So anyway… have I told you about my podcast?
Yesterday was the longest year ever. I’m not entirely sure how to find my way back to “business as usual” right now, but hey… I have a podcast! I don’t promote it much and I should probably do that. So that’s what I’m doing here. Look up Launch Breaks on the podcast app of your choice and listen in as I fumble my way through 10 minutes of unfiltered, unedited small business-focused inspirational ramblings designed to help you launch your product or business out into the universe. That’s it. Now if you’ll excuse me I have some doomscrolling to avoid.
Entering the era of uncertainty.
Only 4 days left of democracy as we know it. Is that hyperbole? I’m honestly not sure. But I do know that none of us know what the next 4 years are going to bring for small businesses.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
We can take educated guesses about big business: tax breaks, price gouging, billionaire CEOs… same ol’ same ol’. But for small, independent businesses the future is much less certain and much, much scarier. So what can we do (other than the obvious rage-venting on social media)? The way I see it, now has never been a better time to build a support group: friends, family, like-minded businesses in your area, happy customers et al. We’re all going to need to proactively be a part of a bigger community if we’re going to weather this storm. And the key word here is “proactively”. Get out there, build your groups, reach out to your neighbors. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Arcade game design was simply amazing.
I took my youngest son to a vintage arcade this past weekend, and as much as I loved sharing the experience of playing the games of my youth, I was even more taken aback by the design and typography of the physical housings. The graphics were just outstanding. The type was innovative and quirky. This stuff was done by true artisans, not templates. And the large majority of it was done the old fashioned way: by hand. As an industry we’ve been chasing this level of expertise ever since.
2025 enters like a lion.
It’s tricky to move ahead in any sort of business as usual fashion when so many friends and strangers are suffering through yet another tragedy.
I’m not sure yet what the wildfires in California are going to teach me, and more importantly what I’m going to do to help, but I like to live my life in service to others. I know that’s a bit of a cliché, but I truly believe it. I’m happiest when I make other people happy, or at the very least make them forget their sadness if only for a brief moment.
If you or anyone you know need help and support and you think to yourself “you know… Jason and his team could really help us out here” then please oh please shoot me an email. You have our support, no strings attached. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but maybe you can help shed a little light on that for me.
In the meantime stay safe, stay strong, and give yourself permission to let others help.
It’s the perfect time for a good ol’ fashioned blog.
Social media is fun and all, but this blog’s all mine and I can say whatever I want. I don’t know what that’s going to look like over time, and honestly that’s the most exciting part.
I promise to keep things light and airy and supportive. The last thing I need is another avenue for venting my frustrations with (enter tumultuous catastrophe of the day/hour/minute here). But you know what? The only way to fight darkness is with light. And light wins every time. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.