May Challenge Update & June Challenge

So this month has been a huge month for me this month, with various projects finally coming to the forefront, and hard work paying off. I also made my glorious return to the ring, with me appearing in a Britannia Wrestling show in Prestatyn, North Wales in the Bank Holiday Weekend just gone. I was nervous but since the show I’ve been grinning like a loon, it was such a good night for all!

So onto the challenges? Well first of all, I’ve decided that “it’s a secret” is a terrible excuse for a blog post, so I’ve changed it and given the challenges cryptic names, rather than being overly explicit or quiet. As such, I’ve given May’s task a name.

May Challenge – “Limited Edition”: Completed (5 Days Late)

So I’ve had to quickly rewrite this section as instead of being secret, we’re good to go and announce this.

I’ve formed my own Limited Company.

It’s mainly for my plugin work and the stuff kept really secret in the April Challenge that will be announced very soon, rather than any desire to go freelance (I’m very happy at 3 Door Digital and not going anywhere, thank you!). It was brought about with a chat at the last Mini Sascon in The Ramada hotel (where – apparently – people from The X-Factor were staying). My plugins were beginning to earn quite a bit which meant two things:-

  • I didn’t want to be sued by some trigger happy ambulance chaser which would see me lose everything.
  • I wanted to be able to sleep at night knowing The IRS won’t be knocking on my door.

After sitting down with a small business accountant, and laying everything out for them (in particular a “am I really on enough to justify going Limited?”), we decided that going Limited was the best option.

It’s quite exciting actually, well not the whole tax paying and filing documents thing, but the fact that it’s come to the point now that taking serious steps with making the earnings from my plugins a wee bit more official is quite nice.

I’ve still loads to do, but the first big step is done. Exciting times!

June Challenge – Saving Stuff

One of the goals for 2013 back in January is to save more cash. I commented on that post that when I moved from Manual Link Building to 3 Door Digital, my savings took a bit of a hit. You will be delighted to know however that since then I have recovered and exceeded my savings amount from pre-moving jobs time. Hurrah!

But it’s a bit slow recently, I put away a tenth of my wage, and I kind of want to increase it, as such, my goal for June is to place one fifth of my wage into savings.

It should be fairly achievable, it’s more to realign my principles. At times I’ve been good (I now have home made sandwiches most days in work), and bad (including one incident when, in a rush, I bought a train ticket, yet forgot to pick it up from the machine when it dropped down. Bellend.), so it’s more to be more careful.

Thankfully, due to a lost credit card and no football season, I’m not expecting June to be particularly expensive. Something will crop up though. All in all, I have an (unjustified) reputation for being a mingebag. I might as well live up to it.

Domain Names For Sale

I’ve scribbled my monthly challenge post already (that’ll be live in the next day or two), but just a heads up for now: I’m selling a bunch of domain names.

At the moment, there’s auctions running on Domain Lore and a couple of Sedo Holding pages. These are projects that I had big ideas for but didn’t get off the ground. Hopefully somebody will find them useful. Prices are listed but happy to entertain serious offers for them!

Domainlore Domains For Sale

Sedo Domains For Sale

I probably should get a page up for this…

WordPress & Me – 10 Year Anniversary Project Entry

One of my biggest passions is WordPress, and the development thereof. I love it, and every week I turn to my colleagues and say “wow, didn’t know WordPress could do THAT!”. I’ve been fortunate enough to turn this passion partly into a career, and partly into profitable side projects that I run. I’m also fortunate to be based in Manchester, home of MWUG, which is run by Mike Little, help write the damn thing.

MWUG will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of WordPress with a party (with cake!) in Odder Bar, Manchester (you can RSVP here). I will aim to get there (I’m winging it back from a BWP show the night before in Prestatyn), so it’d be good to see fellow Manchester WordPressy folk.

But that isn’t the point of this post. I read with interest Dougal Campbell’s 10th Anniversary WordPress Blogging Project, where you are supposed to share what happened to you at core stages in WordPress’ development. This is my post contributing to the Blogging Project.

When WordPress was released in May 2003:-

  • I was 19 years old.
  • I was just finishing my first year of a Computer & Multimedia Systems course at The University of Liverpool.
  • I was a bit of a loner at the time, for the first 6 months of University I hated the halls, and I was plonked on a corridor full of some right pillocks. I did eventually move into a floor with nice people, many of which I still keep in touch with, but by the time I moved in they had already organised a house share, so I went into Second Year Halls.
  • I was also beginning my first full time summer job, working in the restaurant at The Welsh Mountain Zoo.

When I First Started Using WordPress in May 2006:-

  • I was 22 years old.
  • WordPress 2.0.2 was the current version (actually quite gutted by this, sure I’ve scribbled somewhere that I remember WordPress 1.5, but alas no).
  • I had just started working for Livetech in Colwyn Bay.
  • WordPress didn’t have pages for the home page, which frustrated me no end!
  • I was still living with Mum & Dad.
  • I had recently come out of hospital following a bout of Atrial Fibrillation, which screwed me up mentally more than anything else.
  • As it was brought on by a combination of stress, no sleep and a huge amount of alcohol consumption, I was off the booze.
  • And as such, I could still comfortably fit into a Medium. HA! No chance of that now!

Since I started using WordPress…

  • I have found a love for traveling, going abroad for the first time, and since then going to 17 countries.
  • I have changed jobs twice, and now rather happily working for 3 Door Digital.
  • As such I’ve left Colwyn Bay and moved to Manchester.
  • Colwyn Bay FC have been promoted twice.
  • I’ve started, stopped, started again, stopped again and now due to restart a wrestling managerial career.
  • I have released five plugins, and contributed to two more (though my contribution to WP Fart is minimal).
  • I have released two commercial plugins: WP Email Capture & Author+.
  • I have two super-secret (well not quite super-secret now!) projects that I cannot wait to get finished and out there later this year.
  • And – most surprisingly of all – I’ve become a dog lover!

So yes, a bit of an introspective, but felt it was necessarily, most of all though I’m proud to be a part of an amazing community. Between the WordPress & the SEO community, both have been great helps to me as a person and career wise.

Here’s to the next 10 years!

April Challenge Update and May Challenge

April was probably the busiest month for me this year, in fact not since the last month or so with WP Email Capture last July has there been a month I have been so full on. As such did my April Challenge – my secret – a success?

April Challenge: Success!

Yes it was! It was a rush towards the end, and it had a few tear out hair moments, but overall it was a success. I achieved what I wanted. And as it was a success, I have a reward.

The reward will be a party. It will be held somewhere in Chorlton. I will let you know when I plan this.

May Challenge: Another Secret!

Again, May Challenge is unfortunately another secret, for completely different reasons to the above. Hopefully when

I’m a bastard, I know. Thankfully June’s challenge, which I’ve already come up with, is due to go out in the open.

Promise a meaningful blog post soon.

Promise.

 

Manchester Evening News – Street Party & Northern Quarter Takeover

So there is an article on the M.E.N. about the Northern Quarter Takeover Party that took place on Sunday 5th May 2013. And there’s a picture in the gallery that features me. Here is the image. Impressive to get a photo of me on a major newspaper website.

Even more impressive, as I was in North Wales at the time.

Here is a picture of what I was actually doing on Sunday – enjoying the garden with my family. In North Wales.

megarden

Still don’t believe me? Here’s a picture I tweeted at the time. It was just as delicious as some of the burgers available at the Northern Quarter at the time.

It appears as though there has been a bit of flak for the pictures, but rather than admit a mistake, the Manchester Evening News are digging themselves a little bit of a hole.

Look, I like the Manchester Evening News, it’s great and read it, but odd that they’re taking quite a defensive stance when they have been caught out.

Cheers to @_Chappers_ for the spot!