Kyle Thomas

The Website of Kyle Thomas (KyleWith)

Yellowknife Online – Creating a Sustainable Information Portal

Yellowknife Online is my baby, no doubt. I talk about it a lot – see this post from August 19th, 2017, and will probably reiterate what I have already written about it.

When it comes up that an entity is copying the concept, maybe not completely, but the general idea, it hurts. I guess I should be flattered?

I get it. That’s business.

Not going to lie, I’ll spend a couple hours in self-pity mode. Chalking up this hurtle to my lack of business savviness, or lack of connecting with partners, or general openness. I’ll get over it when I remind myself that I’ve organically grown a solid platform without any funding from a government or NGO and that I don’t just host and publish this content for because a client asked me to. I do it because I love it.

But WTF.

Yellowknife has a small consumer base, even when we factor tourists. The constant creation of different iterations of the same thing only hurts everyone. Consumers get confused. Where do they look?

Partnerships go both ways. I know I need to reach out more frequently to the Yellowknife Community, be it individuals or NGOs, to work with and partner on content and technologies to make the information better, fuller and more accessible.

I know I need to do that, but this should also serve as a reminder to all those individuals and NGOs out there that they too can approach me with ideas.

Yellowknife Online is a solid platform as I highlight here.

But hey, maybe I’m the idiot. Maybe creating something entirely from scratch, dumping all sorts of money into building it and the money into advertising it is the way to go.

What Yellowknife Online lacks is a revenue model. In that sense, it isn’t even a business.

It is not a non-profit – I do give away free content about Yellowknife, about other businesses and get nothing in return other than the appreciation from the reader, but I’m not seen as a non-profit because I personally own and manage Yellowknife Online. At the same time, it is not a for-profit business either. It has no business model or not one that would give it neutrality within the community.

I don’t want Yellowknife Online to make a profit. I want it to support itself – hosting, content creation, community involvement.

What have I done recently to create revenue to cover costs:

I briefly mentioned how much it cost to operator Yellowknife Online here. Because I’m not good at selling advertising despite having 20,000+ monthly unique visitors – call me if you’re a sale person interested in some work 😉 – I became a licensed tour operator.

Let’s be crystal clear here. I would rather not be a tourism operator. I would rather connect prospective visitors with exciting tourism operators. I would rather run around the world or the internet telling people about Yellowknife, showing them what they can do here while visiting or living here. And talking about actual information, not just the fluffy stuff. I would rather field a million questions about Yellowknife and direct those people to the right places.

I operate tours to cover the costs of Yellowknife Online strictly so I can keep creating content about Yellowknife.

What is the downside to being a tourism operator when you want to maintain a neutral position within the tourism community in Yellowknife? You are immediately seen as competition by other operators

Well shit.

It’s hard to prove that my intentions are good, despite how many times I rewrite and publish the above, it is just the way it.

As always, I’m open to suggestions, ideas, and partnerships.

This is where Yellowknife Online is at

Something that has been on my mind lately. It is talking about what we do. For some reason, we keep what we do within our own little circle. We refrain from telling the world for fear they might take it away from us.

This is wrong.

I have reasons about why this is wrong, but this post isn’t about that.

This post is about what is happening with one of my labours of love: Yellowknife Online (ykonline.ca).

I have invested thousands of hours since 2009. Writing, developing, building and creating Yellowknife Online into what it is today.

Does Yellowknife Online make me money?

Nope.

It is a labour of love.

It is like volunteering for a non-profit organization. The mission is to make information about a community more accessible.

Except the non-profit is an online brand run by one person. In his spare time or when he should actually me working.

Yellowknife Online has never made any profit and very little money.

It currently makes no money.

It has never received government funding.

It actually cost money to keep Yellowknife Online online.

Approximately $5000 is the past 7 years.

It is not seen relevant within the community it supports. It is not taken seriously.

Yellowknife Online is an online resource for information about Yellowknife.

It is for visitors. It is for residents. And it is for newcomers.

Does it have every bit of information each of these groups needs to know about Yellowknife?

No. Not yet.

Not yet.

There is a post idea list a mile long. All information and resources that should be online on Yellowknife Online.

Some of that information already exists in many places. Some of that information is not written and online yet.

The point of Yellowknife Online is to bring information together into one easy to find place. Resources might jump off to another site. Or it might be right on Yellowknife Online.

What is not understood about Yellowknife Online is that is not a “news site. Even though new posts aren’t published every day, doesn’t mean there is no traffic to the website.

Where Yellowknife Online excels is in publishing timeless content. Content that remains relevant with minor updates.

This has built a strong reputation with Google and the like.

Yellowknife Online receives approximately 20,000 visitors a month.

20,000 visitor a month.

Oh, and I have spent $0 on advertising it.

How?

For exactly the reasons mentioned above.

Trusted and relevant content.

Site longevity. Been around since 2009.

Link sharing. Linking to those other resources in posts and pages. This built incredible search engine credibility.

Trend following. Yellowknife Online is where the people often are. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram.

Few residents might know about Yellowknife Online, but visitors and newcomers do.

On a daily basis, Yellowknife Online receives emails from visitors researching Yellowknife. Other emails from people researching moving to Yellowknife.

Just yesterday I helped a young professional understand utility costs. And where to find an apartment. All before even moving to Yellowknife.

The simple act of helping that one person made Yellowknife seem all that more welcoming. And even less isolated.

That person may not have felt as comfortable finding a place with the help of Yellowknife Online. All because it appeared as a trusted resource.

Without any consistent publishing, Yellowknife Online will continue to be an online resource. All because people will continue to search for the information it hosts.

Posts will stay relevant.

Podcast episodes will remain relevant.

And I’ll always answer emails and comments.

What is next for Yellowknife Online?

There lies the grand question. Here are some general ideas.

New content follows a regular publishing schedule. That post idea list is long.

Become a Yellowknife tour listing directory and booking engine.

The How To Be a Yellowknifer podcast follows a regular publishing schedule. Always featuring different Yellowknifers

The How To Be a Yellowknifer podcast picks up a sponsor.

Yellowknife Online partners with other local non-profit organizations to help distribute their resources.

Other contributors come on board to help fill information gaps that I don’t know enough about. Sports. Parenting. Houseboat Living. Music Scene. And so on.

Yellowknife Online becomes a non-profit organization. With the mission of helping visitors, residents, and newcomers thrive.

What is the financial model for Yellowknife Online?

There currently isn’t one.

There has never been one.

I can not sell advertising. I try and fail time and time again.

It will always be free to access the information without question.

To grow it needs some sort of financial model.

It doesn’t have to be a business.

It could be a business if advertising or sponsored content was a viable option.

It could be a non-profit organization. It could tap into different funding programs. Programs through different governments and other non-profit organizations.

It sounds like I’m bragging about Yellowknife Online’s success because I am. I’m proud of the brand that it is. I get excited each time I get to help someone learn more about Yellowknife. Or when I hear that someone has used the site.

But Yellowknife Online, as much as my ego wants to believe, is not about me. It is about making this community a great place to live, work, play and visit.

One of my own downfalls has been bringing like-minded people together to build this brand. Yellowknifers have so much to offer each other.

I recognize I can’t do it on my own.

But other than a byline I’ve never been sure what I can offer anyone. See above where I mention it makes no money.

Am I open to working with others on Yellowknife Online?

You bet!

I’d love if there were others who shared this vision and were willing to take a chance with me on it.

Maybe you are reading this? Contact me.

That, my friends. Is where Yellowknife Online is today.

Let the universe know what you want

Throughout my entire career, I have been very blessed with many opportunities. I’ve gotten to do the things I’ve wanted to do, to build up my of skill set, and push myself to the next thing.

At one point I use to consider it luck that an opportunity would show up and carry me to a new place or a new experience. I have learned that it is not luck as it is the willingness to be open to these new opportunities. To put myself out there for them to find me.

I put my goals and ambitions out into the universe and I let the universe work out how they might come to fruition.

That is my very high-level concept.

In reality, there are some very easy steps a person can take to move them in the direction of their goals. This then opens themselves up to those potential opportunities.

It has taken me a while to understand that I take these specific steps towards my goals somewhat unknowingly. Now recognizing them I thought it time to put them on paper… or on the blog.

So what will follow is a short series. I will identify the steps I take on a daily basis that allows me to put my goals out into the universe.

This post is post is part of a bigger series called Let The Universe Know What You Want. See the other posts below:

• Seek Out Subject Matter Experts
• Let Your Passion Drive You

Bigger than myself

I want to continue to discuss that feeling of changing the world. To navigate through my own thoughts and processes for determining what it is I’m aspiring to do.
 
Lately, when I consider what I want to do I keep coming to the idea of concepts that are bigger than myself.
 
And when I say bigger than me I mean who benefits most from the concept and who the concept is for.
 
Be it is food, tourism or small business.
 
When I think about what I want to do my conclusion is often other peoples success.
 
Everything that I want to do I want to directly relate to helping some else succeed in their area of interest.
 
That is what I’m passionate the most about. Helping other succeed.
 
Nothing brings me more joy than seeing someone accomplishing a goal they set out for themselves.
 
Now, I air on the side of wanting to help people that are doing things they are passionate about. As if their passion feeds my passion.
 
Don’t get me wrong, I love being the person who creates a product. Delivers it and sees the customers reaction when receiving it. It is instant gratification for me. It is like a little drug. A kick of endorphins.
 
What I struggle with is seeing longevity in this. I don’t see how I can grow these hobbies so they can continue to gratify me. While also bringing longterm stability and success.
 
Yes, it is possible to grow these gratifying hobbies into sustaining businesses. Expanding space, availability, team, etc. I know that, but that’s, not me.
 
We have to consider the fact that I’m a multipotentialite. I like to do many things. All the time. And, that it isn’t a bad thing if we recognize it and steer it properly.
 
Let’s look at With Bread for a second. My semi-successful artisan bread micro-bakery serving Yellowknife. I’ve grown this little side gig into a one day a week operation. It runs efficiently and brings a decent return while also filling a small gap in the local economy, i.e. no bakery. I’ve invested in some industrial equipment. Created some dedicated space for this operation. And by all accounts, I’m on my way to opening a brick and mortar bakery. Or partnering with a local cafe to provide fresh artisan bread.
 
Do I want to be a bread baker or bakery owner full time?
 
Nope.
 
No.
 
Not at all.
 
I enjoy the one day of instant gratification I get from running the micro-bakery in the summer.
 
What I want to do is use the knowledge I’ve gained to help others with similar passions achieve their goals.
 
I want to use the return I’m getting from With Bread to create a certified space. A space that other vendors could use it to grow their businesses or ideas.
 
Then I want to use my knowledge of workflow development to help those vendors improve workflows. Workflows that make them more efficient and profitable.
 
Then I want to use my ongoing marketing experience to help these vendors grown communities around their brands. Help make them essential in peoples Farmers Market experiences.
 
The same with my endeavour into being a local tourism operator. I hold a license that covers many different products and I do guide tours and love it. I especially love getting to show people Yellowknife. Yellowknife is my favourite.
 
At the same time, I also recognize that there are a lot of people passionate about Yellowknife. Or people who have passions the tourism industry in Yellowknife would benefit from. I want to help those people.
 
Without too much depth or detail I see my own tourism business as a launching point. An opportunity for those who have ideas or don’t even know they have the potential for it to work with me. To develop and test out different products in the market. A way to test before taking the plunge and making a huge investment.
 
In both these concepts, and there are a few more, I’m feeding my own passion and desire. I’m setting myself up to achieve my overarching goal. The goal of helping people succeed at what they are passionate about. I’m also able to feed my desire to do many things. Each person or business I work with will be different but will, for the most part, have a passionate drive.
 
And by writing this down I’m starting to see how these desires here help define how I can change the world. See my last article.
 
My next string of thoughts will be one of two thoughts. How to talk to a Business Coach about business when you want to be a Business Coach yourself. Or, how to define the part of the world you want to change.
 
And, always remember, I’m not an expert. I externalize my thoughts. I’m delusional sometimes. If so, please tell me. Or not.

I want to change the world

I want to change the world.

I want to change the world for the better. Leave it a better place than when I showed up.

It is a weird feeling. It is a feeling of an undeniable drive to do something bigger than myself. It consumes my thoughts. It steals my energy and drains my emotions.

The problem is I don’t yet know what that is.

The first thing I have to come to grips is what this actually means to change the world.

A key lesson I have learned is that if I change one person’s outlook on life then I have changed the world.

A statement like wanting to change the world has the connotation of wanting to make a global impact but that doesn’t have to be true. We often forget the world is made up of many things; people, animals, places, objects and so on.

If you change any of those things, you have technically changed the world from what it was before you did it.

So when a statement is made about changing the world a person must first consider what part of the world they want to change and why.

In my own case when I make the statement about changing the world it comes from that drive to do something bigger than myself.

I could simply live my life working for my own well-being. Grow my business to serve me, support me and let me do only things that benefit me. This might work for many people but it does not for me.

My businesses do serve me, support me and let me do things I enjoy but I can’t shake the feeling that I am meant to do more.

 

If you look at the front page of this website you will see the mantra: “In everything I do, I do to help people communicate around the topics, ideas, and passions they have.” I believe this wholeheartedly, but I feel like it is not defined enough yet.

I feel like I need to define my true purpose before I can attack this desire to do more and ultimately change the world, however I define it.

More to come on purpose next time…