I know what I am

For some weird-ass reason, it seemed imperative to me that this post be named what it is, and it was the kind of imperative where somehow it seems like it’s a really witty move, like you all are going to read it and think that I’m really clever, like the time I named a post “I’m Mad As Hell, and I’m Not Going to Take it Anymore,” which, of course, every single one of you recognized as a famous line from the movie Network.

But then I realized that the only reason it seemed that way is because I have the song “I Know What I Am” by this group I’ve never otherwise heard of called Band of Skulls stuck in my head, and that naming a post after a sort of insignificant song really isn’t clever at all, especially when it’s kind of obvious that Band of Skulls is stealing The White Stripes’ sound, and that I don’t even really like The White Stripes that much anyway.

And also, I went sailing this weekend for the first time in this little one-man sailboat, and the whole time, the Beach Boys song “Sloop John B.” was in my head. That has nothing to do with anything except for the phenomenon of mind-song sticking.

Like if I were to type, “Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts,” you’d probably have that annoying-ass jingle in your head for hours. You’re welcome.

But yeah, on to the point. I guess I do know what I am. I do know who I am. And it’s really awesome that so many of you had thoughts on my question about who I should be (I got more responses by email, Twitter, and Facebook, too), but in the end, that all kind of served to validate what I already knew:

I am Johnny B. Truant.

(Well, not really. But that’s what you can call me so that my “straight” clients don’t get mad at what I write here. Kind of like Penelope Trunk, whose real name isn’t actually Penelope Trunk.)

But yeah, for all intents and purposes, I’m Johnny B. And if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’ll know that you could describe me as:

1. A humorist,
2. A “make tech simple” tips and tutorials writer,
3. A guy who sets up blogs and websites on the cheap, and does other tech stuff,
4. An irreverent columnist on IttyBiz and protegee of Naomi Dunford,
5. A person who started a pretty damn successful online business in like 30 days,
6. A frequent contributor to “straight” business blogs like Copyblogger and Problogger who writes kind of funny about those topics,
7. A creator of DIY information products,
8. A guy who maybe exposes a bit too much of his personal business,
9. A faculty member at Project Mojave,
10. A teacher and coach,
11. A black guy, and
12. “That dickhead”

So you could pick any one of those to describe me, but what I really am is all of them together. Especially that last one.

See, coming to grips with this revelation feels like the final step in what I’d consider to be Phase One of my online career. You hear that you’re supposed to be “a thing.” You’re supposed to be “the irreverent Photoshop guru,” or, say, “the drunk knitting instructor.” If you’re an angry drunk person who knits and is really good at Photoshop, it feels like you have to pick one and neglect the other. You hear that you’re supposed to have a niche. You hear that if you’re too scattered, you risk confusing your audience because they won’t know how to label you… and hence won’t follow you anymore.

But I’m going to go out on a limb. I’m going to be all of those things at once. And I’m going to be really in your face about it, too, meaning that I won’t partition myself into a dozen little online spaces. I won’t be a humorist in one place and a guy who launches websites in another.

Why? Because I’m taking a leap of faith that what you like is the humorist, not just the humor. That you like the creator of the products, not just the products themselves. I’m going to hope that you don’t like my IttyBiz posts so much as you like my posts. This is a big step out in faith.

Do my readers and clients like #1-12 above? Or do they like Johnny B. Truant?

Where I’m going with this

When I asked y’all that question about whether I should consolidate my blogs and sites into one combined and hopelessly nicheless master site at JohnnyBTruant.com, I got responses on both sides of the coin. For a while, about half of you said that I should toss everything I do into one site, and half of you said to keep my pure humor writing (or something else) separate from the rest.

Then, as time went on, more people started weighing in on the idea of an all-in-one site, including the person whose opinion ultimately mattered the most.

You know: Me.

Then a few people started to ask me why I was even posing the question, because I knew what I wanted. And it’s true. I know what I am. I am Johnny B. Truant (okay, not really), and Johnny B. Truant is all of those things at once.

So I’m going to put all of my eggs in one basket. I’m going to be the dickhead humorist almost black guy and tech tips writer who offers website services and information products, started a business quickly, teaches and coaches, exposes too much of his personal inner-workings, and writes on IttyBiz, Copyblogger, Problogger, and others.

In other words, I’m just going to be Johnny B. Truant.

I’ve discussed this with my irreverent British life coach Tim Brownson, and between bites of scones and sips of tea with an outstretched pinky, Tim got me to commit to making my website transition by the end of the week. Now I’m putting that commitment in print. So within a few days, things are going to change around here.

What it will look like

If you’re used to Learn To Be Your Own V.A., then not much is going to change visually. I’ll swap out the header, move some things around, and generally try to spruce up to make room for the new content. At the same time, I’ll change the site to JohnnyBTruant.com. (All of the old links to LearnToBeYourOwnVA.com will still work, though.)

Then I’m going to manually move the not-pure-humor posts from The Economy Isn’t Happening over to that site.

Lastly, I’ll take the remaining pure humor posts and put them in an archive on JohnnyBTruant.com and close TheEconomyIsntHappening.com as its own, standalone site. I won’t add to this new archive over time, but it’ll be there, plain as day. All of the old links to TheEconomyIsntHappening.com will be redirected to their new home on the new site. So all of those old links will still work, too.

Going forward

Once I’ve made the switch, I’m going to write everything that occurs to me on that one blog.

Everything. If I have a motivational point to make, I’ll make it. If I want to give a quick tech tip, I’ll give it. If I want to talk about building business or making money, I’ll do it. And if there are turkeys in my barn again and I have to fight them off with a hose, I’ll tell that story even though it’ll be way out of place and “wrong” by most rules about niches.

I’m going to put all of my new content in one place and allow you to decide whether to read it or not. As one comrade suggested, I won’t impose a filter on you. I’ll provide the information, and allow you to filter it as you wish.

Here we go, everyone… deep breath.