Hello again; I had another successful Google hangout this week and I thought the best way I could thank the kind people who participated was to continue writing posts recapping the Wednesday night meet-ups. I’m also hoping that comments on these posts will help me refine the events and make them something that people look forward to every week.

The Meet-Up Video

Mitchell and I were online right at 9 PM Central. There were no technical issues this time. I thanked Mitchell for continuing to help out. You can watch the
YouTube video of the entire show by going to the following link.

Questions

Once again I was fortunate to have two excellent questions submitted for the show.

The first one came from Susan P. Cooper of www.findingourwaynow.com

She asked: “What was the impetus for starting the hangouts and what has been your greatest lesson I have learned from doing them?”

I must confess that I didn’t do as good a job of answering this question as I could have. First, everything I do on the site or for the business is done to promote the site and the equipment my clients have for sale. The hangouts grew out of the YouTube shows that I started to showcase specific pieces of equipment. While doing the Calliope Corner segments is fun, they are not the same as meeting people in person. I believe the hangouts give me a chance to connect with people on a more personal level to start building relationships that will lead to future opportunities. I also believe they give me a chance to practice my communication skills in advance of future face-to-face networking events. And lastly, doing the hangouts reminds people of how committed I am to helping them. It shows that there is very little I won’t do to promote their products or services.

As for lessons, there have been several. First, I was reminded that most things worth doing take time and dedication to master. You don’t learn a new system or build an audience overnight. And each week I hope to get better. Part of that will be practice and lessening nerves due to experience. Part of it will be improvement in participation. And if you have a positive outlook it makes all things easier. I put it out there that I was wanting to do the YouTube show on a traveling basis and Mitchell Walker came forward. Because of his help as a moderator I can concentrate on keeping the conversation going and having a good show. I credit my faith for this. But it just shows you that if you focus on the positive that the Lord or the universe or whatever you are comfortable with will provide.

The second question came from Paul Graham of www.thedailywail.com

This made two weeks in a row Paul provided me with a question. He was going to be on the show, but a major snow storm blew into the northeast and he lost his internet access.

Paul wrote an excellent post on the troubles in the Ukraine. He asked if I thought the troubles in eastern europe would lead to increased fuel prices and if so what I thought the effect of all of this could be on the economy.

I said that so far the threat of unrest hasn’t affected the stock markets or the price of fuel at the pump and that I sincerely hope that fuel prices don’t start rising again. For me everything comes back to the amusement industry. And I explained that higher fuel costs were terrible for my market. I mentioned how in the US, many carnival owners had moved away from rides requiring a full semi-trailer load for just one attraction in favor of rides and games that could be pulled as double loads. I mentioned that in the UK, higher fuel prices could result in ride owners leaving rides down or at the very least having to scaled back on lighting and scenery.

The Conversation

This week I was joined by William Butler of www.williambutler.ca

During his introduction he said his message is Intentionally living to the full, I live by four words: “Be love to others.” I love adding value to others. I’m a John C. Maxwell certified coach & speaker who always looks for the best in people.

I asked him if he had anything he wanted to tell people about? I loved his answer. He said he wasn’t there to promote anything but that he came on to support and encourage me in my journey. He said that what he wanted to tell me is what he tells his clients that being that every progress is a process. He said mainly I just mean for you to stay the course and be true to your hrart about what you want the hangouts to become. I told him that sounded a lot like one of the favorite teachings of my good friend Robin Hallett who says you are not a perfect but a process.

Next, I mentioned to Bill that many of my friends and fellow bloggers have suggested that I could have a future as a motivational speaker or coach. I asked Bill what he thought of this. Hr said that, just by doing, I am inspiring and that I need to do the work to find out if being a teacher is in my future. He suggested that I focus on it prior to going to sleep and allowing my subconscious mind to work on the question. I believe in prayer, meditation, and study. I’m not sure about his method, but he is right. I need to take the time to decide if I want this to be part of my future. I did acknowledge that the hangouts are probably more suited to blogging, social media, online marketing, and blindness issues. But I did agree with Bill that I need to stick with the hangouts and grow the audience. The best thing about the conversation with Bill was that he was my first guest to come on who I didn’t have to beg.

After Bill hung up, Mitchell and I continued the discussion about whether or not I should invest some time and energy into becoming a motivational or inspirational speaker. I told him that I could see growth in that direction and that it may be a quicker way to get where I want to go; but that I am afraid that I don’t have any energy to spare. My fear would be that by trying to expand into an area I know nothing about I would take time away from what I know and what for the most part is already working. Mitchell said he could see me having a future talking and speaking but he didn’t want to be the one to tell me to go for it. I told Mitchell I understood.

Increasing YouTube Subscribers

Next we talked about how to grow the subscribers to the YouTube channel. Mitchell said, “Well, Max, I’m going to borrow from other successful bloggers and podcasters.” He said you need to remember to include subscribing to your channel in all your calls to action. He knows I can’t see any of the screen, so he told me there is a subscribe button right below where the video is playing. I promised him and myself to make a more concentrated effort to include YouTube opt-in as part of calls to action in future videos, blog posts, and emails. And this reminded me to mention the Donate Button in case people want to contribute towards getting the YouTube show out on the road.

Then before I knew it, the time was up. I thanked Mitchell for moderating. I told him he really needs to get a website I can tell people about.

And I mentioned my good friends at www.mvpondemand.com The people there are very supportive of me. Brian, Kelly, Carrie, Dianne, Ellen, and everyone else on Brian the hammer Jackson Radio Show where I appear most Fridays.

I also mentioned Chandler Safety Solutions, a company that I am now representing. I reminded people that they came to my house and we recorded a video demonstration of their product which will be uploaded as soon as it is edited. My nephew, Seth, did a great job filming it except for not noticing the resolution was set to 1920 by 1200. it was the first time he had ever used the camera. I’m glad he could and would help out his uncle.

Next Week’s Show

I will be on again next Wednesday night at 10 PM Eastern, 9 PM Central, 7 PM Pacific, etc. If you have questions, then send them to me here. If you want to be on the show, then you have to be added to the invite list. To get on the list you need to be part of Google Plus and add me to your circle. After you do that, just send me a message saying hey Max I want to be on the hangout. Last week Eric Weigand and Chelsea Stark both wanted to join in but we couldn’t successfully add them at the last minute. So the sooner you can let us know of your interest the better!

Sharing Is Caring

I think that I made good progress from Week One to Week Two. I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of the people mentioned above. So, if you enjoyed the video or the post, I hope you will show this to your friends and family. To make it easier to share the video here is the direct link. Feel free to copy and paste it into your social media posts or emails. http://youtu.be/b8ejwyy54eY I would also appreciate your comments. I have CommentLuv Premium enabled so you do get those valuable backlinks for leaving a comment. And don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube feed.

And I love hearing from my readers, so please use the contact form to drop me a line. Whether you have a question about the amusement industry, blogging, social media, online marketing, blindness issues, or anything else; I’m always here for you. I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks and take care out there, Max