Fortress Of Freedom Board

Maurice · Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:27 am Post subject:

I took the office for a test drive and the computer booted itself up and all is well. Even the crazy lamp worked well! Just details and more details to sort out now. I may post one more post before condensing this into one post and moving on. This was one hard week! Very tiring and my muscles still ache - but it is done! Time to move on to the many more important projects at Fortress Of Freedom and I.A.I.J.!

I should note one more thing:

The door to the office!

The washroom - inside joke!!!!!

I was also thinking about the organization's performance; about 14,000 dollars in revenue and 21,000 dollars in expenses; for a loss of about 7,000 dollars. This is excellent for a first year company as the loss is countered by the depreciated value of our equipment. So not bad, that office is our saviour as rent can kill any business..... The numbers would have to be improved for the application but is still pathetic for the high power licence, adequate for the low. Time for bed.....

Maurice · Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:45 pm Post subject:

Open House!

We will have a small open house on Saturday to officially open the office for business! I spent the Friday working late and then meeting the Visa/MasterCard people afterward. I then decided to celebrate the spirit of the moment by taking the first "studio" contrived picture of my original SX70 Land Camera:

That was the first real camera I ever owned and I guess it is fitting that it is the first commercial photograph to take place at the studio.....We have come a long way baby!

Maurice · Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 9:52 am Post subject:

The "Open House" will now take place on Sunday as I am taking some sound legal advice and removing all personal files and property out of the office. I originally thought it would not matter as a warrant for the office usually includes a warrant for the personal home of the officer in charge. However, this is not always the technical case. Furthermore; a non-warrant search request could be granted - but this would also allow them to personal information once granted to the office. Since the office is a separate entity with separate ingress and egress; acceptance for the office does not mean acceptance for my personal living space. A far fetched set of circumstances; but we are a legitimate news gathering operation with a newspaper, internet, radio and television access and we accept reports from all over the world without censorship.....a request or warrant could happen in the future and this just makes sense.

Another day of work for me on the office, but I will also replace the light fixture in the main office and keep at it, tomorrow is definitely the "swan song" for working on the office. I will also start editing the TV show with a crude VHS version of the show. This is very nerve testing stuff here as months and thousands of dollars have been spent.....but sooner or later I have to see what this thing will look like.....

Maurice · Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2004 5:03 pm Post subject:

It is finally done!

The personal files and equipment are now removed from the office. I have also replaced the horrible light fixture in the office:

Before

After

That is about it for the home office except for some more cleaning up. I also had to buy a tool chest for all the tools I had to clear out of there (I had to buy it - or else you would find screwdrivers in kitchen drawers and such). Finally; here is a picture of the bar:

Before

After - Nice And Clean!

That is about it except for the "open house" tomorrow.....

Maurice · Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 5:45 am Post subject:

Some thoughts.....

Why make an official office? Why all the trouble, and bother of halting everything for a week and a half? Why all the physical bother of the move? Why give up 40 percent of my personal living space to the organization?

The answer is simple: We have no choice if we are to keep growing! The most critical moments of an organization (really business theory) is when the organizational structure changes. Most businesses and organizations fail when the move is made. Why? Simply because the new level of organization can not be financially sustained or manned with personnel. One reason the office is in my home is that our organization would quickly fail if we had to pay for an office. That is just for a one room office; we need shooting space and a multi-room complex would fold it within months. My house is large and we pay nothing for the space - thus it is the logical choice. Also, it is in the heart of the busiest, most ethnically diverse city on earth, perfect for our international venue!

To make the head office work; it had to be a real office. The reason for all the last minute moving of personal stuff is legal and practical. How could I have a secretary alone with all my personal files and stuff? How could I leave members alone in the office with my stuff around.....It just would not work. A proper office is the only way to go. We need the real physical office to garner confidence in financial institutions and businesses and government institutions. You can not sue in small claims court without a physical address and this gives us extra credibility over the other smaller concerns.

We have moved beyond the ordinary ma and pa small business by volume of our cash flow and physical structure. That is why I am so careful lately over finances and such. We seem safe now. The TV show was a quantum jump into the real world of media and we are still smarting from the entrance fee (the camera equipment) but we perform minor miracles with cost saving where we can and the organization is still growing and trying to make it big! Anyone who can produce a TV show gets respect in the business world; the braveness to do the thing, getting the idea, the talent, the financing, storyboard and script, organizing the shooting and physical shooting days, personality conflicts and managerial talents.....on and on - You think it is easy? Go ahead and try it; it was one of the most physically and mentally taxing experiences of my life..... Soon we will get back into the swing of things with the paper and music videos and documentaries; these cost little money and the music videos play for free if the station accepts it. I have to get ready for the open house, I just wanted you to know why I was doing this stuff and why I sleep less and less lately.....

Maurice · Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 4:29 pm Post subject:

Officially open for business!

At The Open House

The open house went well with basically family taking a look at what the office looked like. I recorded some of it on tape and then we all drank a toast for the future of the organization. So we are officially open for business as we just passed the one year anniversary of the birth of our web site - We have already beaten the odds.

That is it for this report, back to the usual stuff we do around here with some added filing I will have to do tonight, in my new office!