KeriBlog

Cars, Security & a Peek into my Life

New Job Outfits

New clothes! I’m no longer “sporty mercenary,” now I’m “business casual.”

Last time I had new clothes was January 2014 #BenefitOfBlogging

And that’s the irony of a blog right there – I’ve travelled the world while staying in 5-star places, tested over $12 million in cars, but couldn’t afford new sneakers.

Casie became my stylist. When I got hired she drove up to celebrate, arriving with beers and a bag of new clothes. Now that’s a BFF eh!

She advised me on how to build a “capsule wardrobe,” and gave me a style she calls “monochromatic minimalist.”

But I’m most pleased to report this:

In the very first week, I legitiamlly showed up to work in… jogging pants HAHA.

Add that to the blog tag – Jogging Pants (27)

Probably shouldn’t find that tag’s size so amusing.

Here we go deleting the World’sOldestTomboy.com

 

 

Got a Job – I’m the OSM of Dent Wizard

I’m the new Ontario Sales Manager for Dent Wizard Canada, North America’s largest PDR company. All because of my blog.

OSM – Ontario Sales Manager

PDR – Paintless Dent Removal

My new area of expertise will be dents guys, DENTS!

2015 could NOT have ended on a better note. Remember I gave myself 4 months from quitting the paper, to finding new revenue? Skin of my teeth – made it by 1 week.

It all happened very fast. Remember I blogged “I need a job” on December 8? Shortly after it took off, and from initial contact to hiring was fast, 1 business week.

December 18 was the official hire date. January 4 was my start date.

What is the job description?

Maintaining existing accounts, prospecting for new ones, and keeping the team of 20 technicians busy and happy.

Specifically, I’m about to become an expert is these services.

Basically – keeping a car beautiful.

I work here – at Manheim.

I just walked deeper into the belly of the auto industry.

Because ready…

15,000! It’s one of North America’s largest auction houses.

What does the job pay?

Turns out dents is a $2 billion a year business I KNOW?! So it pays good.

It’s a big salary plus commission, on a zero-baseline product, plus benefits, cell phone, and plus A CAR.

Why are Dents so Great?

There’s many reasons!

– it’s straight-forward business – there’s a dent, now it’s fixed, take payment, the end

– there’s no Tweeting about the dent! No – how many Facebook shares did my dent get?

– it’s a low-impact-karma job like, what’s the opposite of arms and drug trafficking? Dents.

– I am not involved with an auto-manufacturer – meaning, I can continue to test and review cars totally unbiased, that’s proper journalist ethics

Below are Dent Wizard’s 4 Pillars of Operation.

Ironically, my 1st task was… writing 300 words.

And done from the front seat of my car, ha. Learning to file from anywhere pays off in the weirdest ways.

What Will happen to KeriBlog?

It will get even better!

– the pressure is gone to make it make money, blogging will be fun again

– it’s a 9-5 and no-weekends job, so the blog can continue during those hours. Plus, I have about 20 cars backlogged here to blog… that I’m drowning in car content is perfect

– in a backwards way, I bet this job is exactly what the blog needed

– I can now apply my invention – the Cashless Blogging System

– I’ll have money now, I can invest in KeriBlog.   A few months after I get my finances stabilized I’ll hire someone to renovate my blog.  Doesn’t a new theme sound nice, a new hosting company, something properly optimized for mobile…. that is now possible

I know eh, how I got so lucky I don’t know.

Here we go guys! Thanks for always cheering me on.

xo Keri

The 7 Best Words of 2015

The words were spoken by my boss on December 22, during the confirmation meeting at my new job.

This double rainbow actually happened on the drive home from the meeting.

“You’re here because of your blog, Keri.”

As in – I turned a blog into a real pay cheque.

Hence the “YA I did” camera angle.

Maybe the extra good luck came from having one of my favourite cars of 2015 for a second week…

… a 2016 Cadillac ATS.

Maybe, but probably more because hard work and the high road pays off.

 

 

In Shock since Dec 18 – Got a Job, Start Monday

Since then it’s been a lot of pacing, and sitting quietly like above, daydreaming. Somehow the world’s best-suited job just fell on my LinkedIn.

Remember when I gave myself 4 months, from quitting the paper to finding new revenue? Skin of my teeth, I was in the final week when I shook hands… and it’s like a real job guys, physical real business, and the pay is amazing.

KeriBlog can continue reviewing cars with journalist integrity, because it’s not an auto-manufactuerer… ready?…

Dents. I’m now in the dent business guys!

How it works: a car has a dent > my company removes it > accept payment > the end

Awesomely there is no social media anything,
I do NOT have to Tweet about the dent.

I work in a building that has a parking lot filled with… 15,000 cars!

Here we go deeper into the belly of the auto industry…

I have a giant post drafted about the job, but am having trouble focusing these days… from initial contact to landing the job was fast, and in 10 days I flipped my life upside down. That’s why my blog has been dark, sorry.

I start on Monday, the job requires a lot of driving OKAY, comes with a car OKAY AGAIN, I’m now “business casual” those are new clothes in the photos!, and not sure how I got so lucky guys, but 2016 just got real exciting.

xo Keri