Tim Bursch

Want to change the world? Kevin Hendricks does and his new book might give you some ideas. I had the opportunity to connect with Kevin about his book Addition by Adoption. He uses social media and everyday life to tell a hilarious and moving story. Read on:

Kevin, tell me about yourself:

I live in St. Paul, Minn., with my wife, two kids and two dogs. Of course that equation is changing—we’re starting the process to adopt again. I’m a writer, editor and web geek. By day I hang out with my kids (Lexi is 4, Milo is 1.5) and by night (and naptime) I do work through my freelance company Monkey Outta Nowhere. I do writing for all kinds of clients, the most well known of which is probably the church communications blog, Church Marketing Sucks.

So, what is Addition by Adoption about?

It’s a collection of Twitter posts about my kids, the causes we care about and our adoption journey. It runs the gamut from silly things a three-year-old says to challenging observations about the needs in the world. It sounds odd to think of a story being told in 140-character chunks, but it actually comes together in a fairly natural way. You get a pretty good glimpse of what it’s like to raise little kids and go through the adoption process.

What made you decide to write this book?

It didn’t start as a book. It started as a bunch of Twitter posts. As a work-at-home dad trying to find the balance between productivity and parental neglect, I found posting comments and observations on Twitter to be cathartic. It gave me a way to connect with the outside world. Then lots of people started commenting on those nuggets of silliness and telling me I needed to collect them into a book. The idea grew on me and I thought it’d be the kind of thing my family would enjoy. But as I pulled together tweets on potty training triumphs, I kept coming across tweets about our adoption story. I realized this wasn’t about funny things kids say and parenting and all that, it was a much wider story. Even beyond adoption, it was a story of how Milo widened our worldview and helped us to see and embrace other causes. Even though it’s about the day to day and our specific family, it became bigger than ourselves.

Can you talk about the writing and publishing process?

The writing process was already done because the tweets had already been written. The bigger task was editing and curating the thousands of tweets I’ve posted since 2007 into a cohesive book. In the end something like 500 tweets made it into the book. That’s probably what sets it part most from anything else out there—this isn’t just an archive of my Twitter feed. I cut out all the fluff and irrelevant stuff and got right to the heart of the story. The self-publishing experience has been pretty easy. Print-on-demand publishing makes the act of getting a printed book in your hands relatively simple. Anyone can do it. Of course you also need a manuscript, editing, proofing, layout and cover design. Thankfully I do a few of those things for a living (though my wife told me she did spot a few typos—I told her not to tell me things like that). I also had incredible help from Ronald Cox on the layout and Brian White of TriLion Studios on the cover. They really made the book look good, which is something I couldn’t do myself. Of course then you need to spread the word—books don’t sell themselves. So except for all that hard work, it’s easy.

What do you want readers to walk away with?

I want readers to walk away from this book knowing that we can change the world. That sounds so hokey and idealistic, and admittedly I’m a pretty idealistic person. But I think it’s true. Just like we face day-to-day challenges, we also have day-to-day opportunities to make a difference. You don’t change the world overnight, but you also don’t have to change the world with some grand gesture. You change the world in everyday actions. Maybe it’s bringing awareness to clean water issues or helping a homeless person or showing some love to your next-door neighbor. Shaving my head for my 30th birthday didn’t change the world, but I bet it changed the worlds of the 130 people who now have clean water. The story of this book is told 140 characters at a time. That’s one tiny story—and all those little pieces add up to a complete story of the book. That’s how we change the world—one tiny step at a time.

How can we help?

You can change the world by buying my book. Wow, that sounds awful. I hate saying it like that, but in a tiny way it’s true. A portion of the proceeds from the book will go to charity: water to build a well in Ethiopia. Clean water can be the difference between life and death, so in a very real sense you’re changing the world for people. You can also tell your friends about my book and spread the word. This thing is self-published, so I don’t have any marketing machine or publishing empire behind it. It’s just me. I need your help. But let’s move beyond my little book. There are causes championed in the book that are so important—adoption, water, homelessness. Adoption is a big one. Do what you can to support adoption. Consider it yourself. Support those involved in it—whether it’s kids, birth parents, adoptive parents, etc. Above all you need to find your own cause and fight for it. If we cared as much about a single cause as we do about our favorite sports team or our current hobby the world would be a different place. I don’t mean that to shame anyone, just to give a comparison. How cool would it be if people rallied around their favorite cause, whether it’s adoption or water or domestic violence or whatever? You don’t need to do full on body paint, but a tailgate party for good? Sign me up.

Make sure to check out the book here.

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I recently had the priveledge of interviewing Rajesh Setty, author of Upbeat, for his virtual book tour:

1. Why did you decide to do write this book?

Tim, first of all, thank you for this opportunity to discuss the topics surrounding my new book.

The book was originally written a few years ago when I was building a startup during the previous recession. It was not easy but it was a great learning experience. It was like being on a giant roller coaster ride. i wrote this book during that journey.  However, by the time I finished writing the book, that recession was over so I packed the book and tucked it away. A couple of years later, we all witnessed (and are still going through) another recession. I unpacked the book and revised a few things to get that published now.

Just like in many other areas, timing is important - so I had to wait for the right time to ensure that the message is relevant.

2. Who will this book benefit?

This is a book for anyone and everyone who are either affected or have a chance of getting affected negatively by all the negative news that is flooding all sorts of media and personal communication. Media and (most of the) people love to talk about stuff that we have no control of. Sometimes we forget the opportunity cost of engaging in those fruitless conversations. By wasting our time in those conversations, we end up having less time to pursue what we can do and eventually achieving less than what we can achieve - finally making this a self-fulfilling prophecy - meaning be a victim and add to the negativity that’s already abundant.

3. What areas does this book cover?

There are two parts of the book. The first part is a narrative making the case for the need to be Upbeat and the second part is a workbook with some tips and tactics to stay upbeat.

The first part has five sections

1. The Trap: Why and How did we end up in this trap?

2. The Discipline: What discipline is needed to get out of this trap?

3. The Network: How can we become stronger because of our network and how can our network become stronger because of us.

4. The Strategy: How can we put together a plan of action to break free.

5. The Action: What actions can we take Now?

The second part is a workbook that will cover the same five sections but is comprised of practical tips on how to make the most of what you read in the first section.

4. Why is this book relevant now?

The book is relevant mainly because of what’s happening in the world today. We are exposed to more negative news than ever in the recent history - companies closing down, scandals, scams, bankruptcy filings, poor economic indicators - you can actually pick your own poison.

It is easy to get sucked into this mess by spending endless hours thinking about things that you have absolutely no control of and having no time to engage in things that you have control of.

This book provides a few gentle reminders and nudge you to focus your time, energy and conversations on things where you have some control and influence on.

The book, I think, is timely now but what is covered in the book should apply very well even in good times.

5. What is your favorite tip for building connections with people?

If I have to pick only one tip related to networking, it would be to “be an opportunity for those in your network.” It really costs less than what you think to be an opportunity to someone and it is fun!

Case in point Tim - you took the time to participate in this blog tour and for me that’s an opportunity that you have created and I am thankful for that.

For those of you who are reading this - think about the people in your network. How can you be an opportunity to one or more of them this week? How can you be an opportunity for one or more of them today?

Thank you Rajesh for sharing your insights. Check out his new book, Upbeat for concise ideas on how to thrive right now.

You can follow Rajesh on Twitter @UpbeatNow.

Tags: attitude, recession, thrive.

Today I chatted with local college student and entrepreneur, Adam Evers:

[Tim] Adam, tell me about your current ventures.

[Adam] Currently I am working on about four different ventures. Three of them are blogs while one will hopefully become a monthly paid premium service.

Startupstudent.com — This site is designed to help out college and university students who are interested in starting there own business. I am currently enrolled in a University which has an Entrepreneurial program but the program absolutely destroys your entrepreneurial spirit. This venture, just like any other venture, was born out of a need. There isn’t really any GOOD resources/blogs out there on entrepreneurship which will really help you to start your business. That is the goal of this venture. To help students start businesses.

Dreamweavercasts.com — I know … another blog about Dreamweaver … is it needed?  Well yes. This site has HD quality videos and goes through the basics. Our focus is for those people who are completely new to Dreamweaver. They have no idea what they are doing and need help. This is for them.

Besttimetotweet.com — One day I was tweeting away on my startupstudent account and I thought to myself hmmm. What is the best time for me to tweet? What is the best day and time for me to hit my group of followers? I automatically have my blog post a tweet when a new blog gets posted and that gives me a ton of traffic. Now if I could only focus that in when the majority of my followers are on then I have hit the maximum efficiency of my blog and my twitter account.

collegetechblog.com — I love technology. I would call myself a technical activist. I think that technology should make your life easier and can make your life easier. There is a piece of technology or something online which can solve all of today’s problems which college students face. Collegetechblog was born. I share nudges of resources and tools which I find online that I know will be a massive help to college students.

[Tim] What is your idea of a career?

[Adam] HA! A career is something which I am forced into by the man! Ok. Not really … but seriously. When you say the word career all I can think of is a cubical and a receding hair line. Neither of which I desire for my life.

[Tim] Creative income is thinking outside of the normal 9-5 job. What are you doing for creative income?

[Adam] I have four blogs that I am building to hopefully start being able to advertise on or maybe sell … who knows. I am also working on a SAAS model with besttimetotweet.com. I would love to be able to provide people with the best time to tweet via an email summary every week or something and give them more data about twitter and there followers. We would offer a premium service which allows people to get those statics weekly, daily or even monthly. If the premium service does not work out then I would just stick up ads.

[Tim] How are you connecting business and social change?

[Adam] I connect social change with business by incorporating it into my business model. Once advertising money starts to flow the plan is to give a portion of that back into the community. Currently the plan is to invest it into a fund for kiva.org which allows your money to be used exponentially. If you don’t know about kiva.org, check them out. They are legit!

Be Heard. Tell us what you think.

Tags: entrepreneur, student.

Recently I interviewed Zack Steven of buythechange.com - Great insight on integrating social mission and business.

[Tim] Zack, tell me about buythechange.com.

[Zack] buythechange is a new service that makes it easy for people to buy and sell locally with their friends, neighbors and independent businesses. Members can place unlimited ads and events for a year and 1/3 of all membership fees go back to local non-profits, as chosen by each member. buythechange is different because it’s a trusted network of real people, and members receive emails when their friends and neighbors post ads or events which helps build community.

[Tim] Why a social business?

[Zack] When my partners and I (friends since childhood) set out to launch a business together we wanted to create something that not only made money but also made a difference. We wanted to help restore a greater sense of community in our own lives, for our kids and in society at large. We believe that business can be a force for good, and that harnessing the power of capitalism is the greatest opportunity to create social change. We’ve actually coined the term “Fair-Profit” to describe a business model that sustains itself through profits, but not at the undue expense of the resources (human, environmental or otherwise) that are consumed in the process. Profit isn’t bad. It’s a measure of value created and it’s what sustains our economy – government and non-profits are ultimately funded by business profits, in the form of taxes and charitable contributions.

[Tim] How did you get interested in integrating business and social change?

[Zack] The change that we were most interested in was strengthening communities by helping people feel more connected to each other. We think that many aspects of social media and technology have actually resulted in people feeling more isolated from real offline connections, like their neighbors. We’re all better off with a higher level of generalized trust (vs. fear) and buythechange uses social technology to help people connect to the people, places and causes they care about where they live.

Social capital is built when people have informal and spontaneous contact with people they recognize, and buythechange makes that more likely to happen, through commerce. Everyday purchasing decisions have the potential to change the world, if they are informed and conscientious. It’s not just about Green, Organic or Fair Trade, it’s more about local. Buying and selling in a way that builds a relationship or makes a connection. We built buythechange to make it easy for people to buy and sell with friends and neighbors, to attend events where they may see someone they know and to spend their money with local, independent and home-based businesses. Our vision is to power a grassroots movement that harnesses individual social responsibility and capitalism to enrich communities.

[Tim] What is your idea of a career?

[Zack] For me it’s about learning and earning and it’s built on knowledge of self. I’m interested in continually increasing my capacity to create value and putting myself in situations where I can benefit from the value I create. I look for opportunities to grow and contribute and it’s really important to be surrounded by talented people, working on things I’m passionate about. I trust that good things will come from being intentional, working hard and taking risks.

[Tim] Creative income is thinking outside of the normal 9-5 job. What are you doing for creative income?

[Zack] I’m heavily focused on buythechange, but in the past I have done business and financial consulting and earned income from a product I patented. It comes down to identifying a need, and providing a solution people are willing to pay for. My wife is an art teacher who also offers affordable design and color consultation services through www.nudgestudio.com.

[Tim] How can people use buythechange.com in this economy?

[Zack] People can use buythechange to meet their needs, meet their neighbors, and make a difference. It’s a safe and affordable way to sell your goods and services to people you know or have reason to trust, and it’s a great way to find used goods without driving across town. Our site design and automatic delivery of content gives members and their ads high visibility on our network and through organic search results on Google, Yahoo and MSN. People can join free and begin receiving updates on ads and events from their neighborhood, and paid members can feel good about giving back 1/3 of their membership fee to a cause they care about.

[Tim] Lastly, what do you want people to know about you?

[Zack] I’m an inventor and entrepreneur who graduated from Grinnell College with an Art degree. Over the course of my career I’ve come to see business as art. As Andy Warhol said “making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” I enjoy the challenge of creating offerings that are simultaneously beautiful, useful and profitable.

Follow Zack on Twitter. Be heard. Tell us what you think.

Tags: entrepreneur, social business.