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You can check it out the changes here. I just upgraded NSE.
Note: this is a guest post by Keven Dones (@kevendones), CEO and Founder of Labortopia.com
I would like to keep a log of every single mistake I make while starting a new venture.
Having a bootstrap business is no easy task damn-it. Starting a new business anywhere is no easy task, that why people don’t start their own business because they know they will lose money while growing their first startup. It’s something that comes with the territory and also a lot of stress but you have to learn from every mistake and don’t do them again in the future. I’m writing this log for all the mistakes that I will be making as I grow my startup. Mistakes can cause you to lose lots of money that could’ve been used to help your business grow. If you keep making the same mistake over and over you will never become successful in business or life.
Mistake Number 1
Looking for a web developer is not easy, you have to interview them and make them show you proof of previous work they have done with other clients. When I got into the this whole web 2.0 I didn’t know jack shit about web developers so like any entrepreneur you do your home work. So I did. I Googled everything, from how to hire a web developer, what you should look for, and what not to do. Something I noticed even if you read all the books and blogs out there, when it come to using what you have learn from books and people it’s not the same when you implement it in the real world.
Here I am with my newly found knowledge. Now it’s time to look for a web developer. I found my first web developer and emailed him, “hey I got something for you.” Ok, I do everything right by getting everything on paper except a written description of the work I want the web developer to perform. Everything that was said was verbally. I did not take the time to interview him and ask for any prior work he has done or ask people he has worked for. We agreed on something and kept on moving. A week goes by I start emailing him and he doesn’t respond for days which was something I very strongly disliked. Here I am after a month, the project is still not done, and the next step was I knew he wanted to increase the payment after we agreed the set amount. I agreed which was a big mistake. Now I found a new web developer and gave him the right information right away so he can start working on it. I called the guy and he tells me we agreed on something making me feel like it was my fault. I told him we both made a mistake, so now I can’t tell the new web developer to stop after he started where the other web developer left. I lost money for not doing it the correct way. In business you cannot be nice to people or they will step all over you.
What I have learned so far.
Next time you are trying to hire a web developer, make sure you have the following-
- Interview the developer correctly take your time ask lots of questions , for example:
- To have them show me their prior work they have done
- Example of work or web sites they have worked on - Ask for references and call
- Write a contract with the amount of money the job requires and never do it verbally.
- Deadline, ask them how long the project will take. My time is important.
Tip:
If you don’t take any of these steps you will lose time, friendships, and money.
Remember money is the life blood of your business.
So I know I’ve been out of commission for a while, and that the blog only has a handle of posts, but no worries there are a bunch of new posts on their way. More importantly, the posts will be much more frequent , so check back often to see what we have in store.
Cheers!
Henry.
A few days ago Sometrics, an analytics tool for social networks, launched it’s new venture into virtual currency. If you’re not a die hard social network person (or have better things to do with your time) then you might be wondering what on Earth virtual currency is. Well it’s like real money, but faker. Actually, it’s a clever way for application developers to monetize their apps while at the same time engaging their users. Essentially, it works by requiring users to complete certain offers, provided by the publishers such as Social Media and many others. Depending on the offer, you award your user with a certain value of points, or currency, that can be used within your application as a kind of reward. If you have a virtual gifts application then the user can redeem his/her point or “virtual currency” for some premium gifts or whatever else your app offers. It’s a very interesting concept, which ties closely with my recent blog post about micropayment processors, which would take the virtual currency model to the next level because no longer would a user have to complete some random offer they aren’t interested in, they can just buy credits or points or whatever with their credit card or payment gateway account.
As social networks become more prevalent in our lives, these sites are seeing an incredible surge in users and traffic. Thus, it’s becoming more and more pressing for the Facebooks and the like to monetize their sites. In addition, with APIs opening up and developers creating killer apps that piggyback on the respective social networks, the need for a payment processor for these types of transactions is becoming more apparent. However, there lies a problem with the traditional payment processor that offers payment gateways for site owners to accept credit card payments on their regular e-commerce sites; these gateways can’t feasibly process payments that are under a couple dollars. The reason being is that by the time they charge their fee to the site owner to offset their own fees as well as make a profit per transaction, they leave the individual site owners, the ones using the gateways on their sites, with almost nothing. Transactions occurring on social networking sites would aim to monetize on things such as virtual gifts, or upgrades for an online game, or some kind of a small purchase within an application, which would all certainly be under $1 or $2.
If you’ve ever had a Facebook account within the last year and a half then you’re familiar with the applications buit by users and companies alike. You’re also aware of the multitudinous amount of spam you’d receive for applications that were either A) a complete waste of time, B) stupid and served no real purpose, C) you’d never use…ever, or D) all of the above. I for one am way too familiar with this, being a former Facebook user, as well as a developer of a number of applications. So I’m always weary of new applications being launched with fanfare on a number of the Web 2.0 blogs I frequently read. However, this on particular application peaked my interest given the subject matter and the purpose. Booze and social networking, what more could you want in an application? This is the purpose of GiveReal.com; like other Facebook gift giving applications (oh around 230921281 of them and counting), but instead of sending stupid pixelated hearts and teddy bears, you can send real-life booze as a gift to somebody. Well, It’s actually not like a bottle of Corona is going to arrive at their doorstep, but rather a voucher that the company says is redeemable at any bar or restaurant in the country (U.S.).
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