Just read this article, " Brock Pierce: Bitcoin Foundation 'Close To Running Out of Money'", which highlights one of the key factors of why we need the for profit company to support DNotes. It's a different kind of idea that not many would be willing to commit to, it may be hard to believe even now as we close in on our second year, the key will be to stay the course and more and more will believe and understand what we are trying to accomplish through demonstration. As Alan has mentioned many times we need to stand the test of time. We could certainly accelerate our efforts with serious investment, but the timing will be critical. Here is a snippet from the article: The Bitcoin Foundation will soon run out of funds, the foundation's board was told at a meeting on 20th October. The meeting's minutes, published yesterday, show that board chairman Brock Pierce opened the event with the declaration that the Foundation is "close to running out of money". Further disclosures during the meeting show that it is struggling to generate significant revenue. Its last event, the third instalment of its DevCore workshops series held in San Mateo, California on 16th October, earned just $2,000 in sponsorship fees. The foundation has embarked on cost-cutting measures to staunch the flow of cash. September board meeting minutes show that it was spending "5 to 10%" of the "previous budget". The foundation was spending $150,000 a month as recently as last May, according to minutes released at the time. It was operating with a different board and staff led by then executive director Jon Matonis. Burn rates and runway Current foundation spending would stand at $7,500 a month, based on 5% of a $150,000 monthly budget. The foundation had a balance of $59,000, according to minutes from the July board meeting. Based on these estimates, the foundation has funds until next March. Foundation executive director Bruce Fenton said at the October meeting: "We need to do serious fundraising ... Revenue is key, we can't do much more to cut expenses." The foundation currently employs two part-time staff. Fenton runs the organisation as a volunteer. The board pinned much of the expenditure on commitments made by the previous regime. This included vendor invoices, past employee expenses, paid vacation expenses and legal bills. A new board was elected in March amid drama. Candidates complained about an overhaul of the voting system, poor voter outreach and allegations that the organisation was bankrupt. That sounded worse than I expected; more shocking than "should not be a surprise". |
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Hopefully they get it sorted out, the last thing the industry needs is another large exchange collapse.
I think they'll get their technical issues solved. What I'm not so sure about is rebuilding their reputation after they solve the issues. Although it may be sufficient that they solved them and came back to offer what customers expect. If you bounce back a couple times from something like this and don't pull a GOX, then I think that counts for something. Still, improving their PR would be so simple... and yet apparently too difficult at the moment. There are many reasons why businesses failed; including some who got a taste of success and still failed, while others may not have been so fortunate. The three most important components are the guy in charge, the employees, and the customers. Everything is a reflection of the top leadership. In most cases, the top guy is the owner or one of the founders, often the one with the great idea, technology or money, or both. Since he can not do much by himself, he needs employees to grow his business and customers to support his business. Technology alone is not enough to see him through. All three are of high value and must work well for continued success. They are all inter-related and affect one another. The one in charge must build the most favorable environment for every component to work well together. My book covers these in great details. When customers, don't feel like the employees care or appreciate their business, there is little loyalty to be support the company, which it very much needs, when it encounters problems as in the case of Cryptsy. Unless you are the only game in town, the customers will start to consider other options and choices available. Once they are gone, it is a lot harder to get them to come back. There is no indication to me that Cryptsy's management recognized the magnitude of the problem, or any efforts of damage control. Unfortunately, this is one of the main causes of business failures. Being great in one or two areas is not enough to be successful because everything matters, with some to a lower degree. I'm really looking forward to reading your book, Dyna. Let me know if you'd like any editing help with it  There is one aspect in which Cryptsy is the only game in town for me, because it's the only exchange that carries a particular coin I get on a regular basis. If it weren't for that, though, I'd have completely left them by now as all the other coins I'm interested in, including DNotes, are carried on other exchanges. This basically proves your point. Since there's a reason the one coin trades only on Cryptsy, I'm clearly not going to be enough glue for them if lots of other people (who don't care about my coin) ditch them over this. But I do hope they continue to exist, because one thing in their favor is that they rarely if ever delist coins. Time will tell whether that can possibly make up for their weaknesses. Thank you, Wiser. I am finding out that writing a great book is a massive project, especially in this case which includes a number of unique business concepts. It is important that I finish my first draft before I get others involved, and I do have you in mind for some editing help. I am very passionate about using this book to help many struggling small business owners and their employees. Frankly, even Big Vern can use some help, though he may not see it that way. Cryptsy does have some great features and it is good that they have not delisted any coin. That serves an important service to our industry. I wish them well and will be delighted to be of help if I could. |
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The positive here is what a good light it puts the Dnotes 'model' in. Accessible, plain-spoken, polite, attentive to the detail* -- dang, it's revolution!
[And if every single automated exchange blows up today, IndiaMikeZulu will have a P2P exchange up and running within 24 hours. Easy peasy!]
Mark (IndiaMikeZulu), Australia
*Even inclusive of . . . whatchamacallit? . . . girl persons!
Thank you, Mark. The DNotes' model is built to survive the test of time. We are at the mercy of the same challenging environmental factors everyone in our industry is subjected to. Many of those factors are beyond anyone's control, but unless we can promptly adjust and adopt, it could be very damaging as we constantly witnessed. One might have observed that DNotes has continued to make progress in multiple fronts and never stopped to advance. We have successfully added DCEBrief recently and various projects will be launched in 2016. This is a good indication that we have a clear vision and a dedicated mission. Our multiple strategic plans are continually being executed flawlessly irrespective of DNotes market price. Over time, the true value of DNotes will be recognized. DNotes is being built with our long term stakeholders in mind. We will continue to add value to our long term investment but not sure if there is anything we can do for short term traders. |
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Hopefully they get it sorted out, the last thing the industry needs is another large exchange collapse.
I think they'll get their technical issues solved. What I'm not so sure about is rebuilding their reputation after they solve the issues. Although it may be sufficient that they solved them and came back to offer what customers expect. If you bounce back a couple times from something like this and don't pull a GOX, then I think that counts for something. Still, improving their PR would be so simple... and yet apparently too difficult at the moment. There are many reasons why businesses failed; including some who got a taste of success and still failed, while others may not have been so fortunate. The three most important components are the guy in charge, the employees, and the customers. Everything is a reflection of the top leadership. In most cases, the top guy is the owner or one of the founders, often the one with the great idea, technology or money, or both. Since he can not do much by himself, he needs employees to grow his business and customers to support his business. Technology alone is not enough to see him through. All three are of high value and must work well for continued success. They are all inter-related and affect one another. The one in charge must build the most favorable environment for every component to work well together. My book covers these in great details. When customers, don't feel like the employees care or appreciate their business, there is little loyalty to be support the company, which it very much needs, when it encounters problems as in the case of Cryptsy. Unless you are the only game in town, the customers will start to consider other options and choices available. Once they are gone, it is a lot harder to get them to come back. There is no indication to me that Cryptsy's management recognized the magnitude of the problem, or any efforts of damage control. Unfortunately, this is one of the main causes of business failures. Being great in one or two areas is not enough to be successful because everything matters, with some to a lower degree. |
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From CryptoMoms Forum Today:
Wow! CryptoMoms blew right through 14 K Members and the traffic has been growing too.
4789 Posts in 568 Topics by 14018 Members
Thanks for all your support. We are gearing up to do a lot more next year.
Our top priority next year is to start working with woman small business owners with an attempt to pull and engage other resources that are helpful for all small business owners and their employees. I will be starting a new thread to answer business related questions. Let us know if you have any suggestions as to how we could be more helpful to small business owners.
As part of our Christmas tradition, we will be sending out DNotes, as gifts, to all our CRISP For Kids on Christmas week. There will also be a number of special prizes given out. If you have not signed up a CRISP For Kids account for your child, this is a great time to do so. This is a great gift idea for anyone - parents, grandparents, family and friends.
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Great article. Timely and helpful. Thanks for an excellent job, RJF! |
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Much of that is due to the lack of knowledge or just plain ignorance as to what Bitcoin and digital currency is about. I would give more credit to the following findings: " The opinion of financial executives differs to that of a previous survey undertaken by Bitkom earlier this year. Targeting everyday citizens, the summer survey revealed 36% of Germans would be open to acquiring or adopting Bitcoin as a currency. That opinion rose to 53% of those surveyed who were between 14-29 years." |
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"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me." Pastor Martin Niemöller I think that pretty much sums up the immediate future of the Greek people if they do nothing.... Wow! That is powerful with much sad truth. |
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Here's a WSJ article from 2013 with statistics that show how indebted the world really is. I know most of you are already aware of this, but what is most troubling is the exponential rate at which the debt is growing. http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-REB-18916Number of the Week: Total World Debt Load at 313% of GDPMay 11, 2013 5:00 a.m. ET $223.3 trillion: The total indebtedness of the world, including all parts of the public and private sectors, amounting to 313% of global gross domestic product. Advanced economies tend to draw attention for their debt at the government and household levels. But emerging markets are gathering debt at an increasing pace to drive their economic development. In a comprehensive report on global indebtedness, economists at ING found that debt in developed economies amounted to $157 trillion, or 376% of GDP. Emerging-market debt totaled $66.3 trillion at the end of last year, or 224% of GDP. The $223.3 trillion in total global debt includes public-sector debt of $55.7 trillion, financial-sector debt of $75.3 trillion and household or corporate debt of $92.3 trillion. (The figures exclude China’s shadow finance and off-balance-sheet financing.) “Increasingly, ‘debt’ is seen as a dirty word,” the ING research team said in a report released this week. “But in most cases, it should not be. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the rise of U.S. indebtedness coincided with improvements in technology and the globalization of trade, human labor and finance. Computers allowed for speedier processing and better and more transparent access to credit risk data.” “Debt can become dirty when the rise of debt service costs exceeds income and a borrower’s long-term ability to make payments and often when rapid growth of debt and/or lack of adequate transparency disguises creditworthiness issues,” they write. Global trade has played a leading role in driving debt dynamics as emerging markets increasingly supplied low-cost labor and raw materials in recent decades. But emerging-market debt has grown only slightly faster than economies. A decade ago, total emerging-market debt was $18.8 trillion, or 214% of GDP. (Now it’s $66.3 trillion, or 224% of GDP.) Per-capita indebtedness is still just $11,621 in emerging economies (and rises to $12,808 if you exclude the two largest populations, China and India). For developed economies, it’s $170,401. The U.S. alone has total per-capita indebtedness of $176,833, including all public and private debt. Looks like it's time for a hard reboot on a global level. Of course, we have just the right currency to help out....  I become more confident in that prospect every day. Other than cryptocurrency, there is no bandaid large enough to patch the wounded global economy. It is frightening. Although we will be quite involved in Block technology and other related businesses, we are totally committed to the currency side of the equation. This article is a good reminder as to why we are so committed to give DNotes the best change of being the trusted global digital currency for everyone to participate. For that to happen, we are talking about something that is very large scale that can only happen if DNotes is well positioned with a solid foundation. Essentially, that is what we have been doing. But apparently, not everyone has the kind of patience or foresight to see it that way. The long term global economic trends are quite troubling. It is not sustainable without drastic changes. Unfortunately, I am personally not hopeful that changes will be made any time soon. We need a global digital currency that can serve, in a big way, as a supplement to global fiat currencies, though not as a replacement. However, even as a supplementary currency it is a massive project and we are only at the infancy. Let’s us not be too concerned about the daily prices of DNotes but focus in building DNotes as the currency with a purpose, so that if there is a systemic failure in the global financial system, there is still something left to hold on to. |
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Thanks, guys. Crypto folk from several coins have reported difficulties, and I thought I'd just ask.
I use Cryptsy for 80% of my transactions. Other than being a little slow on some coins, the problem is one of "growing pains" They are still tweaking their new platform and delays are possible. This is normal for the industry, most code is custom and debugging is a never ending chore. Cryptsy has it's share of detractors and doomsayers in these forums but, they certainly appear to be solvent (my opinion of course) and they are not doing anything underhanded or illegal, that would be downright stupid. Folks need to remember, they are a US financial company located in Florida. That puts them under the microscope much more than "fly-by-nights" in third world countries. It is truly a shame when the "pack mentality" decides to attack just because they enjoy watching others suffer. (not speaking about ANYONE here) So, if things are a little slow, it's not nefarious, its nature of the beast after a major upgrade. Thank you, RJF. It's very helpful that you are able to share your experience with us. You have been around in our industry a lot longer than I have and I know that your comments are always objective, which is very helpful especially when there is a great deal of confusion in our industry due to "pack mentality" as you correctly pointed out. I would characterize my experience with Cryptsy as frustrating and in some instances annoying and give their customer services and PR a failing grade. Sadly, Cryptsy is quite typical of many small businesses. They may be excellent in a number of things but totally failed to recognize the vital importance of other areas. The business world has been rapidly changing. It is becoming significant more competitive; there are many more options and choices, and many things are done in real time. Among others, sales and customer acquisitions techniques are rapidly changing. Social media has forced public relation to be a key contributor of success or failure. Relationship and partnership with customers are becoming increasing more important. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Cryptsy does not seem to recognized any of these. As you know, we had high hopes on Cryptsy when we mounted our campaign to get listed there. I wish they can do better. They must change their mind-set and place a high value on their customers. Building a volume business is hard, but loosing it due to poor business practices - rebuilding is drastically harder. Basically, I agree with you on all counts. They are a product of the coders and programmers world where customer service does not exist. Many tech startups have a very difficult time transitioning from "code mills" populated with programmers and designers to real life businesses that have to interface with people who do not understand the inner workings of technology but want to use it and, cannot be bothered by how elegant the code is, they just want their money's worth and they want it now. I believe the key to success for these companies is to find customer support people who have worked in non technical support as well as technical support. The need folks with people skills which are even more important than folks with only tech skills. Which would you rather be told? "It's not us, it's your old computer, you need to upgrade." or "I'm sorry you having a problem making that transfer. Can I ask you a few questions about your equipment? You may want to add some more memory or a faster Internet connection." Always engage people like they pay your salary, which, in essence, they do. The person on the other line of the second example will feel good about upgrading after all is said and done. In the first example, they will find another exchange that supports their old junk better. It's all in the way you approach the public. After all, they don't know you, they don't know the boss or founder, all they is that it doesn't work and you don't want to help. Scratch one customer.... Reasonable people, expect and accept problems from time to time, arising from oversight, technical problems, and minor mistakes. Whether the issues are ignored or handled responsively make a world of difference. My experience has been that Cryptsy has more issues than others. In addition, they are not responsive or do not communicate at all. It gave me the feeling that "this is how we conduct business and how you feel about is not important to us." Every single customer is a valued customer. When one feels that his business is not valued and appreciated he will make the adjustment to look at other options and choices. This is so fundamental to business success but often ignored. |
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Thanks, guys. Crypto folk from several coins have reported difficulties, and I thought I'd just ask.
I use Cryptsy for 80% of my transactions. Other than being a little slow on some coins, the problem is one of "growing pains" They are still tweaking their new platform and delays are possible. This is normal for the industry, most code is custom and debugging is a never ending chore. Cryptsy has it's share of detractors and doomsayers in these forums but, they certainly appear to be solvent (my opinion of course) and they are not doing anything underhanded or illegal, that would be downright stupid. Folks need to remember, they are a US financial company located in Florida. That puts them under the microscope much more than "fly-by-nights" in third world countries. It is truly a shame when the "pack mentality" decides to attack just because they enjoy watching others suffer. (not speaking about ANYONE here) So, if things are a little slow, it's not nefarious, its nature of the beast after a major upgrade. Thank you, RJF. It's very helpful that you are able to share your experience with us. You have been around in our industry a lot longer than I have and I know that your comments are always objective, which is very helpful especially when there is a great deal of confusion in our industry due to "pack mentality" as you correctly pointed out. I would characterize my experience with Cryptsy as frustrating and in some instances annoying and give their customer services and PR a failing grade. Sadly, Cryptsy is quite typical of many small businesses. They may be excellent in a number of things but totally failed to recognize the vital importance of other areas. The business world has been rapidly changing. It is becoming significant more competitive; there are many more options and choices, and many things are done in real time. Among others, sales and customer acquisitions techniques are rapidly changing. Social media has forced public relation to be a key contributor of success or failure. Relationship and partnership with customers are becoming increasing more important. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Cryptsy does not seem to recognized any of these. As you know, we had high hopes on Cryptsy when we mounted our campaign to get listed there. I wish they can do better. They must change their mind-set and place a high value on their customers. Building a volume business is hard, but loosing it due to poor business practices - rebuilding is drastically harder. |
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Info-gathering not concern-raising:
if you have any gos on Cryptsy, please do post it.
Mark
The only thing I've heard is people having trouble withdrawing certain coins, withdrawing is taking a long time. People were converting to other coins which are successfully able to be withdrawn. Withdrawing DNotes at Cryptsy is not a problem. I just completed a withdrawal successfully. There has been a noticeable increase in DNotes purchase at Cryptsy today. |
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Cryptopia:I hope that frank and honest is appropriate: the buy-sell split on Poloniex at this second is: 2047-1954. On Cryptopia, 2000- 1003I can only apologise: as a disability pensioner, my budget is tiny; I haven't a penny left to 'plug the gap' on Cryptopia. However, campers: if you remain geniunely convinced that Dnotes is a good buy, then this is the very second to join the fray. (There was mention of the place of ‘speculation’ in a community. I’m tempted to write some Notes on this.): 'Chasin' The Price Down'There are two perspectives here, readers. Back in 2013 (says rockin'-chair-pontification guy . . . ), when coins began to weaken in price, you'd invariably here the following: 'Yeh! Hey! Great time to buy! Lower your average buy-in price!!' And you can now take a trip down Memory Lane -- to visit the graves -- here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=588413.0That is -- and we had too little data to know it at the time* -- these coins were what Ian and I call 'dwindlecoins.' Self explanatory. The second perspective is: if at this point -- acting from a better knowledge-base -- you think that Dnotes has a bright future . . . well, let's do the math: One: you buy 10,000 at 5000. Then the price drops to 2000. Ian and I call this 'locked down.' You can either grind your molars until the price regains your break-even point, or; Two: buy 10000 at 2000, which brings your average buy-in (for the 20,000) to 3,500 – but bear in mind that the second packet of 20,000 cost you much much less Bitcoin.Three: then, if you dare, buy another 20,000 – and again the actual Btc cost is low.Thus, you have 40,000 Dnotes with an average buy-in of just 2750. At that point, if Dnotes lifts to, say, 2600 on Poloniex, you’ll already be able to sell a few at 2751 on the lower-volume exchanges. *IndiaMikeZulu has a member who was mining when there were five cryptos. Appreciate the support Mark. Although we feel DNotes is under valued, it is the market demand that ultimately dictates the current price at this rate of release. Hopefully with the launch of the book, the new company, and everything else we have built, the tide will shift in our favor. Just keep in mind, we don't recommend anyone invest more than they can lose, as we can provide no guarantees. P.S. Frank and Honest are always appropriate lol. Mark, we are most fortunate to have your confidence and support. We appreciate that very much. Dollar averaging is indeed an investment strategy many smart investors use, especially when one is investing for the long term. What I can say is that I am still buying DNotes everyday and there has not been any increase of withdrawal from DNotesVault. There is no noticeable change in our long term investors sentiment. To me that is most comforting. DNotes is designed for long term investors. We will continue to invest and expand our ecosystem. As Joe mentioned, our next major project to be launched the first half of next year, will include our new company. Our first revenue producing project will come from the book I am working on. To me, the value of DNotes should be worth more not less. But that is how the free market works. If there are more buyers than sellers the price goes up. Apparently we have been having more sellers than buyers lately. It is best to be patient and let the market plays it out. Finishing the first draft of my book remains my highest priority. This is a very demanding project but it has always been one of our major building blocks. It will be part of our CRISP For Retirement and CRISP For Employees Incentive Benefit campaign. I plan to get most of my writing done by the end of this month. |
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Bitcoin Weekly Recap 12-4-2015GoPay Integrates Bitcoin Option. Hong Kong Scaling Bitcoin Conference This Week. SEC Files Charges against Zenminer and GAW Miners. Barbados Economists Recommend Central Bank Consider Bitcoin Reserves. Estonia’s Supreme Court Seeks Help Determining Bitcoin Legality. Barry Silbert to Jamie Dimon: Don’t Bank on Bitcoin’s Demise. http://dcebrief.com/bitcoin-weekly-recap-12-4-2015/ The Barbados article is promising. It would help validate crypto as a supplemental currency. I agree. The whole recap is great, but this really grabbed my attention and I'm sure most central bankers will have a hindsight moment about cryptocurrency years down the road. Barbados Economists Recommend Central Bank Consider Bitcoin ReservesEconomist in Barbados recently released a paper in which they contemplated the viability of the nation’s Central Bank adding Bitcoin to its portfolio of foreign currency reserves. That paper - Should Cryptocurrencies be included in the Portfolio of International Reserves held by the Central Bank of Barbados? - examines the feasibility of such a move, while also attempting to forecast how such holdings would impact a central bank’s foreign reserve stability and asset returns. While noting that most central banks are commonly required to maintain foreign currency reserves or other assets to assist with international transactions, the authors also note that such reserves can potentially be necessary for recovering from a sudden stop during an economic crisis, and to protect the nation’s own currency from speculative attack. The paper offers an interesting look at Bitcoin’s rise from obscurity, and a critical view of its potential usefulness within the central bank system. Ultimately, the authors note that had the nation’s central bank had Bitcoin reserves during the period of 2009 to 2015, it would have realized a sizable return on its investment, while having experienced reserve balance volatility on par with what it endured with various major foreign currencies. Though no formal recommendation was made, the paper did advise that any decision to include Bitcoin within the central bank’s reserve portfolio should be made with an eye toward maintaining reserves that are in proportion to the currency’s actual use by the people of Barbados. http://dcebrief.com/bitcoin-weekly-recap-12-4-2015/Interesting, but bold suggestion at this time. However, it is certainly a possibility in a few years. |
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Thanks for the great write up Nick, you make a good point about people fearing the unknown. But in sharing your initial uncertainties, many people may be able to begin to understand that most of us in the industry today had our doubts when we started. I first thought Bitcoin was a ponzi scheme until I actually took the time to learn about it. When Joe first suggested that I take a closer look at Bitcoin, my initial reaction was that I had heard about it, and that based on what I knew, I won't touch it with a ten foot pole. We often react based on preconceived opinion, which often is based on what we knew at the time. By nature, most of us take things at face value, and do not question it, especially when we don't totally understanding the subject. Until we have acquired sufficient knowledge to be comfortable, there is always the fear of the unknown, especially if we started with a negative impression, so prevalent in our industry. Bitcoin and digital currency is a very simple concept. It is money that can be used to purchase or exchange for something that we want. Our industry has created a great deal of confusion making early mass adaption highly unlikely. DNotesEDU is making a signification contribution in educating the masses. Great job, Brandon. We truly appreciate your great efforts. I had the same reservations about Bitcoin also. In fact, if I remember correctly, you and Joe worked on this for a while without my knowledge! From all the negative press at the time, I thought Bitcoin was for drug dealers and criminals. I know Joe spent some time "educating" you on Bitcoin, and it took a little time for me to really be on board also. In fact, the only reason I went along with it at first was because I respected you and Joe's opinion so much. It kinda reminded me of how you convinced me to get into the daylily biz. Here we were, owning a fireplace shop for over 25 years, had 15 or 20 employees, and you WANTED TO SELL FLOWERS? I though you were nuts! We had no equipment, no knowledge of the biz, AND no daylilies! I still remember the day I "got it". You took me out to the warehouse, and pointed to a woodstove setting on a rack. You said, what if you bought that stove, and had a choice.....you could sell it now, and have no more stoves on the rack. OR....you could leave it set on the shelf, and in one year, there would be 2 to 5 stoves setting on the shelf!! Then, I could sell 2 or 3 of them, and have 5 or 10 stoves setting there the next year. The light bulb went off. If I paid 1000 dollars for a stove, I usually sold it for about 1400 dollars. If I bought 1000 dollars worth of daylilies, I could sell that daylily FOREVER, and never buy that particular cultivar again! I got it right away.......40% gross profit VS 99% gross profit. (that is what really sold me on it). We sold our first daylily within 6 months of that day......the rest of the story is history! That was less than 10 years ago, and now we are one of the largest daylily suppliers in the world, having over 2000 cultivars, millions of plants in stock, on 40 acres of prime farmland. We have developed customized equipment to automate most processes, and we have probably the lowest "out the door" cost for dayliles. We took a strawberry planter made in 1950, took it back to the factory it was made at, and had it "customized" for planting daylilies. We can plant 2000 to 3000 plants per hour with a 3 man crew, instead of hand planting. We altered a potato digger to harvest plants, instead of hand digging. We can now harvest 1000 flowers in about 15 minutes, it would take a couple of guys half a day or more to hand dig that many. We customized a vegtable washer to wash outgoing plants that were sold (they cannot have ANY dirt on them to cross state lines). We started out having 6 "wash stations" to hand wash the flowers, employing 6 people to wash the flowers before shipping. The customized vegetable washer now requires one person 4 hours a day to keep up with the shipping and packaging, instead of 6 guys working 8 hours a day. We can ship over 5000 plants per day, individually packaged and clearly marked, with about 8 or ten workers. That includes digging, washing, trimming, labeling and packaging 5000 plants, usually to over 100 different addresses. 5000 in one day! We are building DNotes the same way. Exciting stuff!! Smokey Thanks, Kevin. I was not expecting this almost tell all post. It is inspiring even to me. Most of all I am certain there are small business owners reading this. I trust that it is an inspiration for them as well. To me the most important ingredients for business success are passion, strategies, people, execution, and process. Sorry I forget to mention money. But capital is not the most important, though it can solve a lot of problems and make life a lot easier. Smokeys Gardens started with $500. Every business has opportunities and problems and majority of business owners are struggling today. New business formations are on the decline at around 400,00 annual rate in the US only to be outnumbered by business closings of 470,000. That is a troubling trend-line. DNotes is uniquely positioned as a currency with a purpose. We are on a mission to build DNotes as the trusted global currency for everyone to participate. My current highest priority is to finish the first draft of my book specifically written to be of help to small business owners and start-ups. The book will become the property of the new company and will be our first source of income. I have been around long enough in the business world to know that it will do well, perhaps very well. Success in business does not happen by accident. It is planned and well executed. Viable vision and long term strategic mission may evolve and fine tuned over time but does not change course. DNotes has a very clear vision with clearly defined missions. There will be bumps along the way but we are never at a halt but keep advancing. Those are the signs of any success business and the same apply to DNotes. |
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Thanks for the great write up Nick, you make a good point about people fearing the unknown. But in sharing your initial uncertainties, many people may be able to begin to understand that most of us in the industry today had our doubts when we started. I first thought Bitcoin was a ponzi scheme until I actually took the time to learn about it. When Joe first suggested that I take a closer look at Bitcoin, my initial reaction was that I had heard about it, and that based on what I knew, I won't touch it with a ten foot pole. We often react based on preconceived opinion, which often is based on what we knew at the time. By nature, most of us take things at face value, and do not question it, especially when we don't totally understanding the subject. Until we have acquired sufficient knowledge to be comfortable, there is always the fear of the unknown, especially if we started with a negative impression, so prevalent in our industry. Bitcoin and digital currency is a very simple concept. It is money that can be used to purchase or exchange for something that we want. Our industry has created a great deal of confusion making early mass adaption highly unlikely. DNotesEDU is making a signification contribution in educating the masses. Great job, Brandon. We truly appreciate your great efforts. |
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Excellent job. DCEBrief is doing very well. The commitment and dedication from our team have been quite amazing. We believe that DCEBrief will be a significant positive contribution to our industry and I like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their contribution. |
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I like the new name. That is a good move. |
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BIG Thanks to DCE brief,Kev,Alan and Joe!This great support mean lot for us.It is a really great article. You all already know that a lot of people from GMC team are supporters and long term holders of Dnotes. We all need to keep good work and bring much more power in our industry. Thanks again Regards to all of you Nele Thanks, Nele. Our congratulations to you, Alex and your team for the great work you all have been doing. GMC deserves our full support. What your team has been doing is good for our industry. We wish you all our very best. |
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Quote from: indiamikezulu on Today at 12:09:47 AM
Morning, Shepherd.
What I think's going on here is that banks have convinced themselves that their position, as managers of government currency, has made them integral to government, and therefore immune to the conventional laws of commerce. Certainly banks in Australia don't see themselves as responsible to the public.
Mark (IndiaMikeZulu), Australia
Quote From Shepherd Today:
Mark, you are correct. That is one of the reasons I am personally totally committed to help build DNotes as the trusted global currency for everyone to participate. It has to be done in a large scale and must be built with a solid foundation so that it can survive the test of time.
Additionally, it must also be a currency with a purpose, conveniently available as a vehicle for those who believe in contributing, in ways and means they could, towards the betterment of humanities.
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