In 2018, I read T. Boone Pickens book, The First Billion is the Hardest: Reflections on a Life of Comebacks and America’s Energy Future.  The book explains the strategies and deals Pickens used to build his fortune.  Although I do not recall him actually saying when he had made a billion dollars, but that did not take away from the interesting details and stories he provided.

Since reflection is an important way to look at past learnings (aka mistakes, errors, crazy choices), decisions, opportunities and issues, on this page I am chronicling my steps towards a billion dollars in business revenue.  Consider the goal, not as a number, but as a forward-thinking milestone designed to provide sufficient space to create enough learnings to share with you as you work on your own businesses.

I am going back through my notebooks to document the major activities and milestones I have had so far – and the lessons learned as I build my business.

Follow along in chronological order – if you want to know where I am now, skip to the bottom.  The most recent update shows notes taken at or around the date listed at the below.

Last edited:  2018 October 2.  In other words, as of this date I have chronicled my journey as far as 2011.  Yes, eight years of details to go.

The journey continues…

Way back in the day:

The idea:

For as long as I can remember, or at least since I was around eight years old, I have wanted to run my own company.  I would say, I want to be the President and CEO of a global mass media and entertainment company.  Yes, I actually said it that way.  I clipped and saved articles about Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, Izzy Asper and other guys (all guys) who were doing what I wanted to do.

The plan:

When I graduated from high school, I figured no one would buy me a car, so I asked for a copy of David Halberstam’s book, The Powers that Be.  This book is about four great American media companies:  Time magazine, CBS, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.  I was looking for a blueprint for how to start a media company.  Imagine a 17-year-old, black girl in Winnipeg, Canada looking to model her business plan on the best media companies in the world.  But really, I had no other options, no other examples to follow.  After reading that book where almost all the entrepreneurs had inherited their company, I decided I would need about $100 million to start my company.  Since that was not an option, I tried to get as close to my favorite industry as I could, and become a journalist.

The work:

After going to a local community college to do a diploma (like an associate’s degree in the U.S.) in communications I went to work for small town community newspapers as a reporter.  This was my first exposure to single-owner entrepreneurship.  I dabbled with the idea of starting a small-town newspaper, but even if I could come up with a plan, I would never have had the courage to do it (I know what the struggle with confidence is all about).

Since I had to have a university degree to work for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the most important news organization in Canada, I did not stay long with small town newspapers.  Instead I went back to college to do two more years to earn my BA.  My major was political science with an emphasis in international relations.  That interest got me into the Canadian Foreign Service.

The Foreign Service:

I served as a diplomat at Canadian embassies in The Philippines, Colombia and Chile, and did temporary duty in locations like Trinidad and Tobago.  The service was my chance to see the world and I took full advantage of the opportunity.  This was the entrenchment of my global world view, and my exposure to entrepreneurship as a force for development around the world.

After serving at headquarters in Ottawa as a trade policy analyst, I ended up working with business people and decided I should earn a business degree.

Hollywood:

After attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) business school, and a couple of years as a management consultant, I went to work for one of the big Hollywood studios.  When I told one of my elementary school friends about this achievement, she just repeated over and over: “That’s what you always said you would do!  I can’t believe it!  That’s what you always said you would, go to Hollywood and run one of those companies!”  I was that much closer to the plan I’ve had from the beginning.

~2008 – Trying to self-publish a book

When I first started I did not date my notebooks so I’m not sure exactly when I began exploring the online world, but I know it was around this time.  Everything about the Internet was still new and exciting and the tools were rudimentary compared to what we have now.

I know I wanted to publish a book, and I had already written using the self-publishing tools, but I did not know how or where to start.  From my notes, here’s what I can say I was doing:

The first page of notes is 6 steps for my Angle of Deception rollout.  (The Amazon publication date for this book is Nov. 27, 2013 so around five years before I turned this work into an ebook for sale).  At that time my pen name was Chris Lane and I wanted to set up a website, a MySpace page, a Facebook page, an e-mail address, and begin writing to university political science clubs to see if anyone was interested in a political thriller.  Not a bad approach, but I’m not sure where I got these ideas.  I also have notes about creating a pitch letter to reach out to publishers and agents.  And I gave bound printed hard copies of the book to a couple of friends of mine to act as proof readers.  In retrospect, that was a little too much to ask, the book is about 500 pages.

I had some pretty good ideas about reaching out to political science, economics and international relations clubs at universities using Google searches.  Not sure what happened with this research.  I’m sure I was too shy to actually send them e-mails about my book.

I refer to myself as a web entrepreneur in my notes.  Cool! I was really in this space a lot longer than I thought.

At some point, I changed my pen name to Case Lane.  I think there was a golfer named Chris Lane so I wanted something more unique, but not difficult to pronounce.

Domain names and Website

Began studying website hosting, notes include Bluehost, Host Gator, inMotion, GeoCities, AngelFire and iPowerweb.  But I went with VistaPages, then had a fight with them over service.  I deleted all caselane.com copy off VistaPages in March 2008 and kept hounding them for a refund (which I never received).

Also tried to learn more about websites and the language of the Internet.

2008 February – Register domain names

I registered the domain names for caselane.com and caselane.net (I later forgot about this) and encoin.  I ended up with everything on a two-year auto renewal through Network Solutions.

2008 March – Studying websites, webhosting, and self-publishing

The plan was to sell books on my own website.  I have a lot of notes about the technical side of websites and hosting.  I guess the information was not as straightforward as it is now.  Here are my notes about what I should do:

• Create Goal
• Who is the audience?
• Sketch site structure
• Sketch common layout – header and footer, navigation (consistent for each page), marketing, legal

I was questioning whether I should hire a web designer or teach myself.  No WordPress to guide me in those days.  I was trying sites that offered free front page themes, but none were working.  I was definitely frustrated with the technology at the beginning.  I have a lot of technical notes about how to build a website and the type of details I should include on the pages.

Self-publishing ideas

Notes about getting an ISBN number from Bowker, since I was self-editing there was an idea to market the work as ‘unedited galley’ or ‘reader proof.’ Interesting no one mentions this option anymore, people just put the book out as is. At the time I also looked at print publishing.

Other notes all reflect the knowledge I would come to learn much later: create a professional cover, write four line description, get professional editing – but I’m not sure where I was getting these ideas.  Probably Google searches.

2009 – 2011

Was I derailed by technology, the recession, law school applications, work, writing more books  – who knows?  But no notes appear to have been taken for three years, with the exception of still trying to get a refund from VistaPages in February 2010.

Dealing with other businesses:  Sometimes the service provider choice is a dud and you just have to take the loss.  At the beginning of any new venture, you may fall prey to the unscrupulous, but each loss is a lesson learned.

The Law:

Working in Hollywood, I spent time with lawyers who were trying to understand how the new digital technologies would effect the old business.  I realized the law would be years behind the technology which was going to create stresses and strains that lawyers with digital experience would need to manage.  I decided to become a lawyer.

I started actively self-publishing while in law school, and here’s where I’ll continue the story soon…

Disclosure:  Book links are affiliate links to the Amazon.com store.  Using the link may provide compensation to this website owner.