FranLab is getting evicted

[tom66]

It's surprising how few hours it takes to get (and maintain) decent knowledge of an area and prices/features etc.
I even found places for Louis Rossmann that he hadn't found when he was looking, and he went to visit one in a video. It was a dump, but it was a genuine size.

I remember the joke around the time Rossmann was looking for a new space was he was a real estate consultant whose side business was fixing Macbooks.  "Rossmann Realty & Mac Repair"

[EEVblog]

Fran just released a Patreon video thanking everyone for the campaign donations. The $11k or so was enough for her to secure this years expenses and so it's back to FranLab business as usual 

[james_s]

Well not that it's at all surprising, but here we go again. She is going to piss away more time not coming up with a plan and the drama will start over when this batch of funding runs out.

[Bud]

"Professional Begger"  modus operandi.

[SiliconWizard]

And we get sick between episodes of good health. Such is life.
Not that I'm advocating living life with zero plan, but I've seen quite a few people who had carefully planned every piece of their lives, just to have it all fall apart unexpectedly down the line.
So I'm not being too judgmental here and giving her some slack.
I'll just advise her to keep looking for an affordable property and be open to find it away from where she is now. Not just because it would secure her future, but mainly because it would mean more peace and less stress IMO.

[EEVblog]

I'll just advise her to keep looking for an affordable property and be open to find it away from where she is now. Not just because it would secure her future, but mainly because it would mean more peace and less stress IMO.

That's what I do, even when I'm not looking.
I get email alerts for various keywords and features of properties that might interest me in the future, and so I can keep my ear to the ground of the market.
I even go inspect places in the park just to check out buildings etc. So if something does come along that suits my needs and it's bargain then I have all the information to pounce on an opportunity.
I found my current lab by literally walking every floor of every building in the business park. It wasn't listed online and had been on the market for a year just sitting there empty.
Likewise I found my two storage units by have keyword alerts, and one of them was burried deep down in a listing for another bigger office, so if I hadn't had read that listing I would have missed out on my dungeon space.

[Bud]

Not that I'm advocating living life with zero plan, but I've seen quite a few people who had carefully planned every piece of their lives, just to have it all fall apart unexpectedly down the line.

Well, as Muhammad Ali said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"

I'll just advise her to keep looking for an affordable property and be open to find it away from where she is now. Not just because it would secure her future, but mainly because it would mean more peace and less stress IMO.

You guys think it would make sence to her to post a call "Hire me as a consultant" type of thing? With this broad audience perhaps a few offers may come? Would give an official part time income stream.

[EEVblog]

You guys think it would make sence to her to post a call "Hire me as a consultant" type of thing? With this broad audience perhaps a few offers may come? Would give an official part time income stream.

Only if it meant the difference between folding Franlab and keeping it going.
I turn down all design consulting gigs, as I just don't have the time to do them.
I can say with certainty that Fran's channel takes all her time, and of course that's what she likes doing, so you can't blame her for trying to eek out a living doing it as a full time job and devotign all her time to it. There are easier and less time consuming side income gigs IMO.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Not that I'm advocating living life with zero plan, but I've seen quite a few people who had carefully planned every piece of their lives, just to have it all fall apart unexpectedly down the line.

Well, as Muhammad Ali said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"

Mike Tyson.

[james_s]

I can say with certainty that Fran's channel takes all her time, and of course that's what she likes doing, so you can't blame her for trying to eek out a living doing it as a full time job and devotign all her time to it. There are easier and less time consuming side income gigs IMO.

If her channel takes all her time and it's what she likes doing then it makes perfect sense to focus on that. As I think you have said a few times, close down the factory, consolidate storage and sell/give away or otherwise dispose of anything that is not going to contribute to content. She could live in a much smaller space, say a 2 bedroom apartment with one of the bedrooms used as a studio/workshop. Excess stuff could be stored anywhere within a reasonable drive.

[Kasper]

I've seen quite a few people who had carefully planned every piece of their lives, just to have it all fall apart unexpectedly down the line.

I like planning that includes plenty of safety factor.  Specially when that extra safety factor allows for quick and flexible planning.

I've known people who make complex plans where everything must go perfectly or else they have a big problem.  It never turns out and it's always someone else's fault.

[EEVblog]

Franlab tour:

[MrMobodies]

Did she renovate or move again or was that move she announced last year?


Interesting, is that a jukebox?

Very big and I don't think I have seen one like that before.

I like the lab though spacious, but it looks more like a factory to me with the tools and machines and now I'll think of it as FranFactory.

[EEVblog]

Did she renovate or move again or was that move she announced last year?

Same place.

I like the lab though spacious, but it looks more like a factory to me with the tools and machines and now I'll think of it as FranFactory.

She rents a separate factory in a shared space, kinda like a maker space I think but she has her own dedicated room.
FranLab is just her residential apartment, 3 bedroom by the looks of it.

[Nusa]

Did she renovate or move again or was that move she announced last year?


Interesting, is that a jukebox?

Very big and I don't think I have seen one like that before.

I like the lab though spacious, but it looks more like a factory to me with the tools and machines and now I'll think of it as FranFactory.

My memory says that jukebox is from the mid-1980's. Still containing 45's, not CD's.

[jonovid]

far from 100% saturation. still gaps between items and the ceiling . see lots of empty space. nice.

[abeyer]

still gaps between items

Every one of those inches is your patreon dollars going to waste! 

[EEVblog]

Fran's channel is really getting hammered for some reason.
She dropped from one video a day to one every two days and views dropped like a rock.
My channel doesn't do that.

[james_s]

Maybe it's the content? Have there been any cool technical videos lately? Or is it all complaining about the situation and begging for more money?

[EEVblog]

Maybe it's the content? Have there been any cool technical videos lately? Or is it all complaining about the situation and begging for more money?

That woudl not explain the seaming drop of "ever green" long-tail content.
My channel for example get half the daily views from old videos promoted by The Algorithm + search. Fran's eclectic content channel would be the same as mine evergreen content wise, so I think something is up.

[SiliconWizard]

The content is only part of the equation on YT, thinking otherwise is deluded.
Many successful channels seem to see the same pattern, at least half the views, if not more, from old videos.

Sure it's possible that a fraction of her viewers got a bit tired of hearing maybe too much about her life than they'd like to hear.

But there are many factors at play regarding how YT promotes videos, most of which being completely opaque, and the way YT promotes your videos is what really makes the difference.

A sudden drop in frequency for new videos seems to be a clear factor. From what I've seen, it's more a change in frequency than the absolute number of new videos in a given time frame. If someone posts 1 new video per month with excellent regularity, they'll get better results than someone posting 1 video per week when they were posting 2 per week before, and so on.

[james_s]

I guess it could just be the mysterious algorithm that Google uses. Actually quite a lot of the content I end up watching is stuff that pops up on the main page when I go there, I don't like to be logged into Google any more often than is absolutely necessary so I very rarely rely on my subscriptions. In that respect I may be part of the problem.

[SiliconWizard]

From what Dave explained a while ago IIRC, the number of views a channel gets from notifications is pretty small (and I've heard other Youtubers say the same), so it doesn't make a significant different despite most Youtubers constantly asking people to click on the notification bell - they are encouraged by YT to ask that, but in practice it makes very little difference as it seems.

[EEVblog]

From what Dave explained a while ago IIRC, the number of views a channel gets from notifications is pretty small (and I've heard other Youtubers say the same), so it doesn't make a significant different despite most Youtubers constantly asking people to click on the notification bell - they are encouraged by YT to ask that, but in practice it makes very little difference as it seems.

Correct. Most people watch it via the browser tab feature. If it's not showing up there then no one clicks. Only those specifcally notified or on the Subscriptions tab will see the video.
The Algorithm is key to both just released content and older content.

[james_s]

Forgive my ignorance but what is the browser tab feature?