The Butler Project

Last week I was pretty jacked up about a new business idea I was working on. I need to make some more money and this seemed perfect for me: an internet based business in a field I have been involved in (off line) for the last 12 years that would probably cost less than $500 to start.

Not wanting another experience like that I had with vending machines, I checked and rechecked myself, did I really have the three things every entrepreneur needs?

• Money? Check. I can handle $500.
• Mentor? Check. Like I said, I’ve been in the business off line, and I have my brothers to turn to when I need help with the internet stuff.
• People? Check. This will be a solo operation for a while, and if it takes off, I’m confident I can hire good help. Plus I have family who will take a very active role as supporters and consultants.

Knowing I had the three essentials tied up, I started to do some more research to see if I could really make a go of this idea. Besides determining whether you have the commitment and discipline to take on the task of starting a business, it’s also important to ask yourself these questions:

Is there a market for this service?

Since I’m considering an online business, I checked online. There are a couple of services already running in my proposed field. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, I would have been really disappointed if there had been no competition; that’s a pretty good sign there’s no market either. Both of the top services I found have been around since the late 90s; another good sign–they must be making money.

Can I deliver to my customers?

To me, this question is two fold– first, can I get my customers to use my site, and second, can I give them the service I’m promising? I’m not worried about getting people to my site; there is adequate search traffic for the keywords I would target, and I know how to get listed with search engines. (Our family’s ecommerce site is ranked in the top three on Google for all of our main keywords; it can take a while, but I feel pretty confident in our system.) Additionally, since my service targets parents of school age kids, I know I could write articles for on and off line parenting publications. This would be great, positive exposure, and I know I can drive the traffic to my site.

Can I give the service I’m promising? I think there are enough people on both sides of the service looking for a way to connect, so while I’m not as confident about the answer to this question, I think I can do it.

Do I have enough money?

I know, money is one of the three essentials I already covered, but it’s important enough to look at again. Because I have experience starting a business on the web and experience in the field I’m getting into, I won’t have to hire much help. Buying a domain name and hosting for the site will cost less than $150 the first year, and I’ll do all of the content creation myself. I plan on relying on search engine rankings for the bulk of my advertising (which is free except for the work involved, which I will largely do myself). So, I don’t anticipate start up costs being over $500. In fact, I think I could do it for $250 depending on how much my brother’s technical expertise costs me.

Can I Offer Something New?

Here’s where I look again at the two sites already offering my proposed service, I’ll call them “Site A” and “Site B.” Site A is ugly. The colors are terrible; it’s poorly designed and inconvenient for the user. Additionally the fees they are charging are higher than I anticipate charging for the same services. I know I can do better on all those points. I’ve also checked into their SEO (search engine optimization–how they get noticed and ranked by Google and other search engines), and I feel confident I can match their efforts quickly, even surpass them given some time.

Site B is another story. Site B looks good. It’s well designed, easy to use, and they offer a free service in addition to two levels of paid services. Site B has a lot of users. That’s good for me; that means people have sought out this service.

Can I offer something new? I know I can improve on site A’s model. If they were the top competition, no question, I’d jump in with both feet. Site B has me thinking twice though. I’m not sure I can improve on their service. I know I can get first page rankings with the search engines pretty quickly, but with site B’s longevity, I’m not sure I could ever surpass it (rank higher in search results). If people are going there first, I don’t think they have any reason to then come to me.

I have thought of a few things I could offer my users that Site B does not. Are they strong enough to be my selling point? I don’t think so. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so.

So, Where Does This Leave Me?

I admit, was a little discouraged when I realized I had nothing significant to offer over Site B. I really thought this was the perfect way for me to make more money, but I’m not confident I can command the market, nor do I don’t think the market is big enough that I could share it with Site A and be profitable.

All is not lost though. In planning my business strategy, I came up with some good ideas of perks to offer my users. I still may start a smaller site, a blog perhaps, to test the demand for those items. I have signed up as a free user of Site B myself. By using their site, I may find a way into the market after all.

Finally, I am considering taking my model off line and concentrating on a smaller geographic area using more conventional advertising. I lack a mentor for that kind of business, and it may cost more money, so I’ll research it, get a better idea of what’s involved, and decide from there.

Since tomorrow is Father’s Day, I thought I’d take a minute to honor our dad for the sound financial principles he taught us as we were growing up.

1. Always save some money. My brothers and I got an allowance when we were young and then had paper routes when we were older; saving money from those sources was a family requirement. 20% minimum.

2. Interest is your friend. Our dad knew the power of interest, and taught us to look for the best possible rate. We never had our own savings accounts; instead, Dad put our savings in with his because his account, having a much higher balance, always earned more interest. To keep track of our individual savings, Dad would print out spreadsheets for us, showing our deposits, our balance, and total interest earned.

3. Buy smart, which is not necessarily the same as cheap. Dad did not believe that the best deal was always the cheapest deal. He knew to look for quality at a good price so that he wasn’t losing money replacing stuff all the time.

For example, we rode bikes a lot. My dad is into saving money and being in shape, so he often rode his to work. My brothers always rode theirs to do their paper routes. (Mark once rode his into the back of a car, a parked car.) After buying cheap bikes from a discount store and finding they only lasted a summer or two, my dad decided we would fork over the big bucks for quality bikes from the bike store. After saving for several months, we all had quality Specialized mountain bikes that lasted for years. In fact, I still ride the Specialized Hard Rock I got 19 years ago!

Thanks Dad, for laying a solid financial foundation for my brothers and me. Happy Father’s Day; we love you.

Since I quit my job two weeks ago my wife and I have moved back to our home in Utah. It was rented while we worked out of state. With the home comes the yard work, and yard work requires a lawn mower.

On Monday we headed to our local Lowe’s store to buy the lawn mower and on the way I said to my wife: “Sweetie, I’m leaning toward buying a push mower. One of those deals with no motor.” She gave me a funny look that said “Who are you and what have you done with my husband…you know - the guy who really doesn’t believe in mowing his own lawn, let alone with a motor-free mower?”

Long story short, we bought the push mower. While we were in Lowe’s my wife called my sister (because she already has a push mower) for her opinion. After a minute my wife pushes the phone at me and says “She wants to talk to you.”

Mark: Hey.

Emily: Who is this? What did you do with my brother? You’re going to buy a push mower? Yeah, we love ours, but it’s the last thing in the world I’d ever expect you to do.

You might be wondering why my wife and sister reacted so skeptically to my mower plans. It’s not that I’m opposed to manual labor. I worked construction all through college and I actually enjoy it. Their skepticism is due to the fact that I’m the world’s biggest proponent of leveraging your time.

For example, when I was still working there were quite a few Saturdays when my wife would ask me to wash the cars, and I’d tell her it was too expensive for me to do it myself. After all, I could go to work, make one sale, and the commission would be ten times the cost of driving both cars through the car wash. So I’d go to work, make the sale, and drive the cars through the car wash.

So why the change of heart? A mower with no motor is the complete opposite of leveraging your time. It will probably take twice as long to mow with the push mower, and I’ll probably have to do it twice as often.

Here’s why I bought the push mower:

I spent the last four years in a cubicle with a headset on. I liked the work, but it was devoid of physical exertion. So I got fat (I’ve gained about 30 pounds over the last four years), but I also got stressed. Did you know that a sedentary lifestyle is both a symptom and a cause of depression?

On other hand, regular physical activity is actually one of the best treatments for depression and anxiety.

So the point is, when I was commuting and punching a time clock, I felt too stressed and too short of time to do something like mow my own lawn or wash my own car. Result: fat and depressed.

Now that I’m job free and can take breaks in the middle of my workday at home to go work in my yard for an hour or two. It feels great.

I’m already happier; I have to hope I’ll get skinnier too.

What are the stress-reducing, happiness-producing things you would do if you had more control over your time?

Last Thursday I quit my job. It was way past time for me to leave. My boss (and good friend) was at my office, we had a few words (for which we both apologized the next day) and I left. Months and months ago I lost all faith in the company’s product and ownership. Made life pretty miserable considering I had to continue not only keep selling the product but try to train and motivate the sales reps working for me that they should sell it too.

I have not enjoyed the last six months, but it’s over now and it’s the best feeling (professionally) I’ve had in a long time. Probably ever. I stayed out of a sense of duty to the company (one of its owners in particular who’s a good friend), and the people I managed. In the end they may have been better off if I’d quit sooner. I guess I’ll have to live with that question.

As I left, one of my employees made an interesting statement to me: “I hope you can realize that there’s more to life than a dollar.” Interesting. Apparently I had given this guy the impression that all I care about is money. He probably got that impression because I had done numerous trainings on how much better life is when you don’t have to worry about paying your bills next month, and how the ability to enjoy some travel and quality time with your family (afforded by money) is pretty nice.

The reality is I could not care less about money itself. I enjoy money, mostly I enjoy making it. It’s a game, and a really fun one. But beyond that, money itself is meaningless. I only value money in how it allows me to spend my time how I want.

It has never made sense to me to spend one-half (or more) of my waking hours away from these two:

One of my favorite quotes about money and wealth is this one:

“One of the best ways to stop worrying about money forever is to just make a bunch of it, and then move on.”

Money is too trivial to spend so much time on it in the long term. For the next few years I’ll spend 50-60 hours per week making money. When I’m finished I will have bought back the rest of my life, and I’ll be able to spend my time on the things that really matter.

The other day a friend of ours posted excerpts from a commencement address given at Standford by Steve Jobs. I’ve thought about it every day since I read it. Here’s one particularly powerful quote:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - From a commencement address at Stanford University given by Steve Jobs.

It bothers me that people won’t take risks when their intuition tells them they should. What is the worst that could happen? I’m not saying be reckless. Although I’m willing to risk bankruptcy to have the life I want, I’d rather avoid it. Make a plan, and be willing to do the work required to both live your passion and pay your bills. Yes, they’re both possible.

Let’s face it, getting out of debt, sticking to a tight budget, or building a new business is not always fun. In fact, many days you might feel downright depressed about it. And that’s OK because it’s hard work to make up for past mistakes, delay gratification, and keep at it when results are few and far between. Does that mean you should quit? No! That just means you accept that some days will be hard and you’ll figure out how to deal with them.

Try some of these solutions; they work for me.

1. Do something physical.

Lift weights, go for a walk, take a hike, ride your bike, run around the block, go for a swim, play Frisbee in the park, whatever you enjoy doing, do it! Physical activity will not only distract you from your cares, but it’s scientifically proven to boost your mood.

2. Play.

I have kids, so I always have someone to play with. It’s amazing how a short game of pretend, Chutes and Ladders, or kick ball can improve my mood.

3. Serve others.

Nothing is a quicker antidote to a pity party than helping others. Do something nice for your spouse, your children, even your mother. Send a card, perform a secret act of kindness, help a neighbor with yard or house work. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just think about someone else and act on their needs for a minute.

4. Gratitude.

Gratitude goes right along with service. You can’t help but feel better as you count your blessings, and nothing makes your blessings more apparent than serving people in tough situations. Oprah made gratitude journals famous a few years ago. It’s not a bad idea to start a little notebook where you write down the things you are grateful for. It’s amazing how many things you start to notice when you’re paying attention.

5. Avoid sugar, caffeine, and other stimulants.

Yeah, yeah, we all know we need to eat well. But junk food tastes so good, especially when you’re having a bad day! Did you know stimulants, including sugar and caffeine actually increase anxiety? Check out what not to eat here

6. Make a visual.

Sometimes we need a visual reminder of where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. I’ve made a simple one to show how much debt I’ve paid off (remember my vending machine venture?) and have that reminder that I’ve done a good job. The visual reminds me that by continuing to do the hard work, I’ll be through with debt soon. If you don’t have debt, make a net worth visual or a bar graph showing your business’s improvements over the last few weeks, months, or years. Include your goals in the visual and post it somewhere you’ll see it often.

7. Get to work.

I loved this post about whining. Quit whining. Get to work. If all your work is done, play; play hard.

8. Surround yourself with Success.

If you remember Dan, one of Mark’s interviewees, he read books every day:

Dan: [Read] self help books– it could be anything, it could be Tony Robbins, it could be sales books, it could be Zig Ziggler, Tom Hopkins, whatever . . . Just get in the habit of reading, even if it’s only for 20 minutes a day or a half hour a day where you wake up and you start your day with that and it just gives you ideas; it gets you in the right mind set. [Basically] you need a personal mentor, and I use a lot of those books kind of as that to get me upbeat and get me going.

Read blogs about other people who are working at doing what you’re doing. They’re proof it can be done.

Read the Butler Project. Every time I listen to or read about a millionaire interview, I am inspired and feel like I can take on the world. They did it. So can we!

9. Reward yourself.

When you get to a certain point, you’ll have some financial and business breathing room. Think about a “sunny” day fund. Even if you’re just saving $10 a week of your grocery money so you can go to lunch with a girlfriend or buy a pair of shoes in a few weeks, it’s a good idea to have plans for you.

10. Remember, it takes time to change your life.

Whether you’re working on paying off debt or building a business, expect that it will take a significant length of time to produce significant results. Our family owns an ecommerce site. Last summer, after working on it for a good 10 months, we were all pretty much ready to throw in the towel. We were doing a lot of work for a very little money. We took 2 months off. After the break, we got together and decided to make some significant changes on the site and with our suppliers. Then we got to work. It was a lot of hard work and still, the results were meager.

Then the Christmas season began, and business picked up. We were enthusiastic and eager again. January came and we expected the same serious slump we had experienced the previous January. It didn’t come. In fact we held steady through January and February and now we’re setting new records for traffic each week.

Remind yourself it takes time. All the hard work we did months ago (setting up accounts with new suppliers and entering literally thousands of products into our database) is paying off now. We’re not entering new products anymore, but we are enjoying the results of that hard work months later. The little things you do today (saving that 10 bucks, or advertising your business, whatever you’re doing) can make a big difference tomorrow or next week or next year. It takes time.

If you haven’t read about my foray into the world of entrepreneurs, here’s the short version: Looking to generate some passive income, I bought some 25-cent vending machines through a classified ad. I put the cost of the package, the whole $11,000 on my credit card. The package included a Locator Service — someone to come to my city and find businesses where I could profitably place my vending machines. The locator company warrantied a certain number of vends per day, and assuming they stuck to their warranty, I would be making about $2700 a month from my little vending machines! One of my biggest concerns going into this business was, “How will I carry $2700 worth of quarters?”

The Saga Continues

Well, I had signed all the papers, now I just had to wait. The candy arrived first. A Fed Ex truck showed up, and two people unloaded boxes and boxes of candy. 1/4 of it was Chiclets. Does anyone even like Chiclets? Tom, the vending machine salesman, had assured me gum was a top seller. He was the closest thing I had to a mentor, so he must be right. Building an empire on Chiclets. It felt good . . . or so I told myself as I hauled boxes of peanut M&Ms, Runts, Chiclets and small encapsulated toys to my basement. It was a great start.

The machines arrived 2 weeks later. Awesome. No one mentioned they came in pieces. Luckily, I’m married, and my husband did the manly thing and put them together. Now we just had to wait for the locator service. No problem. When you’re going to make that kind of cash, you don’t mind waiting a few days.

Please Come

Days, however, turned to weeks. I started making phone calls. I tried to be patient and understanding, but all I wanted to do was to get out there and make some money! By this time I had a credit card statement with a balance larger than I’d ever seen. We had carried a balance on a credit card before, but we worked like bandits to pay it off. I was anxious to start working like a bandit to pay this one off too. No one at Cornerstone Marketing shared my urgency or enthusiasm. They said my locator, Craig, was busy elsewhere in the country, but he would get there. “Two weeks,” they assured me, “Two weeks.”

Two weeks turned into two months. The machines got dusty in my garage. I made phone call after phone call. I knew everyone by voice at Cornerstone Marketing. I was figuring out their family relationships –Chris was the son, Melanie was either his wife or sister, and their Dad was the BIG BOSS.

Finally Cornerstone gave me the locator’s phone number. I talked to my locator, several times. First, he couldn’t come because Cornerstone wasn’t paying him enough. Then he couldn’t come because he and his brother had a huge fight. Another time he had the flu, worst case he’d ever had in his whole 52 years. Then he started giving me the “Two weeks” promise. Two weeks turned to four, four weeks to six, etc, etc.

Things started getting ugly. Chris (the original salesman at Cornerstone) had started refusing my calls months before, but now no one would talk to me. I finally filed a complaint with the BBB. Cornerstone claimed this (filing the complaint) voided our contract. How convenient for them. I stood behind the complaint; Cornerstone refused to answer.

Eventually, my locator showed up. He called me that morning and claimed he would have 15 awesome locations for me by noon. At 3:30 we met at a gas station where he told me he got 1 good location and 6 terrible ones. He then handed me a map of a neighboring town, circled a few spots I might want to try, and wished me luck.

I placed vending machines at the 7 locations and started servicing them. After two weeks I got 4 quarters from one, 8 quarters from another; my monthly gross totaled less than $100. Carrying those quarters wasn’t an issue. Counting them took moments. They were not even enough to cover the minimum monthly payment on my credit card.

I had pretty much given up on Cornerstone. Even with the warranty, they couldn’t manufacture decent locations for me. The BBB complaint had seemingly led nowhere, and I had little hope of getting any of my money back. I thought maybe Tom, the vending machine salesman might put some pressure on Cornerstone for me. But then hurricane Katrina hit his business, and I never got a hold of him again.

One day a lawyer from the Federal Trade Commission called me. He was investigating Cornerstone Marketing, and had seen my BBB complaint. I told him my story and signed a deposition. He said he’d let me know how it turned out.

How It Turned Out

• I have 13 vending machines in storage (two went “missing” when their location changed management.) One of these has been vandalized, but still works. I tried selling them online. I tried selling them in the classifieds. Anybody want to buy a vending machine?
• My total (net) take in quarters over the 8 months I had the machines out was less than $1000, somewhat less than the $21,000 I was “warrantied.”
• Chris, Melanie, Carol, and Sidney Putnam were all charged with two counts relating to “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” (At least that’s my understanding of the formal complaint against them.) The judge suspended the $3 million judgment against them because they showed they are unable to pay that full amount. They were required to pay $55,000 plus the proceeds from the sale of a house Chris and Melanie owned. No one has called me to come pick up my settlement check. I’m not sitting by the phone.
• I’ve decided my vending career is over.

He Knows What He’s Talking About

One of our millionaire interviewees, Dan emphasized again and again that there are 3 essentials entrepreneurs must have: a mentor, money, and people. Let’s go through them individually:

A Mentor

Sure, I knew a few people who had made money with vending machines. I didn’t discuss this offer with them. I didn’t have a relationship with any of them where I could call them up and get advice on what to do next. I had no one to turn to when I wondered How do I get my own locations? Where are the best locations? What should I do with all these machines?

Dan also stressed the importance of experience–knowing the business you’re getting into.

The only experience I had with vending machines prior to this business opportunity was that I hated my kids begging for quarters whenever we saw one. I didn’t like vending machines. I thought they looked tacky and made a mess of the business where they were placed. When considering buying my own machines, I ignored my negative feelings because I was focused on the promises of two salespeople who stood to gain from my leap into vending.

I had no mentor and no experience.

Money

I had no money to invest in this business opportunity. I leveraged my good credit into this vending “route.” I ended up with 13 vending machines (anybody want to buy a vending machine?), some airline miles rewards, a whole lot of useless vending product, and 18 months worth of credit card payments.

People

Did I have people? I had a husband who supported me. He put my machines together, helped me deliver them, and even placed a few after the original locations proved their inadequacy. In the right business, we’ll do great together.

What Did I Learn?

I learned just how essential money, a mentor, and experience are for an entrepreneur. I learned about sales, and shady business offers–deals that sound too good to be true.

I learned that I can come back. I can pay for my own mistakes and try something else. I learned humility. I learned something about myself and the work I am and am not willing to do.

Had I taken my time and paid cash for one vending machine and the product to fill it, I would have learned these lessons of experience at a much lower price, but I’m back. I’m smarter, wiser, and ready to try again.

My accountant emailed me the other day. He needed some more information about Loose Change Vending, a business I had started a few years ago and got rid of last year. I thought I was done with Loose Change last January, but apparently I have one more tax return to file that reminds me of my huge entrepreneurial mistake . . . misstep . . . or trip and fall into a deep dark hole.

A couple of years ago I was reading Kawasaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It was one of my first entreprenurial self help reads, and he convinced me that passive income is the way to go. (Passive income being income for which you work once and are paid many times, or, ideally, for which you are paid residually forever.) To me, any money that comes in without requiring your constant presence seems like a pretty good idea.

Vending?

So, I was reading the classifieds one day and an ad listing a vending business for sale caught my eye. Eureka! Vending is a passive income– you just go and service your machines and pick up the quarters every month or so! What a great idea.

Not wanting to be rash, and a little afraid of jumping into my own business so quickly, I thought about it for a few days. I discussed the possibility of vending with my husband. I called my parents and talked to them about it. Although we were sure vending couldn’t be as easy as it sounded, none of us could think of a reason not to at least check it out.

So, I did it. I called the 800 number. A lady with a great southern drawl answered the phone at First American Vending. She connected me with Tom, vending salesman extraordinaire.

Tom was really nice. I questioned him; he educated me. Turns out it was not an established business he was selling, it was 15 brand new machines plus inventory and a guarantee that I would have my full investment returned to me within 5 months. Wow. That sounded like a good deal. That sounded like a great deal. That sounded like a deal to good to pass up.

Still, wanting to err on the side of caution, I talked to my husband some more. I talked to my parents again. I called my brothers and explained the business to them. Everybody thought it sounded great. Everybody was thinking about calling Tom themselves. Who knew you could make that much money on little 25 cent candy vending machines?

With my whole family excited and thinking of following me into the vending business, I felt some responsibility and decided to expand my circle of advice. My husband had a friend whose dad had owned vending machines in the past. He said they did alright and provided a steady income. I looked for more experienced vendors, and Mark reminded me he worked summers for a neighbor whose lifelong business was in vending. This neighbor had a big house and sent his kids to private schools, apparently vending was working for him! For further confirmation, I asked Tom if he had vending machines. I figured it would be a huge red flag if the vending machine salesman didn’t have machines. But he did. And he reported they did great. So, combine those three positive reports plus the guarantee, and I was sold.

Guarantee or Warranty?

Before I signed anything though, I questioned Tom about the guarantee a little more. Well, First American didn’t do the guarantee, that was Cornerstone Marketing, LLC in Bluffton, South Carolina. But Tom assured me everything was great and gave me the number of Cornerstone Marketing where I talked to Chris.

Chris was real nice. He explained that the deal was not a guarantee of profits, rather a warantee. Hmmm . . . I liked guarantee better.

The warranty worked like this: Cornerstone Marketing would send someone, a professional “locator” to my home town and that person would find the perfect locations for me to put my vending machines. I was required to service them regularly and send reports back to Chris at Cornerstone Marketing. If I was not making the minimum number of sales at any of my locations, then Cornerstone would send the locator back to find new places for me to put my machines and rake in my quarters.

Well, I still didn’t like the sound of warranty instead of guarantee, but I really couldn’t see any holes in their plan, and I had convinced Tom to include the cost of the locator in my package price, so I decided to go for it.

The way I saw it, the worst part about vending was finding profitable locations and getting the business to allow you to place your machine there. With that taken care of, I was free to ponder the problem of carrying all my quarters. Cornerstone was warranting 16 vends a day. That’s $1200 a month on candy and $1500 a month on my sticker/tatoo machines. So, how much does $2700 in quarters weigh? Would I need a cart? Even if I only made half of what they warrantied, $1350, how would I count all those quarters? Would my bank have a problem taking them? What would I do with all my money?

Let’s Put in on the American Express

Clearly, I was sold. I upped the credit limit on one of my credit cards, and gave Tom number. I signed and faxed the contracts in. It was exciting. I was on my way. Ha! Kawasaki had to live in his car before he made it big. Here I had pretty much a guarantee of $3000 a month, I was going far. Far, far.

Now take a minute and think about the three essentials for entrepreneurs that Mark posted about last week: money, a mentor and experience. Here I was putting myself out there for $11,000, money I didn’t have (not even in an emergency fund), for a business I had absolutely NO experience with, and the closest thing I had to a mentor was the salesperson I had met two weeks ago who was taking my money! I went far alright.

Wednesday I’ll tell you just how far I got. How many quarters I carted to the bank, and who won the lawsuit.

Image credits: Mykl Roventine and Me (yes, that’s my very own vending machine).

If you’re the curious sort, you probably already know Mark and I are brother and sister who share the same birthday. In celebration of our day, I’m posting a few pictures of our third and seventh birthdays. You can see Mark below, contemplating his third birthday wish.

I gotta tell you, with two kids born in April, my mom got a lot of mileage out of the double birthday bunny cake! See how convenient it is to put his candles on one ear and mine on the other?

Here we are working on one of the earliest Butler Projects–figuring out what Mark got for his birthday. That’s our middle brother, Nate on the left in the Hardee’s hat (probably our first choice for birthday dinner) and me on the right, looking smug with the certainty that he will not get anything as cool as my new Barbie furniture.

PS. Image credits go to Dad, and my mom did all the rest.