This post: Random Thoughts on Being an Entreprenur is one of my all time favourites. It inspired me to go back through my endless pages of notes (i don’t throw out any of my notebooks) and collect some of the musings I’ve had over the past two years. By no means am I an expert on being a founder/entrepreneur, but the past year or so, I’ve seen things really take off and would like to share some of my thoughts.
- Running a web app that people rely on is painful. When your app breaks it hurts real bad.
- I would rather have a website that matters than one that just makes money. Thankfully I have one that does both
- My biggest mistake(s) was selling an app. I did this multiple times. Twice I bought them back, but by then, they were ruined.
- Break down your income. Know exactly how much money you need to live on and work towards that figure each day.
- Be frugal. Thankfully thats how I grew up and It comes naturally to me. frugal living can have a huge impact on your life.
- At some point, everyone, even your parents will doubt your products potential. Don’t fight this, just learn to deal with it.
- Track everything. Money, stats, clicks, sentiment, time. You can track everything without being anal. If you don’t, you’re burying your head in the sand.
- Make personal connections and be a communications rockstar. Don’t cold call/spam email bloggers. Write them a personal email – it works.
- Techcrunch said they wouldn’t cover a feature release of my app because Mashable got the story first. Totally makes sense. I’ll email Techcrunch first next time. But…
- Getting a post on the big tech blogs, although its awesome (and an ego boost), only delivers a burst of traffic. Where as, getting featured on DailyCandy (a Female targeted blog) which I never even thought to get in touch with, sent through a huge amount of sustained traffic.
- Hire a person not a skillset. You can always train the right person.
- If you don’t believe people will invest in your app, build it and then figure out exactly how to make it profitable (and do that do), people then will want to invest in your app (true story).
- Don’t answer support emails first thing in the morning. They can be kinda depressing (damn IE6). But make sure you answer them within 24 hours.
- Don’t be afraid to change and adapt. My app will change dramatically over the coming months.
- I’m 100% sure my app will be a huge success. The mere thought it wouldn’t seems incredibly distant. This is the only state of mind to be in.
- If you want to design a lifestyle that involves less work, more travel, don’t rely on one income source. I’m building many
- I failed multiple times. The only way I actually learn is by failing. Scary but true.
I’m sure in another 2 years these musings will be completely different…..so stay tuned.
Photo by: Olivander
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