Yesterday, I set off to “make” $9,000 in 49 days. Crazy, right?
If you’ve come here to read about a “get rich quick” idea, keep surfing. But if you want to read about a grad school student looking for creative ways to fund college tuition, read on.
After much talking, hand-wringing and pride swallowing, I decided if I really believe in something — this something being my education — I’m going to have to live with the pain and discomfort that comes with publicly admitting to a need, then asking for support. I launched a crowd-funding campaign through a site called indiegogo.com in hopes to attract business sponsorships in exchange for some creative services, but opened it up to individual contributions as well (there’s chocolate and popcorn involved but you’ll have to visit the site to learn how).
When our MCDM program director Hanson Hosein said our first class was intended to stretch us, this is probably not exactly what he meant. Nonetheless, since our Cohort 11′s slogan has become “Go to 11,” I am embracing the challenge of being pushed outside of my bubble. If I fail to find a way to continue in school this academic year, it won’t be because I admitted defeat.
I will spare the details of why I took this step and just say it was far from the way I planned it. But if you’re curious, you can glean some details from my previous post and my campaign video (which, forgive me for saying, I’m proud of because it’s only the third multimedia production in my life and entirely self-taught; I mention this because it was a direct result of the fall quarter, which has stretched me, indeed! Actually the class gets full credit even for the fact I’m now blogging not only here, but on two other blogs, including one I have been meaning to start ages ago for my professional work).
There was no science behind the 49-day length other than I didn’t want it to go beyond Jan. 31 and yesterday it was finally ready to go live. The amount is ambitious and will cover the remaining three quarters of this academic year at half-time. Yes, I could have been shooting for the more modest one-quarter mark, but in truth, if this is successful, I would rather set the goal all the way and not meet the entire amount, then come back later for another round. And from a strategic point, I’m hoping it’s easier to build up the momentum once than doing it in waves.
I plan to share some of my experiences here, and a few tips. But I have to reserve the jucier stuff because my top perk to a sponsor is a complete report on crowd-funding and best practices and I don’t want to compromise the value of that offer.
Here’s to 11! Stay tuned.
