Recording notes from 1/20/26 to 1/24/26. Also added some graphics to the EOT # 12624. Some new concept artwork from Abby Elkins (my daughter - used to be Abby Moore).

I got up and started doing some planning and brainstorming. I was just planning on doing a little bit and the ideas kept coming, so I wrote them down. Here is what I got.

- Do some 1-pagers (one-pagers). Maybe even 4 or 5 of them. Quick reference stuff that could be used alone or used together as part of a group. This could be for sales, intros, quick guides, showing pieces. Make them all simple 1-pagers.

- Include the elevator pitch on one of the 1-pagers

- Show correct web links on the flyers or 1-pagers

- Link to the plan - fracture or adilas lite

- Old adilas GPS core image

- Old adilas formula flyer

- Old adilas map or interactive map flyer

- Maybe update some of those older one-page flyers

- Link to the presentation gallery

- Talk about ways to invest - 1/10th of a percent, 1% (full percent), 10% - show some levels and options

- 75% of the company (adilas, llc - adilas.biz) is available for purchase

- We are doing a capital raise - Looking for 2 million to 10 million for a new buildout

- Setup some small rules - this would be for investments and raising capital for the new buildout. Straight prices, don't worry about taxes (basically with tax included). Simple 1-pager, you get x percentage for y dollars. Super simple and cut and dry. No promises of future value. Basically, if you buy in, you then own part of the company. In the case that it sells, you would gain from that sale. There are differences between buying a percentage and active funding of projects. Maybe make small 1-pagers per section with some super simple rules. Add links to the web site for investment options.

- Talk about options for commissions - 10-20% - leaning towards 20%

- White labeling - minimal starting investment of $100K - buy in at a percentage (could be small), then do a plan and figure out the scope. Detail things out. Then figure out the plan from there and how complex the new white label is going to be. The initial $100K pays for the kick butt engine and the detailed scope and development plan. The rest will be determined from that point. The goal with the white labeling is geared towards future revenue and rolling things out in scale (future reoccurring revenue from multiple clients or business verticals). White labeling is an investment and plan for the future. If the project feels like less than $100K, we may push you in the direction of custom code vs actual white label.

- Dealing with white labeling - This is something that gets built on top of the adilas engine, ideally built by our team for a 3rd party vendor, that 3rd party vendor would then run the marketing, billing, tech support, etc. for their clients. We would most likely host their white label on our servers, and let it ride on top of what we have. It could even limit access to the underlying pieces. If someone wants to host it themselves, code it themselves, and just use API's (backend connection sockets and such), that is different. That would be a 3rd party solution and would go through the adilas marketplace.

- Talking about scope, timelines, feature creep, and change orders. If the plan changes, in any way, we need to be able to adjust (change orders). That could affect scopes, timelines, deliverables, budgets, milestones, etc.

- For me, think about the trystorming type approach with a known need to circle back around and refine things

- Contact info on the 1-pagers and in the packet(s)

- Old graphics about ecommerce, system players, choose your skin, show your stuff, etc. See image.

- Ideas - You could go around with some flyers and do some seeding...

- Get people to go door to door in neighborhoods and/or in business districts

- Promotion codes and lead tracking - tie back to commissions and affiliate programs

- Social media influencers and people who push products - sometimes people trust these guys/gals/people

- We start with the main adilas MMLLC (multi-member LLC) - then we open it up into the other MMLLC's - adilas.biz, adilas shop, adilas university, adilas marketplace, adilas cafe, and maybe adilas funding or adilas management - there could be others - adilas employment, adilas staffing, etc. Along with that, allow for investment options of 1/10th %, full percentages, and bigger percentages (say 5 to 10% and above).

- When ready... maybe a small glossy folder with a few key 1-pagers in it - small packet

- We need to do some market research on the pricing. This will help us be more confident in our pricing. We have to follow the market value. There is an optimal range.

- Most credit card processing fees are around 2.5% of your credit card sales per month. We are pricing adilas around 5% of your total sales (cash and card) per month. Also remember, most companies are doing the mash-up option and paying for multiple systems to make up the whole. Paying 5% for one integrated system, is great!

- Small samples on pricing... Basically, take a monthly sales number and times it by 5% or 0.05. Samples for some starting numbers: Monthly sales from $0-$400 x 0.05 = $20 (smallest monthly fee). Then show values for $1K, $5K, $10K, $20K, $40K, $60K, and $100K - using the same formula. Make a note about multiple locations. Simple math. If one or more of the locations are at a different size (sales volume), no problem. We can set those values. Once a monthly is set, we can hold that number for six months, and then we may review it if needed.

- In sales, if there are custom needs, we are willing to talk and chat about quantity discounts, franchises, seasonal usage, clients not using the sales features but using other parts of the system, etc. We can provide special quotes and structure deals. We can't go lower than 2.5%.

- $1,500 starter package - list it out - setup, turning things on, and up to 15 hours of training. Monthly fees are separate. This is just the starter package. If you don't need the training hours, it is $500 for a one-time setup. You have to have a prior system to just do the new setup fee as a standalone.

- Get the flyers done professionally - make them nice

- Use a temp service to help get the word out - get them the information and/or packets and let them manage it

- At some point, we will need an internal training meeting for our team members

- Make some new page (web link) redirects - some of the files and places have longer web addresses - make a number of smaller redirects - folders and path stuff - links like the adilas lite or fracture plan, investment opportunities, and the presentation gallery.

- Fix the adilas pricing page - show some other options - line it out a bit. It is pretty simple right now.

- Help work with Bryan on his sales channels - Finetech (merchant processing) and Host Huskie (web hosting). We could do similar things over and over again as needed.

- The existing software package (adilas.biz) can handle 75-90% of any business - out of the box.

- Just a thought - what if I put all of this into AI to see what I get - that would be cool. Maybe wrap it all up together.

- Get out of the way!

Meeting with Hamid. We did some work on the number fields (existing form fields) and allowing decimals vs just whole numbers. We went over some code commits and how the code repository worked and such. Small bug fix while doing some teaching and learning session with Hamid. Two birds, one stone. Good session.

Meeting with Cory. Going over some questions on vendor credits (special accounts). Talking about the balance sheet and how those vendor credits are tracked. She then had a small list of things that need to be changed. Light tech support stuff. She also requested a couple of code changes to some pages and new custom tools to help make her job easier.

Quick GoToMeeting session with Alan. Trying to figure out plans and where we are going. Talking about sales and different companies. We both reported on some things that we are working on. Also, what is in the near future - projects and features. Quick touch base.

Phone call with Bryan. I was driving home from meeting with Gene and got a call from Bryan. I'm really proud of him. He is chasing the dream and really trying to find a way to tap into existing sales funnels and lead generation sources. He is trying to work with Finetech (merchant processing company) and also Host Huskie (website and web hosting company). They both have needs and clients that are looking for software solutions. Trying to get a good sales engine going and functioning. Our goal is to work together to finish up some industry specific skins and get them out there. I really like his direction. I told him that I would help him where possible.

I went out to Gene's house. He gave me a sweet tour. Fun place. We then talked shop and options. He was very helpful and helped me see what we are trying to offer. Gene loves motor sports (motorcycles, snowmobiles, etc.). We talked about the fact that adilas.biz has built an awesome software engine. Okay, now, how you market that? How can we get other developers and entrepreneurs to see that advantage of using the kick butt adilas engine?

We talked about levels of risk and taking calculated risks. He was also recommending that I basically "find my seat on the bus" and then stay there (in the correct seat). I tend to bounce around. I believe that he was quoting from a book called "Good To Great". We all need to stay in our lanes... :)

Great meeting. I really appreciate his time. He is going to reach out to some of his contact and make some introductions.

Working with Russell and Abby on mock-ups and layouts. Russell gave us an assignment and then we spent the rest of the period working on the design. Working on mock-ups. See attached.

After Russell left, I worked with Abby and doing some critiques on some images that she is working on. See attached for some of the current concept artwork.

Yesterday we met with Steve, see element of time # 12620 for details. Today we were working on where can we go and what can we do. I was showing Shannon some options for outside control of the funding. Lots of drawing and showing flow and possible flow and control. Here are some of our other notes.

- From yesterday's chat, Shannon was talking about Steve not wanting to declare bankruptcy (closing things down) and me not wanting to go back to being alone. Both of us were trying to protect ourselves from super painful past experiences. Very interesting.

- Current ROI vs future ROI. We actually need both.

- Lots of talk about repeating patterns

- Avoiding pain, this seems to be a trend and natural reaction.

- Shannon and I reread over some notes from a business consultant meeting from back in the end of 2019. We called it "our rejecting of things" discussion (EOT # 5295).

- Our people are wanting more structure - see this PDF for an internal adilas survey.

- Helping to frame the pitch to build on top of an existing engine vs building something from the ground up - riding on top of our existing software and team - white labeling a custom skin on top of what we have... fund that... you could get a fully funded and finished system so much quicker - tapping into existing infrastructure.

- Play the game with the massive tools that we have... quick add-ons

- We really enjoyed rereading that full element of time from the business consultant (see link for # 5295).

- What makes a mom-and-pop shop... vs a bigger business? It is mostly about what they choose to do.

- We then flipped over to the element of time # 5296 - this one was a few days later from the previous one. Another business consulting meeting.

- We may need some interplay between the jellyfish model and the value add-on core model (either way - they are tied together)

- Reading over the adilas value add-on core model (see link above) - reading section by section

- Focusing on the industry-specific skins angle - getting investments here at this level.

- We become the underlying engine and let the other companies push and sell things.

Prep work for the 1096 yearend payroll form. This is the annual summary and transmittal form for what was submitted. Pushed up new forms and code pages. Called Shari O. to let her know.

Shannon and I were going to jump on and do a work session. Steve was on the meeting. He and I ended up chatting for the whole time. After the meeting, Shannon and I went over some of the topics. I didn't take notes during the actual meeting. Most of these are from Shannon and I talking after the main meeting. Here are some of my notes.

- Steve was saying that he is planning on shutting down adilas or at least start tightening things down. He only wants to work on ROI type projects (return on investment). We tend to get pulled in many directions and don't always get paid by people who we do things for.

- Shannon was listening and showing compassion - I thought that was awesome. I was trying to follow her lead on both the listening and showing compassion. Steve is feeling pretty alone and beat-up by clients, outside parties, and even from internal sources. Software development is and can be a tough gig.

- Only funded products and projects. We have to make a switch.

- There is gold (tons of potential) but we have to remove the overburden (what is covering the gold)

- Cash flow and paying bills - even non people bills - like servers and other tech stuff and loan repayments. Steve hates debt with good reason. Back before the 2008/09 economic crash, they were quite extended for an automotive dealership floorplan. The debt became a crushing reality after sales dropped by well over half. This was back in the Morning Star days.

- Reoccurring monthly fees or revenue is the main thing that investors are looking for. We have some one-off stuff (custom code), and they don't count storage or other reoccurring fees. Especially if they go away or may go away (decreasing) - Investors are looking for monthly reoccurring revenue.

- We took some time and went over some history. We have been doing this for years and we really have been trying to do our best. It's been super tough.

- Repeat patterns - we have seen certain things over and over again. It has to be a different approach forward.

- We talked about options to scale back and then build up

- There is value in what we are doing (but we need to stop)

- The home base (golden goose) is going down... what do we need to do to save that? Steve was saying, it (adilas) is in the ER (emergency room), on life support, how do we tend to that?

- No fun to do what he did (Steve - talking to us and bringing us the bad news)

- Having skin in the game (who is invested)

- Steve said, the gun is pointed in my direction, meaning if things go south, he is the primary percentage holder.

- Staying up late, losing sleep, working weekends, etc. It has been crazy!

- SBA loans and other debt... crushing - long term - we are in a hole

- He really wants things to switch to hourly work and monitoring how much is being paid and who is doing what.

- Supporting each other

- Looking for a future vs saving what is there right now (saving the patient)

- Both Steve and I have had to chat with each other over the years - talking each other off the cliff (wanting to bail out)

- Tons of pressure for paying non-negotiable bills - everything is on auto withdrawal.

- He already went through this... meaning shutting down a company. It hurts.

- Shannon and I were talking about roots and branches and how those need to be graphed in at times to help save the whole.

- I was saying or telling Steve that I make decisions based more on gut feelings, promptings, and impressions vs straight logic. That's who I am.

- We talked about being led - spiritual stuff - getting divine help and trying to listen to what the spirt is saying.

- We want to mix things up. Talking about existing pieces vs following what feels right.

- Fundamentally different ways of looking at the situation (logic vs feelings)

- Compromise and bending but still pushing forward - mixing things together.

All in all, a good but hard meeting. I really want to keep pushing forward, even when pure logic says no. I do feel driven to help, let's see what happens. After Steve left, Shannon and I chatted and will try to mix and blend the different pieces where we can. We have to keep pushing.

Paying bills and recording notes. Meeting with Bryan. We were looking at some of his restaurant table assignment stuff. This is new functionality with saving quotes and assigning flex attributes to the quotes and invoices from within the shopping cart. He added some new functionality and we walked through things. Small code review.

Emails. Small bug fix for a client. Pushed up new code and sent a small email to let them know that the new file was up and live. Emails and text messages with Cory to setup some work session times for later in the week.