Thank you.  For everything.

2 months and 2 days. That’s all it’s been.  It was October 20, 2010 that I opened a blog account with WordPress and set up a Facebook “fan” page for College Counseling for the Rest of Us.  And started down an uncertain path, but one I knew I wanted to travel.

2 months and 2 days. Trying to preach three basic concepts:

a) The College Search should be enjoyable.

b) College search information and guidance should be available to EVERYONE.

c) It’s all about “fit, not reach”.  Pick the school that meets your needs, not the school with fanciest reputation, highest SAT scores, best football team or coolest website.

And since then, I’ve had over 2300 visits to my Facebook postings and over 600 visits to my blog site, which now has a cool web domain, http://www.cc4therestofus.com, that I purchased via GoDaddy. I’ve also gained a few clients (always a good thing), was asked to do a guest blog on a really cool local site (www.njmyway.com), participated in a great career fair (trying to explain, to middle schoolers, what an independent college counselor does), got myself invited to a major adult college fair and also to an amazing food and wine pairing event at a great hotel.

I’ve incorporated, opened a corporate checking account, printed business cards and met with potential advertisers.  I opened YouTube and BlogTalkRadio accounts (thenewmediadoesntbelieveinspaces) that will soon be filled with  more (hopefully) good CCR content.  I’ve been in conversation for locations for several College Search workshops – my “world” tour – and I hope to have some news on that front in the next week or so.  I’ve recalibrated my Twitter and Linkedin accounts to reflect CCR’s direction.

And it’s been a blast.  I love this.  I love working with the wonderful families I’ve met in 2010  I love the College of the Day and the responses from colleges and alums.  I love the feedback I get (generally privately – PLEASE feel free to post comments!!!) about how this is helping folks prepare for the college search.  I thank you, thank you, thank you.

I thank my clients from 2010 – the collector’s edition – the first few families who helped me shape what is to come.

I thank my Facebook fans (“likes”, I know) and my Twitter followers for helping me know that there is an audience for what I was saying.   And thank you to all of the folks (YOU!) who read this weekly blog and offer feedback.

I especially thank my wife, Stefanie, whose first name should be “long suffering”, for putting up with me and whose support of this project has given me great strength to move this forward to where it should go.  And thank you to my kids, for their support.

Get ready for CCR to rock in 2011 – there will be the “Fit, Not Reach” World Tour, the weekly YouTube show, possibly a weekly BlogTalkRadio program, a website (as opposed to a blog site with a bell and whistle or two).  College of the Day will continue as well as the Wednesday blogs.  And there will be an ever improving College Search service. And my twin boys will finish sophomore year of high school and start their junior year.  So, we’ll have real, live test cases to work with (inset best evil scientist laugh here).

The greatest gift I could have received this Holiday season was the support that you have all given me these past 62 days.  I thank you, and hope I can provide gifts of equal (or greater) value, in return, in 2011.  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

May you have a cherished holiday season, whether your house be filled with the joy of Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Chalica or any combination thereof.  And may you have a safe, healthy HAPPY NEW YEAR!