MTK Update #4: Update To The Core Group Chart

Here’s the video that goes along with this post:

[Here's the AT&T video I was talking about]

In it I describe a modified version of the “core group” that will include a circle of free (for now. )

Here’s some more of the story.

I Want Things To Be “Free”

I actually want things to be free. I grew up on the internet too you know! I used to Napster it up and get my movies/software off of newsgroups and IRC (before there was bitorrent and the pirates bay ). That was about 10 years ago and my ideas have changed. I very rarely download music/movies/software online now (and try to buy it when I do). I actually like the overall experience of paying for things better anyway! Especially when I have money. lol Netflix + an Xbox 360 is PIMPSAUCE!

I ESPECIALLY want education online to be free. Actually, it is already if someone is willing to do the work (Wikipedia, Google, YouTube, MIT [OpenCourseWare], etc.) I just want the free experience to be EVEN BETTER! I’ve just run into some problems implementing free…

Why Free Doesn’t Work

Don’t get me wrong, there can be components that are free built around something that is profitable, but 100% free doesn’t work. Why? Lets take the MilTownKlan for example…

I’ve been trying to setup and operate the MilTownKlan on this “free” basis for a long time now. Getting people organized to do some AWESOME things but… I always seem to fail. Now, what I want to do can theoretically work “for free” but the problem is there’s at least one full-time employee to the MilTownKlan… Me! lol And since I don’t work regularly enough, I’m never stable enough to move things forward in the fashion I would like to.

For example, it’s HARD to weed people out who I don’t want to deal with! I’m getting a lot better at it, but it takes a lot of work. Also, it’s frustrating to spend lots of time emailing and talking to someone only to see them disappear later. That’s time I could have spent on my own stuff, or working with someone who’s not going to disappear. Adding money is more insurance for me that people are serious.

But lets say I figure out a system to find people who are serious that works in “free” mode. What do I need to charge for then? The basic components are my time (which is pretty cheap now, but I hear numbers of $75-$110/hour to do the social media consulting work I’m figuring out) and resources. It’s pretty limited what I can offer if there’s no charge at all. With a charge I can now all of the sudden include webhosting, give out email addresses, fly to the UK/Europe and kick it with people there, get cooler equipment to make a cooler experience for you guys, get my own space to hold classes out of (in person and online) and all kind of cool shit. And then, most importantly, I don’t have to “sell out” to “the man.”

A Solution So We Can Have Our Cake And Eat It Too

People who have known me for a long time will know that I’m ALL about having my cake and eating it too!

The new “apprentice” system will allow for just that for everyone (having cake + eating cake). If you didn’t watch the video, in a nutshell, I am (we are?) going to figure out a system for allowing people to hang out with the paid members. Some kind of application process to weed people out. Like I said before, this MilTownKlan thing is something I’m VERY serious about and will be working on for a VERY long time. The core group membership will make A LOT more sense as time goes on. Until then, I can prove why it makes sense to people for free. Besides, I think I’m probably jumping the gun a little bit anyway. I’m going to need some beta testers.

miltownkid, What’s The Core Group All About In A Nutshell?

As time goes on and the MilTownKlan gets bigger, miltownkid gets bigger and Black Horse Taichi/Pwning Life get bigger, I’m going to need peoples to help spread the awesome. That’s what the Core Group is going to be all about. They will be invested in protecting the MilTownKlan brand (and it’s affiliated brands) because they will have a certain amount of ownership (which I have yet to define what exactly that means ).

Basically I’m going to teach the Core Group how to setup localized versions of the MilTownKlan (and charge $). I’ll provide the systems, tools and training to make it easier to do so (so you don’t have to make all of the mistakes I’m making!) Members from the core group will also be the future teachers of Black Horse Taichi and Trainers in Pwning Life. This is all “a vision” right now, but these core group guys will be SUPER down with the MilTownKlan. It’s going to be a while before anyone can be a trainer (especially since I haven’t figured that out yet ). So in the meantime the MilTownKlan Core Group will get access to the Taichi/Chinese/Pwning Life membership sites either for “free” (as a part of the MilTownKlan CG fee) or for a very reduced rate. We can talk about that later.

There are also a bunch of other attributes to all of this. Like buying property to be managed “MilTownKlan style” (a group of people all living together working towards a common goal). Businesses run “MilTownKlan style” (social businesses curing social ills). And life we be generally PWNED.

Closing

Anyhow, I’m going to leave that $25 deal open until it sells out (there are 25 slots available then it’s done). And actually, I’d rather have someone ask me before they purchased it. There really isn’t any reason to purchase right now as apprentices will have almost all the same access as the “core group” would right now. That’s going to be changing rather rapidly though. Especially for people that live in Milwaukee.

Anyhoo… Yall know what to do with questions/comments.

MTK #3: Messy House Sale

In the video below I describe the “messy house sale” and ramble about other things.

My “messy house” sale for the core group membership is a response to people that asked me to make it cheaper. Now you can get into the core group for $25/month for 4 months. If that’s sounds like an awesome deal [Click Here] and get started (only 25 slots available).

This offer isn’t for people new to my stuff. This offer is for people who have been watching me for years online. People who have already benefited from something I’ve said or done. People who want to take things to “the next level.” What’s the next level?

• Getting in TOP physical condition
• Mastering martial arts
• Gaining fluency in Chinese
• Building a web presence to attract and connect with other like-minded people
• Earning money online
• Mastering your relationships (with that special girl)
• Answering life’s deeper spiritual questions

This is a one time offer never to be seen again. After this the price will go up to $67/month. I’m stopping the sale when my room is clean (I’m guessing about 3 days).

If you can’t afford $25 a month or don’t like the idea of me charging money… DON’T WORRY! My FREE content will be getting better and better. And I’m not going to stop making videos any time soon.

Oh yeah! Be sure to check out [Frank Kern], [Tony Robbins] and [Joe Polish]’s stuff online. They’re all super awesome!

[Here's the link to join the core group if you missed it above]

More Details About The Core Group

As I was typing the email I realized that many of you (whether you decide to join of not) are going to have a lot of questions about the core group. I think I might answer some of those questions near the end of the video, but I’ll try to express them in writing here as well.

Who is the MilTownKlan core group for?

The MilTownKlan and the MilTownKlan core group is open to anyone with a sincere interest. I have yet to produce the document clearly explaining what the group is all about, but I don’t think it’s necessary for people who have been hanging out with me online while I’ve been “thinking out loud.” In a nutshell the MilTownKlan (and specifically the core group) is an organization that I wish existed when I was about 17-19. I was really into Martial Arts, Chinese/Asian Culture, Eastern philosophy (Taoism/Zen/Hinduism), interested in business / entrepreneurial stuff, personal development, learning anything and everything and felt a strong urge to connect with a group of like-minded people. I never found the group I was looking for. Now I’m creating it for myself.

What Do I Get From Becoming A Member of the Core Group?

That’s a good question.

I’ve already determined that my style of teaching is different from most people (mainly because my style of learning is different). That said I’ll be teaching people in the core group a range of things like “digital budo”, Taichi (the martial art and the philosophy), Pwning Life, Chinese language/culture and random things like juggling or economics (depends on what the group wants ).

The format for instruction will be a members only forum, weekly members only videos, members only emails and members only webcasts (that live video stuff).

As a part of the fee you will get your own webhosting so you can start building websites and practice the stuff I talk about.

The core group will be my ONLY affiliate marketers for certain products as they become available (or the first ones anyway).

You will also get access to products before they are available and you’ll be a part of the review process when I’m creating them (like Pwning Life stuff or Taichi/Chinese Instructional stuff).

In the future I plan on the MilTownKlan core group members being responsible for arranging seminars when I’m ready to do them (about Pwning Life, Taichi, etc.) Then eventually teaching the stuff.

I expect some core group members to take what they learn from interacting with me and start their own clans/tribes (which the MilTownKlan can form alliances with). I expect some core group members to setup localized versions of the MilTownKlan.

In closing

I think I started rambling a bit there at the end. Anyhow, I’ll be taking the core group very seriously. I’m looking to build a lifetime relationship with a small group of individuals who are down for the ride and can see the vision. Once we both REALLY trust each other and I know you’re in for the long haul (and you know you’re in for the long haul) you’ll get an @miltownklan.com email address (for “social proof”) and we’ll get business cards made and it’ll seem all badass and shit. lol

This $25 thing is one time only. I’ll announce it again on the miltownkid channel publicly (if it doesn’t sell out before my room is cleaned) and after that it’ll be $67/month. It’s only going to get HARDER to join. I’m making it “easy” now because only someone that knows me would even think about signing up. This is a hook up for those that know what’s up.

I’m launching this “Mc Sloppy” style so if you have any questions shoot’em at me (on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, email, a comment here, whatever’s good for you!)

[Here's the link to join the core group one more time]

MTK Update #2 – The “Core Group”

This week I mainly want to share my thoughts/plans for the “core group.” I TOTALLY want your feedback, so please, leave a comment here, email me, whatever.

Two Levels To The MilTownKlan

Currently I’m planning on there being 2 levels to the MilTownKlan. One level will be open to anyone that wants to participate in any aspect of the MilTownKlan (Gaming, live classes, rock shirts, etc.) This will be open to all people.

The “core group” will be for people that want to be a part of building the vision I have for the MilTownKlan and for people that would like to be “students.” I’ll explain in more detail “the vision” and what it means to be a “student” in future updates. Feel free to ask questions.

The “Core Group”

Over the past couple weeks I’ve come up with a basic structure of how I’d like to setup this “core group” (CG). The first stage of the CG will have a cap of 150 members (online or offline) and the cost of membership will be $67/month. The cap of 150 is based on [Dunbar's Number]. I heard about it from the book [“Tipping Point.”] It will be important for our group to function as a cohesive unit to maintain a cap for growth.

The cost of membership ($67/month) came to me in… Lets say “a vision.” I wanted to keep price high enough to scare people away and low enough to be affordable. What people are going to get for the price is SUPER awesome. It’s going to be a special deal for special people.

Benefits Of The CG

What I’m going to be giving the CG is awesome. Here are a few things off the top of my head:

• Hosting for their personal websites
• An @miltownklan.com email address (and design for “business” cards and whatnot, those will be fun )
• Weekly meetings
• “Exclusive Content” – I’m thinking about a monthly newsletter (that gets mailed with a DVD.) Private member forums, etc.

On top of that, people who are locally based will get to attend my Taichi and Chinese classes for at first free (and then a reduced rate once the numbers of members get high… good ol’ supply and demand at work ). I’ll be charging $50/month EACH for those classes ($80 if someone wants to do both) for people who aren’t in the MilTownKlan CG.

Besides all that, the CG will be responsible for building the other “brands” I’m working on AND we’ll work together to create new ones. I don’t know how to sort it out legally (at this stage) but I want the core group members to have some kind of ownership in the different MilTownKlan properties. Properties like:

• Pwning Life
• Black Horse Taichi
• The Chinese Language Stuff
• MyDeadXbox
• Digital Budo
• Social Milwaukee
• The Barter Exchange Business

Even without ownership of these properties, those are all separate businesses. The plan is that members of the MilTownKlan CG will be the main [affiliate marketers] for products I (or we) create for these businesses. If you don’t know what affiliate marketing is, here it is in a nutshell. I plan on creating a community for Pwning Life. Lets say we create a “Gold” membership plan for $20/month. If it was decided that an affiliate marketer got 50% of that membership fee it means that you would get $10/month for every person that you helped sign up.

Building Tribes

The other piece of all of this is that I’ll be teaching the CG how to build “tribes” (while I’m learning of course! ) In the future I will expect the people in the CG to build either an extension of the MilTownKlan (like MTK UK or something) OR create their OWN thing which the MilTownKlan can form an alliance with.

Social Businesses

I’m in a rush because I have to get on the road to Florida but I wanted to make a quick comment. Last week I finished reading [Muhammad Yunus' book “Banker to the Poor”] and I’m currently reading [“Creating a World Without Poverty.”] I’ve spent pretty much my whole teen and adult life trying to understand why the world is so “fucked up.” The majority of that time I wanted to run away from it all and life a quiet, happy life in the mountains somewhere (I was planning on China). It wasn’t until 2002 when I met my Taichi/Spiritual/Philosophy teacher (Master Wang) that I started to gain insight into another path (he told me “One foot in nature, one foot in the city. Balance.”)

Anyhow, where I was going with this is that above you’ll see a lot of talk about money and business. That turns a lot of people “off” (it turns me off). I just wanted to say that my interest in generating money isn’t so I can buy fancy cars. It’s so that I’m able to better spread a “higher social consciousness.” A million (or billion) dollars isn’t exciting to me because of the kind of house and car I could have (although, I’m sure I’d have a pretty awesome one ). It’s exciting to me because I think about the kind of schools I could build (online and offline) and how much “positive juice” could be spread.

Anyhow, I gotta get on the road! Till next week!

MTK Update #1

I’m going start doing MilTownKlan updates each week on Sundays. This is the first of it’s kind, so I don’t really have a good idea about how I should go about it… I’m sure I’ll get better over time (maybe some of you will help.)

—-
The MilTownKlan Starts… NOW
—-

A couple days ago I made a video titled “The Only Think I Care About Is The MilTownKlan.” What I realized that day is that everything I think about and do is focused on constructing this organization (which I currently call the MilTownKlan). When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. My business ideas, my reading, my lesuire, my travel… Basically I eat, breath and (parden my French) shit the MilTownKlan. What was odd to me that day is that I never noticed that. Basically I had the MilTownKlan, Pwning Life, MyDeadXbox, Social Milwaukee, Black Horse Taichi, the Chinese Classes, the Barter Exchange and all my different projects and ideas all in seperate boxes (in my mind). I understood that they were all linked together, but I REALLY didn’t see the connection until that morning two days ago. So… The MilTownKlan starts now. Feel special that you get to be a part of it!

—-
Where The MilTownKlan Is Right Now
—-

Even though I just realized the bigger picture a couple days ago and we’re starting to work on the UNIFIED MilTownKlan now, I’ve been working on it in a seperate box for a long time. So we have some “assets.”

We have the MilTownKlan domain, the YouTube channel, the Twitter, the Website, the forums and the Ning. There are other properties which I see as being under the MilTownKlan umbrellas: Pwning Life, MyDeadXbox, Social Milwaukee and even the barter exchange I’m working on launching here in Milwaukee (it’s some SERIOUS BUSINESS ).

I’m going to need help with a lot of things. Organizing the Ning, moderating the forums, updating the Twitter, making videos on the YouTube channel, etc. There is no rush for figuring these things out, just planting a seed.

—-
The Future
—-

The future looks good! Right now I’m going to be working on getting the MilTownKlan communications better and getting my home life sorted out. Things are a MESS here! lol I’ll put a little clip of it in my next video.

Oh! And I mentioned there potentially being a cost involved with being a member of the MilTownKlan, well… it’s true and not true. What I’m seeing right now are two different levels. A “free” level where all you need is an email address and spare time. And an “inner circle” level which will have a cost associated with it and will be comprised of a group of “hand picked” individuals. There will be more on that in the future. I’ll explain it in a video.

That’s probably enough for one day.

Talk to you soon!

miltownkid

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