It amazing how often this is not done but this tip is right on the money.
When you’re building something (not just prototyping), take the extra time to lay a good foundation. If you don’t, you’ll spend waste a lot of time in the future propping things up in ugly ways.
from Alex King
In today’s (06/29/2005) column from Harry Newton, he gives some good advice based on his years as an entreprenuer when compared to his former Harvard Business School classmates.
Messed up private lives: When I graduated from Harvard Business School in 1969, half the class went into investment banking. The other half went into management consulting. I didn’t. I became an entrepreneur, and for that, was universally derided. By our 20th reunion, I was gaining respect. By our 25th I was being consulted. My classmates’ “careers” had hit a wall. They’d been passed over for boss. the younger kids had fresher ideas and worked harder. My classmates had lived beyond their means. They were onto their second and third marriages. They had no savings. They were overweight and out of condition. And now there were no jobs for 50-year plus gray-hairs. What could I recommend? Sadly, little. Could I help their kids? Now, I increasingly do that. I give my standard talk:
+ Learn a new skill every six months. (Samples: negotiation; computers, investing, Excel.)
+ Get involved with business startups. Ultimately being an entrepreneur is what will give you peace of mind in your old age.
+ Save at least 10% of your income every month. Invest it in a wide variety of ventures.
+ Learn how to pick ventures.
+ Stay healthy. Lots of exercise and no over-eating.
+ Give back.
Every week I see posts that say that being an entrepreneur is the greatest thing ever because you get to set your own hours, take vacation when you want, and make a lot more money. Then I’ll go to another site that says being an entrepreneur is extremely difficult because you work 24 hours a day, there are never vacations, and you get paid a lot less considering the amount of time you’re working.
The truth is more in the middle in that, more than likely, you’ll eventually spend time on both ends of the spectrum if you keep at it long enough. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, the hard precedes the easy. In any case, here’s a post that asks if you have what it takes to handle being an entrepreneur.
Back in March, I profiled Clarke Scott of Vivid Software. Clarke has now released his product and reported that he made his first sale within two hours of the official announcement that his software was available.
Congrats Clarke!
Brad Wardell, founder of Stardock Corporation, tells us why he thinks anyone can make it and gives us his own story to explain why he feels the way he does. His story is not about his software business but about hard work no matter what your circumstances. But he does explain how this hard work led him to create a software business that made him a millionaire by 24.
via Coding Horror
Christopher Hawkins is like many microISV’s, he’s supporting his microISV aspirations as a self employed consultant. Christopher has recently acquired a new client and has given a long hard look at his existing clients which resulted in him ending some client relationships. He has an article outlining the 11 types of clients you need to fire right away.
The popularity of poker is evidenced by the fact that every channel on cable seems to have their own show with people playing Texas Hold Em. Now some software entrepreneurs are funding their software startup by playing online poker.
According to the article, one of the founders is averaging $100-$120 an hour. Sounds like the software venture may be the more risky of the two.
via kottke.org
Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks, gave a presentation to some students at Duke University on how to make a million dollars. Marshall gives a lot of advice based on his personal experiences which are as varied as publishing, consulting and web. He also has a website with a lot more information that I’m just starting to read myself but it is stuffed with a lot of useful information for entrepreneurs.
Marketing guru Seth Godin says what we’ve been saying all along. Small is the new big.
If you are interested in writing for microISV.com, send me an email using the Submit Information link at the top of the middle column telling me a little about yourself. I’ve had a shift in priorities lately and have less time to post.
Another idea I’ve had is to open up registration to everyone to have a Metafilter style community, let me know if this would be of interest as well.