About Me
Want my current whereabouts? Check out my Yogizilla-branded Twitter page!
Hello all!
Now that my blog has a delicate balance of close friends, colleagues, clients, and total strangers, I figured it would be best to take a different approach to my About Me page. I have updated this page to address my favorite questions, including these:
* What have you been up to?
* What is your “thing”, anyway?
* What are your current business ventures?
* When can I clean your mansion’s pool?
SIDEBAR: Yes, people have actually asked me about cleaning my mansion’s pool. I guess they fail to realize that I am not one for unnecessary excess and luxury. I am bohemian in nature, a simple man with simple needs. Give me a farm or ranch and I am fine. Heck, a cozy little house is fine too. As it is, I live in a shoebox apartment in Manhattan with a very unorganized, chaotic, and messy brother – I am definitely not picky!
I figure that those that really wish to know such things can read my blog; otherwise, we’re wasting time with silly small talk. Unlike most people, I don’t really care to brag about my personal endeavors though I will gladly share my experiences with those that genuinely wish to know about them. I am more interested in learning your story, the story of my readers, and building relationships. Some of you have gotten past your bashful visiting habits and have written me some very nice notes and comments – keep them coming as they keep me focused!
Cheers!!! They say that including a photo in your blog, allbeit a bad one, shows people that you are sincere, approachable, and “real” – now you know I am not a robot, folks!
Who I Am
My name is Yomar Lopez. I am of the human race. I am just a simple guy that enjoys the little things that life has to offer. My professional background has concentrated on Information Technology, Sales & Marketing, and Customer Service but writing has always been a passion of mine. I went to Pace University, where I focused on Computer Science and Psychology, mainly. I’m a Jack of all trades and I suppose a master of some as well! I have an inquisitive mind and take all so-called facts with a grain of salt. I enjoy digging deeper. I try to put all the hype aside. I eat shady sales people for lunch – not literally, of course!
My Mission
I love helping people and I think large corporations have forgotten how to do that. Customer service, R&D, and a complete marketing approach seem to lack. I want to change all that and start making some ripples. My mission is to do what I am passionate about, not merely what is profitable, and help people. Sounds cliche, I know, but I feel that many people today are doing what pays the bills, not what truly fulfills them. I’m trying to make a living helping others live, to put it in another manner. Helping people is my “thing”, because everyone has to have a thing, after all!
What Drives Me
I’ve always enjoyed following my heart and taking the road not taken. I enjoy a challenge and learning new things every day – I guess that’s just the adventurous, romantic person in me! What truly gives me great joy is knowing that, at the end of the day, I made a difference. Sharing experiences and wisdom with others is huge. If you can learn from someone else’s life, why not listen for a bit? It is the mutual sharing of experiences, the art of storytelling, that we as a society have lost. Gone are the days of folklore, oral tradition, and compelling stories. A good story is rare these days, which is why the few of them that are around do really well. It’s a winner-take-all marketplace these days. I’m trying to do my part to bring back things to those ever-elusive better days. I am a creative spirit so my works manifest themselves in the most unexpected of ways whether it’s a blog entry, a magazine article, a book, a video game, or even a blurb on one of countless social networking sites.
Who We Are
Two Guys & A Pencil (TGAP) aims at helping small businesses and opportunity seekers alike remember that businesses revolve around people. NT (non-traditional) marketing, to me, is about making warm connections and creating your biggest advocates in your customers and supporters, rather than relying on annoying interrupt marketing methods. Viral marketing and buzz really starts when you give people something worth talking about with others. You have to be brave to do something different in this competitive marketplace and I help people find the courage and winning strategies to do it. No one should feel alone in business, even in this dog-eat-dog world.
My Blog In A Nutshell
My WordPress blog has become more topical over time, though I still feature a very random assortment of articles. The common threads always seem to revolve around marketing, customer service, psychology, and human rights. That is still pretty broad, I know, but I am a man of very diverse interests. When we launch the official TGAP blog, the topics will be a lot more focused. I actually have a bunch of articles in the works now, including…
- The Economy of the Video Game Industry
- The Last Hot NYC Neighborhood: A Story of Squatting and Fading Affordability
- Searching for the Perfect Toothbrush: A Lesson in Marketing
- DRM and Anti-Piracy Follies: How Companies Are Losing Customers
The Two Guys & A Pencil web site should be retooled by April or May 2009, if all goes well. We plan to keep the site simple and content-driven – hope you like it thus far! The challenge of being a full-service provider is that it’s very hard to become viral because it’s not an easy concept to grasp. People think of us right now as the webdev/SEO folks that do marketing stuff too, but it’s more than that. My personal blog is one of the efforts I am doing to pave the way for our fandangled ideas. More importantly, this is the blog where I share things that I am passionate about, hopefully helping some folks out in the process!
Current Projects
Boredom is unfamiliar to me. I have quite a bit going on. Currently, I am talking with an old friend about starting a podcast. I have some video games and books on the backburner (those things don’t pay the bills NOW, unfortunately). Here are some of the projects that I am currently nursing…
- TGAP Online: The TGAP site will be a place where we will share knowledge and explain how our team takes a different approach on everyday business challenges. We want to raise the awareness of small business owners that may be wondering why they have a great product that isn’t selling. Our primary focus will be to educate people about the many misconceptions, myths, and pitfalls business owners should be wary of.
- Vaya: Tatiana is my #1 client and we are working on an immersive web site that will reveal the world of Spanish culture to the world. The focus of the site is on the language but we show the complete experience, rather than taking the boring approach that other sites have right now. Definitely a fun project!
- Risque: This codename represents an overall goal to put out a few web-based games that have Risk mechanics incorporated into them. One will be free and the other will be a premium, pay-to-play, offering. I have some very neat mechanics that I think will create an experience that is not only user-friendly but high on replay value.
- Elysium Exile: If you like NiN, PJ Harvey, and/or Radiohead, this web site will fuse some of those styles together on all levels: the art, the music, the writing style… Should be very interesting! Currently, this project is delayed indefinitely until the artist finishes working on her latest album. She’s a perfectionist so it could be five years before we see that completed. DOH!
- Crossroads: Community hubs and social network sites are huge these days. The market seems saturated but, if you look around, the ones that survive are the ones with a very specific culture/approach. We’re looking to create a community focused on people that are moonlighting creative spirits, looking to break into their passions on a full-time basis. A fusion of geek, artistic, and subculture. Again, with break-through ideas like this, you have to find one consistent message that can easily be passed along by your audience. We are solidifying our marketing plan so that we can build around it, rather than have it as a mere after-thought.
- ORPG Web: I’ve long become dismayed with the many online RPG’s that have very little to do with role-playing. Many of the games are very linear, do not have any compelling stories, and feature gamers that talk OOC (out of character) all the time. This is fine but, for those that want an old-school role-playing experience, I am working on a web-based game that will provide open-ended experiences so that people can focus on the RP and not worry so much about looting, farming, and other annoying mechanics.
–
Le Fufu Dossier
(a.k.a. the old text that I just do not have the heart to remove just yet)
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably Googled “Yogizilla” and stumbled across this page. I think it suffices to say that I’m not exactly trying to cover my tracks here. I won’t be updating this page THAT often but feel free to bookmark and return to this page. I’ll probably throw together a selection of my favorite web sites of the moment, as well as some other recommendations.
Heck, maybe I will even share some random nuggets of wisdom, poetry, and whatever may “perculate” in my noodle. Hope you enjoy it all madly! =o)
How’s my “driving”? Call 800-555-EVIAN and let us know!
Hi there
I never comment – ever, but now I have
Read a few bits on your blog and I like your writing style. Well done for being informative and interesting – someting rare on the net. I shall return
yeah, what plasticmouse said LOL
Haha.. Thanks guys! I had to take a little break from blogging to get some other work done but, boy, it’s always nice to be welcomed by comments and private messages! I have some good stuff in the works so definitely check back in the next couple of weeks!! =oD
well it’s been a couple of weeks. what’s up. Where is the good stuff LOL
My sincerest apologies to all of you!
Keeping up a blog is tough work and I’m all about quality over quantity! There are things in the pipelines but some projects are pulling me away from you, my beloved readers. I hear down the grapevine that you are getting a blog too, Jayman.. I am excited to read your first blog!
To everyone that has left me messages, I literally received over 200 comments in the past couple of weeks, out of nowhere, this is not counting the usual spam and commercial-interest stuff.. I’ll get back to everyone ASAP!! =o)
Cheers to you Yomar!!!
You are really amazing..I will call you ” Yomar the GREAT” I like your writings ever….keep up the good work my friend in SU…
Keep in touch….
hey Yomar – have you done anything on recruiters and their mark up rates? I am interested to know what is the norm, what’s considered extreme?
Sorry for taking so long! I’ve been traveling a good bit and now have moved to beautiful Augusta, Georgia (I was last in San Diego).. In any case, I don’t have anything specifically about that but I have touched upon the topic here and there. Essentially, you can expect a fair recruiter to take away no more than 5% from your base salary. Now, if they are more than your run-of-the-mill contingency recruiter, then you can allow for 10% but I’ve seen as much as 20% to 33% which is why I don’t mess around with recruiters. Most of them do not care what you really want, whether you’re the right fit or if you’ll be happy at the gig/job, or even if you get a good deal so long as they see a nice cut. That’s just the cold, hard truth.
Now, once in a while you will meet some really great recruiters that will treat you to lunch, hear you out on your life goals and plans, and really work with you on finding the right job. Those kinds of recruiters usually have exclusive bidding rights to select jobs and, thus, do not have the pressure of pushing a sale and settling for their candidates getting raw deals in the end. It’s usually easy to spot the real recruiters. The ones that are too busy to get personal with you or try to tell you that they know where you are “really at in your career” are usually full of crap. Be wary of them.
A little story… I worked with a recruiter at OTEC who was a total scumbag. He told me that I was only worth 40K and shouldn’t push for more. This was after a couple of months of me saying I was not really sure that the job was right for me and that I was being treated like a newbie when I already had an established track record in the industry. After his probationary period passed and he got his fat check, he bought a big TV and stopped checking up on me. Of course, this lead to his metamorphosis from edifying, encouraging support player to condescending, unhelpful slimeball. I soon proceeded to go onto a job that paid 75K+ with amazing benefits and bonus structure in place. Interestingly enough, he always said he doubted I had such offers on the table and refused to try to work with his more high-end clients for the sake of his “reputation”. I was happy to find the job on my own through my own support network because I later found out my job package would have been in the area of 50-55K had he not shaved off so much.
I don’t know how true the rumors were but the HR person at my company at the time said this and she had little reason to lie. I mean, she straight-up said, “We paid the recruiter around 20% of your intended compensation package so it’ll be a good year or so before we can talk about a substantial raise.” I’m throwing out some random numbers so pardon me if my math doesn’t add up but that’s just to illustrate the BS you see with mere headhunters. You are better off networking with people and getting to know folks on the inside. You save the company money and you get a little more leverage, but some companies use recruiters as a sort of gatekeeper, which doesn’t always work out too well.
Interestingly enough, the HR person at my employer at the time moved on because she was tired of company politics and cutting corners. She knew I was underpaid and many of us were getting the shaft. Dealing with questionable and unethical companies made her sick of our company. She moved on and, once I saw all the good people leave, I did too. I never looked back.