Test of live video:
Up against a wall – anyone know PHP? March 18, 2008
Well, all was going well. Visual design is underway with an outsourced contractor. I’ve built 85% of the site functionality. Everything is going to plan, everything is going smoothly.
Until today. Today I realized I left out a pretty major piece of functionality. My website deals with one group posting projects, and another group finding those projects and offering help. Until today, I’d ignored a major piece – the users need to be able to see projects close to themselves, and search within a radius of a zip code. This is a pretty standard thing for most sites, but is incredibly complex programatically ( at least to me ).
So, as visual design is being done, i’m stuck with a major functionality issue. Yes, this is a “nice to have” type functionality, but to me, it’s paramount. So, I’ve got to figure out how to make it work.
If anyone out there knows enough PHP/MySQL to code this type of functionality, let me know. I’m willing to pay (somehow) for the right results.
Coming soon, look for my and Mollie’s thoughts on marketing. We’ve got a big job ahead of us there too.
No one said this would be easy – but it’s a blast!
What I’m here to do March 6, 2008
I’m been doing a lot of reading and thinking over the past few weeks – and finally, I’ve been able to codify what my calling is – to simply be an entrepreneur. “An entrepreneur of what?”, you might ask. Nothing. Just that…an entrepreneur.
Yeah, I know it sounds dumb to you. I don’t really care. Here’s where I’ve come with this thinking.
Talking to a coworker weeks ago, I mentioned to her that if I could do anything, I’d simply want to think. Think and create, then leave it for someone else to take care of. We both smirked and said “Yeah, that’d be nice”, and went on with our lives.
Well, thinking more about that moment, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no reason I can’t be that. Sure, it’s unconventional. Sure, it seems unrealistic. But maybe that’s just what I need.
I’m currently reading an excellent book – No More Mondays, by Dan Miller. Dan is from here in Nashville, and also wrote the book 48 Days to the Work You Love. 48 Days was a fantastic book, and this one surely lives up to its predecessor. One common theme that I am noticing is that Dan insists that the current model of work is changing, and that those who embrace it, look for new opportunities and change as well will be those who succeed. I have to say I wholeheartedly agree.
I’m certainly unique. Like Dan, (I assume, only because I’ve heard him mention things to this degree) I get restless easily. The reason I’ve had so much trouble trying to figure out what I “want to be” is because I don’t just want to be one thing. The thought of staying in one place for too long makes me queasy. Now, some people (ok, most people), would push this off as irresponsible. We’ve come about in the age where seniority rules in the workplace and employees are rewarded for their extended lengths of time at a particular job. So saying that I don’t want to be at any place or doing any one thing for very long may seem to come across as a bit stubborn, bullheaded and naive. I disagree.
The world is vastly changing, we know that. So is the typical model of work. I love that. I love innovation, change and new ideas. Because of that, I’ve found that what I’m here to do is just that – come up with ideas. Now, unfortunately, ideas aren’t worth much alone. You’ve actually got to DO something with the ideas to make them work. So, what I think I’ve come up with is a “job description” that really works for me – I create businesses. Anything. This year, it might be an online business. Next year, it could be a product line or store. Who knows. What I DO know is that my passion really comes in working furiously for a short amount of time to realize an idea, then move to the next. Serial entrepreneurship – that’s me. I’m literally a create-addict. I love to create, but don’t love to manage or maintain. So I won’t. I’ll create, and let someone else who is more inclined toward management do the maintenance for me.
This is, to me, a great example of how I think people should approach work and your calling. Don’t say “well, I like doing this, but I’ll have to put up with that in order to do it”. Why? Change the system, change the archtype. Listening to another great mentor of mine (not directly, ’cause he doesn’t know me from Adam, but I REALLY respect him and look up to him), Dave Ramsey, he mentioned one day that the greatest thing about living in this country is that you can wake up one day and decide you’re going to be something else and you are – just like that. You only have to do two things – convince yourself and convince other people.
So I’m going to take my strengths, which I believe to be forward thinking, tunnel-visioned like focus for short periods of time, and a willingness to be laughed at, and use them in harmony to realize my calling. I won’t take on tasks and jobs that I hate in order to make concessions – I’ll simply do those that I want to do, that really fit me. Once I’m in that groove, the rest should fall into place nicely.
And there it is, my calling and the justification thereof. I realize to many it sounds crazy, dumb, or even naive. That’s fine. Continue working the job you hate, for the pay you despise with people who you can’t stand. Fine by me, I’m going to change my world…see ya’ll from the top.
Marketing, targeting, building and buying January 15, 2008
Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve updated here, and frankly, it’s because not much has been happening worth writing about. However, I felt bad for just up and leaving, so I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts.
We’re still in the “where can we get this thing prototyped” phase. I’ve got a couple vendors that are very promising, especially with regards to price, and they are both based here in the US. I’ve also put an RFQ (request for quote) out on mfg.com (great site that hooks buyers up with suppliers) and I’m waiting on bids there.
I don’t know how long the mfg.com process takes, but I think I should know something within the week. I’d love to hook up with some Chinese suppliers, because I think the prices will be much better…quality should be on par with someone here as well – at least, that’s going to be a requirement.
Meanwhile, we’ve gone back and forth through the “cold feet” process, where I start doubting that anyone would buy this and Mollie talks me back down out of the tree. I’ve been doing informal surveys in a couple spots, and the interest is mixed.
What does that tell me? Well, I think it tells me that much of the success of this product is going to lie in very careful positioning and marketing. The audience who would buy this thing is increasingly becoming smaller and more focused. That’s a good thing as it gives me a much more targeted marketing approach. That said, it also reduces the overall size of the potential market, resulting in a smaller overall revenue expectation, etc… Right now, I just want a prototype so I can actually put together some materials and do some test marketing.
That’s all for now. We’ve also been batting around other ideas that are unrelated to this one. Ideally, I’d love to have the cash flow and capital to build out idea after idea, put it on someone else to run it and more onto the next. I’m….innovation man!
