I've been a bit under a rock the last 6 months.  Okay,  not a rock, but a 130,000 square foot building.  From the design of each detail of the office to each beam in the warehouse, my creative and project management skills were put into full use.  Aside from the building,  there's customers to find and implement,  and a team to hire and develop to care for those customers and the beautiful building.  It's been a bit like preparing the most complicated of dishes for a guest,  but with no recipe, only an idea of what the end result should be. 

At this point,   the craziness of the start up of the branch is fading and the team is filling out, are familiar with the customers and each other,  and we are ready to dive into marketing and promoting the space and service that has been marinating the last few months. 

I look forward to checking back in a few months from now with exciting news and pics of a bustling business!  

I created a Function(D) Etsy shop in late June, about two months ago as of this post, to see what kind of visibility and sales it might generate for Function(D).  The $.20 listing fee and 3.5% transaction fee seemed rather reasonable to me.  It's not like $.20 is going to kill my margin as it's healthy anyway, and increased business is always good, and the 3.5% transaction fee would be paid out for credit card processing to someone anyway (though it could be as low as 2.75% if used Square Invoices instead).  

I had a bit of fun with it, posting the Survival ID line- the Keychain and Sticker, but also a Taco Lasso, some Boot Roll-Ups and Plastic Bottle Cap Capsules.  I sent a link to my store to some friends and family and posted it on Facebook, which got a few sales.  Two months later, and over 850 views and 30 "Favorites" from over a dozen countries later, I haven't gotten a single sale to an actual Etsy customer.  Looking on the Etsy Shop Forum, I see others in similar situations grumbling about having the same issue.  

Despite a lack of sales (I'm not too bummed as I haven't been proactive about marketing it) I am happy with my experience.  If you have a shop and browse the owner's forum, you see that it is a very warm and helpful community that make up the population of sellers.  Each one is happy to give advice and tips on selling on the platform, from how best to take pictures to best practices for shipping items.  I actually purchased my wallet from Etsy, from a shop I feel is similar to mine and I'm really enjoying it.  There's something about purchasing something that I know was made by hand, with love, just for me that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Do you have an Etsy shop?  Have you purchased something on Etsy before?  Do you have any ideas of other channels that could be used to sell my creations?  Your feedback is welcomed!

When looking at the <$100 round trip specials in the email from Spirit Airlines I was thinking that a cheap & quick vacation before digging in to a hard few months at work opening a new facility with new customers and new team and new challenges... would be a good idea.   Reflecting back on it,  it certainly was a good investment. On a long day at work, I sit back and reflect on the thrill of riding my bike across the Golden Gate Bridge,  rolling down the bay trail to Facebook HQ, or up to the view over Lombard street.  I think about the unique business model that Sports Basement has with it's "basically free" bike rental (every dollar you spend on your bike rental,  you get as store credit in their REI-like store) and feel inspired to consider a different approach with my business.  There is always something to learn from new experiences. whether they are good or bad,  if you look for them.

Though 100+ miles and thousands of feet of hills climbed by bike may seem nothing like vacation to some,  we are each our own version of crazy, and my version just so happens to come with two wheels. 

So while some people think that simply riding in the Hotter'n Hell 100 mile bike ride in Wichita Falls in the hottest part of summer is crazy, I feel the need to kick it up a notch.  The plan: to ride from Denton to WF the day before, a little over 100 miles.  Then participate in the largest 100 mile ride in the country - like 15,000 bikes! - I've done it 2 or 3 three times myself in the past.  AND THEN... if I'm feeling good, ride the 100 back to Denton the same day, or sleep a bit and roll back to Denton the day after the big ride.  Making for a 300+ mile north/west Texas bike tour weekend!  I"ve got one person confirmed for the trip up there and would love to make this a bigger event in years to come!

Here is a link to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1645727722341279/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&action_history=null 

AND a link to the route: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zGU1sp1ppkxk.kboP1CXfREBE&usp=sharing

I was recently included in a segment of the North Texan that covered some notable alumni of the Logistics program at the University of North Texas.  It was an honor to have my story included among some other really neat profiles.  
Here's a link, but I've copy/pasted the text below, too.  http://northtexan.unt.edu/content/nathan-chaney 

UNT Alumnus Nathan Chaney Puts Logistics Degree in Action
Posted on Wed, 06/03/2015
By Monique Bird

Logistics alum Nathan Chaney ('09) has an innovative spirit, having founded several independent ventures, and he is embracing that spirit in his latest promotion as one of the first U.S. branch managers for Mainfreight, a global provider of transportation and logistics services which has expanded to the U.S.

"For someone with entrepreneurial drive, it's awesome," says Chaney, who is in charge of Mainfreight's Grapevine warehouse, which is slated to expand to two locations in Flower Mound. At the warehouse, he is responsible for recruitment, hiring, accounting, operations management and sales. "The warehouse is an important part of the supply chain."

The warehouse provides clients easy access to on-demand inventory for major retailers, including organic cloth diapers, protein shakes, jewelry, medical devices and supplies, and premium wild bird feed. Daily, trucks arrive delivering new cargo. From there, teams unload, sort and store the items until needed to fulfill orders. From natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes to worker strikes at ports or railroads to a major retail sale for the holidays, warehouse employees must be ready to move at a moment's notice.


Chaney says learning experiences and the internship requirement for UNT's logistics program prepared him well. During his undergraduate years, he received many honors, including the Young Logistics Leader Award from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and he was named a Texas Logistics Education Foundation Scholar. He joined the Logistics Student Association, the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity and the Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society. Chaney, who graduated summa cum laude, keeps in contact with fellow graduates through the alumni network for former business students.

As a UNT student, one of four ventures he has been involved with, Bandolo Designs, won the second place, $15,000 award from UNT's Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship for its 2011 New Venture Creation Contest.

"I've interviewed graduates from other schools who haven't had any industry or corporate knowledge at all," says Chaney, who transferred to UNT's program from Tyler Junior College in 2007 after a recommendation from a professor. "As an interviewer, I know I'm going to have to teach them everything. What UNT does to give students a look at the real world outside of school gives them a leg up as graduates."

Before graduating, he completed two internships: the first with CEVA Logistics, a leader in freight management and contract logistics, where he developed standard operating procedures and a yard management software system to manage the 150-plus trailers and containers on site, and the second with PepsiCo, helping to develop models to measure the company's carbon footprint across its numerous brands. The month following graduation, Chaney started with Crane Worldwide Logistics as a sales support specialist before being promoted two months later. He moved into his current role at Mainfreight a few years after joining the company in 2011 as an operations specialist helping to design warehouses to optimize work flow and distribution needs.

And, as he has advanced in his career, Chaney says he has noticed that UNT grads stand out.

"They have a different work ethic," he says. "It's more than just graduating with a 4.0. At the end of the day, it's their attitude that gives UNT logistics students an edge."

MYOG, to me,  is the more manly way of saying DIY, but I think it is directed at functional items (gear) that are made to be comparable in quality to mass produced items but that are custom to the user's needs and cheaper to make than buy.

This entire idea describes me perfectly.  I'm all about functionality and usually feel I can make my own stuff better than buying it because it's exactly how I want it to be.  

That said,  I want to share a few of the MYOG items I've done lately.

Do you have any cool MYOG or DIY stuff? please do share!

I've eaten at Jackie's Ham-n-Eggs a few times, mainly because it's quite a BIG experience, and also because it's close to home.  They've been around longer than I've been alive and have a good number of pictures of and gifts from Dallas Cowboys, Rangers, Stars and more who frequent the establishment.  For such a popular place I was surprised that they didn't have a website at all.  After some talks, the owner agreed and I snagged a great domain name, put together a simple website, and opened a Twitter account.  In the end, the owner made an interesting decision to switch to an orange theme vs. the blue that I picked which mirrored the color of their paper menus, but hey, he's paying the bills, so I do as he says!  If you are in the area, and want a breakfast that you can tell all your friends about for the next week, then stop by!  You may see me there, behind a biscuit the size of a loaf of bread, and a pancake the size of a medium pizza!

A good friend of mine, of nearly 10 years, since the days of books, dorms, and band practice at TJC decided to get married in Estes Park, CO.  I didn't know that flights could be so cheap!  About $100 get you to Denver and back to DFW, wow!  Being the thrifty person I am (and being accustomed to my company picking up the tab for my travels) I decided to pack camping gear (thanks Curtis!), get a Specialized Camber demo from Peloton Cycles in Fort Collins (Thanks Kelly!), and take in the outdoors while in the area.  I must admit, the environment on the front range and in The Rockies itself is a bit more impressive than here in DFW!  It was interesting to see that Subaru is to Colorado what Chevy is to Texas, that if you are going to hike or run on trails you most likely take your dog with you, and chances are, you own a bicycle.  It was also pretty cool to see dozens of people riding about, peddling up the hill to Horsetooth Reservoir from down in Fort Collins on a Tuesday at lunch time... maybe they were trying to make up for the miles they won't be putting in during the winter?  Regardless, it was a very nice change of scenery and pace to life compared to DFW.  Here's a few cool pics I snapped while there.  The biggest experience of the trip was riding up 1,800 ft to pretty close to Horsetooth Rock on Horsetooth Mountain on the morning before the wedding (which was at noon,  an hour's drive away) and making it back down to the base just in time to make it to the wedding 5 minutes before it started - I blame a crazy fall I had and a flat tire!  Yes, I know it's considered a "small mountain", but for a North Texan... who hasn't covered 1,800ft in elevation in the whole previous year, that's big morning! :-)