Boris Gorelik is an Emerging Photographer in New York City

I spoke with him today about making money with his passion. Boris has been struggling trying to find a way to earn a living with his art. During the first episode of my new podcast (available on iTunes, Blip, YouTube and my website) we discussed a few opportunities that could help Boris make money from his photos.

Along with my friend, +Bruce Garber, we challenged +Boris Gorelik to try something out. It involves a bodega and overcoming being shy. It’s a great story and I can’t wait to share it with you. Until then, check out +Boris Gorelik‘s photos and let me know whether you think he has what it takes to make it in the Big Apple.

How Much is Convenience Worth?

The Consumerist recently posted about two articles, one from +CNBC and the other from +The New York Times about the price of single-serving coffee packages.

I, for one, own a single-serving brewing system. I am a fan of the device (a Keurig) because it removes a lot of barriers from me brewing my own coffee. The most important of these barriers in time.

Before owning my Keurig, it took a lot of effort to brew a cup of coffee. More often than not, when I would brew a “pot” of coffee in the morning, most of it would go to waste. So, between cleaning the pot, cleaning the basket and measuring the cofee each morning I was spending a lot of time. Even after all of the preparation I would have to wait several minutes for the stuff to brew.

Now I find myself flying down the stairs with an extra 15 minutes of sleep, ready to press a button while I grab my banana and have my coffee in my thermos, the exact amount, the right temperature, perfectly fresh and all ready to go. I realize that on a “cost-per-pound” basis, this is way more than I would ever consider paying for high end coffee.

photo by rudolf_schuba on Flickr

+Starbucks Coffee offers select roasts for $13.95/lb and I’m paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $25-$30. Surely, this is way more expensive using my perfered method when viewed in a cost-per-pound perspective. However, if you look at the amount of coffee that is wasted and the amount of time spent brewing a “pot” of coffee each morning, I think I’m actually saving a lot more time and money than I would with the traditional method.

So, what’s your bottom line? What do you think the convenience is worth? Just because it costs more per pound does that mean you’re spending more overall? How do you do your coffee in the morning?