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Why you're getting this: Welcome to My New Meta, where I analyze the ever-evolving "business meta" - those unwritten rules and strategies that actually work in modern entrepreneurship. As your self-proclaimed #1 "Entrepreneur in Training," I share weekly insights from my adventures both IRL and in the digital realm.

No pressure to join the journey - unsubscribe anytime (don’t worry, I won’t be notified or offended 😊)

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

1. The raw data from our first 15 weeks of entrepreneurial experiments

2. Got ejected from corporate. Started being real. Some people disappeared, others slid into my DMs

3. Built a business stack that's uniquely me: real estate + media + tech, wrapped in geek culture

4. Your authentic self is your greatest entrepreneurial asset. Start building as you.

P.S: If you want to read any previous editions of My New Meta, you can on our website (I know, so 2010), and if you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here.

P.P.S: My New Meta is free. My New Meta will always be free. That’s thanks to the support of our sponsors. We’d love if you could take a moment to check them out. It helps to keep the ideas flowing and our landlords from kicking us out 😬

Let’s get into it.

…for all you new readers, we usually start with a discussion…isn’t that how everything starts…

The Great Experiment: Year One

SCENE: December 19th, 9:47 PM. Our kitchen has transformed into what can only be described as a startup war room with a holiday ambiance – if by "holiday ambiance," you mean "chaos with candy canes." I'm nursing a glass of Macallan while surrounded by Kirsten's immaculately organized spreadsheets, wondering how we ended up juggling real estate empires, media ventures, phone charging stations, and my latest 2 AM tech startup ideas.

KIRSTEN: (walking in with her laptop and that "time to make sense of Greg's chaos" look) "Ready for your annual performance review, Mr. 'I Can Totally Handle Cold Calling'?"

GREG: (defensively swirling whisky) "Hey, I made at least three cold calls this year! And only hung up in panic twice!"

KIRSTEN: (pulling up a terrifyingly detailed spreadsheet) "You mean that time you dialed the wrong number, apologized to someone's grandmother for five minutes, and then somehow tried to sell her a charging station?"

GREG: "She seemed interested! Eventually. Once she found her glasses. And her grandson explained what a QR code was..."

KIRSTEN: "Meanwhile, I've made 50 actual cold calls, sent 100 emails, and driven 2,000 kilometres looking at venues. But please, tell me more about your grandmother's potential franchise empire."

GREG: (brightening) "Speaking of empires, did you see our newsletter went from 2 subscribers – thanks for being 50% of our initial audience, by the way – to 505? That's like... a 25,150% increase!"

KIRSTEN: (not looking up from spreadsheet) "Percentage increases from zero aren't mathematically meaningful, dear."

GREG: "But they're emotionally satisfying! And look at all our ventures: We're real estate advisors by day, media moguls by night, phone charging savants on weekends, and... what's the proper title for someone who starts building apps without actually knowing how to code?"

KIRSTEN: "A tech optimist with questionable judgment?"

GREG: (already opening Namecheap) "Perfect! Is 'TechOptimist.ai' available?"

KIRSTEN: (closing laptop) "What did we say about buying domains after 9 PM?"

GREG: "That it's only allowed if I can explain the business model without using the words 'disrupt,' 'revolutionize,' or 'it's like Uber but for...'?"

KIRSTEN: "No. No domains. Period. Now, shall we break down what actually worked this year? And by 'actually worked,' I don't mean 'seemed like a good idea after your third Glenlivet.'"

The Lab Results: 2024 By The Numbers

Personal Stats:

• Cholesterol: 📈

• Blood pressure: 📈

• Exercise: 📉

• Alcohol consumption: 🚀

• Work-life balance: Error 404 Not Found

Real Estate Advisory Revenue: $500,000 (in free advice given)

• Actual revenue collected: ± $10,000 ($12/hr)

• Ratio of actual clients to "let me pick your brain" meetings: 1:∞

• Number of active projects: 4

• Provinces currently working in: 3

• Longest proposal: 37 pages( see Issue #5: My Big Fat Ego Problem )

• Lesson learned: Apparently, "let me pick your brain" doesn't automatically come with an e-transfer

Media Empire Metrics:

• Words written: 44,300 (422 words per day)

• Coherent ones: Debatable

• Starting subscribers: 2 (thanks, Mom! And Kirsten!)

• Current subscribers: 505 (still small but growing fast)

• Open rate: 46.6% (industry average 34.3%)

• Click Through Rate: 13.8% (industry average 2.03%)

• Earnings: $142.50

• Earnings per word: Let's not do that math

• Scotch consumed while writing: [DATA REDACTED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY]

chargeFUZE Chronicles:

• Kilometres driven chasing venues: 2,000

• Cold calls made by Kirsten: 50

• Cold calls made by Greg: 3*

  *Two were accidental misdials, and one was to my own voicemail for practice

• Number of times we explained "No, it's not like a vending machine": 47

• Number of times people still called it a vending machine: 47

• Stations deployed: 2

• Revenue: $51

• Cost of vehicle driving to meetings: We're actively avoiding this calculation

The "Tech Visionary" Chronicles 

• Domain names purchased in 2 AM inspiration: 18

• Average cost per "revolutionary" idea: $14.99

• Apps conceptualized: ∞

• Apps actually built: 1

• Current users: 1 (me)

• Landing pages built and abandoned: 10

• Websites launched: 3

• Websites still alive: We're conducting an audit

• Kirsten's eye-rolls per tech announcement: Mathematically infinite

• Times we've used the word "disruptive": Currently in rehab for this

Most Impressive Stat: Converting a security escort out of a franchise convention into a booth booking for next year. We're still not entirely sure how that happened, but we're counting it as a win.

Re-live the moment in Issue #12: Three Easy Steps To Get Thrown Out Of A Convention 

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Curated Links For The Holidays

(Because even entrepreneurs need festive experiments)

🔬 Field Notes from the AI Frontier OpenAI is running their own holiday experiments with "12 Days of OpenAI" - think advent calendar but for tech nerds.

Their Day 9 DevDay Holiday Edition has me wondering if Santa's workshop has been automated. New features for voice, reasoning, and something called "Shipmas" (which I assume is what happens when developers get too much eggnog).

Perfect timing, as I'm definitely not planning any 2 AM AI experiments over the holidays...

🎅 Operation Santa's Digital Twin Found this gem called SantaCard, an app that lets you create personalized video messages from Santa. Two free videos are included (but I just noticed before publishing that they are now charging $4 for two; maybe it depends on your location). It's perfect for testing your "scaling joy" hypothesis.

🎄 Lab Equipment Upgrade: AI Christmas Photos Speaking of AI experiments, aichristmasphoto.com is doing something fascinating with holiday portraits. Over 120 AI-generated styles, delivered in under an hour. It's like having a photo studio in your pocket, minus the awkward posing and forced smiles.

Perfect for last-minute holiday cards when you've spent too much time building businesses and forgot about social obligations.

It’s a little pricey for my taste, but if you are in a pinch for holiday photos, do it!

Top Lesson of 2024: Stop Trying to Be Everything (And Just Be You)

During a casual business call last week, my business partner Karl dropped this aphorism (and yes, I had to look up that literary term). I was halfway through dialling 911 when I realized it wasn't a hostage situation – it was a wake-up call.

Like all great aphorisms (2nd time in my life using this term, one more, and it’s mine), its simplicity carries the weight of universal truth. We're all temporary. So why do we spend so much time wearing masks that suffocate us? Playing roles that drain our souls? Living lives designed to impress people we don't even like?

Karl's words hit harder than my last quarterly review. They stripped away all the corporate jargon, strategic plans, and "five-year goals" to reveal a simple truth: Life's too short for the performance.

The Corporate Mask Collection

Thirty years in corporate real estate taught me one thing: I'm great at wearing masks.

The serious executive mask. The corporate strategist mask. The "yes, I totally understand what blockchain means" mask.

Each one more suffocating than the last.

The Great Unmasking

Then came the corporate ejection.

Suddenly, I had a choice. Keep wearing masks, or finally, be me.

The guy who explains business concepts through geeky-RPG metaphors. Who lost $27,000 on pandemic e-commerce experiments. Who still gets excited about World of Warcraft patches.

The Silent Exodus

Some old colleagues disappeared when I started being real.

Not because they don't care. Because I scare them.

I represent what they're afraid to do.

The Golden Handcuffs

Beautiful homes. Luxury cars. Private schools.

These things don't pay for themselves.

I get it. I was there too (less the beautiful homes and private schools; I like my Tesla)

The Night Shift

But the real ones? They're sliding into my DMs at 2 AM.

Asking about my journey. Seeking mentorship.

Looking for ways to grow, to build, to create something of their own.

For them, I'll always keep writing. Always keep sharing. Always offer what I've learned.

Finding My Stack

Today, I build exactly what lights me up:

• Real Estate Development advisory because I love it

• Media and tech for leverage

• chargeFUZE to keep my marketing and sales skills sharp (and work with Kirsten)

• All wrapped in geeky metaphors because that's just my brain

Is it conventional?

Nope.

Does it make sense to "serious" business people?

Probably not.

Does it work?

We will see!

Your Turn

There are thousands of business newsletters out there.

Countless entrepreneurship guides.

Infinite side hustle tutorials.

But there's only one you.

The Real Secret

Your experiences, your perspective, your way of seeing the world - that's your moat.

Start building today.

But build as yourself.

The Revolution

In a world of AI-generated content and carefully crafted personas, authenticity isn't just refreshing.

It's revolutionary.

Now excuse me while I explain stakeholder management using Dungeons & Dragons references.

Because that's my brand now.

And I'm totally okay with it.

THAT’S A WRAP

Look, fellow adventurers – what started as a desperate attempt at a creativity dump has somehow turned into this wild community of dreamers, doers, and occasional chaos-embracers. Whether you joined us for the business insights or stayed for the questionable gaming metaphors, you've made 2024 more amazing than my ADHD-powered business brain could have imagined.

Stay curious and keep building,

Greg "Finally Embracing the Chaos" Mills

P.S. No grandmothers were harmed in the making of this newsletter. Though one did end up with a very expensive phone charging sponsorship.

If you liked what you read and are not a subscriber yet, join the crowd:

Here are some back issues if you are just not sure yet:

Issue #13: The 5-Minute Research Mistake That Almost Cost Us Everything 

Issue #14: The $27,000 Pandemic Side Hustle Experiment 

Issue #15: How I Became a Tech Bro Without Learning to Code 

Looking for more to read:

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