screws loose solutions

nail it and bail it

It is so much fun to think up names for things.

I’ve wasted years dreaming up band names and tour concepts.

And businesses ideas?

Oh boy, I’ve loved scheming up business ideas

Scheming?

I’m a rat that knows how to lick the peanut butter off poison without getting sick.

Oh boy do I love scheming.

I had an idea shared with a barn mom a while ago - be ‘the business idea guy’ have all of the ideas even and especially the crazy ones.

And ya know what?

A couple years later some other dude ends up doing this.

Of course!

Dude gets it. He stayed committed to not being committed to any specific idea.

Starting is the easy part.

Seeing things forward and driving change is difficult.

I’d love to tell y’all about this new thing I’m starting.

But I’m afraid if I do, it will end up living life like all of the rest of my ideas - an arc of initial excitement followed by me being distracted by ‘the next thing’.

Aw hell, I’ll tell y’all anyway.

As you may have read, I think the next business is to do handyman work.

I love solving problems. I love seeing results.

Most of all?

I really want to be useful and do things that people really need done.

I want the people I serve to actually see the things that I do for them.

I want to know that when I take my tools out of someone’s home, the job is done.

I’ve started with market research, interviewing people and the like. I’m coming up with a business model so I’m not selling hours like an employee, but specific a la cart services like a business.

The best bit of advice I’ve had so far?

Don’t speak to people like Jim the the dude. Speak to them as a business.

That to me read: Find a character and play it.

Put on a mask.

Assume a role.

That is liberating.

I don’t need to be authentic or personal or transparent as a handyman, I just need to get the job done.

I love playing pretend.

Whether waiting tables or DJing weddings, I’ve thrived by pretending to be someone else while there.

It’s not me. It’s not personal. I’m ‘the waiter’ or ‘the dj’.

Now, I can be ‘the handyman’

‘The therapist’ character was fun for a while but I think the part made me crazy. Too much method acting I think.

And as a new character, I need a new name - a business name.

When naming handyman services they suggest that you come up with a name that 1: you like as it’ll stick with you for a long time, 2: Speaks to what you do and 3: is easy to remember / no weird spelling - extra points if you can get it as a dot com

With those criteria in mind, anyone care to guess or make some suggestions about what the name could be?

I’m a bit stumped but have a few ideas.

Have you ever assumed a role or taken on a fun name in order to move forward?

Do you, like Roger on American Dad have an almost endless list of identities?

Which are the most fun?

What roles do you love playing?