TonyZeoli.com

On Facebook, URB Mag publisher and HuffPo columnist, Ray Roker, posted this:

Raymond Leon Roker: “Dear unemployed person, I feel for you, but the job you used to have doesn’t exist anymore. No time to complain or whine about the “economy.” You simply… Must. Learn. New. Shit.”

Learning is critical in today’s job market. Here are some of the things I did to keep myself busy while seeking new employment.

1. I launched WordPress Westchester using Meetup.com to promote myself and my colleagues as WordPress experts. I’ve gotten a few clients through this method of self promotion.

2. Launched a Digital Media consulting company, Digital Strategy Works. The website is tied to Facebook and Twitter, and I am actively utilizing this resource for self-promotion and marketing…. See More

3. Hired an intern to help me promote and market DSW. There are plenty of young people who want to network and need experience. Even if you only need them 6 to 10 hours a week, it’s enough to help you get your message out and start drumming up some business.

4. Volunteered to help build and manage a website for the National Museum of Hip-Hop. It was a ton of work, but keeping with the project gave the impression to others that I was busy working on something important. People like to work with people who are busy. If you sit around sending out resumes and hoping that someone is going to call you, they might, but what’s more important is to stay visible in your field. Giving away your skills for free isn’t easy, but it will show others that you are committed and that you can execute with nothing more than an idea.

5. Find public speaking opportunities and look in other markets. Don’t be afraid to move to where you are needed, instead of beating your head against the wall in a major metro area. There is growth in other markets, you just need to be willing to look and move. While I am building WordPress Westchester, I looked for other opportunities to speak about my experiences with WordPress. When Wordcamp Raleigh came around a few months ago, I put together a presentation (available on my Slideshare.net account) and asked to speak. While there, I checked out the area, networked with a few web shops, and voila…got a client I am now doing a project for. In addition, that turned into a job opportunity. I sat down next to someone at lunch at the conference, made sure to say hello to him and ask him where he’s from and what he’s doing. That conversation turned into a job offer from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. I’m moving in a month. I know it’s not easy to uproot your family, especially those with children in school, but you also can’t keep killing yourself in the same place if opportunities do not exist where you are, or the competition is driving you out of the market.

6. Make sure you have the best resume and cover letter, but keep things short and to the point. Try as best you can to not take it personal when a recruiter or hiring manager passes you over. It’s their problem, not yours. If you believe you are the most talented person for the job, maybe you are, but in a competitive market, maybe you’re not. Like Raymond says, you’ve got to learn new skills. How do you do that with little income? It’s called the Library. There are a ton of free meetups now. And, you can intern for others while you look. Make yourself useful, make an impact, and you will find what you are looking for.

7. Time. This all takes time. It can take 6 months to a year to reinvigorate your career, but I am living proof that you can leave your job in the worst economy in decades, start a consulting company, pick up clients, and even get a job. How did I do it? I kept busy and focused on the goal. It was so hard, to the point of tears and arguments at home, but in the end it all worked itself out.

8. I went back to school to get my degree in Digital Communications and Media from New York University. Graduated May 09. It’s never too late to go back to school and cement your skills.

It was exciting to read the news this week about dance music across America. The LA Times and Detroit News both published articles that focused on the growth of dance/electronic events. Miami New Times led the story in March with an article about the Ultra Music Festival. MTV followed up, hyping the connections to pop. The last link points to last year’s NY Times article about the surge in interest in DJ training/education as the recession took hold.

LA Times:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/30/entertainment/la-ca-summer-music-rave-20100530

Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20100601/ENT04/6010313/Movement-festival-sets-attendance-record-as-paid-event#ixzz0pcy86FoE

Miami New Times:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2010-03-18/music/ultra-music-festival-grows-again-in-2010

MTV Ultra Music Festival
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1634874/20100328/motley_crue.jhtml

New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/nyregion/08dj.html

On Thursday night (June 3), I made my way up to Columbia University for the Hatch Match event sponsored by The Hatchery. I’d never been to a Hatch Match, but wanted to get the experience of pitching to investors in 5-minutes. Bell rings and times up.

After the first two 5-minute pitches, I quickly was able to hone my message down to the bare essentials. I realized while I had my deck with all the bells and whistles, the slides quickly became secondary to greeting and the verbal pitch. What rolls of your tongue in the first 30-seconds sets the stage for the next 4-minutes and 30-seconds.

I arrived late after taking the wrong train uptown. I keep forgetting the 2/3 doesn’t travel up Broadway. That little mistake cost me meetings with AOL and Fremantle Media, but that’s okay, I hadn’t expected them to be there anyway and I’m so early, they wouldn’t come into play until later anyway. This was my first event and I was really just there to get the experience.

When I entered the hall, I was given a list of investors with their target industries, bios, and list of companies they’d invested in. I quickly tried to read through the list of over 40 investors, but it was made difficult because while there target industries were listed next to their names, the list wasn’t categorized by vertical, for example Media & Entertainment or Health Care. I think they could do better by listing investors under specific categories.

Because I’d never been to a Hatch Match, I didn’t realize that I should have taken the list with me to the sign-up area, where appointment stickers were flying off the table. By the time I read through the list and approached the tables to make my appointments, many were already sold out. So, I tried my best to pick one angel, one institution, and one company with some local NYC media & entertainment experience. It was a bit of a scramble, with everyone jostling to see what was still available.

The first two selections were more to get my feet wet. The third selection paid off in spades. We all actually know this person, because he is a vocal participant on this list. I wasn’t sure it was the same person, but I quickly went back through some posts on my iPhone and was excited to actually meet him in person. Really nice guy.

At the end of the day, this was my first Hatch Match. I didn’t expect it to be a big win, but I did meet a lot of people and gained some very, very valuable experience. It’s exciting to get in the game and run off your pitch to investors. What I can say is that you should be ready and be early. Throw out your one paragraph description of what you’re trying to do, then when the questions start coming, jump to the pages in your deck to support your answers. I realized that with my deck, it’s best to actually use a sticky or tab (between pages) so that you can quickly flip to the section you want to refer to. I hadn’t though of that before, but I know to do that next time.

I’ve also learned over the years that it’s best to pitch strategically to investors in your area of expertise. It’s really a waste of time to try and grab just any investor. Sure, you never know—but, it’s probably better to be strategic. If you do just “go fish,” you’re kind of taking away someones opportunity. I’m sure people took meetings out from under me that they had no business meeting with, but they chose them because of the name brand.

My takeaway was that it was very well worth it for the learning experience. I met some amazing people, like Selene Kepila from Care Data. You can feel the drive, passion, and motivation when she speaks about her products and services. I also met Matt Mankins from InAMoon.com, a service to “fair trade” content. It was good to catch up with Kwasi Asare (formerly of Bad Boy Entertainment) who’s working on a next-gen web app service called Fighter. Gotta look into that one and get a handle on what they’re doing.

On the periphery of the main hall were tables from sponsor companies. Columbia had a table to support their students. MTV Mobile had a table. And, Gigapixel Creative, a local NYC web development house, had a table too.

The end result for me is that my last meeting resulted in a follow-up. People with Northern European experience completely get the dance music thing. I can’t say that for most Americans. It’s really a sad state of affairs in this country, but that’s why I’m setting out (again) to change it. Hey, when Randy Jackson can starts a dance music label, that must mean that the market is shifting. Hip-Hop is over. The golden age has come and gone. Times are shifting to Lady Gaga and David Guetta, and I’m going to be there to service that niche.

Hope this helps some folks who are considering pitching at these types of events. I learned so much and feel like I’m really ready now to move forward with my plans. It gave me a lot of confidence to get in there and just do it. You just gotta get into the pit and make things happen. No matter how far you are along, it’s good to get the experience under your belt. You’ll get valuable feedback and it will help you in the long run.

2007 Honda Civic EX

I can’t really remember when we started to look for a new car. 6-months maybe? Well, that search finally came to a long awaited end tonight, when my girlfriend pulled out the plastic so that we could get finally get out of the 1999 Honda Accord LX that we’ve been beating into the ground. Yup, that’s the new (actually, certified pre-owned) vehicle in the photo. We think we got a pretty good deal. Not only will she be happy driving to work in a new(er) car everyday; I won’t have to be dragged between Honda dealers in Brewster, Tarrytown, White Plains, and Yonkers.

The goal was to get a 2005 or 2006 Honda Accord, but the price in this economy was a bit high. We settled on a budget conscious car we knew would last and got great gas mileage. After driving the 6-cylinder Accord for so long, downshifting to a 4-cylinder took a little getting used to. But, it’s a peppy little car with decent pick-up.

I’m certain we’re going to try our best to keep this car out of the city. It seems as if they’re fixing the Willis Avenue bridge or maybe building a new ramp to the current one. If your coming up Harlem River Drive, as you approach the bridge, there is major construction going on. The roads are absolutely horrible, to the point that New York City should pay for any damage done to cars traversing that area. It’s really horrific.

I usually drive up the East Side to save a few dollars on the toll at the Henry Hudson Bridge. Now that we have the Civic, I guess the choice is clear. It’s either take the Civic through the no-man’s land that is the Willis Avenue Bridge, or give $2.75 to NYC each time we cross the bridge.

I snapped this neat NYC transit inspired piece on the 5 train to Brooklyn. The artist is Phillipe Lechien. It’s an amazingly detailed piece that captures both the close proximity of urban living and slices of daily living in the city interconnected by transit. Such a fun portrait of NYC.