Featured

Secret Lab Titan Series Review: A Gamer’s Dream Chair

Published

1 month ago

July 15, 2019

Secret Lab is a company that began in 2014 with a mission to build the best gaming chair in the industry. Despite the already saturated market and fierce competition, Secret Lab decided to launch their first line of gaming chairs in 2015. They're now distributing in over 40 countries giving gamers everywhere the competitive advantage of being able to stay in the game longer more comfortably. Their current product line consist of the THRONE, OMEGA, TITAN and Neue series.We received the Secretlab Titan in Charcoal Blue Softwave Fabric for this review. The Titan is currently considered the largest chair available from Secret lab. It comes with a load of features you'd expect from a $400+ gaming chair in addition to being able to support up to 290lbs, which should be plenty for anyone between 6'0 - 6'4. The Titan comes with three different upholstery options, each at different prices. You can get the Pu leather at $399, Softwave fabric for $429, and premium Napa leather for $949. With the Pu leather option, you also get to choose between six different color options. With the Softweave fabric, you only get two color options. And the Napa leather only comes with one color scheme.

Assembly

Branded packagingThe Titan comes in a large black box with their logos and branding on all sides. This was a surprise for me since a lot of other gaming chairs we have at the office typically comes in a cheap looking cardboard box deprived of any kind of branding or color. They could've easily gotten away with just a regular cheap cardboard box, but they chose not to go the frugal route, given you just paid $500 for it. Opening it for the first time, you definitely felt like you were opening something premium.

Clear instructionsForget those generic thick manuals that contain 90 pages of instructions in every language known to man, and only one page of English instructions that you have to dig to find. Secret lab knew we hated that and decided to do things a little differently. As soon as you open the box, you're greeted with a large sheet with the assembly instructions and warranty information. The instructions are visually pleasing, easy to understand, and laid out in a way that you only need visual cues to put the whole thing together.

Intelligently packaged and systematically orderedEverything was intelligently laid out layer by layer. You can tell a lot of thought went into organizing everything this way. The layers coincide with the instructions, so you don't need to lay everything out on the floor and then struggle to find any part. Secret lab definitely nails down the user experience right from the get-go. No one in our office has much experience putting chairs together, yet it only took one of our writer about 10 minutes to put the entire thing himself. The online video was a nice touch, however it wasn't needed in our build thanks to the clear instructions and intuitive layering system they have going on.

Pre-assembled nuts. Why isn't everyone doing this?!All the tools are included in the box, so you don't need anything extra. They even went ahead and put all the rings and washers onto the nuts so you only need to screw them on. We wish more manufacturers would take the time to do these little things. Sometimes manufacturers forget no one wants to spent an hour struggling to put together a product they paid $500 for. They just want to assemble it as quickly as possible, and get back to gaming. Secret lab understands that.

Complaints with assemblyAs easy as everything was, there are a few small complaints that we had. The one thing you need to be careful of is the mechanical lever for releasing the backrest. There is an obvious warning tag that lets you know NOT to touch it until it's fully assembled. We pressed it by accident because the label was stuck between the cushion and it fired like a gun.The second complaint is the side pieces. They're really just for aesthetic purposes, but they're ridiculously difficult to screw on because you have to "align" the holes while applying pressure.

Fully assembled!After 10 - 15 minutes, everything was fully assembled.

Looks And Feel

Aesthetically, it's one of the most well designed gaming chair money can buy right now. We appreciated the simple and elegant styling instead of the over-the-top RGB that some chairs come with. It definitely carries a more mature look, making it suitable for home or office use. This is a chair was built for hard-core gamers and it can also be put in an office without looking out of place.The Cold Cure Foam is firm and supportive. It's not as cushiony or soft as you'd expect when you first sit on it. And that's because it's meant to provide the needed support and comfort without compromising your focus while gaming. The chair is big and hugs you as you sit in it. There's plenty of adjustments to play around here. The arm-rest can be adjusted up/down and forward/backward. There's a nice lumbar adjustment knob on the side. On the side, there's also a lever that enables you to recline the backrest as much as 165 degrees.

Build Quality & Adjustments

Sitting down in the Titan for the first time, you could easily tell it's a premium chair made of the highest quality parts. There's no squeaking or strange noises as you're adjusting and moving around. Everything just felt solid - the way it should be. The multi-functional tilt system works flawlessly as it should. The 4D arm-rest adjustments are easy to control. And the larger than normal XL wheels are silky smooth when attempting to roll around.

Real Life Performance Test

We put the Titan to the test by having our in-house writer, whom also happens to be a Fortnite/Apex gamer, test it out for a week. The typical gaming session is around 2-3 hours on a weekday. And on weekends, his gaming sessions on Apex hovers anywhere from 5 - 6 hours. After an entire week of shooting and looting on the Titan, our tester absolutely loved the chair. The firmness took a while to get used to, but it's only during the extended weekend sessions that you really notice the difference. The chair isn't noticeable. It provides support and keeps you in place. You don't slide around, it doesn't make a sound, it doesn't bother you, and there's nothing about it that would make you even think about it. And that's the hallmark of a great gaming chair. One that simply does it's job and keeps the gamer hyper focused and comfortable.

Verdict

It can be challenging to justify $500 on a gaming chair. It might just be one of the most, if not the most, expensive equipment besides your PC rig. But if you're a serious gamer who spends 20 - 30 hours a week gaming, having a chair that doesn't compromise your posture, health, and gaming experience can be invaluable. Overall, the Titan (any version) is one of the best gaming chair available today and at $500 ($429 if on sale) it's worth every penny.

Featured

Should You Get a Website?

Published

1 week ago

August 10, 2019

Khai Tran

Nowadays most established businesses have websites, however more than 75% of businesses out of 22.5 Million registered businesses in the U.S still don't have websites. So is it really essential if most businesses seem to be doing alright without it? There are 2 school of thoughts when it comes to this subject.

YES: Your business is your website

Most modern businesses that have been started and ran by millennials are gungho about having a strong web presence. Their demographic tends to rely on online and social media searches and interests. The philosophy here is simple, if you have a website, you can be found. If you don't have a website...well, you can't be found. So modern business owners rely on their website as a primary source of generating new leads and acquiring new customers.

NO: Good Service/Product is the best practice

More traditional business owners tend to rely less on websites, as their business may have been started long before the web revolution, and they tend to be smaller businesses and more localize. Their philosophy is nonetheless, true. By providing reliable and trustworthy products and services, they're able to maintain a consistent staple of customers day in and day out. However the downside to this practice is it can't be scaled easily. As you're only as good as the locals around you.

No Website is better than a BAD Website

A better question than whether or not to have a website is whether or not it's worth having a BAD website. An out-dated and unresponsive website nowadays in 2016 will appear old and neglected, often times even hurting the business. Locals will still visit your business, however having a poor web presence could deter prospects.

Conclusion?

It's definitely worth getting a website for your business, however you need to make sure that you're doing yourself a favor by making sure your web presence best represent your business.

Business

Entrepreneurship: A Millennial Definition

Published

3 weeks ago

July 30, 2019

Johnathan Grzybowski

Female entrepreneur working late night at desk

What is entrepreneurship? Well, The word entrepreneurship has easily been one of the most sought after lifestyles in modern history. Some people think that entrepreneurship automatically brings a life of lavish things, constant travel/exploration, internet fame, dating supermodels, and short working hours. But before you get all of these "things," you just have to quit your job, sacrifice a few years of your life, and POOF. You get it all!So, what are you waiting for? Go on and quit that job of yours. DO IT! It's what you want, isn't it?Well, before you do all of that, I suggest learning more about the word entrepreneur. What is entrepreneurship and what does it truly mean? This article is a collection of thoughts that I have compiled into one beautiful love letter to the one word that has somewhat defined my life; entrepreneurship.

Let's start with the basics

Entrepreneur testing cardboard VR headset

The business dictionary and most overused definition of entrepreneurship are defined as: "The capacity and willingness to develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit."Now that we have the fundamental definition of what is entrepreneurship, we can further expand on the initial foundation. Like everything else, entrepreneurship is a journey. As Robert Frost eloquently uses a phrase in his poem "The Road Not Taken":

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

Entrepreneurship's journey can be summarized in three particular phases:

Phase 1: Buzzwords

Attractive female entrepreneur in white dress sitting in yellow arm chair

As a millennial, we can be easily influenced by outside internet celebrities. Famous figures like Gary Vaynerchuk, Tai Lopez, Grant Cardone, Lewis Howes, and John Lee Dumas. (Just to name a few) You watch their content on social media religiously, read about how they were able to become successful, and then begin to envision a life that is nearly identical or rather similar to theirs. You become so inspired that you begin creating content for your own social media platforms with cheesy motivational quotes from entrepreneurs of the past or worse, pictures of yourself with quotes said by you and then signed by you. As if you've accomplished something.SIDE NOTE: Think about it. How many people do you know that not only posts a ton of motivational quotes but have added their own personal signature within the social media posts? We can thank Gary Vay-Ner-Chuck for this one.

The New Meaning of Entrepreneurship

Selfish entrepreneur in blue suit walking down stair

The definition of entrepreneurship no longer has the same meaning. Currently, the definition of entrepreneurship is a person dealing with an egotistical battle of attention and primarily focuses on their own success and not the success of their team. A lonely journey of one's self-validation.At the beginning of your entrepreneurship journey, it's easy to get lost in the world of business and it's fun to fantasize about one's self-success. We as a society are obsessed with it. Early on, identify the things that you most want in life. Is it fame? (And if it is, that's totally cool. Just accept it and embrace it.)Do you want to bring change in the world? Do you want to run a successful company?

Phase 2: Finding Yourself and Obtaining Balance

Understanding your why or at the very least having a general understanding of why you're willing to be as crazy as you are, to quit your job to do the thing you love, is critical to one's success. This fundamental understanding will allow you the ability to motivate yourself when times get tough and you feel like quitting.Entrepreneurship is not fun. The highs are high (so high in fact) but the lows are depressingly low. It's a constant roller coaster ride filled with non-stop ups and downs, twists and turns stop and goes. Strangely enough, those emotions will all be experienced in the first minute of your day. Your mind tends to wonder, you feel excited, trying to further expand on your initial ideas from your meeting today, thinking about what you may have done wrong to get that new client, or even experiencing the success of obtaining a new client! (If so, congrats!)At the beginning of your entrepreneurship career, it's important to understand yourself and the need for balance.

Balance

No one ever truly knows oneself in the earlier stages in life and especially their career. But what is important is to have empathy. Not only for your peers but also for yourself. It's ok to fail. It's ok to not be where you want to be, but be cognizant that one day, you will get to where you want to be.Next is balance. It is so darn easy to work 20 plus hours a day. I still do it sometimes. But you need to find a way to let go of the computer and walk away from the work. Even if it's for just an afternoon. Find a hobby, fall in love with something other than work, and find a way to be romantic to yourself. Your own mental well being will give you the superpowers to achieve your goals.

Phase 3: Execution and Persistence

Writing on notepad while reading analytic paper

The last piece of the puzzle and quite frankly, the most important part of entrepreneurship. You now have at least a few ideas as to what is entrepreneurship to a millennial.Execution and persistence are the hardest of the three phases. It requires the most refining and also the most amount of attention. If I could do it all over again, (and there is no way that I would want to, because it led me to this moment of my life) I would be more data-driven. Passion can only get you so far, but there will come a point and time in the entrepreneurship journey that you need to go off of numbers, analytics, and raw data.Being a more numbers driven organization will give you the know how to expand in the future. It will also give you the understanding of how you and your team may not have been executing. The best part about plans is that they change. But without the proper data and numbers, it's almost impossible to make an educated decision to pivot or shift your company without having that information. If you feel the need to learn more about entrepreneurship and want is entrepreneurship to other millennials, you can get advice from other millennials here. Written by a colleague of mine that influenced and inspired this article. learn what others

Tips for The Entrepreneur Mind

Have A General Understanding Of Your Mission And Why: It's ok if you do not have it all figured out. However, there is a general theme of what you believe in as a person. If you don't have the next 25 years figured out to a "T' it's ok. Jot whatever comes to mind in your head on paper and get it out there throughout the universe.
Treat Your Company Like A Sports Team And Not A Family: I learned this from Tim Ferris' podcast with Reid Hoffman. Check it out.
Show Empathy: Don't be a robotic D-Bag. Give a crap about others.

Tips For The Entrepreneur At Home

Read Books And A Lot Of Them: I compiled a list of entrepreneur resources on my podcast that has a list of the most influential books that I have personally read. Head over to a Barnes and Noble and pick out books to read. There is a reason those books are located in that store. They are trusted, edited, and have the reputation of a quality story teller. My rule of thumb is that if it's in a B&N and has been recommended for me to read, then it's a book I need to read.
Stop Reading And Watching Content From Untrusted Or Unverified Resources/Publications: The amount of articles that are available online (especially this one) can completely derail or disrupt your day. Do not become easily influenced by content. Stay true to yourself and your mission.
Leave Your Ego At Home: You are not bigger than anyone else on your team and you are certainly not bigger than your company. Don't be comfortable with being the CEO of your company. Early on in your startup, a title is just a title. You can be called manager or even janitor, but what truly matter is does your team listen and follow your vision.
Understand Your Strengths And Go ALL In Once You Find Out What They Are: Once you have a general understanding of your strengths, then find out what your weaknesses are. Then hire individuals that can help fill that area.

Tips For The Entrepreneur At Work

Understand Your Strengths And Go ALL In Once You Find Out What They Are: Once you have a general understanding of your strengths, then find out what your weaknesses are. Then hire individuals that can help fill that area.
Get Mentors: This doesn't have to be physical mentors, but instead you can listen to success and failure stories from top story tellers. For me, I decided to create my own podcast. My goal in creating the podcast was to learn from others' mistakes and failures. The podcast has been the single greatest hobby that I have started to date. The amount of knowledge and the incredible people that I have become friends with has been life changing.
Speak Last And Listen Often: The truth of that matter is that your opinions and how you feel don't matter. The only thing that matters is morale of your company and the livelihood of those around you. Put yourself last and be the ready you read about online.

Now, go out there and do what you've been born to do. The fact is that if you've read this far, I haven't told you anything you did not already know. But to those who have read until the end, good luck.

Business

8 Proven Steps To Getting Paid For Your Knowledge

Published

3 weeks ago

July 26, 2019

Khai Tran

Everyone loves to give advice, but not everyone gets paid to do so. Nowadays the evolution of technology has opened up the world in more ways than we could imagine. We're able to connect with others in more ways than before thanks to the advancement of mobile technology. And because of social media, we're also presented with the opportunity to connect with just about anyone and anywhere, so long as they have an active internet connection. Many startups have taken advantages of these technological advancements and created side hustles and ways for the average person to earn more money during their free time. Uber, Airbnb, and Postmates are a few examples of startups that have taken advantage of the gig economy blossoming.But the gig economy doesn't have the potential earning you're looking for. What if you're an expert in a special field and wants to get paid millions of dollars a year for your knowledge instead? Luckily for you, there's a proven path to get there. It's not an easy path, otherwise, everyone would've taken it. And it's certainly challenging. But if you have a specialized knowledge that you believe others would pay for, then follow these eight steps to getting paid for your knowledge.

1) Write A Book

The easiest and the best starting point is to write a book and have it published on Amazon. Amazon has an incredible program that lets just about anyone become an author without going the route of pitching to publishers. Being an author is a great starting point for getting paid for your knowledge because it establishes you as an expert in the industry first and foremost. You may or may not make a profit from book sales, however, the benefit of establishing credibility and trust early on has compounding interest for years to come.

2) Be A Guest Contributor

Although this would be trading your time for barely any pay, it builds a reputation as an author. You'll want to start guest contributing on small blogs, eventually working your way to local publications, and eventually pitch yourself to write in large national publications to gain notoriety and further reinforce yourself as an expert. Being a guest contributor won't exactly bring in the dough or help pay the bills, but combined with writing a book, you're establishing a strong portfolio when it comes time to selling and getting paid for your knowledge.

3) Build Your Brand

Now that you're a published author and a highly recognized expert in a specific field, it's time to build your brand. We suggest getting a professional website developed, getting a logo designed, and setting up your social presence in order to look appealing. This process might cost some money since you need to hire a professional designer to help you with all your design needs. But if you're on a budget, don't worry we've compiled a list of amazing free resources you can use with a few spare hours on the weekend.

Free resources to build your brand:

Canva: Design your logo and anything else graphic design related
Crello: Design cool flyers and animated social posts
Powtoons: If you want to make animated videos
Squarespace: Free (or really cheap) website builder
Trello: Great project management tools. Also can be used to manage your brand, content, leads, etc.

4) Develop A Mastermind Group

Make friends with other experts in your field whom you could also learn from. Develop a mastermind group of experts who share a common interest as you and expand your group. Having a mastermind group that meets regularly will further enhance your knowledge and broaden your horizon as you'll be making friends with the right people. To build your own mastermind group, first, you have to attend a lot of events in your area to find others with similar interests. Once you have a least a few people who share common interests with you, create your own event or group to gather and discuss specific topics related to your field of expertise. Encourage your members to also invite like-minded individuals to expand your mastermind group.

Be sure to stay connected with everyone and keep your relationships alive. You'll need your member's help later!

5) Seek Speaking Free Engagements

As your reputation continues to grow and your group gains new members, you can begin seeking out speaking engagements. Start small at local networking events, schools, or local clubs that may want you as a free speaker. You might not make much from the free speaking engagements, but they will build confidence and hone your public speaking skills. And the ability to speak and present your ideas well will be crucial in getting paid for your knowledge.

6) Seek PAID Speaking Engagements

Don't be shy, you're definitely worth it. Now that you're an official speaker, author, well-published writer, and fully certified expert in your field, you can begin seeking paid speaking engagements. The amount is entirely up to you. It'll take a bit of hustling to get your name into the hat, but if you did a great job with the previous steps, people will be seeking you out instead at this stage to speak. You can also tap into your network of masterminds to explore other avenues to find speaking opportunities.

7) Offer Consulting Services

You can offer your consulting service much earlier if you so choose. We left it at this step because of the more experience and reputation you have, the more you can charge. If you're just starting out, you'll likely have to do a lot of free work to build your reputation. Meanwhile, if you follow the other six steps first, you'll already have built that reputation and following by this point. At this point, you're probably well known within a small community, have your own mastermind group, a small following on social media, and a lot of credibilities. You can now update your website to offer consulting services in your field of expertise.

8) Create Online Classes

Now that you've established yourself as a reputable person, you can start creating online courses all over the internet. Websites like Udemy and Coursera offer a free and easy way for prospective teachers to create an online course, upload it to the platform, and have millions of people buy into it. You'll get a cut of the sales once a student purchases the online course. And the material you'll be using can be directly from the book you've written or knowledge you've gathered throughout the course of establishing your brand. With a well created online class and a strong reputation to back it, students will flock to you in no time.

Try to create your class on multiple platforms to increase your stream of passive income. This is where you start to reap what you've sowed. Consulting may make a lot of money, but if your online class hits the top of the chart, you'll easily rake in six-digits per month from passive income. It might have taken a few steps to get here, but it's well worth it.

How to Get Started

Don't let these steps intimidate you. It takes time and commitment and has been repeated countless times with great success. With a little bit of perseverance, better work habits, and self-motivation, you'll be a published author in no time. And with a little more determination, you'll be able to generate passive income and finally getting paid for your knowledge.