Good people end up giving bad startup advice in two ways. First, it happens when the advice is given irrespective of which stage of the startup lifecycle[1] the company is in. Second, it happens when opinions are given about whether the whole idea is “good” or “bad”. Experts can often provide excellent insight about the practicality of a specific element of the business … [Read more...] about Getting and Giving Good Startup Advice
Making Decisions
You have a profitable bootstrapped business with good, linear growth. You’re on track to take over your niche and should be able to hold it, but it’s hard to imagine how you’ll make the leap into the mainstream on your current trajectory. On a bit of a whim, you talked to a major bank and they want to license a white-labelled copy of your whole system. The deal they’re … [Read more...] about Making Decisions
Cooking Up a Startup
When you start learning to cook, you compulsively follow the recipe. You stress over timing and ingredient ratios and whether the carrots are truly and properly chopped or just somewhat sliced. Over time, you learn where the wiggle room is. A lot of recipes simplify into: Mix it all together and cook on hot-ish with some oil until squishy and then add some cheese. Most … [Read more...] about Cooking Up a Startup
Don’t Pick Your Tools Before You Know The Job
I began doing something properly stupid the other day[1]. I decided I needed to do a survey. You know, to get to know you guys better. So I came up with all sorts of interesting questions. What a dummy! That’s like saying: Today I really want to use a belt sander. Now let’s go find something to sand. I ended up writing some zingers like “What country are you from?” … [Read more...] about Don’t Pick Your Tools Before You Know The Job
Are You Still Losing Your Ideas? Cut That Out Right Now.
Whenever your brain makes a “that’s interesting” noise, alarm bells should be going off. It doesn’t matter whether you’re reading or talking to someone or even sitting alone. “That’s interesting” is the announcement of a sprouting idea, and when you do the polite thing by continuing to listen to the person in front of you, or the auto-pilot thing by continuing to read the … [Read more...] about Are You Still Losing Your Ideas? Cut That Out Right Now.
4 Steps to Coming Up With A Great Business Idea
The approach I follow is a combination of customer discovery and effectuation, constrained by lifestyle goals (and making heavy use of the business model canvas). Begin with constraints Which parts of the business model do you care about? This takes a little bit of soul searching. Start with a business model canvas and fill in the boxes for which you have strong … [Read more...] about 4 Steps to Coming Up With A Great Business Idea
Abstraction Makes us Stupid at Business
You want to start a company restoring ancient stained glass windows to their former glory. You live in a country rife with cathedrals and have spent a lifetime appreciating these translucent masterpieces, but you don’t have any deep technical knowledge of their restoration. How do you get started? Why is it that most people can intuitively approach this situation … [Read more...] about Abstraction Makes us Stupid at Business
5 Things Every Freelance Designer Should Do
In this post I want to concentrate on five things that will not only increase your productivity, but also your number of clients. 1. Keep Your Office Space Clean Designers rarely place any importance on office cleanliness, however, it can help immensely with your efficiency. When you know where things are, you waste less time. A dusty and messy desk doesn’t exactly … [Read more...] about 5 Things Every Freelance Designer Should Do
5 Steps Towards Great Web Design
The process of developing a website can be long and tedious, but the end result should be rewarding. As a web designer it’s very easy to spot sites that were well-thought out and others that were not. Throwing something together too quickly without much of a plan leads to a lot of redesigns and mistakes. I’ve narrowed down my design process into five basic categories. This … [Read more...] about 5 Steps Towards Great Web Design
I’m Not an Entrepreneur, I’m a Dirty Hack
Just the other day, a friend of mine invited me to attend an enterpreneur conference. I wrote back him to explain - I'm no enterpreneur. Yes, I make money off the internets, but I'm suprised everyday that I am still making money and that someone has not come to kick me off this thing. I make about $12k a month, which is not very much in the global scale of things, but it's … [Read more...] about I’m Not an Entrepreneur, I’m a Dirty Hack