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Kyle Goleno

About Kyle Goleno

Posts by Kyle Goleno:

Burning wood without smoke

As a woodworker I create a lot of scrap wood that can’t be used for much else.  I try to keep scraps around and use them whenever I can, but eventually they build up and I have just too much to store, and I’ll never find a use for these small pieces.

When I can I give this wood away to people with wood fireplaces, as I don’t have a wood fireplace.  But coordinating and giving away wood can also be hassel.

I then came across an ad for a Solo Stove.  An outdoor firepit that can burn wood without the pain of creating a ton of smoke.  Reading reviews on facebook groups, many people seem happy.

“Nearly no smoke and minimal ash left to clean!”

I have yet to purchase one, but considering it.

To kick things off, save an extra $10 off your next purchase of $99 or more.

COUPON CODE: TEXT10

Freelance Work

I’ve been running a business by myself for many years, but I always wanted to keep it small and have never wanted to hire employees.

Hiring private contractors and overseas freelancers was intriguing to me, and this podcast was when I discovered FreeUp, a service that makes it easy to hire freelancers.

Even though it has been years since I discovered this company, I have yet to take the plunge and hire a freelancer, but I think it’s still in my cards someday.

California Cab Francs

Cab Franc has typically been used as a blending grape, but more recently it has become popular as a singular varietal option in the Napa Valley. 

Early on my wife and I discovered these wines and felt a connection to this less than popular wine.

We have enjoyed many different Cab Francs from CA, and specifically from Napa Valley (particularly Larkin).  I found this article worth keeping as a reference for something to try in the future.

CA Cab Francs.

 

Professional Brand development for FBA products

Creating a professional looking brand is paramount to success.

Sometimes I think the packaging may be more important than the production of the actual product.  Most would respond to that and say, you don’t really mean that do you?  Well of course you want a good quality product, but if it isn’t packaged well it will be really hard to sell.

I haven’t used this company yet, but based on their presentation of their services, they at least know how to brand themselves.

It seems their prices are reasonable as well.

Check out Outlinematic

Consignment Inventory – A guide worth looking at

When we started selling our first product (a book), I was offered a consignment deal.  I didn’t fully understand what it was at the time, but I knew it wasn’t what I wanted.

Today I have several consignment contracts with retailers, and in certain cases I see why it is necessary and am happy that it is beneficial for both of our businesses, however in most cases I loathe consignment deals.

Keeping track of inventory, sales, and payment is a nightmare, and I have found that many retailers are less involved when dealing with out of stock items.

If you need a comprehensive guide, this one will answer a lot of questions.

Make more by giving more away

I’ve learned that when you give something, you are likely to also receive… something…. at some point.

Giveaway Boost is a wordpress plugin that allows you to run giveaways for your business and boost exposure.

You create an amazing giveaway, create an offer that you share with a few people that allows them to enter the contest to win the giveaway.  When they share your offer they increase their chances of winning the contest.  This leads to more people learning about the giveaway and also wanting to increase their chances of winning the contest, thus sharing with more people.  This viral manipulation creates exposure that is hard to achieve with other marketing tactics and can be done at the expense of only the giveaway.

Another software that does this is Sociamonials.com

 

Wood keychain magnet connectors

I enjoy making unique items out of wood, and this project shared from Evan and Katelyn is right up my alley.

Evan and Katelyn have made some amazing products together that they share on their youtube channel.  I especially like their early videos, where they were doing small batch manufacturing using cnc machines and creating interesting gift items I knew I could also make.

This double ended keychain uses magnets to keep them connected as opposed to the many mechanical mechanisms I have seen before to keep two keychains together.

While I believe I would modify their process a bit, the idea is great.  I like the idea of being able to have something connected and stored, but then easily and quickly disconnected for use.  Magnets are the perfect solution.

Who needs a business mentor?

I think we all do.

Even if you are doing great in your business, there’s room for improvement, and a mentor can help you improve in either a broad sense or you can find someone who is really excellent at one thing that you need to improve on.

I believe that some business coaches can advise you on the right things to do, while other coaches can help you stay accountable on the things you are trying to implement.

Sometimes you just want a bit of advice about something from someone more experienced than yourself that can be answered in a phone call, while other times you need someone who becomes a consistent person in your life and understands your business and yourself.

There are so many successful business leaders that there are more than enough that just want to be involved in someone’s adventure.  They want to help, some will do it for a small fee while others will do it for free.

Information I researched for myself

Pressure Dying Wood

I’ve become a woodworker over the last few years and during this time I have come across challenges that I couldn’t find good solutions for.

One of these challenges is trying to dye wood so that it is deeply penetrated… and using a dye that is not typical.

Dyes penetrate wood over long periods of time, but I wanted a process to speed that timing up.  Using pressure you can pull the dye into the wood.

https://www.penturners.org/threads/how-to-dye-wood-blanks.55022/

https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/42649/how-can-i-pressurize-stain-into-wood

 

Marketing my Wine Related Businesses

I love marketing, and I believe after all that I have read, that I really understand how it all works.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I have been able to implement proper marketing for my wine-related businesses.

A huge part of that is cost.  I have always bootstrapped the businesses we have started and coming up with the cash necessary to properly market them has always been a challenge, primarily because marketing is a bit of a guessing game with no guarantees.  You can spend a lot of money learning how to be a better marketer, but until you figure it out, you end up just spending more and more money.

Perhaps an agency like Astra Digital would be able to help.  It’s something to consider.

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