KickStarter Journal Day 4

It's Day 4 of my KickStarter campaign. Now as I said in Day 2, it was my goal to be patient and wait until the end of day to see the status of my campaign. Now I can honestly say that I was patient but... My little cheerleader, my little girl, she couldn't wait to check on the project and share with me the great news. The great news that we got another backer today. We now have 4 backers in 4 days and we are already 14% funded. Yeah!

For those who are thinking about starting a KickStarter campaign I have one lesson for you today. The lesson comes from Sirach 6:14-15 "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence."

Why is this verse important? It is important because it's your friends and family that will be your best backers. I have yet to get backing from a complete stranger that just happend to find my project interesting. So to my friends and family that have backed me with either their pledges or their support on social media, "Thanks for being there for me, I'm grateful for you!"

To Extraordinary Friendships!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats

KickStarter Journal Day 3

It's Day 3 of my KickStarter journey and today I gained an new backer. Yeah!

As I said in Day 1 I  planned on going beyond social media and texting to actually having meaningful conversations with people who may be potential backers. I did the very thing and had lunch with a friend. I also shared my story at a party and I gave a plug for my book at my men's group. After speaking with them I did get confirmation that some of them would back me.

Now you may be thinking that one of those conversations led to me getting a new backer today. Actually after waiting all day to check the status as I vowed to do in Day 2, I opened it up at 7:45 PM and saw that I didn't get any new pledges. A little disappointed I started thinking what my next strategy would be. Then my angel appeared. My little girl looked over my shoulder and asked if I got any more backers today. When I told her no, she quickly replied, "I'll back you, daddy!"

Wow! My little girl just made my day and she just made this journey even more meaningful. So today I'm signing off with a high note and I look forward to what tomorrow brings.

To a Life Beyond Ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats

KickStarter Journal Day 2

I awoke early this morning to get some exercise and prepare myself for my work day. Before I left for my workout I jumped on my KickStarter campaign to see if anyone got bored during the wee hours and thought it would be cool to back my project. Wishful thinking but no luck.

As I returned from my workout I thought about what types of lessons I could learn from the day. The first thing I decided to do was not check my campaign every hour on the hour or every minute on the minute. I made a decision to wait until the evening to check the status.

The word of God says,  "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phil 4:6-7

The  Bible verse served me well today because as you can see in the above image I didn't get any new backers and if I had checked it every few minutes then every few minutes I would have been discouraged. Instead all day I imagined that I was going to be 50% funded by the end of the night.

By allowing myself to think positively I actually felt excited all day. I felt like a little kid awaiting his Christmas presents. Although I was a bit disappointed with the end number I am still sitting here with a smile because the journey is giving me something to write about and if I was fully funded by day two then what would I write about tomorrow?

Signing out for now!

Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats

KickStarter Journal Day 1

So you decided to start a KickStarter campaign. Now what?

I finally published my second book, Stop Googling Yourself: Finding Peace in a Noisy World, and decided to take a different approach to marketing. Instead of directly selling my books via my website or Amazon I decided to create a crowd funding campaign to create a buzz about my book and raise capital to purchase inventory and pay for some marketing. I have a positive outlook on this venture as I am looking at it as a learning opportunity. If it funds out, Fantastic! If not then at least I tried and can walk away with some lessons learned.

I plan to journal for the duration of the campaign so not only will I have a record of the experience but others will also see some ups and downs of a KickStarter Campaign.

Day 1. I launched my campaign today and sent it out via MailChimp, an email marketing tool. It's free if you have a small audience as I do. When your mailing list grows then you will eventually have to move to a pay plan.

Not only did I send it out via MailChimp but I also texted a few family members and friends to share the campaign on their social media platforms. I especially needed this help as I am not on Facebook or Instagram.

Within the first 30 minutes of my launch I got my first backer. Yeah! Someone likes me! After that it wasn't until late in the day that I got my second backer which was awesome but stressful waiting! I did start to doubt myself but I knew I had to be patient.

At the end of the day I am 5% funded and look forward to tomorrow. I learned two things today. Lesson #1, manage expectation. Although I positively thought my campaign would be funded in one day I have to be realistic. Lesson #2, reach out beyond email and social media. So I plan on sitting down with some potential backers and sharing my vision in hopes that they can find a reason to back me. When it comes down to it, it's all about relationships.

I await to see what tomorrow brings. Bye for now!

Orlando Javien Jr., The Man of Many Hats

NEW BOOK LAUNCH! - Stop Googling Yourself - Orlando Javien Jr.

I am so excited to share the great news that after 5 years I finally finished my second book. This book is similar to my first book, God Made Me Pick Up Underwear: Finding Faith in Unusual Places as it is filled with short chewable stories about a simple man's journey of faith. Not only am I excited to share my new stories but I am also proud to display my kids artistic work. They were instrumental in creating drawings that correlated to the chapter titles. Click to watch book trailer and reserve your copy!

God Leaves Breadcrumbs

Latest talk at the St. Michael's Retreat.

LostandConfusedCatholic.com

Are you seeking answers about the Catholic faith? Have you searched the internet only to find negative views of the church? Have you found some positive Catholic resources that left you positive but still confused?

If you said "Yes" to any of the above questions then you have arrived at the right place. In 2010 I had many questions about the faith. Wanting answers I began searching the internet. I searched terms like: "The Case for the Catholic Church" and "Is the Catholic Church wrong?" Instead of finding favorable sites, I found sites that were aimed at bashing the church and I found myself lost and confused.

Even though I didn't find the answers on the internet I continued to seek and to make a long story short I was eventually confirmed on April 23, 2011. I have now been a Catholic for about five years and every day I fall more and more in love with the church. 

Although I made the commitment to the church I still had some questions. Since I am a simple man, I like simple answers. This website was created to bring together stories and videos of simple answers to the complex questions of the Catholic faith. As I find them I will post them to this website. I hope you find this site useful in your journey to holiness.

To a faith beyond ordinary!
Orlando Javien Jr.

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