WHAT I'M DOING IN THE MEANTIME

By the way...in case you're not aware...unemployment insurance doesn't pay a whole lot. That is, unless you're one of those people recently who got caught scamming the system by writing themselves big fat checks.

So anyway...in the midst of finding a new something to do, I'm using every means at my disposal to make extra money. From the garage sale (which we'll be repeating soon), asking for donations on the website here (see the Welcome page), to selling some items on Ebay (including my antique hickory shaft golf clubs), and even a few odd jobs here and there...I'm also implementing some of the ideas in a really neat book that I found.

It's called, Emergency Cash Generators...and a few of them are really cool ideas. Simple things really...but some of them add up to some walking around money. Things like...

> Cell Phone recycling...go ahead, laugh if you will...but here's a list of some prices and who will buy your old cell phones. Some of them are worth some big bucks. You probably have a couple laying around the house right now. I know I did. I was letting the kids play with them to pretend they were real ones. But you probably threw the old one away, right? People are getting new cell phones every day...and they're just letting their old one sit around their house. I've actually thought of setting up collection boxes for people to drop off their old ones and just give them to me to turn in...

Here are some other ideas:

• A product you can buy in town...and turn around and sell for double, maybe even triple what it cost you.
• How to go into a bar...and come out (not drunk) but with extra money in your pocket. I haven't tried this one, but on a busy night - it might work. It might also be dangerous...but it's funny if nothing else.

I'll admit...some of them are a little goofy, but most of them are not just simple ideas...it's actually the how-to...

One of them I'm doing right now with some limited success. The other one is in the final stages of being completed. I'll keep you up to date on how I do.

In the meantime, if you want to see the information for yourself...I'll tell you...it was worth the price I paid for the book. And so far, it's paid for itself, so I'm not out any money at all. You actually have to do some of the things...nothing is for free just sitting around. But in order to keep food on the table and the bill collectors at bay...it's a pretty neat thing.

Emergency Cash Generators

And lastly...tell em Greg Alan sent ya...

SAME OLE SAME OLE

(Sorry for the delayed posting, but the server on which this blog is hosted had a corrupted file and I couldn't post until the techies figured out which one it was for me)

Not much happening. I've decided to leave radio if I must in order to stay in Cedar Rapids and not force my family to move again.

Lots of anxiety with that, but I've settled it in my mind. We're better off here. Nice neighborhood, great friends, family nearby, etc. Now I just have to figure out how to put my 18-years of radio to good use. Most prospective employers are put off by the fact that I've done it that long and are under the impression that my eyes would wander back to radio the first chance I get. Nope...the money ain't that great and I'm tired of the way radio is being done these days. My first goal is to take care of my family...so if that means stacking boxes or selling brushes, then so be it.

I came to this conclusion after seeing more and more of what has happened with radio. Selling anything for the sake of selling it is getting old. I always thought that I could put together quality AND sales and make things work, but the people running the show these days are more interested in whatever sells....regardless of quality. It has been made perfectly clear to me the last couple of months of soul searching.

Take for instance my previous station...the same promos playing the same times, same voice over music commercials, same advertisers with the same copy, overall generally poor quality radio. Occasionally a sparkle or two (like weather coverage sometimes), but they're rare. But, with a legendary signal and call letters...who cares as long as you're meeting budget or making a profit? Listeners aren't going to change their habits much.

I'm not saying I'm some golden-boy expert to the rescue...and frankly I failed in a lot of areas to make improvements not only in myself, but in my own work...but I tried to push a little too hard and in the wrong way to try to change things. I'm just an innocent bystander now and I've probably got a lot on my chest that is starting to come out. I do imagine there are a lot of people who are still there that see the same things...but they're getting a paycheck. In the quiet of a bar, they'll admit it...but like I said, they don't care because they're getting a paycheck...it's the same attitude that got radio in trouble in the first place:

Very simply...the problem with some radio today is "If it sells, air it"...and "If it causes revenue to go down, don't air it"

I don't necessarily disagree with the last statement, but in the context of trying something new or different, then it makes no sense. Rush Limbaugh (don't worry, not a hero worship here) is a good example of that. Anyone remember how many stations he started with? 6 or so. Rush broke through the mold of stale radio at the time...sameness...safe. All of that was cast away when he came on the scene. Radio today has forgotten that lesson. They all want to just play it safe and print the checks. I can forgive them for not wanting to mess with success if they're having it, but you still need to stay fresh or you bore people to death and they eventually go away to their I-Pods, XM, MP3 or whatever.

I tried to do it the old fashioned way..."If the people like it, be patient, then sell it"

So...I'm apparently done with radio. Now, I'll try and take my overall view about radio to another career track.

Provide quality service...go above and beyond to please the people you depend on for your income...and never, ever take them for granted.

Anyone need an employee like that? Email me for my resume.