Rich Burlew’s Comic Book Business Success Story

A remarkable Empire of One business 

Rich Burlew created the first The Order of the Stick, a hilarious webcomic that celebrates and satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy, on September 29, 2003. The strip was originally produced to entertain people who came to his website for gaming articles, but it quickly became the most popular feature, leading Burlew to eventually abandon writing articles almost entirely.

The entire comic strip is drawn with simple stick characters, hence the name.

On September 30, 2005, The Order of the Stick began appearing in Dragon, the long-running official D&D magazine, and the strip became profitable enough for him to quit his job as a freelance graphic designer and concentrate on cartooning.

Rich also started self-publishing his comics in book form in 2005, but it became hard for him to keep all of the older books in stock. So in 2012 he decided to do a Kickstarter project with a goal of $57,750. Instead, he raised $1,254,120 from 14,952 backers…

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Why there are no big cities that have municipal broadband networks

Recently, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance compiled this map of all the communities in the country that control their own access to the Internet. There are about 340 of them with publicly owned fiber-optic or cable networks, serving either all or parts of town. Those residents and businesses in the places served don’t have to spar with telecom giants like AT&T and Comcast. They get their Internet instead – like many communities do their electric utility – straight from the city.

 

 

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The sharing economy – the way we consume has changed forever

Share everything

At Union Kitchen in Northeast Washington, D.C., the “equipment library” contains some of the more mundane artifacts of the modern “sharing economy”: an oversized whisk, a set of spatulas, ladles, chopping knives, sheet pans and tongs.  It is also know as “collaborative consumption,” and is more often associated with the big-ticket items that have given the concept such bemusing cachet. Suddenly, it seems, people are casually lending and borrowing cars, bikes, even brownstones. But this basic kitchenware, hanging in a 7,300 square-foot warehouse, reveals the reaches to which all this sharing could ultimately expand, as well as the reasons why it will have to.

 

 

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Global music sales growing for first time this century

In 2012, global music sales rose by 0.3 percent to $16.5 billion.  This marks the first good year for the music industry since 1999.The music industry’s 21st century renaissance comes down to four factors: Better mobile technology, a growing global middle class, more music-listening options, and an effective crackdown on piracy that is making paid music a more attractive option.

 

 

 

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Yahoo CEO Mayer Now Requiring All Remote Employees to Not Be (Remote)

“We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.”

Here is the internal memo, courtesy of some very irked Yahoo employees, sent to the company about a new rule rolled out by CEO Marissa Mayer.  The new rule requires that Yahoo employees who work remotely relocate to company facilities.

 

 

 

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Makexyz links 3D printer owners to designers

MakerBot Replicator 2X 3D desktop printer.

It may only be in its infancy, but a new startup has already found a way to disrupt the 3D printing industry. Makexyz  is a 3D printing service with a brilliantly simple premise: Link the 3D printer owners of the world with the designers that need them. It’s like Airbnb or Wheelz, but for 3D printers.

 

 

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Top 10 most stressful and least stressful jobs of 2013

Military tops the list of most stressful jobs.

There are many jobs require constant physical activity, or place people in danger if they aren’t able to act quickly on their feet. CareerCast, has compiled a list of the most stressful and least stressful occupations for this year. Military occupations are on the top of its list for the most stressful jobs.

 

 

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Learn More about this exciting program.