advertised prices.  For another real world example: I have gotten round-trip tickets from Kansas City to Chicago with a 2 night hotel stay (Days Inn) for $185 total.

As can be expected with a discount airline, sometimes there are noticeable areas they cut costs. They appear to be understaffed at times, with flight delays and cancellations resulting from it. They operate a limited route schedule on a daily basis so changing flights will likely result in moving travel to the next day instead of just later in the same day. Lastly, in order to keep their prices low you have to be ok with their “philosophy” of getting what they call the “bare fare”.  This results in having to purchase EVERYTHING else including bags over a certain size, seating assignments, boarding priority, and even snacks and drinks while in-flight.

BONUS TIP: I invested in a carry-on bag that is exact dimensions to get the "bare fare" rate. I am able to fit my laptop, cords, a notebook, and all necessary clothes for 3 days of a trip into it. You do have to get creative but it is a good deal in the long run. The LUCAS Wheeled Under the Seat Cabin Bag EXCLUSIVE is the perfect dimensions at 9.8 x 15.7 x 15.7 inches; 5.6 pounds.

PROS: Ability to bundle other services such as hotel & car for even deeper discounts, some of the lowest rates in the industry, remains affordable even booking “last minute”
CONS: Limited flight schedules, Limited service locations, higher frequency of issues, extra charges for pretty much everything beyond the base ticket

3. ZipCar (www.ZipCar.com)

ZipCar has been around now for 15 years. It is a simple, straight-forward concept that is meant to be an alternative to the costly process of renting a car.  Car rentals can be a laborious procedure. You can’t use bank/debit cards, you have to put down a deposit, there may be additional age or insurance requirements.  Additionally, maybe you only need the car for a few hours and don’t want to pay fees to rent for the entire day or week.  ZipCar is a great way around that.  They have locations all over the US and have either monthly or hourly membership rates. Membership gets you a card that allows you to use any ZipCar at any of their locations. 

PROS: One low monthly cost gets you access and the additional fees are fixed and affordable; access to cars in an impressive list of locations
CONS: You might not have the selection you want at all locations; some limited availability in certain areas 

4. Uber (www.Uber.com)

Cabs are expensive. I think someone in the Bible said that. No? Either way, believe it. If they charge by the quarter mile, then why does the meter keep running even when you are stopped at a light? Getting from point A to B once you have finally made it to your destination city can be so very important.  Many times, the cab is the last leg to get your temporary shower and bed. Or, maybe you are counting on a taxi to shuttle you to the meeting that is the sole reason you are even travelling in the first place. Lastly, don’t get me started on how much these cab companies charge for “airport service door-to-door”. If you have hired a cab, I don’t need to explain any of this to you because you already know.

I won’t take the time to educate you fully on what Uber is, you can always visit their website or download the app for more info.  Essentially it is the ability to use your smartphone to rent a taxi, private car, or rideshare that is driven by “regular people”.  People in every location that Uber operates service are able to sign up and become Uber Drivers and use their own vehicles to transport others.  They get paid, Uber gets a slice of the action, and you still pay less than a traditional cab service. The company is fighting hard to make sure it keeps a close hold on the integrity of it’s drivers and implemented a rating system where you can choose who you hire before they show up. Additionally, there is talk about Uber and Google teaming up to have robot controlled driverless cars you can order on demand. Robots! Yay!

PROS: You can meet interesting people, save money, eventually…maybe…robots!
CONS: You can meet interesting people, scheduling can sometimes be tricky as you have “independent drivers” – this varies depending on the city, everyone (including the company) is still figuring out how it all works, there might not be Uber Drivers in the place you are going to

5. AirBNB (www.AirBNB.com)

There are many ways to find a good deal on hotels. Yet, what you end up getting for the hotel in the end can sometimes be drastically different and not worth the price. Wouldn't it be nice if you had a place to stay where you were going that was equivalent of crashing at a friend's house? Enter AirBNB. Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone. Basically you pay a little cash to crash at someone's house. Win-win for both of you.

PROS: You can meet interesting people and potentially make lasting relationships; you can literally make yourself at home in a place that is actually a home; the rates tend to be lower than comparable accommodations; international travel is even more affordable in most cases; you can even get great rates for weeks or months at a time
CONS: There is inherently a trust factor of not knowing the place you will be staying; there might not be a long established reputation or review system yet for where you want/need to stay; you run the chance of not connecting with your "hosts" (but that is a good chance to grow your people skills!)

"I can only spare a couple of minutes."

How many times have you heard this? People just do not value time anymore. They don't see a minute as something of worth. Stop and think, you know for a couple of minutes, about what all can actually be accomplished in that small time span: Water can boil in 2 minutes in a microwave. A bullet can be fired from a gun and end a life. A baby can be born. You can lose all of your money in a bad trade. You can propose to your future spouse.

So many life altering events can happen within that span of just 2 minutes, yet we treat the same time frame with no consequence in other situations. Taking just 2 minutes and kissing your daughter goodbye before you leave for work could mean the difference between her having self-confidence later in life or thinking she is worthless and ignored. Yet we rush around like 2 minutes is just another throw-away event.

Why are we so important that we think time has compete for us instead of the other way around? Take a few seconds (or 60 of them) to think about it.  In fact, you probably read this quick note and then thought about it...in about two minutes. What more can you do in the next two?

Being an Amazon Prime member for many years now it is safe to say that I am a fan of the company. I have had nothing but good experience with the general use of purchasing, the other devices such as Kindle Fire, and especially the customer service. Having said that, I wanted to try and go into this review subjectively and not give away any "free passes" on this product. In an effort to contain my excitement I patiently waited and even had Amazon officially consoling me in the meantime.

I decided to break out my review into some categories so I can speak to the specifics of each area I thought noteworthy:

• Music Streaming

At this point, I would say the Amazon Echo is the most useful as a music streaming device. This is even more the case if you already have your music on the Amazon Cloud (as I do).  One of my side business ventures is as a live music DJ and therefore I have quite a large and prolific library of songs. This has been extremely helpful as we are able to tell "Alexa" (which is the keyword to turn the device on) to play almost anything we want to hear. (Finally my meticulous naming and organizing of digital content has paid off!)  Your own library is supplemented by other services that include the Amazon Prime Stations and iHeartRadio (of which you need to have an account). We have managed to find a list of songs that it was not able to play from any of the sources, but adding them is easy (and you can even have the Echo make the purchase for you via your Amazon account).  

• Sound Quality

Some of the early reviews I had seen mentioned the sound quality breaking up when listening at higher volumes. I am not sure if they had units with issues or if I just got lucky, but I have not seen this at all.  We have played music at very loud volume and even tested different styles (rock, soft, metal, rap, etc.) and they all sounded great. If nothing else, this device is a decent mid-to-high range quality speaker. Building on this is your ability to sync another device with it via Bluetooth and stream other content directly. Nice!

• Voice Control

The Echo uses an array of 7 microphones "under the hood" that are very good at picking most things up. (Be sure and view the main site for detailed info on the technology they use). We put Alexa on the bar that separates our living room, dinning room, and kitchen.  From this point it is usable in any of the rooms mentioned as well as our bedroom (which is just off of the kitchen). The only time it has trouble hearing is if audio is currently playing at a higher volume.  It seems that you have to be pretty close to it in order for it to hear it's name and turn on. Amazon compensated for this by providing a remote that has a button to make it "listen".  The same applies if there are lots of people around talking at the same time. This can sometimes be annoying but albeit understandable.  I am not sure if Amazon can increase the sensitivity of the microphones or provide improvements on this but most of the time it is not an issue. Other than the volume issue, the only time I have noticed it does not hear well is if the person speaking does not speak forcefully and with adequate volume.  You do not need to yell at it to be heard but when my young daughters (between 4 and 7) try sometimes to give it commands, it simply does not hear them. Maybe that has something to do with the octave of their voice and the clear pronunciation. It does well, probably 90%+ of the time, hearing what you say and actually getting it right.

• Personal Assistance (Timers, Quick Facts, To Do and Shopping Lists)

So far, this category of features has been the most "handy" - especially for my wife. We are now already in the habit of using these on a daily basis. By quickly saying "Alexa set a timer for XX minutes", you can time cooking, putting the dogs out to use the bathroom, or even timeouts for your kids (I am so mean!). Additionally, we have utilized the quick facts to have Alexa spell words, give Wikipedia defintions, basic math problems, history synopsis, and even my kids favorite "Alexa, how many days are left until Christmas?" Beyond that my wife LOVES being able to say "Alexa, add ITEM to my shopping list". She has the corresponding app on her phone that she is then able to just pull up at the grocery store and get the items.  For those people who randomly think of things they need and then forget to write them down...this should have you at hello. Lastly in this category, I have found myself using the To Do List (which works the same as the shopping) and also getting news reports and streaming NPR as I work. 

Where it could go from here?

• Control Your "Smart Home"

From what I have read (and want to believe), Amazon is positioning this device to be the first entry into a line of devices to provide a "smart home" environment. It would be pretty awesome to be able to use voice commands to Alexa and have it set the thermostat, run your Roomba type vacuums, dim your lights, or a whole host of other connected devices. Very soon I could see them interfacing with your DVR to record shows (or more likely the "Fire TV Stick" or "Fire TV").

• General Internet Searches

Right now any questions you ask are limited to whatever Amazon has allowed the Echo to have in it's "brain" and anything that is currently on Wikipedia. Turning on general internet searches would be pretty cool although there might be some competition thing with not wanting it to use Google or something like that. (That is just my guess and opinion I do not know that in any official format).

• Current Info

Building on the internet searches, even breaking out specific searches for sports scores, movie listings, or stocks would be a very valuable add-on that I personally would use regularly. 

• Further Customization 

Having the ability to eventually customize the voice style (male/female/robot/or whatever) would be pretty neat. Also being able to change the keyword (I just want to be able to say "Jarvis") would be nice. Maybe having the device be able to "recognize" people's voices and have different preferences for each voice (or being able to turn off functions for recognized voices - I am looking at you my kids).
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The greatest thing about the device is that it has the potential to constantly update itself (scary for some) and any of these potential improvements or changes can happen seamlessly and without any effort on the user's part. Amazon definitely has made something that has the potential to become a central part of people's lives. Take this from me as my wife has already informed me she loves Alexa more than me. Strangely, I am OK with that.

Watch below for the video I made just minutes after we hooked it up for the first time:

As we head into the last month of 2014 and look forward to Christmas and eventually the New Year, I was reminded of something I read awhile back that set me off on a long-form thought about social media and specifically Facebook.

In January of 2014, there was a much publicized article by Princeton University that cited the decline of Facebook and it's impending doom. The researchers there even asserted it would be completely dead by 2017. This set off a chain of articles online where lots of smart people weighed in on the reasons for this decline. The suggestions go in many directions but usually settle on varying degrees of: 

• there are only so many people in the world
• teen audiences have moved on to other services 
• users simply just lost interest.  

Now, I am not really wanting to discuss all the reasons WHY Facebook might be in decline or the long lasting implications of the effect certain factors will have on it as a business. I am more interested in discussing how everyone is looking at it wrong. Essentially, you should care about Facebook and here is why.

The very competition that everyone points to as the cause for the downfall are all examples of what is right about Facebook. The growing popularity of services like Tumblr, Instagram, and especially Snapchat are all reasons why I think Facebook should be considered just as important. Having teens in the house myself, I see how the allure of Facebook for them has definitely weakened when compared to the older (30+) audience that seems prevalent there now. Many of the younger generation have embraced Snapchat as the hot item (of the moment). However, everything there is temporary (exactly the point of it). It leaves no lasting impact and "self-destructs" the message or picture like it never happened in some Mission Impossible (would they even get that reference?) sequence. What kind of imprint is it leaving in the long run? Absolutely nothing.  There is no "throwing back" to a moment except in your own memory. For some things I suppose that is better, but for the few reasons I outline below, there is strength in the long-term effect of having a public and lasting profile:

• Pictures

I take a lot of pictures. With kids, grandkids, other family, work, travel, and other interests it is not surprising that my phone would not begin to have enough room to store pics. I still save copies of all those photos onto my laptop (and eventually backed up on the cloud). However, in my mind I know that they also are stored, filed, organized, and accessible at any time and anywhere on Facebook. You can go to my profile and view my life thru pictures dating all the way back almost 7 years now. And not just that but those photos are tagged with locations, the other people in the photo are linked to the memory, and each one can be reshared at the click of a button any time I want.

• Journal of Events & Memories

Everyone wants to be a blogger. Very few ever do it right. I still don't do it completely right and probably never will. But something I tend to be better at is posting to social media. For anyone who follows me on Facebook they know I am always sharing stories, quotes, pictures, events, and much more as they happen. Now having 7 years worth of content it is fun to go back and "relive" those moments thru those posts. Some of them I have even forgotten about myself. Yet I am able to have them chronicled, backed-up, and accessible to me in a social setting that I can then re-share with anyone I wish. No fear of losing the journal to moving or house fire or any other reason.

• Private Groups for local commerce

There has been an explosion of private local "SWAP" groups where people are selling used items and services. This has been a neat and unexpected side effect of social media that I see people increasingly joining in on. 2015 will most likely see the integration of businesses also selling directly to the consumer thru Facebook stores. You no longer have to rely on Ebay or Craigslist to get rid of that junk in your spare room.

• Facebook Login on Other Sites

(The one login to rule them all) - Many have probably noticed the trend of Facebook allowing services to integrate user's personal login information as a means to login to various websites. Honestly, who likes to remember passwords for a dozen different things? There are a handful of toolbar add-ons and plugins that also provide this type of service but the simplicty of only using one login is very nice. Additionally many of these same services will even pull your basic information to auto-fill tedious form information. Nice!

In summary, there will always be negative aspects of all social media like annoying pictures/posts, ridiculous opinions on politics/religion, and other random general drama. Yet, we should make the distinction that those are all the side-effects of the users and not the service. What other service provides all of the added perks I mentioned above...for free? Besides, anyone who remembers being on MySpace and moving to Facebbok can relate to "starting over" on a new network. Sometimes the demons you know are better than the angels you don't.

I had a great visit with my grandfather, Craig Buckner, this weekend. He found a box of old items that he had inherited, which contained ledgers, memoirs, and other random documents dating back to my great-great grandfather T.E. Buckner. "Ed" (as he liked to be called) had been born and raised in Missouri, but after getting married, moved to Coffeyville in 1918 and began a family with his wife Mattie. Even though he only possessed a 3rd grade education, he was a self-made & self-taught man and did not let the lack of anything hold him back. 

While still living in Missouri, Eddie worked in mills, sacking grain. Taking what money he saved from mill work, he began to invest in real estate by buying small houses and renting them out. Eventually he managed to save enough that he invested $1,500 of his own money to open a business in his new hometown of Coffeyville. So, in 1918 he started Buckner Bros. Furniture on West 11th street, where the modern day Carter Automotive storefront is located today.  

The business would continue to be passed down the generations to his children R.F. and Wilma Buckner and then my Great Uncle Robert (Bob) and Grandfather Craig (of whom I am named after). Eventually the business would move to 8th street and for many years inhabit an old airplane hangar building that is now home to Country Time Antique Mall. The family decided to close the store in the early 1990s. However, all of those involved would continue to invest in other business ventures to support themselves for the years that have followed.

The message I am hoping to convey by telling this story is that my ancestors moved to Coffeyville before there was promise of a job with a billion dollar company or the luxury of working at a large factory. They had half the education most people today possess and still did twice as much with their lives as many will ever think of. There are hundreds of families right here in Coffeyville who have similar stories of dedication and drive that it took to build the very town we live in now. This community was forged in the tough reality of a world with poor education, very little medicine, and extreme conditions. These forefathers persevered and put together the beginnings of what has grown into our hometown. We do them a disservice to believe that the challenges we face now are any greater than what they went through before us. It was not for vain that they struggled to make a better life for the generations that followed.

I take inspiration from the courage and hard work of my family and feel it is an honor to now walk in their footsteps. As I work to build my own business efforts, just as my grandfathers before me, I look to their example and hope that others in this town will do the same. There is a legacy that is Coffeyville. No bank robberies, floods, or corporations closing will change that. I believe in Coffeyville and I am ready to help others believe as well.