Phill Mason

After a great recording session in the studio, comes the most fun bit  - the mixdown. Putting the icing on all those individual instruments and adding a certain sparkle that just makes and instrument sing, is extremely rewarding and for me is one of the most enjoyable parts of writing and recording. Once you’ve got that blinding mix sorted, next comes the mastering. Mastering how to master a track can be a lengthy process and one of much trial and error. I remember a few years back, mixing to a stereo tape deck and then rushing to my car to see how the mix sounded in there - usually a half decent mix in the car was a sign of a nice mastering job. These days there are so many plugins to choose from like Multiband Parametric EQ’s, compressors, limiters etc, not only does it take several mixes to get your desired final master, you need a degree in software knob twiddling (real course) before you start. I’m happy to report that I’ve been through the majority of standard plugins over the years and now I tend to stick with what I know works well for me. Below are some of my favourite plugins that add a certain amount of deft punch and top end air to my stereo mixes.

I’ve recently moved servers on some of my websites and this has prompted me into a well-overdue redesign on some of them. This has been great. On one hand it’s been a lot of work, but on the flip side, I always love a challenge and I’ve been wanting to turn some of my PSD (Photoshop Image Files) into usable HTML websites. So for the last few days I’ve knuckled down and with a lot of trial and error, I’ve managed to create something I’m very pleased with. Whilst I have a pretty good understanding of Photoshop CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, HTML, CSS and sliced images in tables etc, there’s always a new problem raising it’s ugly head - and in a kind of sadistic, twisted way, I kinda love that challenge.

Don’t get me wrong, I do surf around for help when I get stuck, but I love trying to accomplish everything from scratch. It’s not a stubborn thing, oh no, for me it’s the only way this stuff really sinks in.

I’ll get round to making a tutorial of how I did this so anyone can have a crack at it if this is something that interests you? So in answer to my own title - "PSD to HTML - How Hard Can It Be" - Pretty Bloody Hard Actually - but oh so rewarding. More to follow soon.

Getting Organised With Some Time Management

It’s hard to delegate the appropriate amount of time to each daily task when you work from home and you are your own boss. If you’re serious about working from home then you’re going to have to be tough on yourself just like your boss would be if you worked for someone else. With an ever-growing list of daily activities taking up our valuable profit-making time and the constant temptation to get side tracked into some online social event, some time management and realistic planning is most definitely in order. Do so and you will be streets ahead of the most of your competitors.

Whilst making a recent mind-map for this years new business project, I made a point of estimating the amount of time I thought each task is going to take in order to get a guide on how much time I can realistically allocate to each task. It’s important to be aware of what takes the most and least time and how much closer each task will move you toward your goals. If you are like me and like to (think you can) do everything yourself, then this may well be your downfall. I love being creative, so I love to learn and apply my skills, like many of you do I’m sure, but learning HTML, CSS, Java, Flash, Photoshop and Dreamweaver is a hugh amount of time and effort taken up just to put up a groovy looking website - and a new sparkly website is just one small part of setting up an online business. Perhaps my time is better spent designing the website and then outsourcing it to someone who does this every day! I know that outsourcing and leveraging the resources of others is going to be a financially smart move for me this year.

Take some time to list your daily activities like, how much time you take reading emails, posting on Twitter, watching videos on Youtube or chating with friends on Facebook etc. This part is important, ‘Be Honest With Yourself’ and write down exactly how much time you really do spend on these activities. You will be terrified at how much of your day is wasted on leisure stuff and the more time you waste -  then the more non-profit steps you take towards failure. Make sure to add in things like phone calls and making tea and coffee etc, even going to the toilet, I’m not saying you should go, but when it’s down on paper, then - and only then will you be able to see just how little time you actually spend trying to make money. It is scary and when you’re the boss you should be constantly peering over you own shoulder to make sure you’re working as hard as you should be. By simply reorganising your time by just a tiny amount, can give you so much more time to be productive.

Every person I’ve come across who runs a successful business either on or offline, is constantly evaluating their time to see if time spent could be improved. Consistently take small achievable steps towards your goals, stay focused and plan for success.

I just couldn’t resist posting this little gem for a little light-hearted relief.

The other reason is to test out this JW media player, it’s sleek and I can size it to any size I wish. I’d love to know what you think of this size on your monitor - too big, too small? It’s 16:9 ratio at 640 x 360 pixels.

One Script, An Interview, One Piano Player, One Line……. How hard can it be to deliver one simple line? When Mmm Mmm The Musical pianist - Kieran Lowe and composer Phill Mason get together to film that elusive one line, it begins to get more and more tricky than it should be! This funny outtakes video simply shows how hard it is to film one measly line when the giggles kick in!

Can You Plan For Success?

Today is the first day of a new venture I will be sharing with all of you over the next coming months. My plans to launch a new online business in the music field have started today. Working from home is wonderful, but commands real discipline. Anyone who operates a business from home already knows that you have to treat every minute as if you were working for someone else. If you don’t it’s too easy to slack off and surf the web or take a brake and make yet another cup of coffee.

I was thoroughly enjoying last nights Twitter posts because I felt the excitement and enthusiasm from so many people planning their 2009 - and whilst so many are feeling the pinch of this global recession, its wonderful to bask in the positive energy of my global friends as I watch them hatch this years mater-plans.

It’s healthy to remain positive and motivated in these difficult times as I really believe a positive minds is a stronger one! I’ve been in the process of mind-mapping today, (a useful strategy I learnt as a Stompernet member) and this help really visualise what tasks lie ahead and kind of make things more tangible. In you head its an idea, on paper or on screen its an action - and its that process of mind-mapping that makes things happen for me. It’s almost like I have to physically see a "to do list" in order to get anything done and as soon as processes are in place, I can begin to take action.

Now this is not going to be an overnight launch or anything like that, this is me "Phill Mason" publicly announcing that I will be spending most of my year focused on this one project and committing to it 100%. Blimey that felt good. So, it’s neck on the line time for me because you can follow me day by day to see exactly what I do as I setup this new business and hopefully you’ll learn a thing or two and hopefully you’ll teach me something, but most importantly, if you are just starting out online, I hope to be able to share with you my experience as an entrepreneur and marketer by posting action lists, images, audio and video of my complete  business plans for 2009. I hope you can take some of this and apply it to your business too. Now if all goes completely wrong and I totally fail, you can point and laugh if you wish, but it’ll all be posted here for your disposal -  warts and all, so please join in, comment, ask questions and make suggestions, its gonna be fun!

There’s an old saying "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail". As with any new business, concept first, then planning, then research. This should all be actioned before spending a dime. If you truly want to work from home and begin making a real business for yourself throughout 2009, then dig your heels in hard and let’s get started. Here’s to a prosperous and most successful 2009.

P.S
Special thanks goes out to Shannon Cole for helping me fix my text wrapping around my images issue. All gone and fixed now thanks to Shannon, Cheers Buddy - Mucho Aprreciato. For those of you who don’t know Shannon, he’s a cool marketer, a master of the links and a great 30 day challenge colleague, you would do well to follow his every move - http://twitter.com/shannoncole