Find your influencers

My influencers: Jeff & Mandy Rose, Emily Eddington & Tom Harness

By Kevin Hunsperger

@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter
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My wife, children and parents are among the biggest influencers in my life. I wouldn't be the man I am today without all six of them. I strive to be a better person every day thanks to their support, understanding and influence. I love them all and know they're value in my life. There are other influencers who have made a huge difference in Kevin Hunsperger, the blogger.

Jeff Rose & Kevin Hunsperger

This blog as you know it wouldn't exist without Jeff Rose. Jeff is a friend who encouraged me to find my blogging niche and suggested I start writing about wrestling. So September 3, 2010 My 1-2-3 Cents was born. I've looked to Jeff and his wife Mandy for insight and advice in the world of blogging. The two of them are the most phenomenal bloggers I know. Mandy's House of Rose blog has a staggering number of readers, covering everything from design, parenting issues and marriage advice. Jeff's Good Financial Cents blog includes valuable information on your financial health. He's studied how to be a great blogger and has shared that information with others. Jeff has an awesome series of video podcasts up on iTunes now. Jeff and Mandy are not just great bloggers, they're wonderful people. Thank you both for your advice through the years.

Kevin Hunsperger & Emily Eddington spreading Christmas cheer

Shortly after I started the My 1-2-3 Cents blog, I added a supplemental YouTube channel. I have my friend and former coworker Emily Eddington to thank for that. She started her Beauty Broadcast channel in the early days of YouTube and has grown it into a much loved and well-respected channel. (She has a blog by the same name too.) Her content is so popular, Emily was asked by YouTube to create more channels. She shares her thoughts on all things beauty related, but also gives viewers a glimpse into her family life (which is growing). Emily encouraged me to get started with the wrestling vlogs six years ago and answered a ton of questions when I was getting started. She's one of the most sincere and kind people I've ever known. What you see on camera is what you get in real life. Thanks "Eddi" for helping me navigate the sometimes confusing ways of blogging and YouTube.

Tom Harness & Kevin Hunsperger being Smurfy on Craftbeericans

My final influencer is my buddy Tom Harness. We met via social media and mutual friends several years ago. Tom leads a team of budding young stars at Harness Digital Marketing and are making a difference here in southern Illinois and beyond. We have even developed a professional relationship as a result. But Tom was an early supporter of My 1-2-3 Cents, once meeting me for lunch and helping revamp the look of this website. He's always there to share, like, retweet and favorite the content I post. We're also working on another joint venture with the Craftbeericans. Stay tuned, we're just getting started there. Tom's friendship and leadership have been invaluable to me.

I am forever grateful to these people not just for being influencers, but for being friends too. I value my relationship with each and thank them all for their support, advice and positive outlook through the years. My wish is that everyone out there finds at least one person to influence them along the way to strive to do better.

Thanks a (Half) Million

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Nearly four years ago I started this blog, as a way to share my opinion on professional wrestling, something I am very passionate about.  I was encouraged by my friend, Jeff Rose, who has a very successful blog called Good Financial Cents.  He and his wife Mandy (House of Rose) are both very well known in the blogging world.  Between their websites and podcasts, I have learned a lot and I think improved this page greatly.

Hit 500K today!  Thank you 

I never thought then, I'd reach this milestone of half a million page views.  Compared to many, this isn't that significant, but through the years I've watched the number of reads consistently grow.  It's a true labor of love and I wouldn't be here without you.  Thanks for reading and sharing. 

Since 2010, just like me, this blog has evolved.  It's not just about wrestling anymore.  The tag line is Wrestling. Pop Culture. Life.  I try to write about all these things on a regular basis.  I do it, because I enjoy writing.  But that's not the only reason.  After hearing countless stories of people turning their hobbies into a profitable blog, I decided to give it a whirl.  While I'm never going to be able to retire from my day job, blogging has provided a little extra income.  

I've had help from friends too.  There are many who have provided posts here, as well as my buddy and Wrestlemania traveling partner Chad.  You've all shared some great tales and I thank you for that.

Readers, thank you again for supporting me over the several years, as I share my opinion and stories about the things I find interesting.  Keep reading and sharing, and don't forget to check me out My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube too.

Are You Listening?

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Like my reading preferences, I tend to listen to a lot of wrestling podcasts.  Since I've revamped my running and am hitting the trail for longer periods of time, listening to a podcast makes the time go by so much quicker.  In my opinion it's better than music.  When I have a chance to drive my wife's car, I can plug in my phone and listen through the radio.  It makes road trips (on my own) so much better.  So here are the shows I listen to, but note, they're not all wrestling related.

Dollars & Roses: Make Money Blogging: The hosts of this podcast are my friends, Jeff and Mandy Rose.  In fact, Jeff is the one responsible for the creation of My 1-2-3 Cents.  As an avid blogger, Jeff encouraged me to try a wrestling blog almost four years ago.  So it's only natural I continue to follow his advice.  Jeff and Mandy know what they're talking about and provide transparency each month with their financial reports.  They've shown time and time again you can be successful at blogging, you just have to work hard at it.

I want this blog to be successful and make money.  I'll be honest, I have made some cash, but nothing near what others are making.  After listening to a couple of their shows over the weekend, I'm going to be tweaking and making some changes to the current page.  My plan is to start making those changes in the next couple of weeks.  Some the ideas are simple, while others are a bit more complex.  But I'm fortunate to have friends like Jeff and Mandy, who are both successful bloggers and now podcasters.  If you've wanted to start your own blog or if you want to improve the one you have, check them out at Dollars & Roses.  Even after Mandy's recent blog about her first wrestling show, I still consider her a friend.

Pro Wrestling Ponderings:  I'll admit, I don't get to listen to the PW Ponderings crew as often as I'd like to.  I met Jerome Cusson, one of the founders of the site, two years ago when he was covering All American Pro Wrestling's Main Event here in southern Illinois.  Jerome and his team work hard covering the very best of independent wrestling.  If you're a fan of wrestling and want to explore what's going on on the indy level, I highly recommend visiting PW Ponderings and checking out the articles.  But listen to the interviews too.  They talk to some of the best and brightest on the local scene and who knows, one day that guest may be the next big thing in the WWE.  Jerome and I also did commentary briefly for Pro Wrestling Collision.

The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana:  I don't know this for sure, but I believe Colt Cabana revolutionized the whole podcast concept, especially for the world of wrestling.  For those who don't know him, Colt is an indy wrestler, who spent a brief period of time in the WWE as Scotty Goldman.  He's also CM Punk's best friend, and the WWE Superstar has dropped Colt's name more than once on WWE programming.  Colt's show is great because he talks wrestling and life with his friends in the business.  It gives listeners a chance to hear the voices of many talents they might not normally hear from.  But Colt recently landed a pretty big interview when he talked with WWE Hall of Famer, The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino.

Colt takes a comedic approach most of the time, but the conversation does not just revolve around wrestling.  Listeners get a chance to learn about the men and women Colt is interviewing beyond their love of spandex and baby oil.  The other thing I like about Colt (and I'm going to name drop and tell you I've met him on more than one occasion), is that he's running the show and his marketing, bookings, and merchandise sales all from his studio... apartment. (Listen to the show and that will make more sense)  Check out his website here.

The Steve Austin Show: Unleashed:  If you're a fan of the Rattle Snake's, you really should take the time to listen to Austin's podcast.  His shows drop twice a week, and have included plenty of memorable WWE Hall of Famers and Legends like Ric Flair, Jerry Lawler, Bret Hart, and Jim Cornette.  The stories are great, and many times, Austin will break up the interview into two-one hour shows.  Just like I enjoy hearing about the lives of indy wrestlers and how they're doing, I also love hearing the stories of stars from my childhood recount their time in the business and offer advice for the next generation.

So those are my four picks, those are the podcasts I primarily listen to.  Another show I plan to start listening to is Talk is Jericho with wrestling great, Chris Jericho.  Now that I'm caught up with most of my other shows, I'll start listening.  One of my goals for 2014, is to figure out how the whole thing works and start one of my own.