Sometimes I see startups get a ton of money, way more money then they are worth. I have never asked for money and every dollar I spend I turn it into 10-1000x the investment. But I've noticed that the more money I spend the less money I get back. So what everybody needs to do is test their money making skills and expand on them just like any other skill.
Try turning 100 dollars into 200 dollars, 1000 into 2000, 5000 into 10000 and so on.
Start small and start using your cash wisely that way when you get the golden ticket of investor support you can turn that into an empire.
Alternatively, you could just take investors money and blow it on fancy cars, sushi and lattes.
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Monday, 14 January 2013
You better like business as usual
I hang out with a lot of different types of people and I specifically the creative class. This includes programmers, 3D artists etc. One thing about the creative class that most people need to understand is that they need new and exciting jobs. This is one reason there is so much turnover in these areas. I know lots of people who work for companies then freelance for a while. The worst thing that can happen is really boring work for any of these people.
But here is the problem. Innovation isn't what it used to be. A lot of the startups that make money are not that innovative. Call it the zeitgeist, but it is something you should get used to. While I completely understand why this isn't ideal. Sometimes in order for a business to keep going they have to give their customers what they want and they probably don't want new products they don't understand.
Sometimes you have to ride the wave when times are uncertain. This sometimes means business as usual. If you don't want to fall into this pattern make sure your clientele or business attracts customers who wants new things.
But here is the problem. Innovation isn't what it used to be. A lot of the startups that make money are not that innovative. Call it the zeitgeist, but it is something you should get used to. While I completely understand why this isn't ideal. Sometimes in order for a business to keep going they have to give their customers what they want and they probably don't want new products they don't understand.
Sometimes you have to ride the wave when times are uncertain. This sometimes means business as usual. If you don't want to fall into this pattern make sure your clientele or business attracts customers who wants new things.
Sunday, 13 January 2013
Why you should learn to code
For those of you who don't know I really enjoy the knowledge and wisdom of Derek Sivers. I have followed all of his advice and I have become a more successful person. Here he has one about programming. Although I have been saying the same thing for years, now Derek has made a blog post about it.
https://sivers.org/prog
Go and read it, it sums up everything I have to say about the subject. One central theme with Derek's advice is that you are completely in the the power to change your life. I totally agree with this. Although most of his articles relate to music in some way. Derek Sivers is a prime example of the fact that anybody can become a programmer. I recommend that you start to learn to program if you are some kind of designer. I would just learn to program if you already don't know.
https://sivers.org/prog
Go and read it, it sums up everything I have to say about the subject. One central theme with Derek's advice is that you are completely in the the power to change your life. I totally agree with this. Although most of his articles relate to music in some way. Derek Sivers is a prime example of the fact that anybody can become a programmer. I recommend that you start to learn to program if you are some kind of designer. I would just learn to program if you already don't know.
"There is no excuse to not start" - Derek Sivers
Thursday, 10 January 2013
If your new year resolution has the word app in it...
If you have a new years resolution and you have the word app in it then what are you waiting for? Go ahead and get that app into production. Either:
Do it yourself
Hire somebody to do it
Do a combination of both
If you want to do it yourself you can learn online. If you want somebody else to do it go to elance. Or if you want to do a little of both design it and then go to elance.
But what ever you do...
...don't make excuses.
Do it yourself
Hire somebody to do it
Do a combination of both
If you want to do it yourself you can learn online. If you want somebody else to do it go to elance. Or if you want to do a little of both design it and then go to elance.
But what ever you do...
...don't make excuses.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Learn the hotkeys
If there is anything that will make production go faster it's learning the hotkeys. Programs with good hotkeys have much faster workflow than programs that don't. Whenever I choose a program to make something I always look at the hotkeys first. Learn how to use the hotkeys and your product will be releasable faster.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
40 Billion in sales, 7 billion for developers
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/itunes-app-store-tops-40-billion-downloads-generates-7-billion-developers
Releasing apps has been the best decision of my life. Even if you are not a top seller on the app store you can still make some pocket change. The best part about the app store is that you can sell to a whole bunch of people the worst part is that you either have to make it free or a dollar. It would be awesome if apple just eliminated dollar apps and made the lowest 1.50. Microsoft is doing that and it's a fantastic idea.
In theory the price of apps should rise around 3% to adjust for inflation but I feel that won't happen.
If you have an app idea that needs to be released, what are you waiting for?
Releasing apps has been the best decision of my life. Even if you are not a top seller on the app store you can still make some pocket change. The best part about the app store is that you can sell to a whole bunch of people the worst part is that you either have to make it free or a dollar. It would be awesome if apple just eliminated dollar apps and made the lowest 1.50. Microsoft is doing that and it's a fantastic idea.
In theory the price of apps should rise around 3% to adjust for inflation but I feel that won't happen.
If you have an app idea that needs to be released, what are you waiting for?
Monday, 7 January 2013
Why you might not need funding
The typical excuse for any entrepreneur is "I don't have funding". Because money solves everything right?
When it comes to money I see lots of different things entrepreneurs do. Sometimes if there is no money on the table then some startups don't work. They don't do anything, as if the money they are about to receive will change everything. The other things that I see startups do is actually get way too much money. This can't be a bad thing right? Money makes a business go up, right?
Well both of these can actually be really bad. The first is that you should be working on whatever you are doing regardless of what investment capital you have. You can release and promote whatever it is your doing by yourself before you ask for any amount of money.
The second is getting too much money. Sometimes I see really lame ideas get a ton of money for investments. It happens all of the time. The startup feels fantastic because they got some money and they get clout in the startup community.
But what happens if the startup makes no money? As an entrepreneur who sells products, it is very hard to make money. I personally wouldn't accept capital because I have no idea if my idea will make money or not. Nobody knows if your startup will make money in the prototyping phase. You have to test the market first and see what your startup will make before you go and ask for money. That also means testing it more than a couple of months.
Remember: you only get one chance at startup money, if you blow it you're finished. If you get a 100k investment and don't return that, then good luck finding more capital. Perhaps you can coax more investment but at the end of the day is that really useful?
If you want your idea to work, try turning 1-10k into more money. Start with that first and then move on. If you can make that small amount of money make more money with your startup then consider asking for more.
When it comes to money I see lots of different things entrepreneurs do. Sometimes if there is no money on the table then some startups don't work. They don't do anything, as if the money they are about to receive will change everything. The other things that I see startups do is actually get way too much money. This can't be a bad thing right? Money makes a business go up, right?
Well both of these can actually be really bad. The first is that you should be working on whatever you are doing regardless of what investment capital you have. You can release and promote whatever it is your doing by yourself before you ask for any amount of money.
The second is getting too much money. Sometimes I see really lame ideas get a ton of money for investments. It happens all of the time. The startup feels fantastic because they got some money and they get clout in the startup community.
But what happens if the startup makes no money? As an entrepreneur who sells products, it is very hard to make money. I personally wouldn't accept capital because I have no idea if my idea will make money or not. Nobody knows if your startup will make money in the prototyping phase. You have to test the market first and see what your startup will make before you go and ask for money. That also means testing it more than a couple of months.
Remember: you only get one chance at startup money, if you blow it you're finished. If you get a 100k investment and don't return that, then good luck finding more capital. Perhaps you can coax more investment but at the end of the day is that really useful?
If you want your idea to work, try turning 1-10k into more money. Start with that first and then move on. If you can make that small amount of money make more money with your startup then consider asking for more.
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