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For the last week I have been playing with a cool software application called Asterisk.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this awesome VoIP server, it’s Open Source and allows you to basically have your own Skype-style server. You can connect a VoIP client (such as a SIP hard-phone, or a SIP soft-phone like Gizmo5 or Ekiga), and then call other connected to your server. You can also connect it with a provider to allow you to call regular PSTN telephone numbers, and well as connect a traditional PSTN number to it either through a provider or by using an expansion card in your server.

Although it is early days for me and Asterisk, I hope to learn more soon and implement it to take advantage of the benefits this cool technology has to offer.

Today my old friend Matt, a.k.a. 360, released his first album “What You See Is What You Get”.

A few years ago a made a website for Matt (back in the pre-MySpace days), and for my brother’s 18th I even convinced Matt to write and perform a song for him. Matt used to play basketball for my club, but I haven’t seen him for a couple of years since he left to concentrate on his music career.

Although I’m not the biggest fan of the hip-hop/rap scene, I do respect the music as I believe most music should be respected. And, biased as it may be, I think 360’s album rocks. Good on you mate, keep it up!

Last Thursday morning my family and I drove up to Sydney for the Travel XPO.

I’ve never been to Sydney and although I have heard many things about the city, I never thought one city could be such a crazy place! I mean, seriously, driving around in Sydney without GPS or a map is not a lot of fun! Even with Google Maps on a laptop, things are just plain confusing. No left turn? I sure wasn’t expecting that! Crazy driving aside, it is a very busy place and is definitely an interesting city worth visiting.

My parents business Global Travel Products, which sells travel accessories, had a six-by-three metre stand at the Travel XPO. I had developed a point-of-sale (POS) system for us to use, which meant I was mainly processing sales alongside my mother. However, any chance I had I would join my father and brother in talking with customers and selling various products, since I enjoy a sales role more than anything.

We had a reasonably successful two days at the show, and I am definitely looking forward to Canberra and Melbourne in a few weeks time. The ten hour drive is about the worst part of the whole weekend, though it was an educating experience.

Earlier this week my father forwarded on an email from Brenda at NetworkingWorld.

She included a link to her blog post about PitchClub, where my father and I got a mention!

Check out the NetworkingWorld PitchClub blog post (click here)

My first venture for 2008; RYPE Media, officially started today.

For the last few years I have been making websites, design logo’s, business cards, working on flyers and catalogues, etc. My good friend Dan has also been doing many of the same things, and although we’ve only talked briefly about forming a business to do things officially under one brand, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that we decided to actually do something about it.

So today is our first “trading day”, although we have been working on the setup since Wednesday. I estimate it will take about a month to get our processes sorted, and to really get things going. It’s definitely an exciting business to be in, and having a business partner will be an interesting and educational experience.

For more information about our business, please visit our website www.rypemedia.com.au

Well, what a night!

If you haven’t heard of PitchClub (www.pitchclub.biz); Entrepreneurs, investors, and service providers are invited along to meet for some drinks and networking. However, unlike other networking events, PitchClub has a bit of a twist . Firstly, ten entrepreneurs give their 90-second “elevator pitch”, of which each attendee is able to vote for. Once the votes are tallied, the top three “pitchers” go into the “second round”, where they present a five-minute pitch. From there a winner is selected. I thought the idea sounded like a great opportunity and a fun night, so I convinced my father and good friend Andy to come along.

Once we arrived at Digital Harbour where PitchClub was being hosted, we signed in, grabbed some drinks, and started chatting. I noticed on the white board a lack of ten names, and when I spoke to James Tuckerman, founder of Anthill Magazine (www.anthillonline.com), I mentioned I might be interested in filling a spot. One thing lead to another, and during the fifth pitch, I made my way to the front to ask Peter Christo for a spot. He told me that I could go between five and six, and since at the time I had lost count, I had to ask when that was… “Now”. And so it began.

I threw myself up on stage and started my pitch. Since many of my own idea’s were too early to pitch, I decided to pitch my parents business Global Travel Products. The main purpose was to seek interest from any potential investors, and also spread the word of their great business. The pitch went well, and I enjoyed it a lot. Much to my surprise, after the votes were counted, I had come third. Since the fourth-place was so close, the top three became the top four, and four of us did our five minute pitch.

Since my first pitch was completely unprepared, my father and Andy helped me take some notes on what should be mentioned. My pitch ended up extending to over seven minutes, mainly due to a lengthy Q&A. Also, I had to mention the 15%-discount promotion code that we had yet to setup, “PITCHCLUB” (www.globaltravelproducts.com.au).

After the winner was announced, and everyone had a chance to get back to networking, I found myself inundated with enquires from potential suppliers and service providers as well as attendees that simply wanted to say congratulations. My father and I collected quite a few business cards, which will hopefully open up many opportunities for the future.

It was a great night, and I can’t wait for the next one.

Tomorrow night I will be attending PitchClub!

I’m not going to blab on about it here (yet), so if you want to know more I suggest you checkout the website, www.pitchclub.biz

I’m looking forward to the opportunities it will present, and I plan to post a report on my experience on Wednesday.

Stay tuned!

Since mid-January I have been sick, after being bitten by an unknown something while sitting on the beach with my feet buried in the sand.

To cut a long story short, after an initial illergic reaction (causing swelling on my feet), I noticed my health was poor (sore joints, fever, etc) and after several doctors appointments/blood tests/specialist appointments, I found out that whatever bit me caused an infection, which was the cause for inflammation in my joints.

I am glad to say that after a final doctors appointment and blood test results, everything has appeared to cleared up and I am much better. Hopefully there will be no long-term problems, and the last month and a half is all but a mysterious memory.

However, I did learn a very valuable lesson from my experience; your personal health is extremely important! I consider myself very lucky to now be in good health, and understand the important of looking after my own health.

An information advantage. That is what I want.

How do I achieve it? Read, read, read.

It all sounds simple, but how many hours a day can I really read (to learn) for?
An hour to start sounds pretty reasonable, since I already read for at least 20-30 minutes a day.

So what is this “information advantage”? Well, Mark Cuban’s blog inspired me…
He believes a key to being competitive is to know your industry better than anyone.
One way to do this - read three hours a day like he does!

Considering my grade 6 teacher struggled to get me to read fiction books when I always had my head stuck in reading non-fiction, I think I’m on the right path.

I have always been keen to read to increase my knowledge in certain industries (e.g. ICT), and I recommend this to anyone interested in increasing their knowledge in anything. Read.

Looks like my schooling didn’t quite end last year.
On that note, I did get offered the course I wanted - RMIT [City] Entrepreneurship - and I have deferred.
Let’s see where my goals for this year take me. At the end of the year, I will decide whether or not I want to go to University.

Happy New Year to all (I know it’s a bit late, but I only just got back from holidays, ok!)

Well, we spent a few extra days camping this year - the weather was amazing - the only day it rained was today, when we packed up! In sixteen years of camping, I have never had such a great experience as I did this year. Being the first time I was able to go to the local pubs and nightclubs certainly opened up some doors. Also, inviting thirteen of my mates to camp for the first week (over New Years Eve) added another dynamic.

However, by far the best thing of all was being able to sit back, relax, and soke-up the beach and nature. There’s nothing better than having a few weeks to clear your mind and get your head set straight.

No more school, a new year, new focus and new opportunity. That is all I could think of in my last few days of camping.

Bring on 2008!

P.S. Now that school is over, I hope to keep my blog up to date with the latest of my achievements and thoughts, specifically those related to business.