Coastal Dreaming

Blogs. What is a blog? I have never even seen a blog, read a blog or wanted to know what one is. Is it round, black or blue? Does it attach to my computer? It sounds like something my kids would play with? My name is Wes, and I have an assignment to start writing blog posts. Who is the audience for a blog, what do they want, where do they live, why would they want to read any of this? Do people really have time to write blogs, much less read them?

In the last two weeks I have had to learn how to collaborate online with Skype, and Google Apps, I have learned how to use online file archives to share files, CRM tools, Downloads, Uploads, Reloads, Restart, PDF, HTML etc etc. I have a new “virtual office”with email, a website, online documents, spreadsheets with long lists of shared to-dos including this blog post. I then had to create a spreadsheet to track the spreadsheets. Did I mention the new Google calendar? Now I can be invited to a meeting and scheduled with blue and green notes. Schedule? I have not had to write anything down in my nonexistent calendar for 5 years. What happened to those days?

Although these new tools are confusing and hard to take in I see the value here. What I am learning is that in our world today, two people can create an international business supported from their house supported by tools such as these. It will never take over the human element of business, but it sure makes things a lot more efficient in some respects but also makes my head spin at other times.

I have new contracts to create, customer profiles to update, partnerships to sell, forms to fill out, lawyers needing this, bankers needing that. Accountants wanting what the bankers don’t have because the accountant hasn’t given the banker what they need. Articles of incorporation, operating agreements, offshore accounting, banking, and legal work are, well… part of the intensity around creating a new business….

150 pages of text to read about international tax law, prospectuses to write and rewrite, an email just came in from a client. “I need the performance paperwork ASAP.” What does ASAP mean in this digital world? With my new virtual office I would suspect ASAP meant two hours ago. I can’t do ASAP until I figure out that online archival tool, and collaborate on combining legal document from two different states. And by the way the document appears to be scanned PDF so I can’t cut and paste…. What do you mean I can’t just cut and paste? Off to outsource this to someone who will type it for $20.00 per hour. Me four hours and loss of hair, you 20 minutes and delivered with a smile, I would pay $30.00…. They ask - ‘Do you want this emailed, PDF, HTML, in Word, Works, Adobe MS or MAC’. I don’t know, I just want to be able to cut and paste!

What is the point of all of this? The beginning of Coastal Dreams Worldwide. The creation of something out of nothing: Entrepreneurship. I have been here before, yet it is still new. I have started other companies and they all start the same way, with a learning curve. I love it. Up until 6 weeks ago Coastal Dreams Worldwide did not exist. The creation of CDW started when I met a like-minded man named Kevin Donaldson. Our friendship and partnership lead to a spark, one which ignited the possibilities of creating something new. So we have embarked on this journey, the best game in the world, business development. And with that, I need to get back to developing the business. Even with the technology, that ASAP contract has not developed itself. With this I hope to be able to check “write 1 st blog” off one of the excel spreadsheets. Welcome to Coastal Dreams Worldwide, your connection to Central America.

Tags: Coastal Dreams