‘Putz or Yutz’ was the first tagline for my blog ten years ago. I was 40. A regular media lightweight. Obviously I was angrier … for god’s sake there were no smartphones!

I changed the tagline quickly to ‘Trends… Find them, Ride them and Get off’.  I manage money and writing was really helping me stick to big trends and less trading. It worked out ok for me the last ten years. 

Now I am 50. I have less to prove.  I hope my kids and grandkids can come back and read a few posts in 20 years. 

I’m no Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.  I am no Zuckerberg. I’m Howie…I have toe fungus and it’s not curable. The company that says they have the cure for my toe fungus (Valeant $VRX) is an accounting scam. 

I have not given up on investing or trading my way to fame by the way. I just have a new perspective. I call it ‘Investing for Profit and Joy’.  I love writing but I also love speaking and interviews and ecommerce. I want to experiment with branding. I have t- shirts. I even have a logo. It’s the popcorn box with the ‘H’ you see after every post.

Through this blog, Wallstrip, StockTwits and all my investing and trading I have learned that there are hundreds of thousands of people like me. We love talking about markets all day and night. It’s probably because discussing markets is like discussing people and behaviors. We are talking about all our weaknesses. It is cathartic. 

I will never quit that part of my life, but I’m really excited about the future of financial media and brands. 

Joe Bezdek helped me pull all this together. He says I am a ‘provocateur’ …but a nice one. He’s very smart and very patient. I’m happy to introduce him to you if you need some brand consulting work.