La Bene Vita

Monday

So I've been waiting for months and months, and this weekend seemed like the hardest of it all. I finally came to agreement on my lease, which means (1) I know where I'm going to be, and (2) I know what it's going to cost. Now I'm just waiting to find out:
(1) When I'm going to get the keys! Oh Em Gee.
(2) How much my build-out will cost.
(3) When my build-out will be completed.

I should know all these things this week. I am so flippin' psyched.

Post at MichelleTuesday.com   at least once per week.
Goal met.

Grow MochaNotes.com   blogs.
Dabbling in Domesticity  : Up to date.
SEO: Alexa rankings MT.com 839k, MochaNotes.com 832k. Still climbing. I used HubSpot tools ("graders") to grade my websites MichelleTuesday.com   (Grade: 65) and MichelleTuesday.com/musicschool   (Grade: 86). I graded several music school competitors, and they ranged from 34-63. I have a good idea of the things I need to do to get my grade up and, more importantly, generate sales leads. Having an actual open facility is sort of a prerequisite for the latter.

Incidentally, my "Readability Level" (one of the various parameters used to grade the site) ranged from "College Undergraduate" (for MT.com) to "Graduate School" (for MT.com/musicschool). Compare to my competitors, who range from "Primary / Elementary School" to "Secondary / High School". The kicker is that the grader recommends simplification, so my competitors seem to win that category.

Also, I am not naive enough to think that HubSpot's website grader (or Twitter Grader, Facebook Grader, or Blog Grader) is the be-all, end-all in Internet media analysis. HubSpot is just a company looking for your business ("Want to improve your grade? HubSpot can help!") Ultimately, the true analysis comes down to revenue, of which I am seeing little. But the suggestions HubSpot makes are definitely educational, and they're forcing me to learn new tricks.

In fact, now that I'm versed in HTML, Javascript, CSS, and PHP, I'm moving on to MySQL for data forms, collection and storage. At some point, I have to wonder if it wouldn't have made more sense to hire a web developer. But I find this stuff fun, and I like that I can easily edit my content and design at any time.

Since we're on the topic, I'm available for hire. Need a website developed? I'm your man. Er - woman. If the price is right.

Launch one new performance repertoire song per week.
I'm ahead on this one.

Write one new original song per month.
Pending.

Brand the biz(es.)
Goal met. I still have lots of work to do on my website. I think I'm just a tinkerer. Also, did I mention my intern? A friend hooked me up with an intern, who would like some volunteer experience to boost her resume in exchange for a reference later. I have experience writing kick-ass references, sadly because I had to walk half of my staff out the Abbott door for a layoff in 2005. Her name is Julia, and she's interested in communication, presentations, and team projects. With the help of my soon-to-be office manager Chris, she is looking up advertising platforms and collecting information: pricing, how-to, etc. Then she will present her findings and recommendations to me.

I don't know how spiritual my readers tend to be. Personally, I have a hard time believing that I'm on the wrong path, when so many seemingly unrelated sources of support point to a power higher than coincidence.

Perform one household chore per day.
Goal met.

Read a book in print 15 minutes every day.
Goal met, and I'm moving right along in "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan.

Achieve a weight of 145.0 by 7/1/10.
Weight: Still hovering around 159, and once again, it's a new week. Once again, I'll keep track for real.

7:00am Coffee (1)