SpaceMonkey is a Utah-based startup. I saw them present at Launchup a little over a week ago. I was particularly interested in their presentation because online computer backup has been a particular sore point for me, as you can see here, here, and here. Offline backup is less of an issue. Apple’s Time Machine is [...]
Startup Adventures
Startups are a hobby of mine. Did I say hobby? I meant addiction.
Every time I try my hand at a new business everyone thinks I’m shutting MWI down or quitting MWI or something like that, so let me make the disclaimer that nothing is changing with MWI. MWI continues to do high-end SEO work, as ever, but I’ve always got side projects going on here and there, [...]
If you’re in Utah, come to the next LaunchUp on April 7th, 2011 at BYU. I’ll be presenting, along with two other entrepreneurs. Prior to the presentations they have legal, tech, design, and other “workshops”. Basically they have high powered business attorneys, investors, designers, programmers, etc., and you can get advice from them for free [...]
Back in 2007 I read The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss, and it changed my business and my perspective on life almost overnight. To this day I still consider it the best business book I’ve ever read, with Rework being a close second. One of the recommendations Ferriss went into some depth on [...]
My lean startup DeclareMedia has a problem. Ok, a challenge. Ok, it has several challenges. One of them is getting the word out about what DeclareMedia does. Of course you all know how great it is to have a business that has a viral component, that is, the very use of the product/service spreads the [...]
I’ve been experimenting with running some Facebook ads to promote DeclareMedia’s local business directories. I won’t discuss here whether it’s worth it or not since the data aren’t all in yet, but there are certainly ways to stretch each dollar spent. At the moment, I’m experimenting specifically driving traffic to a national SEO firm directory. [...]
If you’re into affiliate marketing, or would like to be, go check out the post about my side-company DeclareMedia’s new affiliate program. We’re looking for 10-20 people to beta test the system. You’ll make real money, and we’re pretty sure you won’t have to deal with any glitches, but there may be some glitches that [...]
A key component of lean startup theory is that many, if not most, successful businesses do not end up doing what they started out doing, but rather found their way to where they’re at through a process of trial and error, and perhaps dumb luck. The road to success then becomes one of many small [...]
Eric Ries, Steve Blank, or one of the other gurus of lean startup probably has been using different terms for years, and it’s only that I’m so new to this topic that I don’t know what they are, and so I’m naming them as I see fit. There are two types of customer feedback that [...]
On August 3rd my new company, DeclareMedia, launched its first local business directory at UtahWebDesignFirms.com. At least I think that was the first one…anyway, it doesn’t really matter. In the past three months, we’ve launched 2,759 more directories, have 709 listings, and have brought in a grand total of about $2,000 (I just realized it [...]
It turns out I have a lean startup. I wasn’t aware of this a week ago, because I wasn’t aware of the term “lean startup”. But here’s how it happened… A week ago I started assisting a professor with research as part of my preparation to go back to school for a business PhD. The [...]
I’ll explain in one of my next posts why I’ve created this new category on my blog, but first, let’s get the definition of “lean startup” clear. According to Wikipedia, a lean startup, or the lean startup “methodology” “advocates the creation of rapid prototypes designed to test market assumptions, and uses customer feedback to evolve [...]
08
Jun
I Quit.
I would like to announce my resignation from the Doba + Shopify experiment for one of the following reasons: a. I want to spend more time with my family. b. I want to spend more time hiking the Appalachian trail. c. I want to spend more time with my Argentinian mistress. d. I really, really [...]
Since there is no direct integration between Shopify and Doba you have to copy over everything manually. This isn’t too tough…unless you need to do it for a few hundred products. Adding a single product is fairly straightforward. You download the image from the Doba site (BTW, the “download image” link doesn’t work in FireFox, [...]
It’s been a while since I posted on this experiment. I’ve been sick, had a baby, have been busy with my day job, am training for a marathon, and was just elected a state delegate, amongst other things. I’ve just been busy, and I keep thinking I need to get on this, but then things [...]
While I’m waiting to be approved by Authorize.net so I can take credit cards directly, rather than just through PayPal and Google Checkout (both of which are already set up) let’s set up a Doba account, shall we? There are two packages to choose from, one for $50/month and the other for $60/month. I’m the [...]
This post isn’t specific to this Shopify + Doba experiment I’m doing, but it’s going to be so relevant to anyone out there trying to follow in my steps that I feel it justifies itself. Ok, you know what you want to sell. You know how important SEO is, and that choosing the right domain [...]
I’ve got my domain name, I know what I’ll be selling from Doba, and so now it’s time to start setting up Doba and Shopify accounts. I’m going to start with Shopify, and as I start this post, I have not yet signed up. I’m going to post notes here if I run into issues [...]
When you’re talking about selling a product online, SEO is everything. What’s SEO, you ask? That stands for search engine optimization. What’s all that gobbledygook mean? We’re talking about making sure your website comes up first in Google when someone searches for words related to your product. For example, I decided to sell white gold [...]
I just posted on how to get started choosing what product you want to sell, but what did I choose? I went with white gold wedding bands for women. Why? Because I know jewelry sells online (I actually have a client who sells tungsten rings for men online, so same general product but a different [...]
This can be a tough one, but it gets easier if you ask yourself a few questions: What’s available? You can find this out by browsing through Doba’s products, but since they have 1.5 million or so of them, that might take a while. Still, it’s a good idea to at least look at the [...]
Disclaimer: I met Jeremy Hanks, CEO of Doba, several years ago, and we keep tabs on each other via Facebook, blogs, etc. But in performing this experiment I have not asked Jeremy for any special favors, nor do I expect him to give me any. I know nothing about Shopify or its management team beyond [...]
One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn in the 10 years I’ve been running my business, and perhaps the most critical one, has been that I shouldn’t be doing any work. That is, I for sure shouldn’t be doing any production work, and I should constantly be trying to figure out how to [...]
The vast majority of manuals, of any type, go unread. When’s the last time you read a product manual? When’s the last time you read a manual that your employer produced? If your employer hands you a binder with 200 pages in it spelling out the HR policy at your job, are you really going [...]
10
Nov
The Org Chart
Creating an organizational chart can be fun, but is there a real purpose behind it or is it just “playing business”? I never saw much of a purpose to an org chart before, other than to make people higher up on it feel good, or to make yourself feel like you were organized. But now [...]
Oh good heavens, a mission statement? Do people still use those things? Wasn’t that just one of those business fads created by Stephen R. Covey’s in the 80′s? Well, whatever, I don’t know. I just think it’s good to spell out what the purpose of the business is somewhere, just so people know. Just so [...]
10
Nov
The System
I recently read the E-Myth for the first time. Actually, I read The E-Myth Revisited, which is the updated version of The E-Myth, apparently. Although cheesy in some parts, and I suspect the book was written only partially to generate revenue in and of itself but primarily to generate customers for the author’s business coaching [...]
