Category: Uncategorized

I’ve been thinking more intensely about Patrick this past week or two. I don’t know why.

I keep saying, “I love you”.

I don’t always think about him, but these days I do. I’ve had other guys in my life lately but they don’t cross my mind at all. I don’t think about Matt, Matthew, Brodie, Ryan, or anyone. Sometimes I do think about Josh still though.

I wish I could meet someone who makes me the best version of me, and vice versa. He doesn’t have to be Patrick.

Part of me feels that Patrick still needs time and experience before we can be together, but part of me doesn’t care at all if we do end up together. He can be a handful / mind-full I’m sure.

I want to be with someone who loves me and me only. Who is funny, adventurous, sincere, wise, and kind. Who has a sense of wonder. Who is one of a kind. Who is always improving himself. Who loves life. Who is attentive of me.

I want to meet people like that. I want to be with someone like that. Because when you are with someone, I believe, together you become a bigger and better entity. So, with the right person. 1 + 1 is > 2.

 

Knot Theory is currently doing well financially:

1. Amazon.com
   • $29K revenue
   • $14.5K profit
2. Amazon.ca
   • $140 CAD revenue
   • $50 CAD profit
3. Etsy.com
   • $2.2K revenue
   • $1.9K profit
4. Knotheory.com
   • $1.6K revenue
   • $900 profit

Total Revenue: ~$33K

Total Profit: ~$17K

Suppose to expect 4~6 times revenue during Xmas. So, I”m conservatively hoping to make:

November Revenue: $132K

November Profit: $68K

December Revenue: $132K

December Profit: $68K

Total Xmas Revenue: $264K

Total Xmas Profit: $136K

 

That would be awesome!!

I’m prepared to spend $3K ~ $6K on advertising.

April~September: ~$55K from Amazon, ~$10.5K from KT (Jan to Sept, $16.7K in sales), ~$4K from Etsy

October: Expecting $15K. ~$2.5K from website and Etsy.

So this year so far I’ve net about $87K USD by end of October, which is $112.39K CAD! Wow!

So if I can net $112~$130K by end of the year, that’s $200K profit this year!!! That’s $258K CAD! After tax, maybe…$180K CAD. Still great.

Strategy:

Try all things at this time, and see which one gets the most result. Everything is amplified at Xmas, so I’ll get more information at this time.

Spent $3K to make lots more. Use that to fund the future projects!

Methods:

1. Bloggers: mom, fitness, crossfit, police?
2. Gift guides
3. Youtubers: famebit celebs; give them link, encouraging them to get affiliate link? If not use knothe-20? create different coupon codes
4. Communities: firefighters, police etc. (go to the corporation, go to the military, contact them directly; buy 1 get 1 free)
5. Adwords – use up those ads!
6. Hire someone to do my instagram for 2 months
7. Learn more about Instagram, Pinterest, Copy-writing, and Blogging (Have courses)
8. Learn more about optimizing my Amazon listings

 

I wrapped up Mom’s birthday present last night:

La Mer: two creams for $500 USD

Earrings: 3 locally made fired glass earrings for $75

Card: $10

Oh and I paid for tree-cutting yesterday. $500. Mom gave me $5000 for my birthday earlier this year though, haha

Mom was so thrilled to get La Mer creams. She said something like, “It’s so great that you’re making lots of money now!”

That’s good. Mom is proud of me. And so is Dad.

I bought a $300 USD zapper for Dad, and made a video for him on how to use it.

Mom is selling her house in Taipei, which is no doubt stressing Dad out. I hope this move has a good ending…

Oct 5, 2015: Progress to date

• Last 30 days: $29.5K (with women’s ring promos, real number somewhere around $25.5K)
• Etsy: $2.2K
• Knot Theory website (just the rings): $0.6K
• Total minus promo: $28.3K

• This week’s goals for accountability: 
  1. Ship rings to Amazon.ca
  2. Add music to ring video
  3. Get started on holiday promo (priority: buy spots in gift guides)
• Current Challenge:
  • Can’t get women’s rings on page 1. Last promo just finished. Can start playing with prices I suppose. Any other good ideas?

 

• Overview:
  1. Knot Theory Silicone Wedding Rings (no update)
     • Men’s: New designs coming soon. New colours coming in less than 2 weeks.
     • Women’s: New colours coming in less than 2 weeks.
  2. Period Panties (no update)
     • Got manufacturer’s fabric samples. Lookin’ good!
  3. Umbrellas (no update)
     • Ordered competitors’ products.
  4. Cashmere scarves
     • Aliexpress scarves arrived. Looking good. Labeled as Burberry though.
     • Ordered competitors’ products, picking them up this week.
     • Sales of top competitor rapidly went up, now that winter is coming: Clothing: #850 (~1621units/month) #7964 (~327units/month)
  5. Quick Dry Towels (no update)
     • Tried out competitor’s product. Already great, have no big way of improving it further other than slightly better branding.
     • Fairly competitive niche. Seems like many people are thinking to do it too.
     • Will find out more about MOQ and margins before deciding if I want to proceed. Low MOQ also means low barrier of entry though.
• Business Goals for 2016:
  • Hire 1 VA to delegate tasks to; focus more on developing new brands and scaling the businesses
  • Achieve 150 product sales a day average for year 2016; estimated 5~8 product lines needed to achieve this.
• Milestone Celebration
  • Will celebrate when my total monthly profit reaches $25K! Current profit ~$17.5fK including bow tie sales.
  • Will hire my photographer friends, paying them real money for once. I do want good bald pics of myself. It’s a personal mission to re-brand alopecia as attractive, raise awareness, and encourage confidence. Maybe for future milestones I’ll fund other alopecians’ shoots, to help build their confidence 🙂

1. Everyone loves me 1000% or distance me by my wish. (Or, mind control)

2. I feel happy all the time

3. To not be bound physically. Better yet, can morph into anything and anyone I want, of any density and mass.

Hmm…but then, to be ageless and to be able to travel through time would be amazing.

More practical 3 wishes:

1. To have found true love and live happily ever after with him

2. To have the freedom and money to enjoy all the luxuries and cool experiences in life

3. To have more than enough love, joy, time, and money that I can make an impact to the world and to those around me.

This Quora answer talks about what disposable income you can expect from $5M (about 5%) vs. $100M (About 8%).https://www.quora.com/How-is-being-a…/answer/David-S-Rose

I’d put $50M in diversified investment and expect $2M to $4M from it annually. This would take care of most luxuries I want in life, such as a personal chef, a masseuse, housekeepers, (renting) an artificial wave machine, (renting) a fancy car, buying houses and fancy things for my parent, etc. The rest would be play money to make bigger differences in the world and take fun risks with!

I’d get to know influentials and rich people and see how they spend their money. I’m sure at that level you get to see another side of the world.

I’d build an advanced science and technology theme park, complete with hyperloop rollercoasters, simulated moon landing, mars tours, space travels, and other extraterrestrial adventures. It will also demo the latest technologies, or Tesla inventions.

I’d build experimental houses and buildings to explore good ideas, such as ones that maximize energy efficiency using different techniques. One of them will have transparent floors and ceilings, so it gets sunlight all the time. It’ll have artificial sunlight too. 

I’d invest in robotics in the hope that we get sex robots sooner.

I’d invest in VR. I want to explore a VR world and have fun in it.

I’d start a restaurant despite it being the biz with the highest failure rate. One idea I’ve always wanted to turn into reality is a restaurant in a giant dome, with sky and simulated environment projected onto the dome. As you eat, your environment (the dome wall) changes from sunrise to sunset, from one country to the next. 

 

 

Spent two days at SociaLight. It was pretty good. Dan Lok is my hero for best speaker and thinker. I can relate to him too. He dressed in all red – what an eccentric attention whore 🙂 He has every right to be though. He masters whatever he attempts.

Jairek Robbins delivered too. He talked just like Tony Robbins. He is a bit funny too. Asked us if we know certain famous people…Eddison, Colonel Sanders, then,(random back of a couple getting married) ” Does anyone know who this is? Just kiddin’ I’m just screwin’ with ya. Was the decision for better or for worse?” haha.

Riaz was a good MC (“Everyone look under your chair…you get a lunch break, you get a lunch break, you all get a lunch break!” ahahhaha)

Jack Lee of T&T was pretty funny too. He showed his opportunistic abilities by selling worthless pork stomachs for 4x as much.

I saw Matt for 2 days in a row. He is someone I can accidentally fall for I guess. Last week at his birthday, he said he was at Tony Robbin’s event one year, got really drunk, and went around to different tables taking drink orders. When someone places an order, he’d say, “No we don’t have that. No we’re out.” LOL. It was so funny, for days I laughed when I thought of it.

At the event he was really not that flirty, but he was really impressed when I told him my ring margins. It was cool to see his reaction.

On the second day when I gave him my red velvet cake, saying I didn’t really want it, I just wanted a bite, he said, “Want me to feed you?” Urm…that was unexpected. I let him just because I did kinda like him. He was like, that was really hot…I’m so turned on right now.” Whaat. I was turned on several times yesterday thinking about that.

I want to make out with him, but I can’t imagine when he takes his clothes off. I’d be so turned off and grossed out at the hair and belly I think.

Patrick is a different story. He is perfection. Matthew too. Josh too. Even Idriss was a nice surprise.

—

Ryan has been active on FB lately. I just learned from Cyndi that him and Krysta broke up way back, before she left for NYC! I guess I shouldn’t have assumed his douchebaggery when he flirted with me.

It’s kinda nice to know that there’s a chance that he might be a decent guy!

—

Talked to Cyndi on the phone finally! It was good to get on the phone with her.

She has been jobless! Man. I thought she was super busy and stress and didn’t have time to call me. She’s just been bumming around, trying to fill the Tyler-void. Sigh.

She wants a rich guy to start a family with. I didn’t think it’d be so hard to find someone like that in NYC.

Sum and I are hoping to visit her in January. Hopefully she’ll find a job then. And maybe a man!

Well, just because that’s what she wants. It’s not like she has more time for friends when she is single anyway lol.

I have a couple of guys in my life now, sorta, but no one I really like or can settle down with. There’s Matt, Ryan, Brodie, Patrick. Matthew disappeared, which kinda made me sad. Oh well.

 

I hope to hang out regularly with Matt, Ryan, and Brodie. Maybe make out with Ryan. That’s about it. I’d still only want to have sex with Patrick. That guy is a lost cause though.

 

 

September 28, 2015: Progress to date

• Last 30 days: $29K (with women’s ring promos, real number somewhere around $25K)
• Etsy: $2K
• Knot Theory website (just the rings): $0.6K
• Total minus promo: $27.6K
• Overview:
  1. Knot Theory Silicone Wedding Rings
     • Men’s: New designs coming soon. New colours coming in less than 2 weeks.
     • Women’s: New colours coming in less than 2 weeks.
  2. Period Panties
     • Got manufacturer’s fabric samples. Lookin’ good!
  3. Umbrellas
     • Ordered competitors’ products.
  4. Cashmere scarves
     • Ordered competitors’ products and Aliexpress samples
     • I really just want to use up my 500 expensive (~$3K) Knot Theory boxes originally made for neckties.
     • They take up so much space in my room and I hate sleeping with them next to me lol.
     • Sales of top competitor rapidly went up, now that winter is coming: Clothing: #850 (~1621units/month) #7964 (~327units/month)
  5. Quick Dry Towels
     • Tried out competitor’s product. Already great, have no big way of improving it further other than slightly better branding.
     • Fairly competitive niche. Seems like many people are thinking to do it too.
     • Will find out more about MOQ and margins before deciding if I want to proceed. Low MOQ also means low barrier of entry though.
• Business Goals for 2016:
  • Hire 1 VA to delegate tasks to; focus more on developing new brands and scaling the businesses
  • Achieve 150 product sales a day average for year 2016; estimated 5~8 product lines needed to achieve this.
• Milestone Celebration
  • Will celebrate when my total monthly profit reaches $25K! Current profit ~$16K including bow tie sales.
  • Not sure how to celebrate. 6 years after quitting my job as a software engineer and making way less than all my ex-coworkers for most of those years, I think I’m finally making on par with my friends who are now at Google. Prefer to keep a low profile always, but will be harder to celebrate milestones with friends.
  • Will probably celebrate by hiring my photographer friends, paying them real money for once. I do want good bald pics of myself. It’s a personal mission to re-brand alopecia as attractive, raise awareness, and encourage confidence. Maybe for future milestones I’ll fund other alopecians’ shoots, to help build their confidence 🙂
• This week’s goals for accountability:
  1. Activate my Google ads vouchers before they expire on Sept 30th
  2. Get new ring packaging cards updated and printed.
  3. Come up with a list of holiday strategies
• Current Challenge:
  • Can’t get women’s rings on page 1. Last promo just finished. Can start playing with prices I suppose. Will optimize ads too. Any other good ideas?

September 20, 2015: Progress to date

• Last 30 days: $23.5K (promo + a coupon accident…so real number probably around $22K)
• Etsy: $1.6K
• Knot Theory website (just the rings): $0.6K
• Overview:
  1. Knot Theory Silicone Wedding Rings
     • Men’s: Most of the income right now. Launching a new design in ~3 weeks.
     • Women’s: Launched two weeks ago. Now on page 2 for “silicone wedding ring”, page 1 for “silicone wedding ring women”
     • Adding more colours and sizes. Currently have 24 live SKUs, and 45+ more coming. (Sounds like a lot. It’s because each colour comes in up to 6 sizes!)
  2. Period Panties
     • Just got competitor’s panties and holy sh*t they are built like indestructible cell phone cases (Otterbox)! They could call theirs Beaverbriefs 🙂
     • I dislike their products after trying them out, and have lots of ideas for improvement….but this will take time and money to research and prototype.
  3. Umbrellas
     • Inspired by one of Clement’s finds. That woman you dislike, Clement, I’ll bring her down! Haha.
     • Will start ordering samples and competitors’ products
     • Want to explore collaborating with artists to create high art (printed on the inside of black umbrellas), high quality umbrellas. Though, I just discovered that MoMA does a bit of that already.
  4. Cashmere scarves
     • I really just want to use up my 500 expensive (~$3K) Knot Theory boxes originally made for neckties.
     • They take up so much space in my room and I hate sleeping with them next to me lol.
     • Sales appear low on Amazon right now, but it’s not quite winter yet.
  5. Quick Dry Towels
     • Tried out competitor’s product. Already great, have no big way of improving it further other than slightly better branding.
     • Fairly competitive niche. Seems like many people are thinking to do it too.
     • Will find out more about MOQ and margins before deciding if I want to proceed. Low MOQ also means low barrier of entry though.
  6. Rain Boots (will drop)
     • Someone is attracted to water repelling/absorbing products it seems lol.
     • Just discovered that ranking #94 in Shoes means 59 sales a month. Not profitable at all.
• Business Goals for 2016:
  • Hire 1 VA to delegate tasks to; focus more on developing new brands and scaling the businesses
  • Achieve 150 product sales a day average for year 2016; estimated 5~8 product lines needed to achieve this.
• Milestone Celebration
  • Will celebrate when my total monthly profit reaches $25K! Current profit ~$15K including bow tie sales.
  • Not sure how to celebrate. 6 years after quitting my job as a software engineer and making way less than all my ex-coworkers for most of those years, I think I’m finally making on par with my friends who are now at Google. Prefer to keep a low profile always, but will be harder to celebrate milestones with friends.
  • Will probably celebrate by hiring my photographer friends, paying them real money for once. I do want good bald pics of myself. It’s a personal mission to re-brand alopecia as attractive, raise awareness, and encourage confidence. Maybe for future milestones I’ll fund other alopecians’ shoots, to help build their confidence 🙂
• This week’s goals for accountability:
  1. Edit and Publish the youtube video I homemade to promote rings
  2. Women’s ring SEO – cover the basics (blog articles, pinterest posts, instagram, etc)
  3. Contact 10 bloggers for giveaways and/or holiday gift guide inclusion

Hey Cocobond! Wanna go on a mini vacation with me?

Anywhere in the world.

Anywhere you want.

About 6, 7 days I’m thinking.

Because a long time ago, when I told you I was going to Shanghai, you asked me who is gonna fuck me like you do when I go. I said, I’ll fly you there when I’m rich. You said, Deal.

So this is kinda the equivalent of keeping that promise 🙂

Some ideas: Bali, Spain, Japan, Turks and Caicos.

—

This is my idea of using my money for having a good time. Spending time with Patrick. Almost like a honeymoon.

I hope to be able to say this to him and go on this trip with him this coming December/January/February.

Of course, he might not be available emotionally or physically…I don’t know. I really hope to have this amazing trip experience with him though!

If/when I make over $50K in profit starting November and before Christmas, I’ll ask him.

Of course, I also need to plan trips with Mom and with Dad. Need to think about that. With Dad, I plan next March/April when I’m probably going to be in Asia.