Entrepreneurship Archives - Page 8 of 12

How to Make Money as a Freelance Blogger

So you want to be a freelance blogger?

It’s a bit like being a freelance writer, except your medium is the blog. That means a different style of writing, one that caters toward web audiences. It also means a different way of finding freelance gigs and marketing yourself.

There are many articles and web sites on being a freelance blogger or writer, too many to read. I went through hundreds of them and culled out all the must-read articles.

So I figured I’d offer a three-part series on how to be a freelance blogger, starting tomorrow. I’ll cover these topics:

In case you’re curious – no, I have no plans on being a freelance blogger myself. I’ve thought about it though. Hence all the research I’ve done, which I’ll be sharing with you in this series.

Admittedly, I’ve dabbled in making money off my blogs. I’ve tried ads, Amazon links, donation links, and even Text Link Ads. Unfortunately, they don’t amount to a hill of beans. But this is my hill. And these are my beans. Erm, ahem.

Stay tuned!

The How to Make Money as a Freelance Blogger series:

Patient for Growth, Impatient for Profits

I love great quotes, yes I do. Another great quote that really applies to a business owner in today’s economy is:

…the best money during the nascent years of a business is patient for growth but impatient for profit.

It’s from Clayton Christensen’s book The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth. What he is basically saying is your business model better be making money, fast!

In the dot-com heyday, growth was everything. Number of users, number of sign-ups, number of registrations. “If we build it, they will come” was the mantra. It was all anyone talked about. Lacking from the conversation – or mentioned as an afterthought – was profitability.

In short, the companies were impatient for growth, but patient for profits.

This isn’t going to work anymore. In this economy, it’s profitability of puff – gone in a cloud of smoke. Ryan Janssen from GigaOM agrees:

Many startups focus on acquiring as many new users as possible, only figuring out later how to convert those users into revenue. There is no time for such a strategy in this market. You will run out of money before you get there.

And Stephan Schmidt from Code Monkeyism has a great article about why his VC-funded startup failed. It’s a great case study with a salient reminder to focus on sales – and profitability. Read it when you have a chance and learn from his mistakes.

The First 1.5 Years as an Entrepreneur

Hello again. It’s been a while since my last post, hasn’t it? The holidays have kept me busy, and now it’s 2009. Damn, time sure flies when you’re having fun.

It’s been two years since I started this blog and a year and a half since I struck out on my own. So I figured it was time to take stock of my first 1.5 years as an entrepreneur (like I did for my first four months). And I can sum it up in three bullet points:

It’s been fun
It’s been crazy
It’s been a tremendous learning opportunity

It’s Been Fun

Whoa boy it’s been fun! Setting up my own schedule, deciding what I want to do today, and where I want to do it. The sense of freedom is tremendous. Finally, I get to hang out in the city during the weekday – and do free stuff in San Francisco to boot!

With my office being any cafe with free wifi, this freedom and flexibility means I can work almost anywhere. San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, London, Florence, you get the point. Yup, life is good.

One odd thing to note: it’s funny to go shopping during the weekday. Sometimes I’m the only young guy walking around in the mall. Surrounding me are scores of housewives, work-at-home moms, and retired persons. And sometimes their babies too.

It’s Been Crazy

It isn’t all roses and peaches though. Without the cushion of a regular paycheck, monthly bills can become a source of stress. In between brainstorming business ideas, working in cafes, blogging, reading, writing, working on personal projects, consulting, and hanging out with friends, I’ve also been building a few businesses – one of which I’ll announce as soon as our website is up!

Yes, that’s a long list. That’s part of why it’s been so crazy & hectic.

The other part is the fact that most of those activities aren’t revenue-generating ones. Each month, I watched my bank account whittle away. Fortunately, a few consulting gigs helped pay some bills. But the fear of failure always loomed.

This fear both inspired me and wore me down. Ultimately, it inspired me. After all, I quit a six-year career at Yahoo! (YHOO) not because I hated the company, but because I didn’t want that the cushion of a regular paycheck anymore. I knew that I would never take a true entrepreneurial risk with that safety net below me.

So it’s been crazy. Despite my new-found freedom, I feel like I’m busier than ever. Fortunately, it’s a good kind of crazy – it’s exactly the kind of crazy I want.

It’s Been a Tremendous Learning Opportunity

I could have never learned what I’ve learned had I stayed at a large corporation. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn anything at a large corporation; you just learn different things at a large corporation than you would if you were an entrepreneur.

As an entrepreneur, you have to think about every aspect of a business. You’re not just writing the code, you’re writing the functional specs, setting up the business entity, outsourcing tasks that can and should be outsourced, interviewing CPAs, interviewing lawyers, interviewing insurance carriers, doing the marketing and sales, doing the quality assurance testing, designing the logo, setting up a bank account, keeping track of expenses & receipts, dealing with taxes… the list goes on and on.

Meanwhile, at a large corporation, you keep on doing the same job you were hired to do. That alone isn’t a bad thing. If you are good at a specific role, and want to continue doing it, there’s no reason you shouldn’t specialize. Even as an entrepreneur, doing everything yourself is impossible. You’ll need partners, employees, vendors, contractors, and others help you out.

Someone once told me about the T-Person concept. This concept explains that some people have a wide range of skills at a novice or intermediate level (represented by the top horizontal bar of the T), then specialize in one particular skill at a deep or expert level (represented by the middle vertical bar of the T). I like this concept. I think it explains an entrepreneur very well.

It is possible to be a T-Person at a large corporation, of course. I knew many who were at Yahoo!. However, the horizontal bar is wider as an entrepreneur. Arguably, the vertical bar could be deeper too, since you’re forced to delve further into the discipline to maintain your viability as an independent entity and aren’t encumbered by corporate politics.

All of this has been a tremendous learning opportunity. So much so that, despite the uncertain economy, it is hard for me to imagine going back to a large corporation again. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but I sure can’t see it in the near future. Being an entrepreneur is just too fun, crazy, and educational!

How to Pitch to a Top Blogger

A down-trodden economy is no time to pull your marketing muscle. If anything, it’s a time to keep flexing it.

Though some cost-effective (read: cheap) marketing methods surely wouldn’t hurt. Million-dollar Super Bowl ads are nice and all, but cheap marketing tactics are totally the way to go.

With that said, I found a few blog entries around pitching your web start-up to influential bloggers like Michael Arrington, Pete Cashmore, Robert Scoble, and the ilk. There are already tons of tips on pitching to VCs. So it’s refreshing to see so many posts on pitching to bloggers. (There are actually way more than I’ve listed here, wow!)

There are a ton of great tips here. A few notable ones are:

Build a great product
Start a buzz on smaller blogs first
Perfect your elevator pitch (helps with VCs and bloggers, apparently)
Make your pitch relevant & timely to the blogger

I hope this helps. Good luck pitching your business!

Good, Fast and Cheap: Pick Two

Life is about trade-offs. One more bite of that delicious ice cream means more calories. Buying that expensive suit means a regular dry cleaning bill. Spending more time at work means less time with family & friends.

The same is true of building products. Which is why we have the project triangle.

It basically says that if you are building a product, you can build it good and fast, or good and cheap, or fast and cheap – but not good, fast, and cheap. In other words – Good, Fast, and Cheap: pick two.

Why can’t you have all three? Typically because of resource, time, and cost constraints. If you had an unlimited supply of each, then, well, send me and email and let’s be friends! hehe.

Another way to describe this project management concept is to think of it this way:

If you build it good and cheap, meaning of high quality and within a tight budget, then it will take a long time (it will not be fast).
If you build it good and fast, meaning of high quality and very quickly, then it will be fairly expensive (it will not be cheap).
If you build it fast and cheap, meaning very quickly and within a tight budget, then it will not be of high quality (it will not be good).

This is a typical problem for any entrepreneur. You want all three, but know you can’t. So which trade-off is the right one to make?

I believe it depends on the stage of your business. Let’s take a web start-up, for example.

In the ideation stage, where you are still forming your idea and doing research into its viability, it may be important to build a proof of concept to test it with potential users. At this stage, quality isn’t very important; you’ll have time to build it right later. For now, you just to make sure a market actually exists for your product. Also, you don’t have much money yet because you’re just starting out. Therefore, you want it fast and cheap.
The next stage is building the first version (or beta) of your product. Just as with before, it is crucial to get your product out the door and into the hands of consumers quickly. But you also want enough features & quality to be a good product. If your first version is weak, consumers will ignore you and competitors will surpass you. Start-ups used to go for good and fast at this stage, with lots of VC-based money. Personally, I think the sweet spot is fast, fairly cheap, and pretty good (listed in priority order). Picture the dot floating somewhere in the middle of the triangle, though a bit closer to fast and cheap.
The next stage is the next version of your product. This would involve iterative cycles of consumer feedback, new feature development, and bug fixes. Where the prior stage targeted innovators, this stage is aimed at early adopters, as defined by Crossing the Chasm. There is much debate over what the trade-offs should be in this stage, but I tend to favor cheap, fairly good, and pretty fast (listed in priority order). Most companies probably aren’t rolling in the dough by version two or three yet, unless you’re Microsoft (MSFT) or Apple (AAPL). So cheap is always a highly-prioritized constraint. Speed is still important, but not as much as quality now. The dot is still floating in the middle of the triangle, but now closer to good and cheap.
When the product and industry mature enough to begin enticing the early & late majority, then it’s time to focus on quality. This crowd isn’t as tech-savvy or tolerant of bugs & difficult-to-use products. So now it’s important to provide them with a high quality solution. Hopefully, you’ll have enough income to be able to hire more resources now. Depending on your industry, you can be good and cheap or – especially if you’re in the high-tech world – good and fast.

Quick disclaimer: I realize that sometimes it’s important to denote a fourth constraint too: scope. Many project managers do this and I think that’s a great tactic as well.

What do you think? How would you make these trade-offs?

Silicon Valley vs Los Angeles Tech Entrepreneurs

I’m moving to Southern California in a few months. Knowing this, a friend pointed me to Jason Nazar’s latest blog entry, “A Tale of Two Tech Cities – Silicon Valley vs. Los Angeles“.

Nazar, the founder of Santa Monica start-up Docstoc.com, compares the web & technology entrepreneurs he’s met in Silicon Valley with those he’s met in Los Angeles. While they are only his opinions and generalizations (a disclaimer he clearly notes), they are interesting opinions and generalizations. Perhaps fodder to what I should expect when I make the move?

Silicon Vally Tech Founders	Los Angeles Tech Founders
“Bay area founders are amazing technologists. They build obsessively user focused products, do a fantastic job at virally driving a ton of traffic, but usually have their head up their ass when it comes to making money.” “At parties in the Bay people talk about Twitter, Friend Feed, what’s being written on Valleywag and Techcrunch, and kickball games between VC’s and entrepreneurs.” “Folks in the Bay are generally way more obsessive about their products, work harder/longer, can be a bit snobby about their accomplishments and tend to be clique-ish.”	“Los Angles founders are hustlers and deal makers. They are more focused on the bottom line and care more about their P&L than their products, which tend to be messy.” “At parties in Los Angeles people talk about a media deal they’re “closing”, what TV star is at the party, and some “gray hat” spam-like technique that made them an extra 100K last month.” “Folks in Los Angeles are shrewder business people, have better interpersonal skills, but are more full of shit and two faced, and struggle to build products that get virally adopted.”

Silicon Vally Tech Founders

Los Angeles Tech Founders

“Bay area founders are amazing technologists. They build obsessively user focused products, do a fantastic job at virally driving a ton of traffic, but usually have their head up their ass when it comes to making money.”

“At parties in the Bay people talk about Twitter, Friend Feed, what’s being written on Valleywag and Techcrunch, and kickball games between VC’s and entrepreneurs.”

“Folks in the Bay are generally way more obsessive about their products, work harder/longer, can be a bit snobby about their accomplishments and tend to be clique-ish.”

“Los Angles founders are hustlers and deal makers. They are more focused on the bottom line and care more about their P&L than their products, which tend to be messy.”

“At parties in Los Angeles people talk about a media deal they’re “closing”, what TV star is at the party, and some “gray hat” spam-like technique that made them an extra 100K last month.”

“Folks in Los Angeles are shrewder business people, have better interpersonal skills, but are more full of shit and two faced, and struggle to build products that get virally adopted.”

Utter bullshit? Hint of truth? What do you think?

Photo by: Unobtanium

Recession Proof Business Ideas

Even though some businesses are hurting right now, others are thriving. But which ones?

According to Carlton Proctor’s article “Five businesses for a down economy” in the Cincinnati Enquirer, he quotes the following answers from two members of the University of West Florida’s Small Business Development Center:

I would focus on services-related companies and less on the retail sectors. I would look at needed services that are not discretionary.

– Dan Cavanaugh, Manager

I would look at businesses that provide necessities or high-end luxuries. Even when people are down economically, they will still splurge, especially when they are bummed.

– Larry Strain, Executive Director

With that in mind, I decided to ponder some recession-proof business ideas of my own. Here’s what I came up with:

Niche Thrift Store
This could be an online or a brick-and-mortar store. Both have their pros and cons though. The former would have to compete against eBay (EBAY) and Craigslist.org, two formidable opponents. The latter would require a high up-front capital infusion. But what about focusing on a niche? Say, used furniture? Or used car parts? Or used computer equipment for bootstrapping start-ups?
Local eBay Classes
Speaking of eBay, lots of people turn to selling their 63d belongings when they need a bit of cash. Some may even consider turning this into a formal business. But they’ll surely need some help. You can’t quite compete online, because there are gazillions of how-to guides for eBay. So how about posting some flyers around your neighborhood and operating locally? You can place ads at your local library, university, park, or even Starbucks (SBUX) – I’ve seen some of them offer a community bulletin board.
Budgeting Classes
Some people just aren’t good with budgets. They may realize it’s necessary, they may read about various techniques, but sometimes they need a little more than that – a little push. Or some hands-on training to show them how to do it realistically within their current lifestyles. Don’t just tell someone how to balance their checkbook. Learn about their lifestyles and help them save money while still maintaining a similar standard of living.
Health Care Professionals Placement Agency
Society will always need health care and health care workers, such as nurses, medical assistants, home health aides, physical therapists and medical records technicians. In fact, it’s often cited as one of the fastest growing occupations. That means an agency trained in finding and placing such professionals could do very well. Lots exist already, but the demand is still fairly strong.
Auto Repair Services
Drivers will want to extend the life and mileage of their cars, so they’ll be going to auto repair shops. High gas prices have already been driving lots of customers there (no pun intended). You’ll have to do your homework and research a good location though. It helps to have an auto repair background of some sort too, though you can get around that if you have helpful friends who are mechanics.
Computer Repair Services
Lots of people turn to do-it-yourself projects to save money during recessions. However, some realms are just outside of their expertise. Automobile repair is one. Computer repair is another. (Electronics repair could be a third). Although some may opt to live with glitchy hardware a little while longer, they’ll eventually need it fixed. If you can keep your costs low and market yourself well, you’ll find some good business here – especially in local markets.
Alternative Energy Consultant
As companies work to cut costs, they’ll look to cheaper, more affordable energy sources. Or they could be looking to make their company more environmentally friendly, despite costs – just because they care. If you know much about alternative energy, as well as how to enable it operationally and organizationally (it’s not as easy as saying, “use energy-efficient light bulbs”), then you could find a nice bit of work.
Luxury Item Rentals
I’m keeping this one broad because it could encompass many different things. Even in woeful economic times, people still like to splurge. They look for ways to cheer themselves up. Since they may not want to purchase a luxury item outright, they’ll look to renting it. You could rent vacation homes, luxury cars, fancy yachts, high-end furniture, fashion accessories, tuxedos and evening gowns, etc. The list is endless. Think of something (product or service) that people may want to splurge on and try renting it.
Funeral Services
Though it’s a bit morbid, the cycle of life is a constant, even in economic booms and economic slumps. It actually follows population birth patterns more than the economy. On the tail end of the life cycle are funeral services like operating funeral parlors and handling estate sales. It may not be the most exciting job though, unless you’re, maybe, the Fisher family.

How Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Got Published

Call it Harry Potter with vampires. Call it a sappy supernatural teenage love story. Call it an annoying chick book.

Whatever you want to call it, you can’t deny that it’s gotten damn popular. I have friends who can’t put the book down, dying to absorb every word, every sentence, every drop of blood in the entire Twilight series.

While talking about it one day, I was pointed to the origins of Twilight and how author Stephenie Meyer came to publish these books. Although I haven’t read the books (and don’t intend to), the description of Meyer’s painful publishing process is really interesting.

Warning: There are plot spoilers in the above link. If you want to read the books but haven’t yet, don’t click on the above link.

In it, she describes everything from how the idea popped into her head (literally, in a dream) to how she used Google (GOOG) to do background research to how she finally found an agent.

To put it mildly, I was naive about publishing. I thought it worked like this: you printed a copy of your novel, wrapped it up in brown paper, and sent it off to a publishing house. Ho ho ho, that’s a good one. I started googling (naturally) and began to discover that this was not the way it is done. (Movies lie to us! Why?! A side note: you will not be able to enjoy the new Steve Martin version of Cheaper by the Dozen when you know how insanely impossible the publishing scenario it contains is.)

Pretty informative, especially if you’re interested in publishing a book.