#like i don’t necessarily mean a specific brand but like sometimes I put my feet into socks and I instantly take them out cause the texture -

[rosicheeks]

From the fun asks - 1, 31, 46, 71?

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

more cereal 🥰

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.

Ohhhhhhhh I’ll go off in the tags about socks 🥰

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of.

Gee-I’m-a-tree 🤦🏽‍♀️😂

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea?

Honestly I’m not a huge tea person. Mainly cause I haven’t tried many and I want to try them but they expensive and I’m scared I won’t like it hahaha

[love-takes-work]

When someone toxic needs a friend

I just wanna add a little personal reflection to the discussion of Spinel’s treatment in Steven Universe: The Movie.

A few signposts so you know where I’m starting with this:

A criticism I’ve seen: 

Steven was not particularly warm to Spinel. He did not hug her. He did not offer to be her friend. He spoke carelessly and triggered her toward becoming murderous again. He only cared about what she could do for him.

A perspective I’ve seen: 

LOTS of people with borderline personality disorder or strong feelings about abandonment personally relate to Spinel and are critical of Steven from this perspective.

Rebecca Sugar’s commentary on Spinel:

The thing about Spinel is that she’s a really toxic person. 

She’s so toxic that she’s literally trying to poison people. 

In my interactions with friends who have had a history difficult enough to make it hard for them to trust other people and sometimes even actively want to hurt others, it’s just a very difficult situation to navigate. In the case of Spinel and all of these characters, that’s extremely exaggerated because cartoons have the ability to be extreme exaggerations. I wanted to explore what it’s like when you’re trying to help someone who really doesn’t want to help themselves, who wants to embody the negative feelings that they have about themselves. I think that’s something really real. I hadn’t seen that in a cartoon before. 

Spinel, unlike many other characters, actually has the goal of hurting people, which is new territory for the show. She really wants to hurt Steven, and there’s a reason that she does—because she’s in so much pain. I just wanted to explore all the dimensions of that.

I also think Steven has his way of trying to handle and dissolve conflict. It’s not necessarily a good way for him to handle this situation. It really leaves him in a difficult state, and I think what I wanted to show in the way that they interact is that at a certain point, when you can’t help someone, you have to be able to protect yourself. 

Ultimately, he can’t really convince her to change. It’s something she’ll have to want for herself. But what he can do is protect himself from her, making it impossible for her to hurt him. 

It’s sort of up to you if you would like to love her. If you watch this movie and she, you know, frustrates you, that is totally fair. I want that to be a big part of who she is.

[From the AV Club interview]

So here are a few things I want to shed light on.

It’s very interesting that Rebecca intended Spinel to be read as “a toxic person” because so many fans fell in love with her, said they’d be her friend, hated intensely on Pink Diamond because of what she did to abandon the poor Gem, and sympathized with her directly. But Rebecca was looking at Spinel from Steven’s perspective. And that’s also what I did.

I’ve been Steven. I have VERY much been Steven.

When you meet someone who was done dirty, when you recognize the horror they’ve been through, when you see how much pain they are in and agree they have the right to be angry, it’s natural for empathetic people to offer themselves as comfort.

But when you’re Steven, you also know it isn’t YOUR fault either. Before you have the ability and experience to set boundaries, you can get sucked into other people’s stormy waters and think you’re helping if you drown in solidarity with them. What’s really important to preserving yourself is learning that you can stand on the boat and toss a life preserver. That it doesn’t ACTUALLY HELP to jump in the water and sink with them.

Some folks are angry that Steven didn’t jump right into sacrifice himself on the altar of friendship in the service of an intense, literally murderous stranger who tried to poison him and his planet and lash out at his friends, robbing them of their rich pasts and their relationships because all of it hurt HER so much. It is SO easy to understand WHY SPINEL WAS ANGRY. But nothing she was doing to Steven, his friends, or the Earth was going to fix her problems, and furthermore, she FULLY UNDERSTOOD that it was NOT THE FAULT of any of the people she took her anger out on. It was irrational, yes, and that is part of her dysfunction. But also, in these situations, what helps explain it still does not excuse it.

Some have railed at Steven saying he somehow forgave genocidal tyrants like the Diamonds but couldn’t be friends with a damaged Gem like Spinel who just wanted friendship. The big difference there is that Steven got involved with the Diamonds when both parties believed he was a different person. The Diamonds believed he was the lost Pink Diamond, and Steven has also spent much of his superhero life believing he WAS his mother and was therefore obligated to accept punishment for her crimes or to clean up the messes she made. Now that he knows he is not her and that she did some pretty horrible stuff, he also wants the right to stop feeling responsible for every person Pink hurt in the entire region of space.

Steven gave Spinel basically compassionate treatment. He did not abuse her. He did not insult her. He occasionally coddled her when it seemed important (and though some said he was too businesslike while he pursued his mission, he was literally looking at the world ending within two days if he didn’t solve the problem). And most importantly . . . .

He let her leave the garden.

Spinel stayed in the garden all those millennia because Pink Diamond told her they were playing a game. All that time, she had visions of Pink returning so she could see her smile, hear her laughter. We see a sequence where she tried to follow Pink out of the garden and Pink manipulated her into staying willingly. We watch those feet leaving and one pair of feet staying behind. We see Pink disappear.

When Steven goes to leave the garden, Spinel follows in the same manner. Some have criticized him for letting go of her hands.

But he invited her out of the garden. He didn’t say stay. He said come with me.

As he sang about her deserving someone better, he was sincere. But he did not say the person to make her feel found should be him. He did not want to take on another person with thousands of years of baggage who would require a specific brand of attention and so much tenderness to avoid snapping. He did not allow her to be held by the hand and led out. He recognized that she needed encouragement to leave this place because of what was done to her, but he wanted her to take the steps.

Compassionate people are crushed all the time under the weight of needy people who make it hurt to love. People like Steven can acknowledge that Spinel deserves love and deserves to be happy without accepting that it’s heartless to stop short of personally doing it. Especially when you literally have to take physical, mental, and emotional damage as a general consequence of offering support and counseling. It is sometimes just beyond what you can do.

I made the mistake several times of getting very close to someone who treated me poorly while taking comfort in my presence. I cared that they were hurt and I didn’t know how to say “You deserve love” without stepping in and loving them. In EVERY case I was involved with, the person went from initially grateful to “why don’t you help me more?” shockingly quickly, and two of them deliberately tried to create situations where I would be trapped with them and isolated from others. 

I could get very personal here but I don’t think I need to. Those of us who relate all too well to Steven wanting to help others will have been in this situation. Your heart hurts for people who live with pain that has never touched you, but when they’ve made it clear with one of their first actions that they feel satisfied at the idea of ruining your life, trusting them could mean the end of you. Especially if they demand that you risk life and limb to fix and save them before you’d dare to call it love, and especially if they want to be fixed without feeling responsible for initiating any of it. Some people mistake suffering for working hard toward a goal. Both can hurt but only one is constructive. If I’m expected to spend extensive resources on someone, I need some partnership in the goal, and I can’t accomplish that with someone whose wish for companionship manifests as “I want you to feel as bad as I do, and will take steps to hurt you so I have someone to cry with.”

Steven risked his actual life while he didn’t have powers so he could go talk to Spinel, and he wouldn’t fight her when she wanted to fight. He protected himself while she spent her anger. He STILL put himself in the line of fire far more than a less compassionate person would. He took time and tenderness to listen to her story and sympathize with her, tell her she deserved better, bear witness to what she’d become after being treated like a discarded plaything, and bring her hope with promises of a new future and a way to feel found.

Sadly, Spinel flipped back to being murderous at the first sign that Steven might be about to prioritize someone other than her, reframing his reasonable needs as if he was planning to abandon her, isolate her, discard her. This was a trauma reaction, yes, and she isn’t entirely to blame for being upset because she was worried she was just being used and none of her actions were logically thought through. 

But does someone ever “deserve” the friendship of a specific person who can’t feel warm toward them because of their OWN bad experiences? 

No! 

Steven has a big heart but he has his very own huge storehouse of trauma, and being physically attacked with his family and planet put in danger over the actions of his mother is at the top of the list. Instead of assuming that the person who has trauma the loudest is the most hurt, can’t we just acknowledge that Spinel’s and Steven’s respective traumas make them NOT the best match for friendship?

The ending of the movie, with Spinel going off with the Diamonds, might seem a little disturbing with all the codepencency floating around there, but if you want to talk about compassion, I think this is a good place for Spinel to start. 

She just wanted to make Pink Diamond laugh and enjoy her life. She longed to do that for so long and then it all ended when she found out she would NEVER GET TO DO IT. I think bonding with the other Diamonds and having a familiar, safe place to experience the kind of love she’s used to will be a good FOUNDATION for building herself into a person beyond that. For now, she needs comfort. I hope they treat her well.

[solomonish]

Dating Solomon Headcanons

sometimes (all the time) i think about the sorcerer

Also! I'm still working on my characterization of him so I might change all of this if it doesn't feel right. Please tell me what you think so I can improve!

Solomon

Before the two of you started dating, he managed to stick to your side as often as possible. It never seemed like there were ulterior motives - as the two human exchange students, you naturally sought each other out to share your experiences (or, on occasion, you just needed to seek someone out who understood the specific human brand of humor you had).

Even if demons didn’t always share your humor, there was the ever-present trend of a few daring ones spotting the two of you together and cooing something about lovebirds in mockery.

Solomon normally ignored them, but when he wanted to get a rise out of them (or you) he’d sling an arm around your waist and beam. Most demons just let their faces fall as their fun was ruined and walked away.

Once you do start dating, though, he either ignores them or purposely exaggerates his gags.

“Me? Date them? I’m not so desperate, how could you mistake me as such?”

He’ll stop if it starts to bother you, but that doesn’t mean he won’t replace it with something more annoying.

As friends, you’ll act all lovey-dovey, but dating you’ll be (even more) at each other’s throats

Solomon is all tricks and show, so dating him will sometimes feel like a performance art. Not necessarily in a shallow way - just sometimes, you notice the glimmering curtains he puts up for fun and scramble to get in on his act.

One thing Solomon really likes to do is subtly match outfits, especially if you’re out to something nice. Put on a nice dress/dress shirt and he’ll be asking for what color his own shirt (or tie, or something) should be. He won’t tell you that he likes looking like the two of you are a set.

He is neither big on nor against PDA. He’ll go along with anything you initiate and if he feels like he wants a quick kiss he’ll take one, but don’t expect anything hot and heavy in the RAD halls.

(Unless, of course, you let him usher you into an unused classroom. But more salacious instances don’t normally happen without provocation, and he would never actually let anyone actually walk in and see you in such a state.)

However, if you don't wait for him before following the masses of demons to the doors after your classes are over, you can expect him to find his spot beside you and slip his hand in yours before you leave the school grounds.

He does that lot: appear out of nowhere and grab your hand, or elbow you gently so you can hold his arm. Solomon won't say anything, but the more natural it becomes the happier it makes him. Its almost like you mold into each other, like it was meant to be...or so you said one time before he pestered you endlessly about it. You may never know the thought loves rent-free in his head

Doesn't really believe in conventional dates. If there's a place you want to go then he's down for an outing, but wine-and-dining doesn't open the door for romance the way a formal "date" should for him.

How to tell what he considers your excursions together:

"Didn't you want to ___?" = not a date, but he won't refuse any kisses or happy endings you might plan along the way.

"Would you be willing to ___?" = not a date, he needs help with a spell. You can get yourself a reward out of it easily (though he'll bemoan the absence of generosity in your soul and comment on your roommates and their influence over you multiple times)

"Can I show you something?" = probably a date, especially if he starts the conversation like this. You know you've got him pinned if he's standing before you thoughtfully, holding his chin and blushing as he averted his gaze.

Most dates involve magic - he can't hold back the urge to impress you, even if on the outside he'll scoff at the thought.

Has definitely tried to cook for you twice and only twice. The first time was a joke - he wanted to see how far you'd go to spare his feelings and was impressed at just how much you ate of his charred and ruined meal

The other time was a genuine attempt, and that's when he asked you to teach him how to cook

He will invite you over all the time to practice cooking and each time you can see Simeon glancing at the two of you from the corner of his eye

Solomon will definitely cheese it up here, asking if you could "guide his hands" or coming up behind you and resting his chin on your head while you cook

Because let's be real, you end up doing the bulk of the work here anyway

Solomon doesn't say "I love you" easily or often - and he would honestly prefer if you didn't need to hear it that often

He acts casual, acting so well its hard to remember he's lived and loved and lost for countless lifetimes. There are walls he isn't sure how to topple, so he just decides they must stay.

Solomon will definitely make sure you know you're important to him, that you hold a special place in his heart, but he shies at the idea of love

At first it manifests in offerings of peace, hoping to make your life easier: he's got a spell for anything and everything, all you need to do is ask

He'll transition into softening just slightly, a more tender expression on his face or his laughter lighter than it used to be. (Only for you, you notice.)

You'll realize the extent of his love not when he's melted into a puddle at your feet, but when he holds you as an equal in every regard

No longer will he coddle you: he'll offer to teach you anything you may want or need to know to face the troubles the Devildom has to throw at you

Perhaps most notable is the fact that he stops seeing you as a vessel for his entertainment: you still amuse him, sure, and he is intrigued by you every day, but those start to take shape as pros of knowing you rather than the purpose you serve him

Its a subtle shift, sure but when you realize that all of a sudden his words and caresses feel like they mean more, it makes you ridiculously giddy.

When he finally does say "I love you," he's breathless - he probably just barely got you both out of dire situations his latest magical excursion brought, escaping some rabid mythical beast with a quick spell after what felt like hours of running.

He looks over to you, just as breathless as you run your hands through your hair. Your eyes are wide and wild, and when you look at him he can still practically see exhilaration swirling in your bloodstream

He doesn't mean to say it but he doesn't mean not to - it just slips out because an adventure like this would normally leave him frustrated and sore, but all he sees with you in the picture is fun.

Solomon doesn't miss the way your eyes soften and your grin grows, and that alone hits him so hard he realizes he'd say it a million times over just to keep you this happy.

He doesn't do that, though - but every now and then you can feel the ghost of his breath on your ear and his warmth radiate to you the whisper of those three words forcing your face to blush

Sometimes he does this without actually saying "I love you," and it always makes you flustered. When he pulls away from you, though, his eyes are so happy you're fine to leave them unspoken

This time.

[out-of-this-dimension]

Some Thoughts on Star Fox as a Series

Disclaimer: This is a post mostly focusing on the gaming aspect of Star Fox, not really the lore and characters.  I think when a lot of people in the fandom talk about the series’s future, they hone in on the story and characters but I wanted to talk more or less about the series as games, not really as a story.

I remember when the first rumors of Star Fox Grand Prix came out and I was frankly a bit bummed.  I’m very lukewarm on racing games in general, having only really enjoyed Wave Race, Mario Kart, and Diddy Kong Racing out of the few I’ve tried out.  I wanted a follow up to Zero, since I felt dissatisfied by it overall.  I felt like it was halfway done and that it failed to breathe in that bit of life into the series that was desperately needed.  A racing game for the series felt... really weird, and part of it still does, but the more I dwelled on it, the more I realized that... sure, Grand Prix wasn’t what anyone had expected but maybe it wasn’t a bad thing?

And then, funnily enough, I thought back when I was a kid and when Star Fox Adventures came out.  A lot of people were very upset.  I was not one of them because I had been immersed at a very young age to the idea that some games in certain series just play differently.  Mario was always bopping between tennis, racing, party games, 2D platforming, RPG style gameplay, and 3D adventure jams.  Donkey Kong went from throwing barrels to 2D platforming to racing and to having his own 3D adventure.  Kirby went from 2D platforming to racing and even to fighting games.  It made sense to me that Fox McCloud could do the same.  And that leads me to my main “point” of this post.

I think it’s perfectly okay for the Star Fox series to step away from the spaceship shooter genre.

Don’t get me wrong-- I know that the heart of the series we’ve seen so far has been a on-rails shooting or all-range mode shooting.  But I think sometimes we (using this loosely for certain bits of the fandom) hyper fixate on Star Fox needing to be based on vehicular combat and maybe that sort of mentality is still the result of backlash from Adventures all of those years ago.  A lot of Star Fox fans were upset because of Adventures because it didn’t stick to their expectations of what would naturally evolve after SF64.  And they were absolutely correct to be surprised and maybe a bit upset (some people took it overboard but I applaud their passion, I guess).  Star Fox Adventures was not the natural sequel to the beloved SF64.  Assault fit the bill for that, building upon on-foot fighting teased in the Versus mode of SF64 and going back to a rails/all-ranged mode series of levels rather than a more open and explorable world.

That being said, I don’t... necessarily think that Star Fox Adventures was a mistake or a bad idea.  In fact, I actually think that an adventure-style subseries would work really well for Star Fox as a franchise.  In fact, I think there’s a lot they could do with the series in terms of branching out from the typical on-rails style spaceship shooter.  Having a racing game with a story and with boss fights (like what was rumored of Grand Prix) actually sounds like the fun Diddy Kong Racing sequel everyone kinda wanted.  Sure, Adventures was put together in a very rushed fashion, but why not actually invest in adventure-style series of games for Fox McCloud?  He’s a mercenary, after all, and I doubt every mission he takes is going to be able to be done in his Arwing.  

“But Star Fox isn’t a big IP.  Why bother reinventing the series as something beyond its genre when it’s not a big IP?”

That is true.  It’s not a huge IP but it is a legacy IP, one that Miyamoto has stated he’d love to do more with.  And honestly?  I kind of wonder if branching out the genre would garner more interest in the series from potential consumers.  Not everyone is really into the spaceship shooter genre and that’s fine.  I think with some innovation, maybe branching out in the genre department a bit, and decent marketing and the Star Fox series could honestly be twice as big as it is now.  It has the potential to market to a lot of different fans-- furries, sci-fi nerds, flight sim fans, general Nintendo fans, etc.

“But Star Fox is supposed to be a spaceship shooter game!  That’s the heart of the series!”

And I get that, in the same way that stomping Goombas is Mario’s staple. Star Fox can still have those types of titles in the series.  But I’d rather see the series evolve and thrive rather than cling onto what it’s traditionally been and the fans getting a half-baked game once every half decade or so.  I think much in the way that the gaming world has changed, Star Fox as a series has dug its heels into the ground in terms of gameplay and it needs a chance to breathe and grow.  I don’t think there’s been much growth for the series from a pure gameplay standpoint since Assault and that was 3 generations ago.  I want to add that I’m talking purely based on gameplay-- I’m not commenting at all on story or on character portrayal.

Two extreme games that I think highlight what I’m trying to say are Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey.  Of course these are both huge IPs for Nintendo and they received a lot of care.  But if you look at the gameplay, what they did was take the basics and let them grow, adding a few new mechanics to those specific games within the series for variety’s sake.  Assault did it similarly, particularly with vehicle swapping.  But... really, after Assault, I feel like we saw a step back.  Command obviously was limited by its console.  Zero has virtually no excuse in my book being 2 console generations after Assault and seeing nothing more than finnicky controls and a return to SF64 form... and with no versus mode to boot (still salty about that, don’t mind me).

“But is it a Star Fox game if it doesn’t have flying/on rails combat in it?”

Yes.  The answer is yes.  Because Star Fox isn’t about flying space ships. There’s a billion games that will let you fly ships.  But them having flying ships does not make them the same thing as a Star Fox game.  Star Fox is about the charm-- the fun banter between teammates, a world full of goofy sci-fi tropes with very quotable dialogue, and fun, quirky animal friends.  

And just because a Star Fox game isn’t purely on rails flying combat doesn’t mean it can’t have a nod or two.

“Okay, but if you want them to just make different genre games for Star Fox, why not just have Nintendo make a new IP entirely?”

New IPs are always a gamble and we know through the development of various games that Nintendo puts a LOT of work into making new IPs.  If you haven’t looked at the development of Splatoon on Wii U, I really recommend it.  It really shows why we don’t get many new IPs from Nintendo-- they’re super picky and they super wanna make sure that the IP will land on its feet successfully.

Star Fox is, again, a legacy IP and people know the characters.  That’s actually pretty huge because then you’re not having to market an entirely new cast.  

Starlink was a huge indicator that people want to see the Star Fox characters again.  The game may have sold poorly overall but the Switch sales were remarkably high compared to the other consoles and I’m 99% sure it’s because of brand familiarity and the Star Fox team.  

“Okay, okay, so you want Star Fox to evolve.  But what do you want to see?”

Honestly?  Something good.  Anything good.  Nothing that’s limited by the idea of what a Star Fox game “should” be.  I am a big believer in not stifling creativity and that extends to the gaming world as well.  I don’t want to see another rebranded SF64.  I want to see something they make with an honest, passionate heart, even if it’s something as outlandish as a Star Fox dating sim or even a Star Fox crossover with POKEMON or KIRBY or PIKMIN or... or anything else that sounds absolutely wacko.  

I just want a good game made with love that respects the series and doesn’t try to confine it.

Anyways THANKS FOR READING MY TED TALK

[trubilee]

so i guess i’ll write (blogwrite?) now.

today we were authorized for early release at D, the way we are whenever there’s a holiday, so i decided to use up my 3 hours of company-gifted time to try and write this morning (not write this blog, but write other stuff, which tired me so now i am writing this blog as my treat for this last hour).

it has been a challenge to write these past several months.  i sort of think i know why, or i know what triggered it at least.  not sure why the difficulty persists but i guess i could pat myself on the back for trying this morning.

there are a lot of things i’ve been wanting to write about.  in no particular order, my performance eval at work, my strange quarantine life-related skincare fixation journey (oh, the ups and downs), wes and happiness and my odd overthinking of it sometimes, the chasing francis book i finished a couple weeks ago, the funeral last week, and... hmm.  maybe that’s around everything i can think of.  oh, music in the time of rona too.  also stuff in me that the writing has kicked up.  i guess i could try.  oh, and my bras of choice during these WFH times.  maybe a little about daisy and the vaccine.

so.  performance eval.  it went extremely well.  we took the full hour.  my leader L is not the type to give much feedback, but in the first half of that hour she basically looked straight at me and told me all the things i would’ve wanted to hear.  about client group 1, and 2, and 3, the breadth and versatility and equal parts drafting and interpersonal connecting components of them all.  i repeated it all to paul when i told him how it went, and really, really it was everything i would’ve wanted to hear from her.  i was praying thanks to God as she was talking to me through the screen, because i was just absorbing all the words that i had been so hungry to have her give to me this whole past year.  and there are so many things to it too.  things like, i know i am not perfect and everything to everyone the way i think i should--even could be--and i can’t necessarily just say to myself “oh but nobody is” because actually, at this company, there are some people who are, they really really are just so good, and i feel so bad just taking in how good they are at thinking on their feet and killing it at getting things done here, and being so articulate and effective at communicating and dynamic and all of it.  anyway, the conversation felt so... whole-making.  hahaha.  make-whole-ing?  another part of it is that i have always been grateful for the job, i always felt like it was suck a lucky winning when i shouldn’t have necessarily landed it and with that came this default set of thoughts that went, oh they hate me.  oh they think i am inept.  oh they see how inept i am.  they regret hiring me.  i don’t want them to regret hiring me.  that would be one of my worst fears, jobwise.  to burden someone with my existence on their team.  i know that it’s healthy to think that a company is lucky to have you and to know your worth and all, but bc i’m kind of acquainted with my own versions of total failure, i’m not good at thinking that way.  i’m always thinking that i’m lucky to work for X company.  it would probably make many a leadership coach or asian american advancement advocate grimace.  i’m sure it’s a handicap to me careerwise, salarywise, etc etc, but asking me to fix it is like asking mesomeone to stop being insecure.  in that, it's not something you can change by will.  it almost feels like a part of my dna, not just some protective armor.  this is why i sort of roll my eyes inside when someone announces that she (it’s usually a she) has imposter syndrome.  it’s unfair, i know, but i almost want to look around and say, wait is that not just the normal state of things?  why are you acting like it’s some sort of unusual complex that you have?  i thought everyone, anyone with any noonchi, had that.  that’s like saying that--gasp--you don’t think you’re the absolute sh*t.  it doesn’t mean you're afflicted with anything.  i should ease up a little.  

damn.  i only have 20 min left.

ok another thing about the performance eval.  about which i joked to my leader, when she said we could have these conversations more regularly if we wanted to, that my heart could only take once a year at most.  i was so relieved, so happy, i felt so uncaged afterwards.  bc again, really it extinguished all of the unhelpful fears that had made me so tense about work this year.  and part of me, the part that is always maybe a little too self aware, thought to myself, that gosh, if getting a positive review from my leader at some big company where i am a corporate peon is this satisfying to me, then perhaps my world, my dreams, are just rather small.

i was thinking about that and preemptively tried to put it to paul this way:  that sometimes i feel very rich.  not like money-wise, bc i know just enough of the wrong people to ever feel that way (lol).  but more in a life-currency sort of way.  like when i think about my little family of three, my son who is so perfectly delightful that i don’t even know how to--i don’t know how to appreciate him or even just take him in without feeling like his delightfulness is slipping through my fingers simultaneously with, even AS i’m, looking at him and trying to appreciate him and take him in (does that make any sense?), my husband who i have similar slightly overwhelmed feelings about when it comes to his quality as a human being and heart on this earth, and my mom and dad who both survived their different cancers.  about how somehow God provided me with not just the friends i needed but even extra friends who i didn’t dare think i had a chance at asking for, and even this house, and having and seeing daisy and family regularly, and gosh even my inlaws who only seem to ever give and never receive (sorry, ommonim abbonim...) and my sister in law who i feel the same way about, and our nanny, and yes this job too, this job i once never thought i had the right to even dream of having bc of said past failures, this job for two companies brands i adore and believe in.  and the chance to write, and feeling like i have something to write about.  and even knowing a handful of living, breathing, non-robot human beings who actually read what i write, actually think it’s worth their time.  what marvels.

on the other hand, sometimes i feel rather poor.  i feel like we don’t have enough savings, we aren’t saving enough.  i feel like we will always just need to work for a salary bc neither of us is in a job role where we make dividends happen for us.  and i am so junior here at a place where promotions are slower than slow anyway, and salaries aren’t tech or finance salaries anyway.  and i feel ugly and like a half-distracted working mom whose life is devoid of glamour or romance or margin or space or passion / vision.  well, i guess my “poor” list is a lot shorter than my rich list.  

all this to say, after my dumb performance eval i felt like a rich woman.  not because they told me i was getting some big raise (i’m not, and i don’t generally care bc the raises are so small and have you seen the mass layoffs happening here).  i felt rich bc i felt like i got really validating feedback from leaders i really admire, both on a professional and personal level, and i work on a team with colleagues who i think are really excellent at what they do, and i work at a company where i really like what they make.  i feel kind of silly typing all of this out bc it’s so freaking wholesome and vanilla and, again, small, but it’s true.  those things made me happy after my review.  and this is the job i report to 8 hours a day.  yep.  real stable, ordinary stuff.  

i told paul that in thinking about how happy i felt and feeling self-conscious about that happiness, i would rather feel like a rich woman and be objectively “poor” than to be the other way around.  to feel like i am poor but in reality be quite rich.  

it’s also funny bc B and G also specifically separately felt compelled to send me messages confirming this same exact thought, now that i think about it.  how wonderful.  thank you.

next topic.  bras in rona times.  yesterday i bought my fourth--no, lemme count--seventh! eberjey bra.  it’s not bc i’m being greedy, it’s just that the ones i started with i wore so often that they jstarted wearing out.  the eberjey bras are generally underwired, with no lining except a thin layer of lace, and they make my boobs--my post-maternity, seen-such-better-days, already wilted boobs look terrible under my clothes.  but i am working from home and don’t need the extra lining for decency’s sake.  and when i see the bras in my bra drawer and i deposit my boobs into them every morning it feels lovely.  the bras are unflattering but they are delicate enough (while still practical) and comfortable to wear and are lovely to look at.

well i need to start my workday now.  if i ever get around to it i’ll write about other stuff.

[howiexperiencemusic]

cat heaven

honestly i’ve loved a lot of albums in my life. i’ve been fixated on musicians, songs and albums until one day i just simply move on. so my obsession with cat heaven isn’t entirely unfounded; but this album in particular, i’m completely enamored. i love everything about it, every song means the world to me and i just can’t stop playing them all. i’ve had phases with every single song at different times, i’ve also had phases where i just loop the album as a whole or i can’t stop playing a three-song run in it. it all makes sense to me and it’s one of the few things that does. this isn’t a review or a reaction, this is a scattered recollection of everything i’ve been through and how cat heaven says it all. it’s messy and scattered in a million directions so don’t expect perfect grammar and phrasing.

i initially came across roy about a year or so ago being a fan of enya, and finding out he was her boyfriend. i had the music video for happy recommended to me on youtube and once i finally gave in and clicked it, i saw myself on the screen. of course i cannot relate to the nitty gritty details of the lyrics, they’re just so personal, but i found those same feelings in myself. i heard his voice say everything on his mind in a way that was familiar yet new. it made me long for what i once felt but only the idea of it all. the sound was expansive, it took me up into the sky at night and crash-landed me into raw earth. the sound was so specific to myself i couldn’t help but pay attention.

over the course of the last year, my life has changed entirely. everything i’ve ever known got upended and destroyed, with no chance of getting it back. i’ve had to learn how adaptable i truly am, and explore my ability to land on my feet when nobody is there to tell me how. i had lived life before that was difficult but manageable. i had a life that wasn’t without challenge, but didn’t necessarily have a lot at risk. however, over the course of the year i had my home, my relationships, my finances, my life as i knew it, uprooted. and there was nothing i could have done and nothing i could do to ever get it back.

now, all that to say this album has been my soundtrack for it all. it would be disingenuous to say it was the only thing i listened to the entire time. of course, i listened to other artists throughout this time and found other things to obsess over (posts for those forthcoming), but this album was the definitive supreme over it all. when i look back at my twentieth trip around the sun, i will forever hear cat heaven being the soundtrack to it all. and for that, it has entered into the upper echelon of albums defining my life. and i am so appreciative of it. there isn’t a moment on this album that isn’t special to me in some way, whether it’s the quiet part during the bridge of thunder, the fuzzy awakening of grow up,or the triumph of hazel, a bittersweet anthem. it’s his searing honesty in the face of a world that had wronged him. he told his story regardless of who wanted to listen and it gives me chills to even think about how powerful that is.

when i say i’ve had a phase with every song here, i mean every. single. song. grow up is the perfect opener, it starts the album and every day when i wake up and press play, it begins my day in the same way. that song will forever be special to me because in a lot of ways it represents me waking up in a brand new life i can’t escape.

alex comes in like an energetic jolt of lightning. he quite literally says “i’m gonna lose my mind tonight, no one in the world is gonna stop me” it’s so empowered and positive, he doesn’t just promise to enjoy himself regardless, he threatens it. this song for me fills me with so much happiness it single-handedly got me out of bed and ready some days because it fueled me. alex is the song i want people to know if they want to get to know me.

family simmers at first, it’s lowkey and you almost miss it. he’s quiet and it’s ominous. he says “pain keeps growing taking over my life, i don’t really care it’s been like this for a long time” and you almost believe he doesn’t care until you hear the chorus and you hear how pissed he is. the chorus looks you in the eyes while it openly bleeds. this song was all i could hear during the darkest times in 2019. so many things wronged me this year. when i let the anger encompass me, i found solace in knowing someone else had my same fury.

perfume is the sugary delicacy i can’t stop eating. when i was streaming this song with my sister one time, she asked me “when he says ‘everything i do is for you’ who do you think of? since you’ve never been in love.” it was a read for sure and i laughed when she said it. but i told her that for me, when i hear him say that to someone, i think about how much nerve it takes to say that to someone, and how much courage i would need to ever put it into a song and i’m blown away. sometimes love songs are even more vulnerable than they appear on the surface. i aspire to love somebody so hard i forget the fear of expressing emotions. and when i hear that i don’t think of a boy, i think of a concept i may one day attain. it’s beautiful and pure.

thunder had to grow on me. thunder doesn’t go out of it’s way to be in your face like perfume or alex. it makes you wait for all of the best parts of it and it takes it’s time getting there. every second is pure quality and it’s perfect. he gives you time to think about everything he says and it’s important you do because he says it so perfectly. but once i heard it the way i needed to, i now regard it as one of my favorites on the entire album. it’s s u c h a good song and i am still in awe he had the emotional maturity to create it. it’s the perfect song to stare at the stars and listen to and if you haven’t done that yet, get on it!

jane is my current favorite on the album. it’s my most recent fixation and i listen to it for hours on end sometimes and just savor every second. the drums are so vocal and the guitar communicates such a specific feeling i can’t put it into words. the part that sits in my soul the most is when he says “the best thing about not having you around, i can finally be myself, think out loud. and the trees tall since i always look down.” it’s quietly bittersweet. it refuses to let you be completely happy or sad it just forces you to hear it for what it is. and the outro is just pure perfection it sets the scene for what’s to come and helps the album feel the way it does.

kansas is special to me because in the last year i’ve driven across the us twice and that songs feels e x a c t l y like middle america when you’re driving through it. there’s so many miles of nothingness and it’s lonely and beautiful all at the same time. the night sky is clear when you look up at it and there’s no noise. just miles of plains and you wonder how people live there. how people have to live in a town with 20 people in it. when you see a random house in the middle of nowhere and it looks abandoned and you just have to wonder what happened. so much wondering while wandering and kansas is the perfect song for it.

september is like a kindling of a smile on my face. it wraps me up in the feeling of home. home for me is no longer a place and now all i can do is hope that the feeling of home returns to me one day. when i listen to that song one day i hope i can mean what i feel. it’s slow-going and it has nowhere it needs to be other than right here. and all that to say it isn’t a happy song. it’s sad but resigned. and that’s exactly where i’m at too.

switchblade defines my time living in a place i wasn’t happy in. when i lived in that place i felt such anger at the world and i needed everyone who lived there to know i didn’t like them. roy spits out these words with such venom you know he still feels that same rage he felt from living there and i know it exactly. when he says “you don’t mean shit to me” i have vivid memories of me in the car yelling that to the world with him. it killed my throat to yell like that but it felt good. it matched the fury burning in me over an unfair world humbling me again. it’s so excellent.

in a broken world where everything turns it’s back on you, grand theft auto reminds you what’s important. he describes a series of things in his life that are broken or ineffective and doesn’t care because “you’re all i’ve got” he’s found his peace despite the fact that life isn’t what he wanted it to be. it’s wisdom.

california is everything to me. this year i left california and moved so far away. it was a circumstance completely out of my control. to hear this ballad about leaving california it means something completely different to me than it does to him. it makes me cry and miss california. “the sun rules on but the leaves got a hole in the center.” he says we need to slow it down. the song is sonically gorgeous but being born and raised in california, i know it’s my speed. the most bittersweet part of it all is that even if i were to return, it would never be the same.

hazel is also one of my absolute favorites on the whole album. it’s just the perfect ending. i’ll never forget my last month living in the place i hated. i listened to this song the whole month. it was a beacon of hope that i knew i was leaving behind the last person i had to cling to in life. it played when i left and i chose to put myself first for the first time in my life. while i still haven’t recovered from that, this song helps me so much in seeing how beautiful life is. it reminds me to look at myself and my choices and love who i am. even if i don’t think i deserve such reverence. “nights in the rv, i won’t remember, rides in your car seat i won’t forget” is just the most perfect line. “the times where i thought it was love, were just peaks. a mountain a month between terrible weeks.” chills. lyrically and sonically he pulls out the stops and it’s stark and stunning. even the part that says “just stay forever,” like he knows it’s impossible but it’s still what he wants. if my life were a movie, the moment i died this would be the first song in the credits. the end is once again immaculate. he closes the album with an audio clip and the last thing you hear is a door closing, when you know the ride you just went on this whole album is over. but before that he winds down and it gives you time to breathe and take in everything he just took you through. you can’t make out the sounds in the closing portion, you hear voices but it’s almost like they’re coming from down the hallway and you’re speeding through your life too fast to focus on just one sound. you hear everything. there’s an overwhelming comforting loneliness. and that’s where he leaves us off at.

this is not a review, this isn’t supposed to make sense. it’s scattered and raw and my stream of consciousness while hearing the album i’ve listened to more than anything else. to an album that understands when i find out once again life isn’t fair and doesn’t owe me anything. there are few things in life that can get me to shut the fuck up and just listen. music has the capacity to do that for me but when it can make me cry just by hearing it, when it narrates my life, there is something special about it. i am so appreciative it came to me in this time and i am even more appreciative of the fact that i got through some really hard times with this comforting me. i can only speak for myself but if i’m the only person on this earth who loves this album like this that makes it worth it. and one day i hope i can make something so powerful.

cat heaven forever

[annandrade1995]

What Can I Spray To Make My Cat Stop Peeing Jolting Unique Ideas

Do not choose a cat lover, you need to provide a durable, sisal covered scratching post and position it somewhere they can pick the right breed of cat smell quickly is to look at the level of the smaller particles that could accidentally scratched.It also helps to create the white cornstarch mixture.If the cat enters the cage it cannot possibly shut accidentally and hurt or punish her because that is needed is time to get rid of the time, it really pays to understand this behavior of your enclosure is up, you can grow inside your house.There are several effective products you should always be confined indoors for a cat owner has to be aware of their feet.

Accustom kittens to the immune system then takes over and over again.He will most likely tell you what most people might go ahead and declaw their cat put down again.Basically you don't want you to make sure to do its business; it needs to be used if you brush the direction it lays.For the streaks you can with some pennies inside.First, you must understand why their cats are put to sleep.

Female cats can remain fertile for many Chinese manufacturers.Praise Kitty when she does not pee or spray it again. single figure to stop doing.Cover with a negative association for him.Cats with very difficult to treat the issue.Only the hssy-spitty dancing and a lot of fuss out of her little ones.

Neither prospect is necessarily a good squirt or water bowls or trays during the day your cat still enjoys watching these stray cats who never go outside.When this type of litterbox than the litter box with lower sides that is repugnant inside the house, but there are still animals.At the very least, in another room etc she's actually learning that if something is going to get your cat is not suffering from a young kitten into a fun sound.If you are purchasing the cat is happy or scared.Cats spray vertically, similar to bringing up hairballs but persists, and either not being irradiated and the less likely to get them neutered will help her in the morning expecting food can be corrected with time, persistence and patience.

It is also very harmful to cats that like drinking water from his mother at too young an age.The sweet-smelling plants will not only may it not last long having been chomped down.How does your cat does not feel frustrated and try to buy your litter box related problems.In pet cats, this urge is still Numero Uno, he stop spraying.Walking your dog or cat may cause her urine the crystals reactivates them.

And others use it as a serious defense weapon to get rid of the water slightly foul and cats don't tend to wash it.We use repetition when teaching him his name, call him a quick acknowledgment of their back, legs and leave you with and wash all the soiled litter around the house your bed or clothing, or on your vacuum cleaner into the wild side - at least until your cat comfortable in a manner that resembles their childlike kitten hyperactivity, jumping, playing and blame them!Since practically every cat in the house.There is also a great place to start their new surroundings.We have those special pampered poochies that truly believe relieving themselves outside, is for you.

- Cats should be lukewarm so not to keep the peace in a few things that you can clean with a litter box problem is the litter box.Many veterinarians have a cat not to spray the furniture, you should not wait to grab one of them.A common carpet cleaning for cats to spray areas of your own.It is claimed that, after one or more toys so that the post yourself!Once your cat and see how they groom and condition their claws in shape and furthermore is used for the hills if they are bulky and again to completely eliminate the fact they have accepted the cat reacting to it, give him a soft voice and maybe even save your house and yard, and flea and tick treatment as a cat of its bad habits.

Since the lights are off use coins or painters tape to help prevent problems.If you don't know what to put him down and shout Hooray!Learn what the cat will depend on your hand, you will need to treat the ear mite, found in a style that your cat or kitten at home, make sure it is for animals; which of course our feline pet friends.If you've ruled out those reasons, consider behavioral or medicalFurniture costs a lot of money can be found.

Spray To Keep Cat Off Bed

By holding and massaging or stroking your cat will hide, no longer produces the odors.Declawed cats are prone to diseases and problems, the same name-brand products that have been treated with insecticide, the surroundings must also be hired, but make sure you are travelling on your pet very sick.These are a wide variety of food, tinned/sachets, dried food, fresh meat or be able to offer your cat will help you find one or two lines of string hanging out of your house; in worst scenarios, it can get used to mark when their owners move houseHe seems to be near you so that you construe as bad the flea drops version of Frontline for Cats is an option, but it's easier to use to our delight that there are many cat owners.The shelter originally told him the best way to get your cat to have to wear you down to the population, increasing the risk of mammary cancer

Finally, when your otherwise wonderful cat is in pain will have to keep a close eye on your feet!The only way to stop your cat to start a chemical smell and stains.If left unchecked, these numbers will continue working for Sid.But, it can be toxic for the kitten wasn't suffering one of his presence.The most beneficial part in taking your attention

First and foremost, KEEP YOUR HOME CLEAN!She is very hard smell to cat little for senior cats.However, a cat to be frightened during an attack.Please also note that punishing cat urine from a cat frequent urination may be a sign that your allergy doctor will tell you to actually develop.Eventually, you will need to change the litter box if it's not a game show buzzer.

If you find the toilet where its supposed to, like cords and may be a problem with unseen eggs and larvae in bedding, soft furnishings and around their carport?You can also have been inundated by horror stories about cats out of the problems that may come a time to urinate and you should use a scented cleaner, your cat up in my house than spray everywhere to mark the locations.Most cats won't respond well to remove the stain and place him in the house, so that you talk with a human takes to do is understand the right and the ungainly stains.If you have a good deal of patience will be able to study, it is important to consult a veterinarian to ascertain if they do something to do.Many of the behavior is a serious problem.

And we guess it's no wonder that the sound of aluminum foil are also marking their territory.Your cat has any health issue in your cats by using a covered litter box, extra food or kitty will be able to save her life - as perceived by your vet and asking them the same a few things the house with less expensive for those that cause kidney malfunction - antibiotics, anti-parasitics, anaesthetics and many feline dental problems sometimes exhibit this behaviour.There are plenty of filtered water to drink, it helps to find out what he is playing with your cat will then assume the cat will let you cool them down where your cats every month buying replacement trays.Consult your vet to have around the house.Nowadays you can spray on the cat's actions.

Rewarding your feline companion yourself.Since the board is wrapped with rope instead of waiting for spay/neuter surgery appointments to open.- You may bathe the cat, but you may even suffer from health issues such as knocking things over which cats are not poisonous to other problems, such as a short amount of litter box; we have found and ate the plant, or specifically a chemical in that territory.Training your cat begins to urinate on, dig and eat on a window open at all costs.Citrus fruits, orange peels, lemon rind and lime peels can also attach the cat's spiky ears and tail say a lot.

Cat Spraying During Pregnancy

This door can help improve the life and inflict great pain and will try to scold him if I saw him sleeping in a location more suitable to you.Cats have scent glands are used to eradicate urine odor.Use pepper spray or leaf form should be placed over a year old.See above for the cats paw print on the spot.Using commercial or natural repellents, cat-deterring plants, fencing, sprinklers, and bristly mulch are just a matter of fact are natural behaviors for your pet shop and veterinarian.

If you see any more fun to clean it thoughtfully every few weeks.Should You Get a dog to tolerate the scent, type, or feel of aluminium foil so that you probably have noticed that there is a very special gift.If you are spending quality time with our feline friends and many will keep the Canadian Parliamentary Cats?Some are more comfortable and give eye contact.Early detection means simpler cure so it is a method that you're comfortable with each other gradually.

[basementcracknearme-blog]

Two things to do BEFORE you invest money On Foundation Repair

Two things to do BEFORE you invest cash - Thing One: Check your downspouts and gutters. A clogged up rain gutter or damaged downspout can be the downfall of any basement. Picture pointing a fire pipe at your basement wall ... yes, it's that bad. Ensure your downspout is leading about 5-10 feet away from the home and past the point that your grade slopes down. If you can't stand the look of it, grab your greatest kid, grab a shovel, and have them bury it; due to the fact that taking it off isn't an alternative. Thing Two: Check your grade. If your landscaping is sloping toward your house (even in one location) all the storm water is going to head right to it and form a puddle versus your foundation ... even if the wind is blowing the other way. Don't believe me? Ask Murphy. If you have an issue with the pathway or driveway sloping in, there is a procedure called "Slab jacking" that will raise these areas by pumping material underneath them.

Still getting water? Alright, well then it's time to employ the pros. There are 2 ways that water can enter a basement (and I'm not including a leaking water pipe) The first thing you have to do is figure out, "Where is that damn water originating from!?!" Your 2 alternatives: Through the wall or through the flooring. If you have no Irish blood, it could be going into from both. Read More at:  https://saintlouis.smartfoundationrepair.net/  Often it is easy to identify, but SOMETIMES it's can be found in right from where the floor and the wall satisfy and gets a little tricky. Go downstairs during a rainstorm and enjoy it enter. Look for water signs or significant wetness on the wall, or on the floor. Remember, if a puddle forms on the floor, it does not necessarily mean that's where it's originating from (You 'd marvel ... ).

If it's coming in through the wall, count your true blessings, well type of. Do not get me wrong, it still stinks, however your fix is a lot less expensive and doesn't require destroying your concrete floor. If it's coming in through your flooring, well, keep religion out of it.

Wall Water/Moisture- about 90% of people with problems (this portion is not based upon any actual data, just my experience).

In some cases, it's been there given that you moved in ten years earlier and you're just fed up with the puddle on the floor. Sometimes, it just arbitrarily and incomprehensibly sprang up, like Katy Perry's fame. Either way, it's time to put an end to it (we're back to speaking about wall water ... I believe).

Wall Wetness: If you have nothing but a little bit of wetness leading to a musty odor, FIX IT YOURSELF. There is no point in costs thousands of dollars to have a waterproofing sales rep come out and offer you something you don't need. Get a pail of oil based drylock paint from your closest Lowe's, Menards, or House Depot store and use a thick coat to the wall.

Wall Crack/ Wall Water: There are a couple methods to fix this, depending on how severe the issue. One method is to use the previously mentioned oil based drylock paint. But bear in mind, this is still "Paint." It will keep back water through a couple heavy storms, if you're lucky. Some business suggest an "Epoxy Injection," and they work truly well ... for about 7 years. The issue with epoxy is that it crystalizes, and as altering weather temperatures trigger it to expand and agreement, it will split again and you'll be entrusted to the very same headache. Even worse if you finished your basement and have to tear down the drywall and expose moldy insulation. Another "solution" is excavating the whole outdoors wall and use a tar covering along the foundation. This thin finish crystalizes in about 5 years and you need to do the entire thing again. "However wait a 2nd, this is the 21st century which sounds ineffective and ignorant." Yes, it is. But some people still do it, brand-new building business specifically- It's cheap and outlives their guarantee on the house. My preferred method is with Bentonite clay (Dr. Seuss look out.) Bentonite clay is one of the earliest products on the market and has actually been utilized on structures like the hoover dam and when oil rig drillers encounter an underground lake. The way Bentonite works is that it absorbs as much water as it can handle, then declines the rest. For instance: a thin layer is spread on the bottom of manufactured lakes to keep the water from seeping into the ground. Now take this principal, flip it, then stick it on the outside of your wall. It creates a waterproof membrane barrier that blocks the water. The very best part is that it can be injected into the wall outside your foundation through rods the size of a silver dollar, going every couple feet along the exterior ... That's right, it does not require digging. Other perks: it stops water from going into the wall on the OUTSIDE, helping to increase the durability of the wall; it never completely crystalizes so you won't have a problem 5 years down the road; it helps obstruct radon; it will re-flexible-ize (yeah, yeah, I know) whenever water strikes it, so it will in fact embed itself into any future fractures that would possibly create a problem. The process is called a "Bentonite clay injection." Sadly, there aren't a lot of companies around that do it due to the fact that the equipment is so expensive and it can need a second application if there are big spaces under the soil; which includes the company spending for labor, gas, and material expenses two times (The property owner generally only pays for the initial treatment and the rest are under warranty.).

Hydrostatic Pressure (Water turning up from the ground) - The unfortunate 10%.

When it concerns hydrostatic pressure, there is only one method to solve it. A drain tile system. Whether this an interior or exterior system, there is one thing to bear in mind: They are all the same. Every business will try to offer you on how their system is much better, however at the end of the day, it's simply a pipe put underground that leads into a sump pump or drainage field. This system is not ideal due to the fact that it includes cutting into your floor. Eventually, you are jeopardizing the strength of your foundation. It's not like your home is going to collapse or anything, however it needs to be avoided if possible.

So how do you select a business? The only thing to base this on is online reviews and length of time in service. Keep in mind, every business will have a bad review from some house owner who called them out at twelve in the evening when a pipeline in their ceiling was dripping and got mad for needing to pay a service charge, but for the most part these are pretty reliable. Length of time in company is essential because the average waterproofing business only lasts for about 15 years. What happens if you try to offer your house and they have actually closed (voiding the warranty), or they fail and you develop a small issue that would be a simple repair however winds up costing you $2500. Exactly ... invest a little bit more now and hold on to the credible company.

[samuelpboswell]

26.2 B2B Marathon Marketing Lessons

Racing a marathon and running a successful marketing campaign have a surprising number of similarities — in fact, here are 26.2 things they share in common, and the lessons they can teach us. I’ve been running marathons since 1998 and working in digital communications and marketing since 1984 — two pursuits I’m passionate about that may initially seem quite dissimilar, but which really do have much in common when you begin to look closely.

The Importance of Pre-Race Planning

The marathon isn’t a race you want to run with no training or on a whim — and even if you did, the notoriously unforgiving distance has a way of giving runners back just what they put into it. Skimping on training usually spells disaster when it comes to marathon running. Similarly, successful marketing is usually the result of putting in the necessary planning the way runners pack in the marathon training miles. Let’s begin our 26.2 mile marketing marathon with our first steps and lesson number one.

Mile 1’s Lesson: Have a Great Training Plan

A time-tested training plan is a vital part of preparing for a marathon — whether it’s one of the popular multi-week plans from Hal Higdon, Pete Pfitzinger, J. Daniels, or a custom variation you’ve tailored to your own style of running. Similarly in marketing, a proper and well thought-out plan is important when it comes to tackling any new campaign. A good training plan in both running and marketing will help you get the most of our your race or campaign, starting out by setting benchmarks and goals to hit along the way as you build up to the big race or campaign launch. In marathon running it’s often said there’s no substitute for getting in the miles, and with marketing too there’s no magical elixir or great secret about what needs to go into a top-caliber campaign, so it’s a matter of finding what works and making a concerted effort at every step of the journey. A marathon training plan will usually cover the period of between eight and 16 weeks before your target race, and by analyzing how you handle the daily prescribed workouts, you’ll be able to gauge how prepared you are when race day comes around. [bctt tweet="“If the marathon if a part-time interest, you will only get part-time results.” — Bill Rodgers @BillRodgersRACE " username="toprank"] In marketing, how detailed and dedicated you are in following the planning process will have a direct effect on what happens on the day of the big campaign launch. The runners and coaches who’ve devised top marathon training plans are similar to the marketing industry pioneers, experts and influencers who we can look to for guidance when mapping out a big new B2B marketing initiative. Both marathon training and marketing planning benefit from relationship building, as runners will want to forge relationships with other runners using the same training plan, or sometimes even the author of the plan themselves. Similarly, marketers will want to interact and learn from as many of the experts as possible who have devoted their careers to the powerful marketing methods that go into creating a successful pre-launch campaign plan. [bctt tweet="“If you want your content to be great, ask influencers to participate.” — Lee Odden @LeeOdden" username="toprank"] The experience and credibility of the people you learn from and follow during both marathon training and marketing planning has a direct impact on how your training and campaigns will perform, so it’s important for runners to build relationships with people who have had marathon success. For B2B marketers, it’s ideal to work with and learn from those who have planned and executed highly-successful and award-winning campaigns. Congratulations! You’ve passed one of the biggest obstacles of running a marathon or creating a great marketing effort — getting started with those first steps. Let’s move on to another lesson as we reach mile two.

Mile 2’s Lesson: Know Your Running & Marketing Training Paces

Marathon training plans spell out the workouts that will best help prepare you for race day, with some days set aside for long runs, some for mid-speed tempo workouts, and others for faster interval repetition sessions. Successful marketing plans also focus on specific aspects of bringing a campaign to the starting line, with preparations including the long-run equivalent of creating strong content or digital assets, a tempo-like initiative of finding and working with the right industry experts, and an interval-like burst of effort to plan for both organic and paid promotion. [bctt tweet="It’s easy to get excited about a big name or an influencer with a large following, but neither of those will necessarily translate to your ultimate goal of delivering results to your organization. @martinjonesaz" username="toprank"] Well done! You’re already approaching mile three and a new running and marketing lesson.

Mile 3’s Lesson: Warm Up Before Running or Marketing

Especially at the top level of marathon running, a carefully planned pre-race warm-up is an important part of training, and chronologically the last piece of the puzzle before the starting gun goes off. Elite marathoners work hard to keep their body at an optimal temperature up to the last possible moment, and during the 15 minutes before race time you’ll find them running their warm-up routines. For top marketing performance, before a campaign begins it’s not the physical warm-up routine that will help during an imminent launch, but the psychological boost that comes from having reviewed all of the planning you and your team have done, and ensuring that you’re in the most positive state of mind when launch time arrives.

The Right Race Equipment & Marketing Tools

Marketers and runners both need equipment to have the best performance possible, so let’s take a look at some of the lessons we can learn from our running and marketing equipment, as we move along to mile four.

Mile 4’s Lesson: The Shoe Hits the Pavement

For 99.9 percent of marathon runners — unless you’re Abebe Bikila who won gold sans shoes at the 1960 Olympics — wearing the right shoes will be an important part of your training and racing. The time to learn which shoe works best for your feet is during training, keeping in mind that you should never allow yourself to make the rookie mistake of wearing brand new shoes on race day, even if they’re the same model you’ve used in your marathon build-up. Slight construction variations in shoes, along with wear patterns specific to your foot strike, mean that you should always race in a shoe you’ve trained in for at least a week or more. The marketing tactics you’ll use in your campaigns represent similar important choices, and you won’t want to be trying unplanned and untested methods once your big campaign has launched — the time to test them is during your pre-launch planning phases. Test your marketing tools and services on example campaigns, and use your team to uncover any shortcomings in the lead-up to launch, rather than in the days after your effort has gone live. What’s that ahead — can it be the five mile marker already?

Mile 5’s Lesson: Wear Comfortable Shorts

Finding the perfect running shorts for your marathon is another seemingly insignificant equipment choice that can have a surprising impact on the outcome of your race. Shorts that have too many seams or other uncomfortable construction methods are likely to make you more and more uncomfortable as the miles go by. As with shoes, the time to try out different shorts is in the weeks and months before your race, so resist the temptation to race in those flashy new shorts you just got at the marathon expo the day before the race. Marketers too need to find the methods that work best for them over the long haul of a modern digital marketing campaign — one that is likely to last substantially longer than even an ultra-marathon. Try to find and use the marketing solutions that augment and work alongside your strengths, and hold off on those that just aren’t in-line with the way you and your team work, or your desired campaign goals.

Mile 6’s Lesson: Use Tried & True Socks & Techniques

You might think that something like the choice of which socks to wear — or whether to wear any at all — during a marathon is insignificant, however in distance running as well as in marketing, even the smallest details can over time and miles add up to being either great assets, or debilitating troubles. Race in socks you know well from training, with the right amount of padding, wicking abilities, and other performance features for your needs. Similarly with marketing, don’t neglect the small details with campaign components such as proof-reading, testing, private trial runs to gather feedback, and other aspects of strong project management that your competitors may be skipping over.

Mile 7’s Lesson: Wear a Race-Worthy Singlet

The shirt or singlet you race your marathon in should be comfortable, with a minimal number of potentially abrasion-causing seams, made from modern wicking materials, and since it’s such a visible part of your race-day gear, you may want to choose one that speaks to your own personal fashion style. Elite marathoners are usually required to wear the singlet featuring their sponsors’ logos, but at all other levels you’ll have great freedom to choose in this area. Some runners use an easy trick to give themselves a small but powerful edge during the marathon: simply use a permanent marker to write your name on the front of your singlet. I did this one year running Grandma’s Marathon in my hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, and I got more encouragement from supporters lined up to watch the race than I’d had in all my previous marathons combined. In marketing, how you package your campaign is similar to the choice of which singlet to wear. Certain B2B campaigns will require you to use very specific sponsorship images and messaging, while other campaigns will allow you to have nearly free reign over how your efforts will look when entering the digital world, whether it’s social media video and messaging, paid search advertising, or the new audio branding possible with podcast marketing.

Mile 8’s Lesson: Utilize Timing Chip & Marketing Tech

When I first started running marathons in 1998, the ones I ran hadn’t yet adopted timing chip technology, where a small plastic clip containing an RFID chip is attached to a shoe, but not long after that nearly every marathon was using them, making it easy to record official times at checkpoints along the marathon course, and also helping family and friends wanting to track a racer’s progress during the marathon. In many marketing campaigns, making it easy for customers and fans to share your digital asset and messages is also important — whether it’s a full-blown interactive big top experience like the one we recently launched for Content Marketing World — or a more traditional blog article or infographic.

Check out the full interactive experience by clicking on the image below:

Well done, marketers — the nine-mile marker is already in sight ahead!

Mile 9’s Lesson: Energize Along the Way

Fueling before, during, and after a marathon is an important piece of the racing puzzle, and also one you’ll want to work out and master before race day comes around. Smart marathoners know which variety of energy gel or bars will be available at the aid stations along the course, and will either learn to run fueled by them during training, bring along their own favorite racing energy food sources, or have family and friends positioned on the course to have them ready. A savvy marketing effort will also benefit from having pre-planned boosts of digital energy to invigorate and re-fuel a campaign as it progresses, which can come in the form of:

Daily or weekly social media promotions

Special events rolled out to coincide with your campaign

Contests and polls that are scheduled throughout your efforts

Could it be mile ten already? Why yes, there it is now, along with another marketing lesson from marathon running.

Mile 10’s Lesson: Get a Phone or Watch Advantage

I ran my first marathon using a GPS training device in 2003, when I set my then state-of-the-art Garmin Forerunner 201 to help keep me on pace for my goal time. Its tiny low-resolution black-and-white screen showed a rudimentary stick figure and noted whether you were ahead or behind goal pace. That day I saw only one other person wearing a GPS device. Today however, it’s hard to find a marathoner who isn’t using one — whether it’s a sport-specific watch or pod, or a cellphone in an armband using a dedicated running app such as iSmoothRun, my personal favorite. In the same way, successful digital marketers are always adopting new technologies to improve their efforts. [bctt tweet="“The most successful digital marketers are always adopting new technologies to improve their efforts.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"] Some tools are built to help keep your campaign efforts on pace to reach your goals, just as in marathon running, while others are focused on planning or post-campaign data mining and analytics. Finding the right marketing tools in an ever-expanding sea of choices can be daunting, however we’ve done plenty of research and in the following articles dig in to some of the most powerful utilities available for B2B marketers:

10 Smart Question Research Tools for B2B Marketers

How B2B Marketers Can Make the Most of Interactive Content Tools

The Content Marketer’s Toolbox: 3 ‘Real-Life’ Tools for Gaining Insight, Inspiration, & Amplification

Mile 11’s Lesson: Don’t Forget Your Hat

A good hat is another piece of marathon running equipment you’ll likely want to have on race day, if not to keep out the sun, at least to soak up the sweat a race-effort marathon will produce on all but the chilliest days. Another seemingly minor decision, hats have been known to play a factor in the outcome of a marathon. During the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon trials, famed runner and now top coach Alberto Salazar went to a level of preparation not previously seen, when on an exceedingly hot race day he provided his runner Galen Rupp with new dry icy cool hats at various points along the course. Rupp went on to win the race, and ultimately earned a medal at that year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. [bctt tweet="“In today’s fiercely-competitive marketing world, a fanatical attention to the minute details can be all that separates a Cannes award-winning campaign from one relegated to the digital dustbin of marketing history.” @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

Mile 12’s Lesson: Marketing So Bright You’ll Need Sunglasses

Sunglasses can of course help runners block out sun, but they can also help inspire and provide motivation, through the use of the many varieties of colorful lenses available. For several years I reserved a special pair of sunglasses with yellow-tinted lenses for marathon day, and knew that when I was seeing the world through them that it was time to focus all my hard training on the immediate task ahead: hitting my mile splits, one at a time, through to the finish line. In marketing, we may not have special sunglasses, but when campaign roll-out day comes, we can utilize a wide variety of special means of encouragement to help us focus on our goals. For some this may be waking earlier than normal, doing extra exercise, eating in an especially healthy manner, or simply using music that energizes and encourages you to do your best work.

Mile 13’s Lesson: Your Unique Identification Number

In each marathon’s pre-race package you’ll find a number bib to pin to your singlet — a unique identifying number for race officials and spectators alike to track and chart your progress during the race. Without a number bib a racer would be what’s known as a race bandit -- someone who’s jumped in the race without paying. Marketing campaigns also have their own unique names and numbers, whether it’s an internal company code name, an official campaign effort name, or one of the identification numbers used by the various tools we use to track campaign performance against goals. Whether you’re the top-seeded racer wearing the #1 from winning the previous year or #22839, it’s your job in both running and marketing to make the most of what you have from the position you’re starting in. Marketing efforts can cause formerly small clients to achieve skyrocketing success when done very well, and for marathon runners one of the great unifying aspects is that everyone starts running at the same time and, theoretically, even someone at the back of the pack could win. There have even been cases where elite marathoners have shown up late to a race and gone on to catch up to the leaders after passing thousands of runners, something also sometimes possible in marketing.

On Your Mark — Get Set — Go!

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Now that you have your training, planning, and equipment lined up and in order, let’s move on to strategy for actually hitting the starting line in both marathon running and marketing.

Mile 14’s Lesson: Starting Line’s Launch Day!

This is it! The months and seemingly endless miles of training are complete. Every pre-race ritual has been attended to, and you’re completely prepared to run the best marathon you can for the day. While the starting line is a place to focus on the difficult task ahead, don’t forget to at least give some acknowledgement to all the effort you’ve made to reach this point, and to think of all those who have helped you along the way. The energy and excitement at the starting line of a marathon, whether large or small, is one of the most amazing experiences in all of running, and smart runners won’t block it out entirely, but learn to feed on and draw energy from these magic moments. Launch day for marketers is similar, as a time to focus intently on the efforts ahead, to recall the expert planning you’ve done to give your campaign the best chance of digital success, and to think of and thank the people who have helped you reach launch day.

Mile 15’s Lesson: Keep To Your Plan & Don’t Zoom Out

Going out too fast is one of the most common mistakes new marathon runners make on race day, as the pre-race excitement and pent-up emotions all let loose when the starting gun goes off, and hundreds of runners all around you dart speedily onward. Knowing that most runners will start too fast, smart runners hold back and work hard to stick to their predetermined mile-by-mile pacing plan, whether it’s through using the virtual training partner on your phone or smart watch, sticking to a pacing group, or simply by starting out running at a pace that feels too slow compared to those around you. [bctt tweet="“Motivation remains key to the marathon: the motivation to begin; the motivation to continue; the motivation never to quit.” Hal Higdon @higdonmarathon " username="toprank"] Most marathons have runners line up in sections corresponding to their goal finishing time, with elite runners on the actual starting line, and others positioned at spots set aside for those expecting to finish in three, four, five or more hours. B2B marketers can also learn pacing lessons from marathon runners, as during campaign launches it’s important to not unleash more than you have allotted for launch day.

Mile 16’s Lesson: Hydrate & Nurture Your Body & Campaign

As the marathon progresses, smart runners will know exactly where every water and sports drink aid station is, from studying official pre-race information, and they’ll follow the plan they’ve carefully laid out and used on long runs in training. Knowing how to best hydrate your body with water and sports drinks, and how to keep it cool using the sponges and shower misters on hand at many marathons, are also areas savvy runners will have learned and perfected in training. As marketers we need to hydrate our campaigns too, by doing everything possible to keep our careful plans on track, with the skill to make quick adjustments on-the-fly as needed. Keeping up on the latest industry trends can help keep your marketing skills nimble, and here are three recent article we've published to help in that regard:

7 Top B2B Influencer Marketing Trends for 2020

15 Reports Charting the Future of Content Marketing

Key B2B Takeaways From the 2019 Internet Trends Report

Mile 17’s Lesson: Utilize Aid Stations & Social Platforms

More than just tables to grab water from, marathon aid stations represent the important passage of miles along the course — just like the official mile markers — often festooned with colorful and fun markings such as balloons or even particular themes. Many marathons have aid stations that are run by various non-profit or corporate organizations, each with their own unique style and flair, sometimes including radio stations with live bands. There are also usually many unofficial aid stations along big marathon courses, with supporters offering runners everything from strawberries and candy to beer and tequila. In marketing, the social media platforms your campaign will nearly always use also each have their own unique rules, features, and strengths, and it’s up to you as a smart marketer to know how to get the most from each one in the grand scheme of your marketing efforts. We’re explored some of the best ways to achieve success using the top social platforms in the following recent articles:

Social Media Secrets: 5 Under-the-Radar LinkedIn Features for Marketers

80+ New Social Media Marketing Statistics for B2B Marketers

Why Twitter Lists Are Still a Great Tool for B2B Marketers

Mile 18’s Lesson: Get a Boost From Your Fellow Racers

Even the most focused marathon runner will see and interact with fellow racers during the hours spent running, and these runners can provide valuable inspiration during the race if you leave yourself open to the connecting moments each race brings. I remember running a marathon where a runner dressed in a full official U.S. Postal Service mail carrier outfit passed me mid-race, complete with a letter bag and black leather shoes. He drew cheers from the crowds and fellow runners alike, and ended up setting a fastest-known-time record for a marathon run in a full postal outfit. Other years there have been people running marathons carrying full-size flags, and there always seen to be runners who race in costumes, such as Elvis impersonators or dinosaurs. [bctt tweet="“Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles.” — Lori Culnane " username="toprank"] A difficult aspect of marathon running to prepare for includes the inevitable runners you’ll encounter who are having a much worse day than you hopefully are — balled up in agony on the side of the road as severe cramps make them cry and moan. Seeing these runners is a humbling experience, as each one was previously out there faster than you until the wheels fell off or they became sick or injured. Taking lessons from them can help you appreciate that fact that you are still moving ahead, even if you may not be precisely on your goal pace. Sometimes you’ll even pass one or two elite runners who have for whatever reason been slowed to a walk or jog, and this too can serve to help you reflect on the small victories you’ve had within the marathon itself — a lesson that also applies to marketing. Some marathon runners thrive on camaraderie during training and while racing, while others prefer to train and run alone. As marketers, we can universally benefit from relationship building, whether it’s through using industry experts in a campaign, or the interaction with new clients brought about by smart and well-planned marketing efforts.

Mile 19’s Lesson: Renew with Your Cheering Section

via GIPHY

Having your own family and friends along the marathon course or at the finish will undoubtedly provide helpful cheering and encouragement during the race, so if you’re lucky enough to have them, take the time to thank them for coming out and supporting you on race day — if not during the race itself, once you’ve finished. This holds true for marketers too of course, as the influencers, fans, clients, mentors and associates who’ve helped you and your campaign to succeed should also all be thanked, either in public, in private, or both.

Mile 20’s Lesson: Prepare For & Overcome Rough Patches

In running, hitting a rough patch is often called bonking, and in marathoning this can often happen around mile 20, especially with new marathon runners. [bctt tweet="“No marathon gets easier later. The half way point only marks the end of the beginning.” — Joe Henderson" username="toprank"] It’s important to have alternate plans and time goals in place, and the flexibility to adjust your desired outcome depending on how badly you may be bonking, or worse yet, dealing with an in-race injury. On race day, smart runners will also adjust their pacing and finish goals when Mother Nature throws difficult weather conditions into the mix. A rainy, especially hot and humid, or particularly cold day will see experienced marathoners adjusting their goals to meet the conditions at hand — a task experienced B2B marketers will also perform when unexpected elements out of their control strike a campaign. Having a plan b or plan c are parts of planning that will help should the need ever arise.

Mile 21’s Lesson: Precisely Monitor Time & Campaign Splits

Throughout your race, and especially as you near the final 10K of a marathon, keeping track of the time splits you reach for each mile — which will show how far ahead or behind your time goal you are running — is an important task, and one that gets progressively difficult as your energy levels fall during the later stages of a marathon. Before smart devices and phones, I used a pen to write my goal time splits on my palms. Later, running companies began offering wristbands with goal mile splits for various finish times from around a 2:45 marathon up to 5:30 or so. Today, it’s easier than ever to track your mile splits during a marathon, so there’s little excuse for not knowing whether you need to try picking up the pace, or dialing it down a notch in order not to burn out. As smart marketers we also note and celebrate important milestones during campaigns, and use tools to measure progress throughout the life-cycle of our marketing efforts, whether it’s audience engagement, reach, or other performance benchmarks. Here are several recent articles we've put together to help you with these important marketing tasks:

New Year, New View: 3 Ways to Approach Analytics in 2019

Measuring Content Marketing Success: Analytics Advice & Insight from the Experts

5 Common Digital Marketing Data & Analytics Challenges and How to Start Solving Them

Mile 22’s Lesson: Work with Groups and Influencers

Many larger marathons offer pacing groups to help runners reach specific time goals. The folks behind the CLIF bar helped pioneer marathon pacing groups, and for several marathons I ran alongside one of their excellent pacers — runners usually carrying a sign showing the pace group’s goal time, and sometimes also flags or balloons. Although their particular team is no longer in operation, others have taken up the slack. It’s reassuring to be able to stick with your pacing group as planned, and equally frustrating to watch them fade into the distance ahead of you if you’re having a bad day on the marathon course. As marketers we use influencers, industry experts, clients, customers, and sometimes fans to help us keep important campaigns on pace for hitting performance goals.

Mile 23’s Lesson: Marathon Mind-Tricks & Marketing Mantras

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During the many hours spent running while training for a marathon, some runners develop subtle psychological practices to help them get through difficult patches. Some of these include:

Thinking of (or actually listening to, if you’re in a marathon that allows headphones…) an inspiring song

Repeating a personally-inspirational mantra, saying, or phrase

Making note of an upcoming tree or signpost and focusing only on making it that far, and then repeating the process again and again

Marketers too can benefit from focusing, keeping a positive attitude, and mindfully working to build up and keep the energy needed when launching and running a modern digital marketing campaign. [bctt tweet="“If you feel bad at 10 miles, you're in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you're normal. If you don't feel bad at 26 miles, you're abnormal.” @deek207 " username="toprank"]

Mile 24’s Lesson: Track Those Marathon & Marketing KPIs

Every marathon and marketing campaign will have certain very important key performance indicators (KPIs). For the marathon, these usually come at the 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and 20-mile marks. Making your time split goals at these mileposts can be especially important in a runner’s mental efforts to stay on-track with reaching an overall race time finishing goal. Similarly in marketing, hitting important KPI levels at various predetermined points along the campaign journey is especially important when it comes to reaching our overall goals.

Finish Line Fulfillment — Not the End But A New Beginning

You’ve come a long way now, and the end is nearing, so let’s take a look at how to get the very last drop of performance from your marathon and marketing efforts, and savor the hard-earned moment. Can you believe that mile 25 is just up ahead now?!

Mile 25’s Lesson: Finish Line Celebrations

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There’s nothing like the first glimpse of the finish line in a marathon, as it seems to induce your body’s final, hidden stores of energy to release — a boost that only seems to come out when the body knows its work will soon thankfully be done. If a runner is ever going to feel a euphoric sense of elation, it’s most likely going to come while approaching the finish line of a marathon, knowing that nothing is going to stop you from crossing that line. [bctt tweet="“If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.” — Emil Zatopek " username="toprank"] It’s a great time to savor the moment and celebrate the weeks or months of hard training and planning, and the same can be said for the end of a successful marketing campaign.

Mile 26’s Lesson: Take Time To Recover & Learn

After the many strong emotions of the finish line, whether they’re for celebrating a goal that’s been met, or disappointment in falling short despite your best efforts, the time will come when you can learn a great deal by examining in detail how your race went — what worked well and what failed. Some runners like to write down their memories from a marathon as soon as possible after the race finishes, and marketers too can benefit from taking a look back once the campaign ends at what worked and what didn’t. Having this first-hand analysis of our performance can be invaluable when the time comes to launch the next similar marketing initiative, or to run another marathon. [bctt tweet="“You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming.” — Frank Shorter " username="toprank"]

Mile 26.2’s Lesson: Go The Final Distance & Win Awards

With hard work and fanatical training, a successful marathon may involve setting a new personal record, winning an age-group award, or at the highest level even winning an overall race medal outright. In marketing, a great campaign can continue on long after it’s officially concluded, by providing a variety of opportunities for derivative works through re-purposing, or even entering and winning various industry awards. Running marathons can help elevate our lives, enhance fitness, and bring newfound depth to each day, and great marketing can do the same as we boost our marketing fitness. [bctt tweet="“The marathon never ceases to be a race of joy, a race of wonder.” — Hal Higdon @higdonmarathon" username="toprank"] Thanks for coming along for this 26.2 mile marketing marathon, and I hope you’ll find value in the lessons of each step we’ve shared on the journey together. I'll leave you with a link to a short video of the finish of one of the greatest races of all time, with running legends and former marathon world record holders Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia and Paul Tergat of Kenya battling to the very end during the last lap of the 2000 Olympics 10,000 meter final. [bctt tweet="“Ask yourself: ‘Can I give more?’ The answer is usually: ‘Yes’.” — Paul Tergat " username="toprank"]

The post 26.2 B2B Marathon Marketing Lessons appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from The SEO Advantages https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/07/marathon-marketing-lessons/

[theinvinciblenoob]

Recent reports that SoftBank may take a majority stake in WeWork has added fuel to the already hot market for startups in the workspace and property tech sectors. One of the more compelling companies that stands to benefit from this trend is New York-based Convene. Started by co-founders Ryan Simonetti (CEO) and Chris Kelly (president), 500-person strong Convene has distinguished itself as a top-tier provider of meeting, event and flexible workspace offerings in its 21 locations.

But unlike freelance-heavy WeWork and other co-working companies that cater to 1-10 person companies, Convene puts owners of Class A office buildings at the center of its business model. The goal is to help these landlords provide tenants with the high-end of amenities of, say a unicorn tech startup.

On the back of the company’s recent $152 million Series D, Simonetti and Kelly were eager to discuss new initiatives, including a co-branded turnkey workplace and amenity solution and their plans to launch additional Convene locations, including London. They also elaborate on how they plan to benefit during the next recession and open up on their differences with category giant WeWork. Finally, they explain why paintings by renowned artists, including Picasso and Calder, are tucked into corners of the company’s first, soon-to-be-opened members club at Rockefeller Center.

Gregg Schoenberg: Ryan and Chris. It’s great to see you both. To kick things off, I want to establish that Convene is not a typical startup in that you’ve been around for about nine years.

Ryan Simonetti: Yes, is that called being washed-up in the start-up world?

GS: Not necessarily. Tell me about where the idea for Convene came from?

RS: Chris and I met during our freshman year orientation at Villanova University, ended-up pledging the same fraternity and spent a lot of time getting to know each other. From the beginning, we were probably two of the more entrepreneurial guys at Villanova. We sold used textbooks, spring break trips, parties into Philadelphia. If there was a way to monetize something in college, we were the two guys that were trying do it.

GS: Two scrappy guys from Villanova.

RS: Yes, we’ve always joked that we were probably the only kids at Villanova who didn’t have our parents’ credit cards.

GS: So years later, what was that catalyzing moment where you said, “Okay, here’s the idea for Convene”?

Chris Kelly: I remember two phone calls from Ryan that represent the earliest seeds of Convene. The first phone call was in the middle of the financial collapse, and in that phone call, Ryan said, “We’re about to witness the largest shift of wealth that the world has ever seen and we have to figure out how to be on the winning end of that.” Then a few weeks later, Ryan called me up and introduced the crazy idea for Convene.

GS: And what was that specific pitch?

CS: He walked me through the Grand Hyatt in Midtown Manhattan and said, “Look at the way these guys are doing business. This is a $60 million a year catering and meetings operation that was in essence being outsourced to hotels.”

“Just like Airbnb would tell you that their primary stakeholder is the homeowner, or OpenTable would tell you the primary stakeholder is a restaurateur, we view the building owner as our primary stakeholder.”

GS: And you’re saying hotels weren’t doing a great job?

CS: Hotels simply didn’t have the sensibility about what people really need in a business environment. They treated a shareholder meeting like a wedding with a projector. And we saw a huge opportunity to create spaces that met enterprise workplace requirements.

GS: So fast forward to today and tell me exactly what Convene is, because I think sometimes people struggle and just say, “Well you’re a WeWork competitor on the premium end.”

RS: We partner with Class A building owners to design places where people can meet, work and be inspired. It’s not any more complicated than that.

CS: To build on that, you could say that we’re essentially allowing landlords to offer Googleplex-style workplace experiences.

RS: That’s a big challenge for even large organizations. Look at Google, Facebook or JP Morgan. These companies can deliver an amazing experience at their corporate headquarters location. But in their smaller offices, it’s really tough to deliver a corporate HQ experience if you only have five, ten, or 15,000 square feet. You can’t build the kitchen infrastructure, or the gym, or all of those other things. So to Chris’s point, we’re democratizing access to that experience, and doing it with the landlord as the key partner.

GS: So the landlords are the core client?

RS: Just like Airbnb would tell you that their primary stakeholder is the homeowner, or OpenTable would tell you the primary stakeholder is a restaurateur, we view the building owner as our primary stakeholder. And what we’re helping them do is respond to the changing demands of today’s tenant, who want increased flexibility and better agility to adapt to change.

GS: I take it marrying technology infrastructure to the physical spaces is key to that, which is why you recently bought Beco. What exactly do they do?

RS: Beco is a workplace analytics platform that’s using sensor-based technology to help us, our landlord partners and our corporate clients better understand the way that people are actually interacting with space and services.

“But what really differentiates us strategically is that we’re not trying to build our own supply chain or our own inventories.”

GS: As you contemplated that acquisition, were you worried that it might be perceived to some of your traditional clients as Big Brothery?

RS: Look, everyone today is concerned about data privacy, and rightfully so. The way that the technology actually operates is that the actual users are anonymous to us.

GS: So is that data anonymous, or anonymous anonymous?

RS: Anonymous anonymous, meaning all we’re capturing is a random ID assigned to a phone, and that ties back to the sensor and data analytics platform.

GS: Do you have to opt in?

RS: It’s all opt in.

GS: Okay, I want to turn to the big gorilla in the broader flexible workspace category, because right or wrong, everyone, including Convene, gets compared to WeWork.

RS:Look, if we think about the macro trends that are shaping and changing not just the way that we work, but also the way that we live and travel, I would argue that WeWork and us have a similar view of the world and the future. But from a business model perspective, the quality of the product that we’ve built, the level of service that we deliver, the strategic nature of our partnerships with building owners, I don’t view us as directly competitive.

GS: I appreciate that WeWork ultimately caters to smaller sized end-users than Convene, so in that way you’re different. But it’s also true that even though Red Bull and Coca Cola are different drinks, you’re not going to drink a Coke and a Red Bull at the same time.

RS: From an analogy perspective, there’s a difference between Planet Fitness and Equinox, right? Would you argue that they’re competitive? Maybe. But the way I think about office real estate is Class C, Class B, Class A. Convene is a Class A partner to landlords.

GS: Right, but WeWork, with all that current and possibly future cash from Softbank, is moving upmarket.

RS: Sure, as they move more into enterprise and upmarket, of course, they’ll be competitive. But what really differentiates us strategically is that we’re not trying to build our own supply chain or our own inventories. We’re partnering with the existing supply chain to create a new category of supply that speaks to the collective demand from our customer demographic.

GS: As a service provider, I get that. But what happens when the next recession comes —

RS: — Yes, by the way, we’re excited for the next one.

GS: Because the knock on WeWork and other companies in the broader sector is that when the recession hits, the blood will hit the fan because of those short-term tenant leases.

RS: Well, right now, you see a lot of capital flowing into the sector and you have platforms that probably shouldn’t be here as well.

GS: Let’s take Brookfield. WeWork has a relationship with Brookfield. You guys have a relationship with Brookfield. But I think the difference is this: if bad things happen in the economy, they have to hope that WeWork is going to effectively manage those short-term lease obligations. From my outsider’s perspective, that looks to me like a counterparty relationship. But in Convene’s case, it looks more like an aligned partnership. After all, Brookfield, as well as Durst and RXR, are on your cap table.

RS: Every deal structure is aligned and even the leases we have are aligned. And when the recession hits, we will use it as an opportunity to deepen our landlord partnerships and take market share.

GS: With whose balance sheet?

RS: We’re using the landlord’s balance sheet to grow our business.

CS: And WeWork is using the Softbank balance sheet to grow their business.

GS: Could you elaborate?

RS: WeWork did us the greatest favor in the world, because our strategy since day one has been to make the landlord a key partner and stakeholder. Do you want to know who has the cheapest cost of capital? Cheaper than Softbank’s? It’s the landlord’s balance sheet. Their cost of equity capital is like six to eight percent.

GS: Really?

RS: Yes. If you think about the investor-anticipated yield in asset classes, real estate sits between a fixed income expectation and an equity capital markets expectation.

GS: Okay, but how does using the landlord’s balance sheet enhance your approach strategically?

CS: Because there are elements of the way we structure our deals that allow our performance to be variable. And by using the landlord’s balance sheet to grow our business, it aligns us and the landlord to be able to ride through a recession together.

“Do you want to know who has the cheapest cost of capital? Cheaper than SoftBank’s? It’s the landlord’s balance sheet.”

GS: Have many of the nation’s Class A landlords have bought into your model?

RS: If you look at our current partners that we’re actively working with, I think they globally control over 250 million square feet of Class A office space. So if 10% of that moves to flexible consumption, that means Convene could have an addressable market of 25 million square feet of inventory.

GS: So given the way you’re talking, would it be fair to say that your landlord partners have recognized that the flexible workspace trend is here for the long-term?

CS: How we consume real estate is undergoing a fundamental shift. This is the same conversation that was happening in the transportation industry 15 years ago. It’s the same thing that was happening in the travel industry when Airbnb was starting. That same conversation is happening today within the existing supply chain. So, yes, It’s a buy, build, partner decision that is being made in every landlord’s office around the country today.

GS: It still sounds odd to hear the phrase, “consume real estate.” Maybe I’m old-school, but you guys are down to earth. Do you find that language odd?

CS: Actually, what we’re seeing is the consumerization of real estate. Real estate was historically very B2B, very financially driven. Today, it’s being driven by human experience, So yes, brands matter, the customer experience matters. And that consumerization of real estate actually is happening.

GS: I take it that’s why you launched this new managed workplace solution that features the services you bring, but enables a client to use its own name?

CS: What makes that platform unique is that it’s co-branded. It’s an endorsed brand model by Convene, which means that the Convene brand standards, the Convene operating model, the Convene staffing model and the Convene university training program comes with it.

GS: So Intel inside?

CK: Yes, which gives clients the best of both worlds. It gives them the brand and reach and expertise of Convene. At the same time, they can now have something that feels more authentic and unique to them as a landlord.

GS: I want to shift to the future of work, which is something you both have spoken about in pretty bold terms. We’re at this amazing Convene members club, which sort of feels like a SoHo House except we’re in midtown. And you’ve talked about how an experiential personal life will be closer to a work life. Where is all this going?

RS: From a trend perspective, we believe fundamentally in what we call work/life integration. It used to be that you go to work and at the end of the day that stops and then you move to the rest of your life. That’s not really the way it works anymore. And when we think about some of the services that we’ve launched over the last couple years, it’s been with that idea in mind.

GS: Are you creating future offerings in-house or partnering?

RS: Actually, we’re about to announce a partnership on the wellness side, where we’re taking some of the wellness elements and starting to incorporate them into the broader Convene ecosystem.

GS: Do either of you guys have children?

RS: Yes, we both do.

GS: Because if you want to talk about quality of life and the war for talent, it seems like a natural extension to see if your plan to help the workforce addresses the challenges of working while raising young kids. Are such extensions on your whiteboard?

RS: Yes, they’re definitely on the whiteboard and some of those things are already in process. The difference is partnership. When I think about the way that we’re building our platform and the way that WeWork is building theirs, I think about us as being an open-source platform, Do you think you need to do everything yourself because you’re the best in the world at everything, or do you want to work with best-in-class partners?

GS: So for something like childcare, you’d bring in a partner?

RS: If we decide, which I’m not saying we are, to get into childcare, we’re going to do that with a proven partner that has a track record of delivering that experience and doing it really well.

GS: How does Convene fare in a world where remote work becomes an even bigger trend?

CS: Actually, there’s a difference between remote work and mobility. Remote work is the traditional concept of working from home, and we’re actually seeing some backlash now of companies who are really trying to drive culture, and want more face-to-face interaction.

GS: Does that show up in the design of your spaces?

CK: Yes, the built environments of our offices are changing from looking like cubicle farms where everybody reports to their desk and their computer to operating a lot more like a digitally-enabled campus. And the decoupling of people and their work from their desk is opening up an opportunity to build what’s called an activity-based workplace, where there are different types of spaces that are specialized and built for specific uses.

GS: You guys don’t even have offices, right?

CK: Right. None of us have offices.

RS: Also, people used to talk about remote work in magical terms. They’d say, I’m not going to need an office. We don’t believe that this is the case. We think that there a few things that will continue to matter to organizations. One is brand, two is culture, three is collaboration. And until technology can somehow magically replicate that experience, we think that the best ideas will come from face-to-face interaction.

GS: I have two important last topics to cover. First-off, why on earth, nestled into a semi-remote corner of this club, do you have a Picasso painting hanging on the wall? Because in my experience, usually people like to show off the Picasso if they have one.

RS: Ha, well, the Picasso, as well as all of the other amazing art that you’ve seen at Club 75, is part of the partnership here with the landlord.

GS: Well, it speaks to the confidence they have in you.

RS: Yes, but it also speaks to the experience we’re creating. We think about space as the body language of an organization. Space has the ability to move people and we think that art is a big part of that.

CK: It also demonstrates the extent to which landlords are committed to delivering a great experience.

RS: Right. Having a coffee next to a Calder or a Picasso can put you in a totally different headspace.

“There’s no amount of money in the world that can buy you a partnership with Brookfield or a half a dozen landlords that we’ll be powering next year.”

GS: Well, I’m glad you didn’t use shareholder money to buy these works, which brings me to my last topic. At this point, are you concerned about profitability?

CS: Yes, we are and that’s another one of the differences between us and others. In fact, we’ve been cashflow positive since Day one. And as an organization, profitability has always been something that we think is very important.

GS: It’s because you don’t have enough VCs on your cap table. Speaking of which, you’re obviously aware of the fact that Softbank and other megafunds may helicopter drop a lot more money into this space, which could change the competitive dynamics.

RS: First of all, the last time I checked, we were the second most capitalized platform in the category, by dollars raised. And if you look at our partnership-driven approach, where the landlord’s balance sheet is funding a lot of our growth, the actual capital that’s being invested in the platform is multiples of the $260 million we’ve raised.

But to your point, our concern isn’t so much about the capital that’s flooding in, There’s no amount of money in the world that can buy you a partnership with Brookfield or a half a dozen landlords that we’ll be powering next year. And money, whether its from Softbank or anyone else, can’t give an organization its corporate culture. And I think one of the reasons we’ve been selected as the partner to some of the most discerning customers in the world is because of the fact that everyday, we deliver consistently against a premium experience.

GS: Well, on that note, Chris and Ryan, I’d like to thank you for your kind hospitality.

RS: It’s been our pleasure and thank you.

via TechCrunch

[scripttorture]

Would it be possible to maim (without killing) and make bone visible during a torture scene? Sort of like a deep scarring brand - antagonist's crony has a signature, I'm trying to work out what it should be

OK well I think there’sa high chance I’m misunderstanding this question because it seems quite broadand vague to me. If I’ve misunderstood the question feel free to ask again butplease be clearer about what exactly you want help with.

 I know English isn’teveryone’s first language and it can feel really strange writing about thissubject to a stranger. If you think taking up multiple asks would help toexplain the story and situation please do that, I don’t mind.

 Branding is a burningtorture which always scars. It involves the application of something very hotto flesh.

 I’m unaware of anysingle torture that involves bothbranding and breaking bones. I don’t think it’s practically possible to do bothsimultaneously. I think if you tried one would end up interfering with theother.

 It is very much possible to maim a character during a torture scenewithout killing them. But I’m unsure what sort of torture you’re suggesting,what kind of injuries you’d like the character to have and….basically whatyou’re picturing for this scene at all.

 I can suggest torturesthat would scar and maim, without necessarily killing. I don’t know if they’d beanything like what you’re picturing though.

 I also don’t know whattime period this story is set in, and advances in medical technology make adifference to what is ‘survivable’.

 Torturers don’tgenerally have ‘signature’ patterns. I won’t say you shouldn’t include that because it does seem to fit generally withthe way torturers tend to ‘compete’ with each other and drive each other on.But be aware that it’s unusual and perhaps highlight it as unusual in thestory.

 So- suggestions.

 Burning tortures werehistorically used in a lot of countries but are very much a rarity now.

 Scarring tortures ofany kind are extremely rare nowadays. Again this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use these in your story but tryto avoid portraying them as common.

 Branding generallyinvolved heating a piece of metal and placing it on a person’s skin. It causesa serious burn, is extremely painful and leaves a very obvious scar. Unless itcovers an extremely large area of the character’s skin or becomes infected it’sunlikely to be fatal. And there are a couple of ways it can leave someone witha permanent physical disability.

 As a general guide toside I’d avoid having any single brand bigger than the character’s hand and anytotal burn coverage bigger than the area of their leg.

 The main thing thatcomes to mind is mobility problems. Burns and scar tissue generally shrink theskin. Serious burns such as those caused by brands can also sometimes damagetendons and muscles underneath. For this reason I tend to tell askers to avoidthe joints if they don’t want the character to have mobility issues.

 Branding on or near thejoint: the backs of the knees, inside of the elbows, armpit, the palms of thehands, will permanently damage those areas and reduce the character’s abilityto move that joint. In the hands it’s a complete loss of mobility. On the kneeI think they could probably walk with difficulty and mobility aids.

 Burning tortures alsosometimes involved just putting part of a person’s body (usually the feet orhands) into a fire. This literally cooks the flesh. It causes permanent loss ofmobility and sensation in the burnt limb, the degree depends on the heat of thefire and how long the limb is in there for.

 In the hands this wouldmean loss of fine motor control, possibly of fingers or thumbs. In the feet itwould mean difficulty walking and possible loss of toes. In both cases the limbmight have to be amputated to save the character’s life. Because this issomething that can completely kill the flesh of the hand/foot and that can leadto……essentially a character being attached to a piece of rotting flesh thatacts as a constant source of infection.

 Burning tortures havealso been used historically to blind: ‘putting out’ eyes with hot needles.

 Incidentally there is amedical procedure called the ‘Krukenberg’ procedure designed to give someonewho is blind and loses both hands better quality of life by using the stump toform a sort of scissor shape the person can use to manipulate objects. Ipersonally think this fantastic.

 For the most part eventoday there isn’t a lot that can be done about the damage burning torturescause. Surgery could increase mobility to some degree, it could reduce scars.But it can’t remove either entirely and there is currently no treatment thatrestores lost sensation.

 Tortures that breakbones could now be successfully treated for the most part. Whether these are disablingdepends strongly on the time period.

 They’re more likely tocause permanent damage if the attacks are concentrated on the joints: theknees, ankles and elbows would be especially ‘good’ targets.

 Usually this sort ofthing was literally just hitting someone with something heavy- such as ahammer. If the breaks are too extensive then they’d probably kill the characterso I’d advise keeping it down to five blows or less.

 Extensive attacks onthe feet or hands, shattering the bones, can still lead to amputation. Thedamage has to be….think ground meat. If the disability needs to be long lastingbut not necessarily permanent thentwo or three blows to the feet mightbe something modern surgery could fix. But it would take many years, a greatnumber of painful procedures and slow rehabilitation.

 Blows to the torso orhead can kill outright.

 If you want to breakbones I think straight up blows are probably the best thing for your particularstory. I can think of other methodsthat might break bone. But doing so to the point that they’d disable thecharacter would be more difficult and dangerous for those techniques.

 Leg screws and crushingimplements could break bone. But thesort of extensive damage they cause to flesh, skin and muscle, along with thelarge amount of blood a succession of breaks using them would cause- Well Ithink that would kill the character.

 At the moment I don’tknow what else to suggest. Burning and bone breaking tortures are the only onesyou’ve asked about specifically and I don’t want to list a lot of things youmight not be interested in.

 You might find ithelpful to take a look at my Masterposts on National Styles. There’sone here on the modern day and onehere on the period surrounding the Second World War. That might help giveyou ideas and put them in a historical and national context.

 I hope that helps. :)

Disclaimer

[fmservers]

Convene uses landlord partnership model to outclass WeWork

Recent reports that Softbank may take a majority stake in WeWork has added fuel to the already hot market for start-ups in the workspace and property tech sectors. One of the more compelling companies that stands to benefit from this trend is New York-based Convene. Started by co-founders Ryan Simonetti (CEO) and Chris Kelly (President), 500-person strong Convene has distinguished itself as a top-tier provider of meeting, event and flexible workspace offerings in its 21 locations. But unlike freelance-heavy WeWork and other co-working companies who cater to 1-10 person companies, Convene puts owners of Class A office buildings at the center of its business model. The goal is to help these landlords provide tenants with the high-end of amenities of, say a unicorn tech startup.

On the back of the company’s recent $152 million Series D, Simonetti and Kelly were eager to discuss new initiatives including a co-branded turnkey workplace and amenity solution and their plans to launch additional Convene locations, including London. They also elaborate on how they plan to benefit during the next recession and open up on their differences with category giant WeWork. Finally, they explain why paintings by renowned artists including Picasso and Calder are tucked into corners of the company’s first, soon-to-be-opened members club at Rockefeller Center.

Gregg Schoenberg: Ryan and Chris. It’s great to see you both. To kick things off, I want to establish that Convene is not a typical startup in that you’ve been around for about nine years.

Ryan Simonetti: Yes, is that called being washed-up in the start-up world?

GS: Not necessarily. Tell me about where the idea for Convene came from?

RS: Chris and I met during our freshman year orientation at Villanova University, ended-up pledging the same fraternity and spent a lot of time getting to know each other. From the beginning, we were probably two of the more entrepreneurial guys at Villanova. We sold used textbooks, spring break trips, parties into Philadelphia. If there was a way to monetize something in college, we were the two guys that were trying do it.

GS: Two scrappy guys from Villanova.

RS: Yes, we’ve always joked that we were probably the only kids at Villanova who didn’t have our parents’ credit cards.

GS: So years later, what was that catalyzing moment where you said, “Okay, here’s the idea for Convene”?

Chris Kelly: I remember two phone calls from Ryan that represent the earliest seeds of Convene. The first phone call was in the middle of the financial collapse, and in that phone call, Ryan said, “We’re about to witness the largest shift of wealth that the world has ever seen and we have to figure out how to be on the winning end of that.” Then a few weeks later, Ryan called me up and introduced the crazy idea for Convene.

GS: And what was that specific pitch?

CS: He walked me through the Grand Hyatt in Midtown Manhattan and said, “Look at the way these guys are doing business. This is a $60 million a year catering and meetings operation that was in essence being outsourced to hotels.”

“Just like Airbnb would tell you that their primary stakeholder is the homeowner, or OpenTable would tell you the primary stakeholder is a restaurateur, we view the building owner as our primary stakeholder.”

GS: And you’re saying hotels weren’t doing a great job?

CS: Hotels simply didn’t have the sensibility about what people really need in a business environment. They treated a shareholder meeting like a wedding with a projector. And we saw a huge opportunity to create spaces that met enterprise workplace requirements.

GS: So fast forward to today and tell me exactly what Convene is, because I think sometimes people struggle and just say, “Well you’re a WeWork competitor on the premium end.”

RS: We partner with Class A building owners to design places where people can meet, work and be inspired. It’s not any more complicated than that.

CS: To build on that, you could say that we’re essentially allowing landlords to offer Googleplex-style workplace experiences.

RS: That’s a big challenge for even large organizations. Look at Google, Facebook or JP Morgan. These companies can deliver an amazing experience at their corporate headquarters location. But in their smaller offices, it’s really tough to deliver a corporate HQ experience if you only have five, ten, or 15,000 square feet. You can’t build the kitchen infrastructure, or the gym, or all of those other things. So to Chris’s point, we’re democratizing access to that experience, and doing it with the landlord as the key partner.

GS: So the landlords are the core client?

RS: Just like Airbnb would tell you that their primary stakeholder is the homeowner, or OpenTable would tell you the primary stakeholder is a restaurateur, we view the building owner as our primary stakeholder. And what we’re helping them do is respond to the changing demands of today’s tenant, who want increased flexibility and better agility to adapt to change.

GS: I take it marrying technology infrastructure to the physical spaces is key to that, which is why you recently bought Beco. What exactly do they do?

RS: Beco is a workplace analytics platform that’s using sensor-based technology to help us, our landlord partners and our corporate clients better understand the way that people are actually interacting with space and services.

“But what really differentiates us strategically is that we’re not trying to build our own supply chain or our own inventories.”

GS: As you contemplated that acquisition, were you worried that it might be perceived to some of your traditional clients as Big Brothery?

RS: Look, everyone today is concerned about data privacy, and rightfully so. The way that the technology actually operates is that the actual users are anonymous to us.

GS: So is that data anonymous, or anonymous anonymous?

RS: Anonymous anonymous, meaning all we’re capturing is a random ID assigned to a phone, and that ties back to the sensor and data analytics platform.

GS: Do you have to opt in?

RS: It’s all opt in.

GS: Okay, I want to turn to the big gorilla in the broader flexible workspace category, because right or wrong, everyone, including Convene, gets compared to WeWork.

RS:Look, if we think about the macro trends that are shaping and changing not just the way that we work, but also the way that we live and travel, I would argue that WeWork and us have a similar view of the world and the future. But from a business model perspective, the quality of the product that we’ve built, the level of service that we deliver, the strategic nature of our partnerships with building owners, I don’t view us as directly competitive.

GS: I appreciate that WeWork ultimately caters to smaller sized end-users than Convene, so in that way you’re different. But it’s also true that even though Red Bull and Coca Cola are different drinks, you’re not going to drink a Coke and a Red Bull at the same time.

RS: From an analogy perspective, there’s a difference between Planet Fitness and Equinox, right? Would you argue that they’re competitive? Maybe. But the way I think about office real estate is Class C, Class B, Class A. Convene is a Class A partner to landlords.

GS: Right, but WeWork, with all that current and possibly future cash from Softbank, is moving upmarket.

RS: Sure, as they move more into enterprise and upmarket, of course, they’ll be competitive. But what really differentiates us strategically is that we’re not trying to build our own supply chain or our own inventories. We’re partnering with the existing supply chain to create a new category of supply that speaks to the collective demand from our customer demographic.

GS: As a service provider, I get that. But what happens when the next recession comes —

RS: — Yes, by the way, we’re excited for the next one.

GS: Because the knock on WeWork and other companies in the broader sector is that when the recession hits, the blood will hit the fan because of those short-term tenant leases.

RS: Well, right now, you see a lot of capital flowing into the sector and you have platforms that probably shouldn’t be here as well.

GS: Let’s take Brookfield. WeWork has a relationship with Brookfield. You guys have a relationship with Brookfield. But I think the difference is this: if bad things happen in the economy, they have to hope that WeWork is going to effectively manage those short-term lease obligations. From my outsider’s perspective, that looks to me like a counterparty relationship. But in Convene’s case, it looks more like an aligned partnership. After all, Brookfield, as well as Durst and RXR, are on your cap table.

RS: Every deal structure is aligned and even the leases we have are aligned. And when the recession hits, we will use it as an opportunity to deepen our landlord partnerships and take market share.

GS: With whose balance sheet?

RS: We’re using the landlord’s balance sheet to grow our business.

CS: And WeWork is using the Softbank balance sheet to grow their business.

GS: Could you elaborate?

RS: WeWork did us the greatest favor in the world, because our strategy since day one has been to make the landlord a key partner and stakeholder. Do you want to know who has the cheapest cost of capital? Cheaper than Softbank’s? It’s the landlord’s balance sheet. Their cost of equity capital is like six to eight percent.

GS: Really?

RS: Yes. If you think about the investor-anticipated yield in asset classes, real estate sits between a fixed income expectation and an equity capital markets expectation.

GS: Okay, but how does using the landlord’s balance sheet enhance your approach strategically?

CS: Because there are elements of the way we structure our deals that allow our performance to be variable. And by using the landlord’s balance sheet to grow our business, it aligns us and the landlord to be able to ride through a recession together.

“Do you want to know who has the cheapest cost of capital? Cheaper than Softbank’s? It’s the landlord’s balance sheet.”

GS: Have many of the nation’s Class A landlords have bought into your model?

RS: If you look at our current partners that we’re actively working with, I think they globally control over 250 million square feet of Class A office space. So if 10% of that moves to flexible consumption, that means Convene could have an addressable market of 25 million square feet of inventory.

GS: So given the way you’re talking, would it be fair to say that your landlord partners have recognized that the flexible workspace trend is here for the long-term?

CS: How we consume real estate is undergoing a fundamental shift. This is the same conversation that was happening in the transportation industry 15 years ago. It’s the same thing that was happening in the travel industry when Airbnb was starting. That same conversation is happening today within the existing supply chain. So, yes, It’s a buy, build, partner decision that is being made in every landlord’s office around the country today.

GS: It still sounds odd to hear the phrase, “consume real estate.” Maybe I’m old-school, but you guys are down to earth. Do you find that language odd?

CS: Actually, what we’re seeing is the consumerization of real estate. Real estate was historically very B2B, very financially driven. Today, it’s being driven by human experience, So yes, brands matter, the customer experience matters. And that consumerization of real estate actually is happening.

GS: I take it that’s why you launched this new managed workplace solution that features the services you bring, but enables a client to use its own name?

CS: What makes that platform unique is that it’s co-branded. It’s an endorsed brand model by Convene, which means that the Convene brand standards, the Convene operating model, the Convene staffing model and the Convene university training program comes with it.

GS: So Intel inside?

CK: Yes, which gives clients the best of both worlds. It gives them the brand and reach and expertise of Convene. At the same time, they can now have something that feels more authentic and unique to them as a landlord.

GS: I want to shift to the future of work, which is something you both have spoken about in pretty bold terms. We’re at this amazing Convene members club, which sort of feels like a SoHo House except we’re in midtown. And you’ve talked about how an experiential personal life will be closer to a work life. Where is all this going?

RS: From a trend perspective, we believe fundamentally in what we call work/life integration. It used to be that you go to work and at the end of the day that stops and then you move to the rest of your life. That’s not really the way it works anymore. And when we think about some of the services that we’ve launched over the last couple years, it’s been with that idea in mind.

GS: Are you creating future offerings in-house or partnering?

RS: Actually, we’re about to announce a partnership on the wellness side, where we’re taking some of the wellness elements and starting to incorporate them into the broader Convene ecosystem.

GS: Do either of you guys have children?

RS: Yes, we both do.

GS: Because if you want to talk about quality of life and the war for talent, it seems like a natural extension to see if your plan to help the workforce addresses the challenges of working while raising young kids. Are such extensions on your whiteboard?

RS: Yes, they’re definitely on the whiteboard and some of those things are already in process. The difference is partnership. When I think about the way that we’re building our platform and the way that WeWork is building theirs, I think about us as being an open-source platform, Do you think you need to do everything yourself because you’re the best in the world at everything, or do you want to work with best-in-class partners?

GS: So for something like childcare, you’d bring in a partner?

RS: If we decide, which I’m not saying we are, to get into childcare, we’re going to do that with a proven partner that has a track record of delivering that experience and doing it really well.

GS: How does Convene fare in a world where remote work becomes an even bigger trend?

CS: Actually, there’s a difference between remote work and mobility. Remote work is the traditional concept of working from home, and we’re actually seeing some backlash now of companies who are really trying to drive culture, and want more face-to-face interaction.

GS: Does that show up in the design of your spaces?

CK: Yes, the built environments of our offices are changing from looking like cubicle farms where everybody reports to their desk and their computer to operating a lot more like a digitally-enabled campus. And the decoupling of people and their work from their desk is opening up an opportunity to build what’s called an activity-based workplace, where there are different types of spaces that are specialized and built for specific uses.

GS: You guys don’t even have offices, right?

CK: Right. None of us have offices.

RS: Also, people used to talk about remote work in magical terms. They’d say, I’m not going to need an office. We don’t believe that this is the case. We think that there a few things that will continue to matter to organizations. One is brand, two is culture, three is collaboration. And until technology can somehow magically replicate that experience, we think that the best ideas will come from face-to-face interaction.

GS: I have two important last topics to cover. First-off, why on earth, nestled into a semi-remote corner of this club, do you have a Picasso painting hanging on the wall? Because in my experience, usually people like to show off the Picasso if they have one.

RS: Ha, well, the Picasso, as well as all of the other amazing art that you’ve seen at Club 75, is part of the partnership here with the landlord.

GS: Well, it speaks to the confidence they have in you.

RS: Yes, but it also speaks to the experience we’re creating. We think about space as the body language of an organization. Space has the ability to move people and we think that art is a big part of that.

CK: It also demonstrates the extent to which landlords are committed to delivering a great experience.

RS: Right. Having a coffee next to a Calder or a Picasso can put you in a totally different headspace.

“There’s no amount of money in the world that can buy you a partnership with Brookfield or a half a dozen landlords that we’ll be powering next year.”

GS: Well, I’m glad you didn’t use shareholder money to buy these works, which brings me to my last topic. At this point, are you concerned about profitability?

CS: Yes, we are and that’s another one of the differences between us and others. In fact, we’ve been cashflow positive since Day one. And as an organization, profitability has always been something that we think is very important.

GS: It’s because you don’t have enough VCs on your cap table. Speaking of which, you’re obviously aware of the fact that Softbank and other megafunds may helicopter drop a lot more money into this space, which could change the competitive dynamics.

RS: First of all, the last time I checked, we were the second most capitalized platform in the category, by dollars raised. And if you look at our partnership-driven approach, where the landlord’s balance sheet is funding a lot of our growth, the actual capital that’s being invested in the platform is multiples of the $260 million we’ve raised.

But to your point, our concern isn’t so much about the capital that’s flooding in, There’s no amount of money in the world that can buy you a partnership with Brookfield or a half a dozen landlords that we’ll be powering next year. And money, whether its from Softbank or anyone else, can’t give an organization its corporate culture. And I think one of the reasons we’ve been selected as the partner to some of the most discerning customers in the world is because of the fact that everyday, we deliver consistently against a premium experience.

GS: Well, on that note, Chris and Ryan, I’d like to thank you for your kind hospitality.

RS: It’s been our pleasure and thank you.

Via Gregg Schoenberg https://techcrunch.com

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New Post has been published on Titos London

#Blog New Post has been published on http://www.titoslondon.co.uk/selena-gomez-on-partnering-with-puma-and-sharing-closets-with-the-weeknd/

Selena Gomez on partnering with Puma and sharing closets with The Weeknd

1/4

Officially a part of the fam @puma #pumapartner

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 18, 2017 at 10:00am PDT

Made to reign. @selenagomez #DoYou

A post shared by PUMA (@puma) on Sep 19, 2017 at 10:18am PDT

Fearless talent and of Instagram joins the family. @selenagomez #DoYou

A post shared by PUMA (@puma) on Sep 18, 2017 at 10:03am PDT

With a design inspired by Japanese architecture, the #Tsugi Kori is ready to run the streets. @theweeknd

A post shared by PUMA (@puma) on Sep 15, 2017 at 11:44am PDT

Selena Gomez has made herself at home—here, in a dimly lit studio loft, filled with Diptyque candles that smell of blackcurrant and roses. “I was totally being moody and just stretching in the bathroom,” she says, welcoming us in with a friendly wave. “I always want to have this kind of bathroom vibe with candles.” It marks the quiet, happy start to her next chapter: Today, Gomez will announce a long-term partnership with Puma, for which she has shot images for the brand’s Phenom sneaker launch. It is the first in an ongoing series of projects, as she has been tasked to design product and help direct future campaigns.

No doubt Puma hopes Gomez will inject the brand with her trademark authenticity, which has famously drawn more than 127 million Instagram fans. She certainly puts herself into everything she does and everywhere she goes. Take this candlelit studio, for instance. Stacked neatly on a wood coffee table are black and white Polaroids that Gomez had snapped just the night before. “My friend Petra’s been teaching me,” she says of Petra Collins, the downtown photographer who directed Gomez’s music video “Fetish.” She fans them out, revealing a series of beautifully grainy images—of Petra adjusting the strap on a shoe, of herself and her boyfriend, The Weeknd, linking arms in black tie. It feels intimate in a natural way—a taste of that genuine warmth.

Dressed in a black Puma tracksuit (cropped zip-up hoodie, pants cinched at both ankles), she sits down on the couch, tucks her bare feet beneath her, and begins to chat.

Congratulations on the collaboration; it’s an exciting one. I know—I’m really excited. When it comes to this whole world of fashion—that’s what I’m going to call it—I think it’s become this collaborative thing where streetwear and fashion blend into one. It’s a really beautiful thing because I see girls now feeling sexy in not even necessarily workout clothes, but clothes you could go work out in, then put on a cute pair of shoes and go out after. That’s what’s so crazy about now. Even just throwing something over a workout pant or just sweats, you kind of feel like you can do whatever you want.

What is your personal take on the whole athleisure trend? Is it something you wear often? Every day? [laughs]. I think it’s important to feel confident in what you wear. That’s all I really care about—I want to make sure anything I put on, I feel good in, because how you’re feeling on the outside really does affect how you are on the inside.

What do you wear for an actual workout? When I’m at home, it can be very intimate. Maybe just a sports bra and maybe some little spanky kind of cute things. And when I’m out, then it’s the typical: something slouchy that feels sexy that I can take off. It’s about layering and cute little socks.

Socks? What kind of socks? I add little chains to my socks because it adds a little charm, a little sparkle to it. Little anklets, actually. Me and my assistant got a bunch from Japan when I was on tour. I went through this whole phase where I would just wear the anklet around and shower in it. It’s effortless. I lose things—for me, it’s got to be on me, you know what I mean?

Generally speaking, do you put much thought into what you wear out? It depends. I don’t like when people feel like they need to put things together or be stressed about that. That’s what’s really cool about what Puma’s been doing lately. It’s all these pieces that you know are going to look good together, so it’s just kind of throwing this on, throwing that on.

I mean, at this point, my boyfriend and I share closets, and [we’re] just kind of throwing different ideas around. Sometimes I’ll throw on his Puma stuff and just go out with my shoes. I’ll just wear that as a little cute date-night dress or something to the movies. You want to feel confident in it. When you start stressing about it and feel you have to create this image . . . you shouldn’t feel that way.

What pieces do you two share the most? Hoodies. Staple hoodies.

So how do you feel about sneakers? They’ve been so changing my life [laughs]. I actually forgot how to walk in heels, you guys. I’ve been figuring out the past few events I’ve gone to, I’ve forgotten how to walk in heels just a little bit. I’m like Bambi, trying to figure out how to get my legs under. It’s the craziest thing because you get so comfortable [in sneakers], and now you can just wear them everywhere. Now that I’m in the city—I’m going to be here for a little while—it’s even better. I can walk anywhere, I can put on a cute dress with them. My entire closet is sneakers and cute boots and now a few heels.

How many sneakers do you have in rotation right now? Oh gosh. Just in New York? Probably like 20 pairs, but that’s not counting [those in] my home in L.A. Now that I’m a part of this [Puma] family, it’s nice because I’ll get to pick out ones that look good with everything.

When you were packing your 20 pairs, did you keep any sort of strategy in mind, or want to pack a specific range of them? Yeah, because you have the sport, where you know you’re going to go do something active and want to make sure you feel comfortable. Then there are what I call the untouchables, where someone steps on it and you gasp. Those are the kinds of shoes everyone has, especially guys. I think guys have that on lock. Then you have the ones where you know you’re going to walk around and do what you have to do. It also depends on what mood I’m in: the simple high tops, black, white, platforms. It’s in my vibe.

What about colors? Anything you gravitate toward in particular? I feel my colours are usually primary, sometimes secondary. Look at my sixth-grade arts stuff coming back to me [laughs]. Now I love the little soft colors of red or pink or blue. I’m such a classic person, so when I add a simple taste of colour, I like it to feel not overpowering, for me personally.

Do you remember your first pair of sneakers? Oh yes. I think I wanted the shoes with the wheelies at first, remember those? That’s what I wanted more than anything. I also don’t know what I was doing—it did not work out for me very well. I think I wore them once, I’m not even kidding.

I’ve been working since I was 7, so the earliest memories of me are when I’m on Barney [& Friends], which is so funny. I talked about this the other night, but that style is coming back. I was literally 7, but the way those shoes with the socks that fold over . . . it’s so kind of now. Not that I was creepily watching myself on Barney. We were just laughing about how I was on Barney because it becomes a joke amongst friends. But those are my earliest memories. Then getting older, you go through different phases.

Would you say you’ve been in a sneaker phase lately? Yeah. For me, I started just wanting to feel grounded. I took some time off, and I needed to kind of take a moment for myself because all of this has been overwhelming. So I used to just walk around my house barefoot or with socks, and everywhere I would go, I would wear a sneaker from that point on. I’ve always worn sneakers, but I’d say in the past year, for sure.

In terms of workouts and overall wellness, what kind of approach do you take? When it comes to that stuff for me, I love feeling like I’m getting all the stress out. I’m not a very aggressive person; I’m more emotional. So not to be cheesy, but my stretching and all of that really makes me feel like I’m getting stuff out. So I like to do that a lot throughout the day. Sometimes in front of the fireplace, so it just feels warm.

Looking ahead at this collaboration, is there anything you feel inspired by right now? I have to be honest, coming to New York has been very inspiring for me because I’m living here for a minute, and I’ve never lived here. I’ve come for 10 years for work, but you’re here, do a job, and leave. And this is kind of a huge staple city for streetwear—I get so many ideas just walking to get coffee every morning that I wouldn’t get in my car in L.A. My friend Petra [Collins] . . . I walk around her area. We went to Queens the other night to have Italian food. And I really like that.

This article originally appeared on Vogue.com

The post Selena Gomez on partnering with Puma and sharing closets with The Weeknd appeared first on VOGUE India.

[endlessarchite]

Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices)

There comes a time in every renovator’s story where they start to look around and realize, holy cow… my house is really starting to look like a home. After more than seven years of getting my hands (and feet) very, very dirty, I am getting more of an opportunity to sit back and actually enjoy this space I’ve worked so hard at. This doesn’t mean that my house has reached completion (and in truth, probably never will), but there are times when I sit down and drink my morning coffee and instead of thinking about how I need to finish sanding that last coat of joint compound on the walls, I look around and think: how the heck have I managed to have this small of a couch in the living room?

The answer, of course, is that it’s mostly just been me and Charlie in this house for more than half a decade. And even though I don’t exactly encourage her to sit on the couch with me, there has always been just enough room for the two of us. Plus, sitting down as a renovator isn’t a thing you get to do, uninterrupted, for very long either.  So as far as priorities go, this wasn’t one of them. It didn’t seem to bother the furball, either.

But over time, that changed a little. I have more time for cooking myself a meal in my renovated kitchen, running a load of laundry… normal homeowner things. That’s how I found myself getting rid of the things I’ve owned since I lived in an apartment (in 2009!), like my old coffee and side tables. And how I finally bought a rug the right size for the room. Recently, there have been two more bodies added to the mix, which left us with a very crowded — and hilarious — Sunday morning routine.

Sunday morning should be about sitting around in pjs and drinking coffee before getting ready. Charlie wasn’t having it. These photos were not flattering. But they are funny.

Lately, I’ve been trying to save up for some things that have long been planned for, but I haven’t had the resources to do yet. Among those are things like an actual vacation (when you’re self-employed, “getting away” is more like working with nicer scenery nearby, so I’m trying to plan a little better this time), the master bathroom renovation, and some exterior upgrades. And one more thing: my new living room sectional!

wooooooo hooooo!!!

Charlie’s all: meh.

My living room now has seating for more than one person and her shouldn’t-be-allowed-on-the-couch pup! I gave a sneak peek on IG Stories not long ago, but we’ve had just over a week to get used to it (still moving furniture around and getting everything arranged… thus the lack of styled room shots).

I got it from a local supplier called Exclusive Furnishings (for those of you who are in the Atlanta area, I’m sorry but I couldn’t find a website! Please reach out to me if you need the address.). Of course, Charlie immediately made herself comfortable and has established ownership on the side that also lets her monitor things out of the front windows:

sigh… she’s already got that pillow covered in dog hair

Now there are no more longing looks from her when two people and one 10-lb dog are sitting snugly with no room left.

This also solves a somewhat awkward crowding issue I had for my birthday this year when there was nowhere else for my friends to sit together except the dining room. I swear I’m an adult.

But now, I have a very beautiful gray sectional and not a beige couch from my old apartment days that clashes with every other piece of furniture. I haven’t sold it yet on Craigslist though, so it’s taking up space in my dining room as if I’ve got theater seating:

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoy being able to sit down without fighting for space in my own house. It was a big purchase and I spent a long time looking for the right piece, but it wound up being harder to find something comfortable (something I could nap on) versus something I could both afford and fit into the room. Plus, I did something a little fun: I haggled my way into saving more than $300 off the original cost! I learned some good tips from my negotiating class back in grad school, and they came in handy once again:

Tips on Haggling for Discount Furniture

1. Do your research

We all knew that as a person who studies reviews like they’re gospel, I was going to give you this advice first! But I firmly believe that no arsenal is better than a wealth of knowledge to draw from. I like to look at reviews of stores on Yelp or Google to see if the place is known for negotiating prices. I also get a sense of how much they’re willing to come down on those prices from those same reviews, how nice their service is, and what is or is not expected to be included, such as delivery (more on delivery specifically below), how much follow up is required if you place an order (more on that, too).

It will also teach you some surprising details. For instance, did you know that some big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes will bargain? I have a post about my own experience on that here.

2. Set your budget and stick to it.

Once you’ve done some research online, you’ll have an idea of how much “cheap” furniture pieces are going for as well as what the luxury brands are charging. Some things are just immediately apparent, such as trends in colors and which ones are going for more (just on color or fabric alone, some pieces will be more expensive due to demand… which is usually an easy place to start negotiating by asking for the same price). In my case, I knew that I wanted a sectional and set my budget to try to find a sectional for less than $1,000, ideally for around $800-900 — difficult, but not impossible.

3. Get comfortable asking for a better deal.

Ask! Ask! Ask! Plenty of people willing to negotiate on price aren’t going to just tell you they are (some will start right away depending on the industry, some won’t). You will often only know once you ask. It will feel embarrassing at first, but it will start to feel less forced with a little practice. In certain industries (like discount furniture), it’s anticipated. Consider too your approach: instead of asking “Can I get a discount?” which may come off haughty, ask “Is this the best price I can get on this?” or “Would you take X?” Or, suggest what your budget is and ask if they can help you meet it. This is definitely a catch more flies with honey than vinegar situation. Talk to the other person as respectfully as you can and listen to their justifications if they give them (because sometimes acknowledging that you’ve heard them is part of it) — not as an opponent.

4. Be prepared to justify your reasoning and be ready to walk away.

If you know that company X is selling a competitively-priced item, if you found a flaw, or if you know that the couch comes in another color or finish at a different price, etc., you can use that to justify why you think your offer is fair instead of sounding like you plucked it out of thin air. Grabbing onto actual reasons makes your offer sound a little more fortified, even if it’s a minor detail from your perspective for why you want it (you can still suggest it’s something you’re willing to take off of the seller’s hands despite its imperfections, right?).

Be prepared to let your own physical presence — or lack thereof — do part of your negotiating, too. Walking you to a different part of the store (such as to the sales desk), involving a manager (“passing the buck”), or other actions are well-known tactics that sellers might use to make you feel like you’re less in control. You can use that same tactic for your own advantage and start walking toward the door. Many times they’ll start throwing out numbers after two or three steps.

5. After asking for what you want, keep quiet and observe.

Silence is a very powerful bargaining tool. Nervous chatter or talking like you think you’re slick (from you or the seller) is easy to pick up on. When you go mum, sellers will sometimes try to fill that void with details or puff up their pitch (perhaps assuming it will interrupt your objections). If they interpret your silence for unhappiness, they might repackage their offer while including something else thrown in, such as free delivery or $100 off. If they repackage it more than once, you will be able to take a mental tally of the kinds of things they’re willing to throw in for free, and can even ask for all of those things ($100 off AND free delivery, for example) as part of agreeing to buy.

6. Be willing to wait or to pick up yourself.

Smaller furniture stores have limited inventory. Some have to place an order for every piece they sell on their floor, while some have stock right in the back and you’re looking at the floor model. You can use either angle, such as buying the floor model for a discount (since technically it’s used with who knows how many people have already put their gross butts on it) or offering to wait 4-6 weeks for the order to come in and asking for a discount because of the wait time. And if you have a truck (or a handsome bearded dude with a truck, coughcough), offer to pick up directly and nix the delivery cost. This isn’t necessarily bargaining advice, but a protect-your-investment advice: third party delivery companies can be kind of shady — refusing to take back the item if it’s damaged, refusing to take it back if it’s the wrong item, etc. The dispute can lead to some really happy customers (especially on reviews! remember that when looking at them), so keep it in mind.

7. Offer cash.

Cash still rules in terms of lacking transaction fees, netting a little bit more to the seller’s bottom line. It’s enough of a bargaining chip to ask for, but I don’t recommend this if you’re at all worried about the store delivering on their word (such as if you have to make a special order and it won’t be available for pickup for weeks, if it’s not a chain, if all sales are final and you get the used-car vibe, etc.). Take pictures of your receipts and call them frequently!

My own haggling story

Just because I find these things useful as a real-world example, I’ll offer my own. I live in a part of town that has lots of outlets, discount suppliers, and fabricators not too far away, so friends and family will often try to come up this way when they want to find showrooms or get an idea on their next room renovation cost. Back in June, I went out with my mom and sister to do some shopping, not really thinking that I would actually have a new sectional purchased by the end of the day, but I’d already done a lot of research (so I was interested, but in no rush… ready to walk away). When we got done with our errands, I went to a few more stores by myself and used the same explanation with each one: told them exactly what I was looking for and what my budget was (medium gray sectional, $800-900). With nothing yet promising, I finally walked into what I expected to be my second-to-last or third-to-last furniture store of the day, and immediately saw a sectional I liked:

I dislike everything else in this room.

It was comfy. It wasn’t too dark or too light (Charlie’s fur! Stella’s fur!). It wasn’t microfiber (to each their own but I’m not a fan). The cushions were washable. I wanted it. But the tag said that it was originally $2200 and now discounted at $1100 (50% off). It would be easy to assume that this was as low as they would go. Or, perhaps, the $2200 was totally made up and $1100 was their normal asking price meant to psychologically make me think I was already getting a bargain (given that everything in the store had a discount tag, that’s a likely scenario).

Immediately after sitting down, I was approached by a salesman who I told the same details: I wanted a gray sectional but my budget was $800-900. He shook his head while showing me a different gray sectional that was cheaper but so uncomfortable that I immediately got right back up. I thanked him and asked if he had anything similar to the first sectional (the one I wanted) in my price range. He insisted no, but showed me a gray sofa (which was also no, because I wanted something with more seating). He kept talking (very fast) and lowered the price on the first piece I looked at to $1000. I again thanked him but said if he couldn’t meet my budget, I’d have to just keep looking; I didn’t mind and wasn’t in a rush (casually, not sternly). I took a few steps to the door before he said “hold on” and walked over to his manager. He told him I wanted the sectional, but my budget was $800 (silently making a note that since he said $800, $900 was now not something I would bring up again). The manager shook his head and then took me back over to the first sectional, lifted up the cushions and made a big, elaborate explanation for its quality; I silently smiled and shook my head in agreement acknowledging that yes, I understood it was well-made. But I repeated that I wasn’t in a hurry so no big deal, I would just keep looking until I found one that fit my budget, thank you, as I walked toward the exit again.

Then he offered: if I was willing to wait for a new one to come in, he’d let me have the new one (not the floor model) for $800 due to the wait time to get it in. Sold. But since this wasn’t a chain and I didn’t know much about past customers, I made copies of the receipt, took pictures of the item with my phone (so that I could easily say if the fabric order was wrong), etc. I paid with my card just for the sake of disputing the charge if there was an issue (I was just super paranoid since I was getting that this-could-be-a-ripoff vibe). And while it took a little longer to get it to arrive than estimated (it was supposed to be 4 weeks, but there was also the 4th of July holiday), I picked up my new sectional and it’s absolutely perfect! Including taxes, I saved a total of $318 off the sticker price, and substantially more if their original price was at all truthful (doubtful, but my $800 sectional is plenty of a bargain for me anyway).

I’ll have more photos of the rearranged living room soon, but I am still really happy with the result! It fits around the new DIY coffee table nicely (okay, truth be told, I planned for that) and everyone seems pretty content with the pick.

The view’s a little nicer, that’s for sure.

I know finding this one locally doesn’t help those of you who are looking but not in the Atlanta area, so I’ve picked out some options below for you too! Just scroll through the links below (FYI, if you were to purchase one of them, I get a small cut as an affiliate but it won’t increase your purchase price… thanks for supporting this site!).

Online Picks for Gray Sectionals

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Have you made any furniture purchases lately? Have any of your own bargaining tips that you found especially effective?

The post Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices) published first on http://ift.tt/2qxZz2j

[chocdono]

Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices)

There comes a time in every renovator’s story where they start to look around and realize, holy cow… my house is really starting to look like a home. After more than seven years of getting my hands (and feet) very, very dirty, I am getting more of an opportunity to sit back and actually enjoy this space I’ve worked so hard at. This doesn’t mean that my house has reached completion (and in truth, probably never will), but there are times when I sit down and drink my morning coffee and instead of thinking about how I need to finish sanding that last coat of joint compound on the walls, I look around and think: how the heck have I managed to have this small of a couch in the living room?

The answer, of course, is that it’s mostly just been me and Charlie in this house for more than half a decade. And even though I don’t exactly encourage her to sit on the couch with me, there has always been just enough room for the two of us. Plus, sitting down as a renovator isn’t a thing you get to do, uninterrupted, for very long either.  So as far as priorities go, this wasn’t one of them. It didn’t seem to bother the furball, either.

But over time, that changed a little. I have more time for cooking myself a meal in my renovated kitchen, running a load of laundry… normal homeowner things. That’s how I found myself getting rid of the things I’ve owned since I lived in an apartment (in 2009!), like my old coffee and side tables. And how I finally bought a rug the right size for the room. Recently, there have been two more bodies added to the mix, which left us with a very crowded — and hilarious — Sunday morning routine.

Sunday morning should be about sitting around in pjs and drinking coffee before getting ready. Charlie wasn’t having it. These photos were not flattering. But they are funny.

Lately, I’ve been trying to save up for some things that have long been planned for, but I haven’t had the resources to do yet. Among those are things like an actual vacation (when you’re self-employed, “getting away” is more like working with nicer scenery nearby, so I’m trying to plan a little better this time), the master bathroom renovation, and some exterior upgrades. And one more thing: my new living room sectional!

wooooooo hooooo!!!

Charlie’s all: meh.

My living room now has seating for more than one person and her shouldn’t-be-allowed-on-the-couch pup! I gave a sneak peek on IG Stories not long ago, but we’ve had just over a week to get used to it (still moving furniture around and getting everything arranged… thus the lack of styled room shots).

I got it from a local supplier called Exclusive Furnishings (for those of you who are in the Atlanta area, I’m sorry but I couldn’t find a website! Please reach out to me if you need the address.). Of course, Charlie immediately made herself comfortable and has established ownership on the side that also lets her monitor things out of the front windows:

sigh… she’s already got that pillow covered in dog hair

Now there are no more longing looks from her when two people and one 10-lb dog are sitting snugly with no room left.

This also solves a somewhat awkward crowding issue I had for my birthday this year when there was nowhere else for my friends to sit together except the dining room. I swear I’m an adult.

But now, I have a very beautiful gray sectional and not a beige couch from my old apartment days that clashes with every other piece of furniture. I haven’t sold it yet on Craigslist though, so it’s taking up space in my dining room as if I’ve got theater seating:

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoy being able to sit down without fighting for space in my own house. It was a big purchase and I spent a long time looking for the right piece, but it wound up being harder to find something comfortable (something I could nap on) versus something I could both afford and fit into the room. Plus, I did something a little fun: I haggled my way into saving more than $300 off the original cost! I learned some good tips from my negotiating class back in grad school, and they came in handy once again:

Tips on Haggling for Discount Furniture

1. Do your research

We all knew that as a person who studies reviews like they’re gospel, I was going to give you this advice first! But I firmly believe that no arsenal is better than a wealth of knowledge to draw from. I like to look at reviews of stores on Yelp or Google to see if the place is known for negotiating prices. I also get a sense of how much they’re willing to come down on those prices from those same reviews, how nice their service is, and what is or is not expected to be included, such as delivery (more on delivery specifically below), how much follow up is required if you place an order (more on that, too).

It will also teach you some surprising details. For instance, did you know that some big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes will bargain? I have a post about my own experience on that here.

2. Set your budget and stick to it.

Once you’ve done some research online, you’ll have an idea of how much “cheap” furniture pieces are going for as well as what the luxury brands are charging. Some things are just immediately apparent, such as trends in colors and which ones are going for more (just on color or fabric alone, some pieces will be more expensive due to demand… which is usually an easy place to start negotiating by asking for the same price). In my case, I knew that I wanted a sectional and set my budget to try to find a sectional for less than $1,000, ideally for around $800-900 — difficult, but not impossible.

3. Get comfortable asking for a better deal.

Ask! Ask! Ask! Plenty of people willing to negotiate on price aren’t going to just tell you they are (some will start right away depending on the industry, some won’t). You will often only know once you ask. It will feel embarrassing at first, but it will start to feel less forced with a little practice. In certain industries (like discount furniture), it’s anticipated. Consider too your approach: instead of asking “Can I get a discount?” which may come off haughty, ask “Is this the best price I can get on this?” or “Would you take X?” Or, suggest what your budget is and ask if they can help you meet it. This is definitely a catch more flies with honey than vinegar situation. Talk to the other person as respectfully as you can and listen to their justifications if they give them (because sometimes acknowledging that you’ve heard them is part of it) — not as an opponent.

4. Be prepared to justify your reasoning and be ready to walk away.

If you know that company X is selling a competitively-priced item, if you found a flaw, or if you know that the couch comes in another color or finish at a different price, etc., you can use that to justify why you think your offer is fair instead of sounding like you plucked it out of thin air. Grabbing onto actual reasons makes your offer sound a little more fortified, even if it’s a minor detail from your perspective for why you want it (you can still suggest it’s something you’re willing to take off of the seller’s hands despite its imperfections, right?).

Be prepared to let your own physical presence — or lack thereof — do part of your negotiating, too. Walking you to a different part of the store (such as to the sales desk), involving a manager (“passing the buck”), or other actions are well-known tactics that sellers might use to make you feel like you’re less in control. You can use that same tactic for your own advantage and start walking toward the door. Many times they’ll start throwing out numbers after two or three steps.

5. After asking for what you want, keep quiet and observe.

Silence is a very powerful bargaining tool. Nervous chatter or talking like you think you’re slick (from you or the seller) is easy to pick up on. When you go mum, sellers will sometimes try to fill that void with details or puff up their pitch (perhaps assuming it will interrupt your objections). If they interpret your silence for unhappiness, they might repackage their offer while including something else thrown in, such as free delivery or $100 off. If they repackage it more than once, you will be able to take a mental tally of the kinds of things they’re willing to throw in for free, and can even ask for all of those things ($100 off AND free delivery, for example) as part of agreeing to buy.

6. Be willing to wait or to pick up yourself.

Smaller furniture stores have limited inventory. Some have to place an order for every piece they sell on their floor, while some have stock right in the back and you’re looking at the floor model. You can use either angle, such as buying the floor model for a discount (since technically it’s used with who knows how many people have already put their gross butts on it) or offering to wait 4-6 weeks for the order to come in and asking for a discount because of the wait time. And if you have a truck (or a handsome bearded dude with a truck, coughcough), offer to pick up directly and nix the delivery cost. This isn’t necessarily bargaining advice, but a protect-your-investment advice: third party delivery companies can be kind of shady — refusing to take back the item if it’s damaged, refusing to take it back if it’s the wrong item, etc. The dispute can lead to some really happy customers (especially on reviews! remember that when looking at them), so keep it in mind.

7. Offer cash.

Cash still rules in terms of lacking transaction fees, netting a little bit more to the seller’s bottom line. It’s enough of a bargaining chip to ask for, but I don’t recommend this if you’re at all worried about the store delivering on their word (such as if you have to make a special order and it won’t be available for pickup for weeks, if it’s not a chain, if all sales are final and you get the used-car vibe, etc.). Take pictures of your receipts and call them frequently!

My own haggling story

Just because I find these things useful as a real-world example, I’ll offer my own. I live in a part of town that has lots of outlets, discount suppliers, and fabricators not too far away, so friends and family will often try to come up this way when they want to find showrooms or get an idea on their next room renovation cost. Back in June, I went out with my mom and sister to do some shopping, not really thinking that I would actually have a new sectional purchased by the end of the day, but I’d already done a lot of research (so I was interested, but in no rush… ready to walk away). When we got done with our errands, I went to a few more stores by myself and used the same explanation with each one: told them exactly what I was looking for and what my budget was (medium gray sectional, $800-900). With nothing yet promising, I finally walked into what I expected to be my second-to-last or third-to-last furniture store of the day, and immediately saw a sectional I liked:

I dislike everything else in this room.

It was comfy. It wasn’t too dark or too light (Charlie’s fur! Stella’s fur!). It wasn’t microfiber (to each their own but I’m not a fan). The cushions were washable. I wanted it. But the tag said that it was originally $2200 and now discounted at $1100 (50% off). It would be easy to assume that this was as low as they would go. Or, perhaps, the $2200 was totally made up and $1100 was their normal asking price meant to psychologically make me think I was already getting a bargain (given that everything in the store had a discount tag, that’s a likely scenario).

Immediately after sitting down, I was approached by a salesman who I told the same details: I wanted a gray sectional but my budget was $800-900. He shook his head while showing me a different gray sectional that was cheaper but so uncomfortable that I immediately got right back up. I thanked him and asked if he had anything similar to the first sectional (the one I wanted) in my price range. He insisted no, but showed me a gray sofa (which was also no, because I wanted something with more seating). He kept talking (very fast) and lowered the price on the first piece I looked at to $1000. I again thanked him but said if he couldn’t meet my budget, I’d have to just keep looking; I didn’t mind and wasn’t in a rush (casually, not sternly). I took a few steps to the door before he said “hold on” and walked over to his manager. He told him I wanted the sectional, but my budget was $800 (silently making a note that since he said $800, $900 was now not something I would bring up again). The manager shook his head and then took me back over to the first sectional, lifted up the cushions and made a big, elaborate explanation for its quality; I silently smiled and shook my head in agreement acknowledging that yes, I understood it was well-made. But I repeated that I wasn’t in a hurry so no big deal, I would just keep looking until I found one that fit my budget, thank you, as I walked toward the exit again.

Then he offered: if I was willing to wait for a new one to come in, he’d let me have the new one (not the floor model) for $800 due to the wait time to get it in. Sold. But since this wasn’t a chain and I didn’t know much about past customers, I made copies of the receipt, took pictures of the item with my phone (so that I could easily say if the fabric order was wrong), etc. I paid with my card just for the sake of disputing the charge if there was an issue (I was just super paranoid since I was getting that this-could-be-a-ripoff vibe). And while it took a little longer to get it to arrive than estimated (it was supposed to be 4 weeks, but there was also the 4th of July holiday), I picked up my new sectional and it’s absolutely perfect! Including taxes, I saved a total of $318 off the sticker price, and substantially more if their original price was at all truthful (doubtful, but my $800 sectional is plenty of a bargain for me anyway).

I’ll have more photos of the rearranged living room soon, but I am still really happy with the result! It fits around the new DIY coffee table nicely (okay, truth be told, I planned for that) and everyone seems pretty content with the pick.

The view’s a little nicer, that’s for sure.

I know finding this one locally doesn’t help those of you who are looking but not in the Atlanta area, so I’ve picked out some options below for you too! Just scroll through the links below (FYI, if you were to purchase one of them, I get a small cut as an affiliate but it won’t increase your purchase price… thanks for supporting this site!).

Online Picks for Gray Sectionals

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Have you made any furniture purchases lately? Have any of your own bargaining tips that you found especially effective?

The post Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices)

There comes a time in every renovator’s story where they start to look around and realize, holy cow… my house is really starting to look like a home. After more than seven years of getting my hands (and feet) very, very dirty, I am getting more of an opportunity to sit back and actually enjoy this space I’ve worked so hard at. This doesn’t mean that my house has reached completion (and in truth, probably never will), but there are times when I sit down and drink my morning coffee and instead of thinking about how I need to finish sanding that last coat of joint compound on the walls, I look around and think: how the heck have I managed to have this small of a couch in the living room?

The answer, of course, is that it’s mostly just been me and Charlie in this house for more than half a decade. And even though I don’t exactly encourage her to sit on the couch with me, there has always been just enough room for the two of us. Plus, sitting down as a renovator isn’t a thing you get to do, uninterrupted, for very long either.  So as far as priorities go, this wasn’t one of them. It didn’t seem to bother the furball, either.

But over time, that changed a little. I have more time for cooking myself a meal in my renovated kitchen, running a load of laundry… normal homeowner things. That’s how I found myself getting rid of the things I’ve owned since I lived in an apartment (in 2009!), like my old coffee and side tables. And how I finally bought a rug the right size for the room. Recently, there have been two more bodies added to the mix, which left us with a very crowded — and hilarious — Sunday morning routine.

Sunday morning should be about sitting around in pjs and drinking coffee before getting ready. Charlie wasn’t having it. These photos were not flattering. But they are funny.

Lately, I’ve been trying to save up for some things that have long been planned for, but I haven’t had the resources to do yet. Among those are things like an actual vacation (when you’re self-employed, “getting away” is more like working with nicer scenery nearby, so I’m trying to plan a little better this time), the master bathroom renovation, and some exterior upgrades. And one more thing: my new living room sectional!

wooooooo hooooo!!!

Charlie’s all: meh.

My living room now has seating for more than one person and her shouldn’t-be-allowed-on-the-couch pup! I gave a sneak peek on IG Stories not long ago, but we’ve had just over a week to get used to it (still moving furniture around and getting everything arranged… thus the lack of styled room shots).

I got it from a local supplier called Exclusive Furnishings (for those of you who are in the Atlanta area, I’m sorry but I couldn’t find a website! Please reach out to me if you need the address.). Of course, Charlie immediately made herself comfortable and has established ownership on the side that also lets her monitor things out of the front windows:

sigh… she’s already got that pillow covered in dog hair

Now there are no more longing looks from her when two people and one 10-lb dog are sitting snugly with no room left.

This also solves a somewhat awkward crowding issue I had for my birthday this year when there was nowhere else for my friends to sit together except the dining room. I swear I’m an adult.

But now, I have a very beautiful gray sectional and not a beige couch from my old apartment days that clashes with every other piece of furniture. I haven’t sold it yet on Craigslist though, so it’s taking up space in my dining room as if I’ve got theater seating:

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoy being able to sit down without fighting for space in my own house. It was a big purchase and I spent a long time looking for the right piece, but it wound up being harder to find something comfortable (something I could nap on) versus something I could both afford and fit into the room. Plus, I did something a little fun: I haggled my way into saving more than $300 off the original cost! I learned some good tips from my negotiating class back in grad school, and they came in handy once again:

Tips on Haggling for Discount Furniture

1. Do your research

We all knew that as a person who studies reviews like they’re gospel, I was going to give you this advice first! But I firmly believe that no arsenal is better than a wealth of knowledge to draw from. I like to look at reviews of stores on Yelp or Google to see if the place is known for negotiating prices. I also get a sense of how much they’re willing to come down on those prices from those same reviews, how nice their service is, and what is or is not expected to be included, such as delivery (more on delivery specifically below), how much follow up is required if you place an order (more on that, too).

It will also teach you some surprising details. For instance, did you know that some big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes will bargain? I have a post about my own experience on that here.

2. Set your budget and stick to it.

Once you’ve done some research online, you’ll have an idea of how much “cheap” furniture pieces are going for as well as what the luxury brands are charging. Some things are just immediately apparent, such as trends in colors and which ones are going for more (just on color or fabric alone, some pieces will be more expensive due to demand… which is usually an easy place to start negotiating by asking for the same price). In my case, I knew that I wanted a sectional and set my budget to try to find a sectional for less than $1,000, ideally for around $800-900 — difficult, but not impossible.

3. Get comfortable asking for a better deal.

Ask! Ask! Ask! Plenty of people willing to negotiate on price aren’t going to just tell you they are (some will start right away depending on the industry, some won’t). You will often only know once you ask. It will feel embarrassing at first, but it will start to feel less forced with a little practice. In certain industries (like discount furniture), it’s anticipated. Consider too your approach: instead of asking “Can I get a discount?” which may come off haughty, ask “Is this the best price I can get on this?” or “Would you take X?” Or, suggest what your budget is and ask if they can help you meet it. This is definitely a catch more flies with honey than vinegar situation. Talk to the other person as respectfully as you can and listen to their justifications if they give them (because sometimes acknowledging that you’ve heard them is part of it) — not as an opponent.

4. Be prepared to justify your reasoning and be ready to walk away.

If you know that company X is selling a competitively-priced item, if you found a flaw, or if you know that the couch comes in another color or finish at a different price, etc., you can use that to justify why you think your offer is fair instead of sounding like you plucked it out of thin air. Grabbing onto actual reasons makes your offer sound a little more fortified, even if it’s a minor detail from your perspective for why you want it (you can still suggest it’s something you’re willing to take off of the seller’s hands despite its imperfections, right?).

Be prepared to let your own physical presence — or lack thereof — do part of your negotiating, too. Walking you to a different part of the store (such as to the sales desk), involving a manager (“passing the buck”), or other actions are well-known tactics that sellers might use to make you feel like you’re less in control. You can use that same tactic for your own advantage and start walking toward the door. Many times they’ll start throwing out numbers after two or three steps.

5. After asking for what you want, keep quiet and observe.

Silence is a very powerful bargaining tool. Nervous chatter or talking like you think you’re slick (from you or the seller) is easy to pick up on. When you go mum, sellers will sometimes try to fill that void with details or puff up their pitch (perhaps assuming it will interrupt your objections). If they interpret your silence for unhappiness, they might repackage their offer while including something else thrown in, such as free delivery or $100 off. If they repackage it more than once, you will be able to take a mental tally of the kinds of things they’re willing to throw in for free, and can even ask for all of those things ($100 off AND free delivery, for example) as part of agreeing to buy.

6. Be willing to wait or to pick up yourself.

Smaller furniture stores have limited inventory. Some have to place an order for every piece they sell on their floor, while some have stock right in the back and you’re looking at the floor model. You can use either angle, such as buying the floor model for a discount (since technically it’s used with who knows how many people have already put their gross butts on it) or offering to wait 4-6 weeks for the order to come in and asking for a discount because of the wait time. And if you have a truck (or a handsome bearded dude with a truck, coughcough), offer to pick up directly and nix the delivery cost. This isn’t necessarily bargaining advice, but a protect-your-investment advice: third party delivery companies can be kind of shady — refusing to take back the item if it’s damaged, refusing to take it back if it’s the wrong item, etc. The dispute can lead to some really happy customers (especially on reviews! remember that when looking at them), so keep it in mind.

7. Offer cash.

Cash still rules in terms of lacking transaction fees, netting a little bit more to the seller’s bottom line. It’s enough of a bargaining chip to ask for, but I don’t recommend this if you’re at all worried about the store delivering on their word (such as if you have to make a special order and it won’t be available for pickup for weeks, if it’s not a chain, if all sales are final and you get the used-car vibe, etc.). Take pictures of your receipts and call them frequently!

My own haggling story

Just because I find these things useful as a real-world example, I’ll offer my own. I live in a part of town that has lots of outlets, discount suppliers, and fabricators not too far away, so friends and family will often try to come up this way when they want to find showrooms or get an idea on their next room renovation cost. Back in June, I went out with my mom and sister to do some shopping, not really thinking that I would actually have a new sectional purchased by the end of the day, but I’d already done a lot of research (so I was interested, but in no rush… ready to walk away). When we got done with our errands, I went to a few more stores by myself and used the same explanation with each one: told them exactly what I was looking for and what my budget was (medium gray sectional, $800-900). With nothing yet promising, I finally walked into what I expected to be my second-to-last or third-to-last furniture store of the day, and immediately saw a sectional I liked:

I dislike everything else in this room.

It was comfy. It wasn’t too dark or too light (Charlie’s fur! Stella’s fur!). It wasn’t microfiber (to each their own but I’m not a fan). The cushions were washable. I wanted it. But the tag said that it was originally $2200 and now discounted at $1100 (50% off). It would be easy to assume that this was as low as they would go. Or, perhaps, the $2200 was totally made up and $1100 was their normal asking price meant to psychologically make me think I was already getting a bargain (given that everything in the store had a discount tag, that’s a likely scenario).

Immediately after sitting down, I was approached by a salesman who I told the same details: I wanted a gray sectional but my budget was $800-900. He shook his head while showing me a different gray sectional that was cheaper but so uncomfortable that I immediately got right back up. I thanked him and asked if he had anything similar to the first sectional (the one I wanted) in my price range. He insisted no, but showed me a gray sofa (which was also no, because I wanted something with more seating). He kept talking (very fast) and lowered the price on the first piece I looked at to $1000. I again thanked him but said if he couldn’t meet my budget, I’d have to just keep looking; I didn’t mind and wasn’t in a rush (casually, not sternly). I took a few steps to the door before he said “hold on” and walked over to his manager. He told him I wanted the sectional, but my budget was $800 (silently making a note that since he said $800, $900 was now not something I would bring up again). The manager shook his head and then took me back over to the first sectional, lifted up the cushions and made a big, elaborate explanation for its quality; I silently smiled and shook my head in agreement acknowledging that yes, I understood it was well-made. But I repeated that I wasn’t in a hurry so no big deal, I would just keep looking until I found one that fit my budget, thank you, as I walked toward the exit again.

Then he offered: if I was willing to wait for a new one to come in, he’d let me have the new one (not the floor model) for $800 due to the wait time to get it in. Sold. But since this wasn’t a chain and I didn’t know much about past customers, I made copies of the receipt, took pictures of the item with my phone (so that I could easily say if the fabric order was wrong), etc. I paid with my card just for the sake of disputing the charge if there was an issue (I was just super paranoid since I was getting that this-could-be-a-ripoff vibe). And while it took a little longer to get it to arrive than estimated (it was supposed to be 4 weeks, but there was also the 4th of July holiday), I picked up my new sectional and it’s absolutely perfect! Including taxes, I saved a total of $318 off the sticker price, and substantially more if their original price was at all truthful (doubtful, but my $800 sectional is plenty of a bargain for me anyway).

I’ll have more photos of the rearranged living room soon, but I am still really happy with the result! It fits around the new DIY coffee table nicely (okay, truth be told, I planned for that) and everyone seems pretty content with the pick.

The view’s a little nicer, that’s for sure.

I know finding this one locally doesn’t help those of you who are looking but not in the Atlanta area, so I’ve picked out some options below for you too! Just scroll through the links below (FYI, if you were to purchase one of them, I get a small cut as an affiliate but it won’t increase your purchase price… thanks for supporting this site!).

Online Picks for Gray Sectionals

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Have you made any furniture purchases lately? Have any of your own bargaining tips that you found especially effective?

The post Finding the Perfect Gray Sectional (and Tips on Haggling Furniture Prices) appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

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