November 2021

This month has been up and down.  The value of the token is stronger than it's ever been.  Units are arriving from RAK, Nebra, Bobcat, Synchrobit and others, along with several new manufacturers to choose from; MNTD in particular making a splash by doing limited edition Gold painted hot spots.  They are also doing their orders in windows, so they try to limit the shipping delays other companies have seen.  With the increase in hot spots available, the eBay market has dropped, which is making me think about taking my monthly earnings and trying to get another one.  But, I also decided on a few locations to add antennas to, so I have a choice to make.  Get antennas for existing fleet units, or expand the fleet.  More than likely, I will get the antennas to try and optimize the units I've already paid for and get them generating more HNT, but I will look at eBay for any possible deals that stand out.  I don't bother with the Facebook groups, they are all overpriced and getting desperate and pushy to sell.  They spent all this money on hotspots and now the market is saturated with people trying to sell them.  It's not going to hurt to wait and let the market continue to pull the price down.  

But, my savings after leaving Amazon is also now empty, trying to buy time for the unexpected and unplanned for delays to rolling out this business.  Originally, I was supposed to get the first 10 in March/April, get them going and just do gig driving part time.  When the delays started happening, gig driving became full time, but I kept buying hotspots to try to keep the business rolling and growing regardless of my circumstances.  I'm reaching the point now where I'm going to have to start taking a portion of the HNT for myself instead of using it to build the business.  I also got a job at Imo's delivering pizza.  There has been an increase in gig drivers in the Belleville/O'Fallon area, and I overheard a few talking at Chick-Fil-A about how they started doing it because unemployment didn't pay as much as the COVID-cash.  There was so much about that, that was fucked up, but hearing it made me decide to transition to a business.  I make better money and I get a free meal everytime I work.  They have me working between two stores, 5 days a week, so I think it'll be good for my budget in the long run while I continue to grow my fleet.  Plus, I love Imo's pizza, so that's just been a sweet perk.  I do miss not having a schedule.  Now, if I need to drive to New Hampshire, I need to find a person to replace me... so that's a bummer.  

What's not a bummer is the value of HNT.  Look at the change:

This time last year, HNT was $1.45.  I was with Amazon, and started to think about if I could do Helium as a job.  At that time, I was looking at Aug - Nov, and the relative stability of the token value (between $1.18 and $1.90).  If I could get enough of these hotspots with friends and family to make a living.  Mining was/still is a 15% tax, which was less than the 30% I was paying to be worked to death by Amazon.  I lived in an RV, I didn't need much to live.  I could use this as a business model that allowed me to visit family and friends as part of my business... and that's how the ball got rolling.  I wonder what things will be like this time next year?