From Mini to VW to... I dunno, I give. You tell me.

Mini passed on me, but they said I was outstanding and would like to consider me for their new store. They decided to go with someone with more auto experience, and I can't really argue with that... having no auto sales experience myself.

Then another ad caught my eye, Volkswagen. So I submitted my resume and they called me back. The next day (Friday) I went in for the interview, and that evening when I got home they again, called me back. They really liked me, like my energy, and thought I might be a good fit. Would I come in on Monday morning to their in-house training program and spend a day learning their sales process? Sure. I'd love to. And that's what I did today.

It was very similar to the Dale Carnegie sales process I already know, just more specific to selling cars. So that was nice and familiar and built confidence. However, the main factor that was mentioned was that our biggest selling advantage in selling is our superior knowledge of our products and inventory, and in-depth study of the competition. *beat*

Well crap. I don't really have either of those things. Yet, and I realize knowledge will come. But it was discouraging to hear, particularly since I'm entering this industry with no auto experience. On the other hand, when I started selling at Revchem, I didn't have an in-depth knowledge of silicones or UV-initiated resins either, so I suppose in that way it's no different.

Overall the day was very enlightening, and I definitely think I could work that process well. So I sat down with the manager again and discussed the position in more detail today. We talked about the commission structure and bonuses, medical/dental all that. Sure working on 100% commission is risky, but it's always a good motivator. That part doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that I have to essentially create my own customer base. The foot traffic at the dealership is very light. So not only am I doing the sales process once they land on the doorstep, but I have to get them IN the door in the first place.

Today I was told to treat this as if I were running my own business. The flipside of course is that I'm working for them as an employee, so I'm not totally on my own.

There is also no formal product knowledge training. There are certifications you have to eventually obtain from VW, but the internet is my friend I guess. I think my main hesitations at this point are concerns over the short term. How to get people in the door. Getting up to speed enough to speak confidently about the vehicles I will be selling. Becoming intimately familiar with the inventory so as to know what cars to select.

I get paid more on unemployment than I do sitting at the dealership learning about the products. So it almost makes more sense to research at home for a week or two, then go work for them. But then I don't want them to hire someone else while I'm learnin' up.

I think more importantly I am stressing about the process of getting the customers in the door in the first place. The main reason I'm attracted to selling cars in the first place is that the customer generally comes to YOU! I don't mind doing the work of generating prospects and leads for myself; that's a vital part of the sales process that any seller worth anything should be able to do for themselves. Just in my experience it's the part that takes the longest.

So, I'm stressing a bit about it. Mainly because I have no other employment prospects on the table. And, I'm starting to stress again about what direction to be looking for employment. Should I concentrate on sales, or should I concentrate on management? Do I even want a management position? What about teaching? Some people think I should pursue teaching Latin... What about that?

I just don't know. My top 5 talents are: Connectedness, Empathy, Individualization, Achiever, Arranger.

Definitely seems to tell the story of someone who's a sales professional, doesn't it? Or clergy, or team leader, or producer, or director, or....

Anyone got any insights?

Mini Me

Last Friday, I landed myself an interview to Nick Alexander Mini, for a sales position. I kid you not. I was looking on Craigslist and saw an ad "What Recession? Mini Coopers Are HOT HOT HOT!!!" Yep, they are hiring 1 sales person. This happens to be the same dealership I bought my Mini at. So not only do I know at least two of the other salesmen then, plus the service manager, but I know the company and can testify first hand.

The interview went really well. I felt very comfortable, and seemed to keep the sales manager interested and talking with me for over an hour and half! It went well enough that he had me do a second interview with the general manager. This gentleman is a big guy, kind of like the owner of the company at my last job. And by big, I mean large stature. I admit, I was a little intimidated. But I think it went okay. We talked about boats a little bit, and leasing climates. I think I held my own okay, but he is clearly a numbers oriented guy. Makes for a great GM.

Anyway they're supposed to get back to me hopefully by the end of this week. Here's hoping!

This would be a pretty ideal place for me. I mean, I love doing sales, and what better product to sell than something I am already so passionate about?! And it's a car that really does create a community.

This week I also started reading, Now Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton. When you buy the book, you get an access code to their online test called "Strengths Finder". I bought the upgraded version, and so this is what the results came out to be:

How well do you think these themes describe me?

Connectedness
People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

Empathy
People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.

Individualization
People who are especially talented in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.

Achiever
People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive.

Arranger
People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Feeling the pinch

So I'm flossing my teeth, like every dentist I've ever had has told me to do, and I get to the spot just between my top two front teeth... and my floss gets stuck. I pull it out, and suddenly I realize that I had a filling there. On the backside, right between my two front teeth (now you have that song in your head).

We don't have dental insurance. And it started to hit me how much this is going to run. I haven't been to a dentist since I moved to LA. That means they're going to want to run X-rays, do a cleaning, fix my filling, and of course discover every horrible thing that's wrong with my teeth. This is where I DO believe in insurance. Too bad, huh?

Recently Cindy's car needed new front brakes. Rotors and pads. $350.
I needed new clothes. Still not quite done yet. So far... $230.
IRS and CA Franchise Office took income tax from us this week... $5600.
Cordy almost had to go to the animal hospital. whew. avoided that.

Our savings is depleting fast, and I have only my second real prospect interview tomorrow. It's a cellular company. They need an inside sales rep. Doesn't look too great though. The website isn't very good, and I have a feeling I'm WAY over qualified. But we'll see tomorrow.

The chocolate thing would be fun, and would be rewarding to help the company grow and to directly affect that... and feeling the dire straits is no better motivator. But the practical side of me craves some kind of stability, and that means someone else giving me a paycheck, paying my income taxes, and preferably paying for my insurances.

I have a fancy resume ready to go, if anyone in the LA area is interested.

gah... why couldn't I have been born with great teeth?

Should I be The Chocolate Guy?

So I had my second interview with The Chocolate Traveler (click the image above to go to their website). Very interesting company and they definitely could use my help. The drawbacks are steep though.

• I'm not an employee. I'm an independent contractor, much like a Mary Kay rep or Tupperware. The upside to this company though is that I don't have to buy my inventory; it's all on consignment.
  
• Being an independent contractor, I'm responsible for all of my own expenses, including insurance, cell phone, fuel, income taxes, etc. So that's a lot of chocolate to sell before you start turning a profit.
• So this is all to say that they pretty much won't/can't pay for anything for liability reasons. Just commission. Which is also interesting, because the inventory you're keeping for them, they technically still own.

These types of sales jobs, if you're ambitious and really driven, can be fun and profitable if you stick to it. But, I don't know many people who do it as a full time job. It seems like a good part time job. This could be good for me since I'm trying to also pursue producing/directing professionally.

The company itself is pretty great. I really like the people, the product is high quality, and I definitely see how I could have a direct impact on the company. That itself is pretty exciting. I also like that I'm basically my own boss.

The products are reasonably priced, and the margins are certainly doable.

So now... I guess the question is, how much chocolate makes it worth it?

From Blog to Sermon

Erik Samuelson is a friend of mine from PLU and I've managed to keep in touch with him since graduation. Recently he informed me that he's been reading my blogs, and asked if he could use my latest one in his next sermon. You see, Erik went on to become a Lutheran Pastor when I could not, and that's a fair trade in my opinion. Not that THAT was part of the equation... "Erik... *cough* *cough*, you go on! I'm... not... gonna make it... *cough*"

Anyway I wanted to share with you what Erik preached today in his congregation in Spokane, WA.

DOWNLOAD SERMON ON MP3

And you can find others of Erik's sermons from Bethlehem Lutheran Church by click on his picture above, or going to the following link:

Erik's Sermon Blog

Thank you my friend. This means a lot, and I'm glad you found what I'm going through as fitting material for what was speaking to you for your homily.

"Crisis on Infinite Dons" or "Why I love BIG LOVE"

I'm going to start this blog with a big damn apology to all the Mormons I've pissed off, hurt, or otherwise during high school. Well, unless they were just jerks plain and simple, but that has nothing to do with them belonging to the Latter-Day Saints. If there's one thing I've learned over the years about differences in faith, is that I have enough differences in my own religion, let alone someone else's. And why am I bringing this up? Well I've fallen in love with the show Big Love.

For those of you who are ignorant, Big Love is not a representation of what life is like in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The show centers on an offshoot of what is commonly understood to be the Mormon faith. And this offshoot still endorses polygamy. The show's main characters are polygamists, struggling to live a normal life in faith, but neither fitting in with the Latter-Day Saints faith, nor their on polygamist compound. The family is under attack on both sides.

What I love about the show is how universal it is, how relatable (apparently "relatable" is not a word) it is. That despite being polygamists, the issues and values of family, and the strengthened spiritual concept of the family unit as a spiritual unit united for eternity. It's powerful. And you don't even have to belive in the Book of Mormon to identify with that. And what the show has done is made me realize even more how judgmental I was to my LDS peers. I was a dick. A pompous, prudish cock. Don't get me wrong, I'm not racing to the nearest LDS Church to join up. I still got my differences. But my faith has come to a point to a place of enormous inclusion and acceptance, despite differences and concerns. Sometimes I feel like I have more problems and issues with Evangelical Christians than I do with the Latter-Day Saints.

The show also is reminds me of elements of home and growing up in a town, an elementary school, a junior high, and a high school that was majority members of the LDS Church. So it's a sense of familiarity.

Oddly enough, I find that I really don't have a problem with polygamy, so long as it doesn't allow marriage to minors. Frankly I think most people who marry at 18 are seriously making a mistake. But whatever. The only thing I don't like about the idea of polygamy is dirty old men preying on young girls. If that was eradicated, and if people want to marry more than one spouse, then I think I'm okay with that. Morally I mean. Aside from the predatory and misogynist nature of polygamy, one guy marrying several women, or rather as portrayed in the show, a married couple deciding to add another wife to the family... the other problem I have is the financial burden of polygamy.

I mean, if you're going to be a polygamist, you'd better be wealthy, right? I mean, it's one thing being a married couple, and often times in LDS or even Catholic families, the family unit also comes furnished with 4 or more children. Imagine multiplying that by two or three times! or more!

You know what would ensure that to happen, if it was one woman marrying several guys. Right? But when the hell would that ever happen? That's a show I'd like to see. Call it "Three Men and a Lady". One guy's an unemployed artist. The other is a successful businessman. The other is a construction worker downtown. What does SHE do? Can you imagine trying to schedule who's night it is? (I'm laughing my ass off here. This is funny shit. I'm glad I'm writing it down. You're NOT allowed to copy my idea. I get 50% of revenues if you do).

Anyway. If you can financially swing it, everyone's agreeable, and you have the power of faith and family supporting you, and no one is preying on minors or sucking up welfare, then who the hell cares? I think I have more issues with the concept of some woman on welfare who already has 6 children, shelling out 8 babies at once... ON PURPOSE!

But that's a bit of a tangeant from what I was talking about in the first place. To my friends and peers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, please forgive me.

Now, onto other matters that are on my brain. Like, my professional identity crisis.
I'm struggling with staying strong and collected, and being motivated to kick ass at what I do. I'm struggling with my professional identity. That struggle is mostly centered around me as a film professional, or whether I'm at a turning point to leave all that behind.

So I think about what I love. I love directing. I LOVE the work I did on the Demon Hunters RPG and the Orientation video. I LOVE the work I did on Y Tu Nana Tambien. I felt totally rewarded producing Dorkness Rising. Not at all that I did it alone, or that with DH I did it alone. It's the process, the collaboration, how we (DG) all work together. But if I'm not going to be a film professional, I don't know what to do with my life. I'm back at that place I was at after college graduation when I found out I wouldn't be going to seminary and fully understood that the path I'd been on since my junior year in high school is no longer what I'm going to do with my life. I've been working to eventually be a film professional for nearly 10 years now. I do feel like I'm at a crossroads again. My experience in sales was very rewarding. But I didn't get that feeling that I got when I was behind the camera. Or when I was in front of it trusting Ben or Matt or Nathan behind it.

Cindy says she doesn't relate to the feeling of doing what you love as your profession. She doesn't understand why anyone would want to do their passion as their career, for fear that it would take divide a marriage/family. Or that the passion of the work would fizzle and become just a job. She posed me the question, "Why would it be inferior if you were to get a full time career like you had with Revchem, where you were rewarded and paid well, and then on the side you bought a camera and a mic and some lights and directed your own shorts and posted them up on your website?" It's a good question. For me, i think it's like saying why don't I marry someone I'm not in love with because it will bring stability and you could be happy with it, and maybe on the weekends you could go out with the the person you're really in love with, except you can't touch her.

We men really do define ourselves by our profession, and our self esteem is directly tied to it.

Another way of thinking about the scenario/question Cindy posed is... I think that's not what I want because it takes away the collaboration and working with the people I love to work with. That's part of the joy of it. It's not just the creative expression, it's not just the recognition and appreciate that comes from it, or even if I was getting paid to do it as a career.

I've always struggled with what I wanted to do with my life as a career. Although my childhood is filled with memories with me and my grandmother's camcorder, I never really thought about being a filmmaker as what I wanted to do when I grew up. In grade school, I thought about being a helicopter pilot. In Jr High, I didn't have a clue. Everyone kept telling me "do something with computers. You're good at that." Tells you something about the generation, doesn't it? Then when I came to faith in high school, a path became clear and I latched onto it. Finally something I could do with my life. People saw in me my way with people, and my potential to inspire others, and said I could do that professionally. I got to college on that "I will not be defeated in this" determination, acquiring over $60,000 in student loans to do it. I met you guys. We made a couple movies together. We gamed. My faith grew even stronger as I tore off the garbage of my evangelical faith and got to the meat of Lutheran teaching. I chose a major that I liked, because why would I need to study something that would prepare me for career/professional life? I was going to be a pastor, or maybe even eventually a theologian. I applied for seminary, and got that letter stating, "sorry we can't let you come in. Come back when you have less debt."

As I write this I'm still stunned by it. What had I spent all that money for? The hell am I supposed to do with my life now? So I went back to what I knew. Heating and Cooling. And from there the rest is history. My professional resume is strengthened by my background in the full sales process, which strengthened my human relations skills, and suddenly prepared me for a wide open field of careers. My skill set applies to so damn much it makes my head spin. I'm no longer with Revchem. The hell am I going to do with myself now?

Cindy and I had a talk last night about her feeling threatened by a filmmaking career. That it would take me away from her. That our finances would never be stable again. So a hard serious look at the past 10 years, of enduring bullshit work, bad jobs, a rewarding and strengthening career in sales, company loyalty for 5 years in a industry I could never have predicted I'd be working in: fiberglass and chemicals. But on the side I'm running DG. I came in and saved GDR. (again, not single handedly, but I did what I do, I build a team of amazing people to get it done), I got Paizo to distribute our products. I got GDR on Netflix. I simplified DG's structure and operations so that 1 person could run it fairly easily. I networked with all the major SFX houses in LA. I've begun building relationships with filmmakers that I admire and appreciate. All this so that it would lead to filmmaking being my primary career. And if THAT'S not what I'm going to do...

The hell am I going to do with my life? The sky is the limit, and I am inclined in no other direction. If not this, what then?

I'm not saying I must be a film professional, but right now it seems to be where the feelings are settling. I'm still going to attempt to find employment, and while I'm doing that, I might as well see if I can find a sales career or something that will directly influence my career as a film professional, and vice versa. If I was selling something that the entertainment people needed, which then networks me with professionals that could help me get my entertainment career goals and overall form lasting friendships/relationships. That's ideal. That's going to be tough. But there must be something. Be it selling cameras, editing equipment, entertainment insurance, (although the thought of selling insurance makes my skin crawl).

Or maybe I sell Mini's for a living. How awful would that be? Oh darn, I'm selling something that I'm in love with.

I just thought I'd share these with you who read this. I'd love your feedback. Thanks.

One-Man Douchebag

Here's a video I made today when I was supposed to be doing something responsible, like writing my awesome resume.

My buddy Rian wanted to see me rock out with the mullet wig he sent me as a gag gift. NEVER do that. Here goes: