Thanks to Anne Lano, I recently received a little audio clip from a Sunday sermon that has to do with work, and what the Bible says about it.

I find it inspiring! It makes me want to work harder!

If anyone wants to listen to it and give your own opinion, Here it is .

Thanks again Anne,

~Chais

I am working on my business plan for the business Control Yours, 22 pages into it already and loving every minute of it (that’s a joke)!

I came across a question that I had (some of you might have this as well, if you planning on setting up a new business or incorporating one you already have) about  S-Corps. [S-Corps are Pass-through (or flow-through) taxation, meaning, any profits left at the end of the year count as your personal income (which is taxed at your personal income tax).

Q: If I am going to take out distributions (profits) do I have to have my company write me a wage like what an employee gets (which includes payroll taxes)?

A: S-Corporations must pay their employees a salary. Often, the business owners will work for the S-corporation, and the S-corp must pay owner-employees a reasonable salary . Paying zero wages to an owner-employee is unreasonable. (Would you take a job that pays nothing?) Paying wages less than the minimum wage are also unreasonable. (Would you take such a job?) The bottom line: if you decide to go with an S-corporation, the business absolutely must pay wages to owner-employees.

Oh well, that’s business..

~Chais

If you want a very "Simple" list tool, then Zenbe is the way to go. You can use it from any computer that has a somewhat recent web browser (IE 6 doesn’t work very well). Just go to http://lists.zenbe.com to sign up for your free online account.

Why is it cool?
-Share any list with any other person to view and check off to dos.
-Sync’s with certain mobile devices like the iPhone
-Hello! It’s Free!

Unless there is another really cool free list program I should know about…

We’ll talk soon and Have a Great Day!

~Chais

I work my best when I have some smooth trance beats playing in the background of my office. I don’t know what your opinion of Trance is, if you like it, than you’ll love the information below this paragraph! If you don’t know (or even hate it), try zooming as Seth Godin Says , and see what you think of this . For anyone that cares, Below is a way to take anjunabeats with you (if you love it that much)! Thank you Above & Beyond, We love your music!

To Download the weekly Anjunabeats streaming music, follow These Steps (exclude steps 1-3 if you already have firefox installed):

1. Download Mozilla Firefox if you don’t already use it. ( http://www.mozilla.com/en-US )
2. Choose run or save to disc, and follow the installation steps.
3. After it is Installed, open the program
4. Copy and paste this web address into your address bar ( http://www.anjunabeats.com/AudioPlayer3/archivelinks.php ) and go to the page. [you will only see text on this page, something like: "&shownumber=211&linkki=/TATW_211_website.mp3" ] We are only interested in the section after the "=/" example (the bolded part): [ &shownumber=211&linkki=/TATW_211_website.mp3 ]

A good friend of mine (Mike Chavanu) once told me that when you fix things from the past, or at least do your part to start the fixing, that can be very healing…

I completely agree with this! I don’t know the exact reason why I’ve been thinking about it so much lately, I just know that I need to do my part to start the healing. I owe people money, have borrowed things that I never returned (and sometimes even sold), I have done things to people to hurt them (whether it was on purpose or accident, I still did it). It is time for me to get my personal life right before I can expect to give 121% to the rest of my professional life.

It all starts with today and how I am making a conscious effort to try to fix some mistakes and patch some friendships (big or small).

Over the next few weeks, I will be:
1) Writing letters
2) Buying gift cards for lost things I borrowed
3) Apologizing
4) Thanking people for being patient with me
5) Self sacrificing

I am not writing this to speak highly of myself and to pat myself on the back because of my new found revelation. I am writing this to have a physical promise out there in the world that will help me, to be kept accountable.
Off we go…

Thank you very much for your words of inspiration and wisdom the Chavanu family!

~Chais

Chais, the Hacker…Not very likely. More like, Chais, the guy that stumbles through online forums to make things happen. Hence the reason for this post:

I have always wanted to change the firmware (Firmware, is like an operating system for a router “What it runs on”) on my own wireless router. Why have I always wanted to change it? The real reason: To say that I can do it, and also to be able to do cool things like set up a wireless hotspot where I can make money on my neighbors if they want to use my wireless (perfect if you live in a college town).

I have stumbled, tripped, and fell many times over the past few days trying to make this happen, but I did it. I will explain (in detail) the areas that I had the most trouble with, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to do any research or stumble a little on your own. If you have an interest in changing your firmware in your wireless router, feel free to follow this post. If you don’t, I apologize, and we will post more about business and our life very soon…

Warning: It is recommended that you have a basic amount of computer knowledge before attempting any router firmware change. It is also recommended that you are patient, and like to take risks to achieve something better. There is a possibility if you don’t complete every step in the correct order, that you will brick (the term brick is like it sounds, it won’t be any better than a brick that you can build with [for those that still don't understand it, it will kill it!] ) your router. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this go and purchase a hotspot router for roughly $400.

Requirements:

1) A wireless Router (802.11.B or 802.11.G router, that can have the DD-WRT firmware installed on it [here is a link of supported hardware] ). If you don’t already own a wireless router, I would recommend purchasing a Linksys WRT54G version 1-6.

2) A computer system with an Ethernet port (I eventually had to use a windows xp system, I had a very difficult time with my Apple system)

3) An Ethernet cable (to plug from your computer to your Router)

Here is what I ended up doing: [Note: Read through this entire post before you decide to go ahead with it.]

-First thing first, follow all the links and download any files you might need before you unplug your router from the internet (surfing the web for files after the internet is unplugged doesn’t work very well, a great lesson I learned first hand)

What links do I need (and possible files to download)?:

-Use this Installation guide for your specific compatible device (go to this link and scroll through the “contents” to find your router hardware model, if your model isn’t listed, don’t attempt.). Each router is going to have specific files that you will need (they will not all be the same, so I can’t tell you where everything is located, sorry.), but the process is going to be very similar. [I recommend saving all the files that you need to download, directly on the [C:] Drive on your computer]

What happens after I have downloaded all needed files to my C: Drive?:

1) Unplug your router from the internet (your DSL or Cable Modem) and power. [Note: if you unplug your router and refresh this page, you won't have any guide to go by...so, it might be helpful to download this Instructions.rtf file]

2) Plug one end of your Ethernet cable in to the back of the router (not in the WAN Port, but in the switch section. The section that usually has 4 to 8 ports almost touching each other, any one of those ports will work) and the other end into the Ethernet jack on your computer system.

3) Plug your router back into a power source.

4) Login to your router to verify your router’s IP Address settings (you can do this by typing 192.168.1.1 into an address bar on any internet browser or 192.168.1.0, or 192.168.0.1 depending on the router) If you have changed your router’s IP address settings in the past, type the current one in.

5) Once you have determined your router’s IP Address, you need to change your computer’s IP address to a manual IP with the next sequential number (Example: my router’s IP is 192.168.1.1, I am going to change my computer’s IP to 192.168.1.2)

Example of what all the computer network settings should look like:

IP address: 192.168.1.2

Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1 (this will be whatever your Router’s IP address is)

Preferred DNS Server: 192.168.1.1 (this will be whatever your Router’s IP address is)

6) If you are here, Good Job! Now you need to disable your windows firewall or any other software firewall you are using to block bad guys from coming into your computer. Go ahead…

7) Disabled? good…Right now you will need to follow the directions (from the installation guide) on what to do next depending on your router. If your next step is to TFTP your new firmware or any other files to your router, please follow below.

How do I TFTP?

Now this part is fun! (by the way “/” means the next item when there is a list of things) Now go to the Start Button / Run / and type in “cmd” without the quotes, never type the quotes. Doing this will open your command prompt window (geeky windows stuff).

9) When the command prompt window opens, first type “cd\” (please note we are using a backslash, not a forward slash, big difference in the computer world, As I found out first hand), this will make your root of your command prompt be your C: Drive, where your files should be located. (if you files are in a folder or compressed on the C: drive, take them out or expand them, if you don’t, it won’t work.)

10) Now type: “TFTP -i 192.168.1.1″ —> the 192.168.1.1 should be your routers current IP Address, please don’t type this part inside the arrows! followed by <— “PUT firmware.bin” —>the firmware.bin is the exact name of whatever your firmware file is called on your C: Drive. So, if your file isn’t called firmware.bin, please don’t type that. The whole thing depending on your IP Address and File name should look like this example below:

“TFTP -i 192.168.1.1 PUT firmware.bin”

Then all you do is hit enter, and whamo! it will take a little bit to upload (1 minute or faster), and it will reboot on it’s own after a couple of minutes. After your router reboots, you can login with the current Router IP Address by typing it into your internet browser address bar (I prefer Mozilla firefox). Your user name and password that will be required to change settings will be User name: root, Password: admin.

Now you are in your new firmware, and can make changes or whatever. If you installed the DD-WRT firmware that is not a micro version you should chillispot already pre loaded, and here is where you go next to set up your hotspot.

Wow, that was fun! I just thought I would share this because I had such a difficult time with it. Hope it helps anyone that wants to spend some sweat equity to earn some cash from surrounding college kids (or just wants to say they know how to do something new). All I know is, I feel like a hacker!

Have a great day!

~Chais Meyer

It has been a while since Shawna and I have made even a little post. I believe the last one was about us getting our new iPhones. Let me explain this iPhone situation a little better…

As we have talked about starting up our own businesses, being self employed, and being tight financially, it might seem kind of ironic that we would spend hundreds of dollars on new iPhones as "Business Tools". That would be very hypocritical of us if the $ for the iPhones came out of our own pockets…good thing it didn’t!

About 6 months ago we decided to cancel our Cell Phone Insurance through our Cell Phone Provider (US Cellular). Frankly, we were sick and tired of wasting $10 a month on a replacement insurance policy when each phone still would have a $100 deductible if it were destroyed (by the way, if your phone gets lost, it’s not covered; but if it "breaks" it is). Looking for a different option, we asked our insurance agent about adding small electronics (AKA, our phones) on our homeowner’s policy as separate items. He said that we could do that no prob, so at that time the replacement cost for new phones that would equivalent to what we had, was between $400-$500 per phone (pricing outside of our contract). We insured 2 phones for roughly $1000 total, with a $100 total deduction, for $16 a year. Uh…Hello! Why wouldn’t everyone do this? Needless to say both of our phones crapped out around the same time, about 1 week before the iPhone release. Shawna’s had power issues and my display was blinking on and off, gradually get worse on both cases. We cashed in on our claim, were mailed a check for like $700, and the rest is history (by that I mean, we both bought our iPhones, and we are in LOVE!).

I felt like I needed to explain that to you all, so you didn’t think we weren’t following our own ideas, advice, and principles.

[Side Note: By the way, if we wanted to purchase something like this with our own money in the future, we would follow a little thing we call "the 2nd money principal". What is it: Our first form of income comes in, we invest that in a business, or something that brings in passive income, like a vending machine or whatever. Everything that comes in from that business or investment which is net profit, is the second hand money. Our gold making more gold for us, as it is said in the book,
The Richest Man in Babylon .]

Have a Great Day!
~Chais Meyer

P.S. If anyone has any questions about the 3G iPhone, for business or whatever, I would be glad to answer them for you, if I have an answer.

My wife and I have just purchased new 3G iPhone’s and we love them!

There are so many great apps that will enhance our business life. There are mileage trackers for deductions, personal/business money trackers, and reciept trackers (where you take a picture of your receipts to have a digital copy). It is all very amazing!

We will update you later with more goodies.
Oh ya, this post was created with my iPhone!

~Chais

We’ve created a new business!

It feels so good to think of a business that fits in perfectly with the five main items I talk about in the post "Always Thinking Business… ". This new business [Control Yours] is a web development business (obviously you either have to know a little something about web design, or you need to learn [like me] to start this business [or you hire someone that doesn't want to work for himself] ). At first it sounds kind of geeky and complex, well, yes, maybe a little bit. But it is an amazing idea that we (David Lano and myself) haven’t found anywhere else, and there is a HUGE market for. Best of all, it fits in with our 5 categories we think about when starting a business:

1) This is a passive income crazy business. In fact, that is all it is, no upfront cash. (after the initial sweat equity and signing up 200 businesses, we will be bringing in about $8,500 a month, Passive).

2) We can get this business started in about one month, and that is what we are shooting for.

3) The upfront cash required is going to need to be around $10,000 from an investor for living expenses. Without this upfront funding, we would not be able to go into it 100% (8-6PM everyday).

4) This business type fits in a smaller niche category (small to medium businesses that want static informational websites only). In a giant market place, a lot of potential clients.

5) This business will benefit the customers so much. It will allow them to take advantage of a business tool that they haven’t been able to in the past.

The elevator pitch :

Control Yours is a company that puts online editing and control of any website back into the business’s hands. The majority of the time, websites are created with the ease of use for the end consumers, not taking into consideration who will be editing and updating the website. This creates a giant burden for a business owner that has purchased the look and feel of a website, and it turns out that they are not able to update it or maintain it without IT management or hiring specific staff. With the use of an online Content Management System (CMS) that is either retrofitted into an existing website or custom configured into a new website, editing a webpage is as easy as sending an email, for any member of the staff.


Mission Statement :

“Giving website control back to the business.”




Maybe you’ve heard of companies using CMS or Content Management systems before, and yes, many companies do. Where we are different is practically everywhere else, We don’t charge any upfront fees to build a website, we only charge a monthly rate of $35 a month for retrofitting an existing website with the CMS or $50 a month for creating a new custom site. Every Company that says yes with us will sign a 2 year contract (like a cellphone company), to insure our CMS service use,providing them with support for their site and any web question that they might have. These prices include up to 20 web pages on their site, if a business needs more pages than that, we charge $1 for each additional page (super cheap) and for every 5 pages they add on past 20, we charge an extra $10 a month (for storage and emplimenting the CMS).

I need to clarify that we are not dealing with customers that want e-commerce sites, flash sites, or dynamic sites. We are only focusing on small to medium businesses that have the need for static informational websites.

Click Here to see our current web project for Barista’s Daily Grind Coffee Shop. This is only a test, not the approved site yet.

Tell us your thoughts,

~Chais.

Hello all,

I ran across a really cool tool for keeping track of your time, for when it matters (Example: providing a service and billing by the hour). It is called Paymo, and it is an online tool that allows you to have 3 main users that can log in for free (if you want anymore than 3 users, you will have to purchase the pro account). After you are signed up you can put in clients, projects, and tasks for those projects. Every time you want to keep track of something like website development, or answering a support question, you just choose what project it falls under, what client you are doing the project for and what specific task you are currently working on. It even has an area to write specific notes about what you are doing.

This online tool also has programs that can be downloaded and installed onto either a windows machine or and Apple computer. When you hit the start timer on software it updates online automatically. You can also print out reports each month according to the main criteria (so I could see what Chais did all month, and where he spent most of his time. This is especially helpful when I don’t trust Chais’s hours he is billing).

I hope some of you can take advantage of this tool.

Have a great Day!

~Chais