Thoughts on Guest Speaker Erik Hanberg

Erik Hanberg walks into the room. The very first thought that popped into my mind was, "hey, I have a coat just like that".  Before his talk, he removes the coat and folds it neatly, and places it on the table. That's how you know he is a legitimate, successful entrepreneur.

Jokes aside, I thought that what he presented during the talk was what really lets you know that he's legit. The first thing that stood out to me was his graph of the two types of income, while he was talking about his experience working with a non-profit theater. It made perfect sense; hourly-paid people are on a linear spectrum of income, while people like actors, artists, entrepreneurs, etc. have a concave upwards curve. For the latter, the more ? the more money you make. I actually don't remember what it was, but it made sense at the time I was listening to it. What he was trying to say was that if he had owned that theater, he could make a lot more money and work a lot less. I thought of that idea to be so awesome. But I kind of figured that it isn't so easy to achieve that. I am not too business-inclined, and so the technical talk that followed kind of lost me. However I could tell it was actually as complicated as it sounded (at least for me).

Another thing I clearly remember was the one part of the title of the slides and what its meaning is; ship. Shipping basically means "getting it out". No matter what kind of product or service you are providing, you need a way to distribute it and actually make something out of your business. I totally agree. I have an acquaintance that happens to be a SoundCloud rapper (which refers to people who produce rap music for SoundCloud and usually do not or can't make a living off of it). I personally think the music is really good; the only problem is its exposure to the masses. Based on the tracks' stats, there isn't much activity. So if the music was more effectively advertised, or "shipped", perhaps they could make a living, maybe even more than a living.

The last segment of Erik's talk was about his books. I'm going to be completely honest; I think I was asleep for a lot of this. Although I was interested in how one might write something and make money from it. I really want to start writing and drawing graphic novels. What he talked about gave me an initial insight, and at the end of class, I submitted a question about how I could make money from writing, specifically the type of writing I want to do. I hope I get an answer.

Overall, I feel like Erik Hanberg's visit was worth every minute. I learned a good amount from his talk.