Start-up

My MVP? I Got This. #7DAYSTARTUP DAY 2

by Em Are · Jan 15, 2015

Day 2 of Dan Norris’ The 7 Day Startup: You Don’t Learn Until You Launch has me identifying my minimally viable product, or MVP, that I will be able to offer at launch. I’ve struggled over the last week or so to get the time to nicely assemble this info in a presentable packet so that I could progress on this journey. Turns out that the 7 day startup for me, is, well, more like 7 little projects to startup. Day 1 was almost a week ago. Mike Echlin does it justice in his Day 6 blog post. Check it out here. While you are there check out his whole series. He has a cool idea.

In any case, this morning I had a break through, roughly around 4 am when most of my break through (can ‘break through’ be plural?) occur.

This is me, talking to myself at 4 am today:

Matt, you already have all this stuff. When you started Cap Web Solutions you outlined a page-load of support and maintenance services you offer. Three tiers of support tasks, along with pricing, a way to ask for the service, email address for communication – it’s all there.

Right. I do have it. I’m launching / re-launching with more simplicity this time. Trash the 3 levels of maintenance. Forget the multilevel pricing. Let’s do it simple. Make it easy for customers to understand and buy. The whole elevator pitch concept I am so familiar with these days.

Done. My MVP will be a consolidation of my three maintenance tiers, one price for all, details on what types of maintenance we do, and how to get in touch with us. The name of the service is still in limbo, but will most probably be a take-off of my current branding theme. I’ll set up the live chat feature so customers can contact us that way. I’ll add in some auto-responders and workflow to keep track of requests that come in. Billing is already in place so no worries there. I’ll tweak my current website, actually I’ll do a complete overhaul and get rid of the extraneous stuff. Just focus on the MVP.

The next day/ task/ project will follow quickly. I know it. My break through was awesome this morning. In fact it got me up, and hitting the key board very quickly today. And a few cups of Dunkin’ Donuts Dark Roast didn’t hurt either.

All the best.

Do I Have a Great Bootstrapped Business Idea? #7daystartup Day 1

by Em Are · Jan 5, 2015

Here I am on a re-read of Dan Norris’ excellent book: The 7 Day Startup: You Don’t Learn Until You Launch (not an affiliate link). I purchased the book in December, read through it in an afternoon, and started churning things over in my head. With the bustle of the holiday season now past, its time to get back to work. I am going through the Day 1 task of brainstorming some ideas and then evaluating them against a checklist provided by Dan.

My business, Cap Web Solutions, has been up and running almost 6 months now. I am staying busy and loving the entrepreneurial business. I am learning new things every day, from the technical aspects of WordPress, PHP, CSS and challenging hosting partners to dealing with clients on a whole new level. Previously as a member of the corporate world, there was always limits on how I was able to interact, what I was able to offer to customers, and how I could respond. Now, as a solo business owner, I am able to interact, offer, and respond as I decide is right. This is a good thing, a very good thing.

However…yes, there’s always a ‘however’…I find that my original focus for the business has broadened. I have widened my aim so that more and more opportunity that comes across my plane, falls within my business niche. I have forgotten how to say ‘no’. I was so good at it before, or rather, I was good at repeating what my corporate handler always told me. Now, I’m saying ‘yes’ to each opportunity that comes to me. As I noted earlier, I am staying busy, but am I busy on the stuff that I really want to do with my business? I’ve decided that I am not. And so, it’s time to get the focus back. To niche down to the real opportunity for me and set myself up to offer the services that I am really excited to offer AND that I feel I can deliver the best value to my customers.

Back to Day 1 of the start-up. While technically this is not a start-up, it is a re-launching of business. Yesterday and most of today I have worked on the business idea. After 6 months I am able to make a few needed refinements on what it is I want to offer and how to offer it. My first goal was to offer WordPress support and maintenance services to local small businesses, churches and people in transition. As a related service, I would convert your existing non-WordPress site to a WordPress site and then give the ongoing support and maintenance for that site – this under a monthly support agreement. What I find is that I’m doing much more WordPress conversion and new development projects and much less monthly support and maintenance.

My “start-up/re-launch” will focus on the small regular tweaks/ changes/ updates/ maintenance of WordPress websites. What are these things, you ask? Well, it’s all that little stuff that you need to do to your WordPress website every month to keep it going, looking fresh and shiny, and staying current. It’s not big stuff. It’s tiny stuff. Backups, tweak a font or image, post a blog entry, update a plugin, set the SEO info for a page, change a color. Stuff that is accomplished in about 30 minutes – sometimes a little more than 30 minutes, sometimes a little less than 30 minutes. These are things that come up each month that you either don’t know how to do, or don’t want to do, but need done. I’ll attend to the details, so you don’t have to.

Since this tiny stuff only takes about a half hour, I’ll get your tiny stuff done quickly, usually in less than a business day. Have lots of little things to get done? We can handle it. In fact, we can reasonably handle one a day if that’s what you can throw at us. We do like to take the weekends off, but if it’s urgent, okay, we’ll do that, so long as you let us know its urgent and don’t take advantage of us.

Have a bigger job to do? Well, we’re going to have to pass. I can refer you to some excellent developers who can take that job, but we”re going to stay focused on being the best tiny task doer for your WordPress site.

So that’s it in a nutshell. The business idea is formulated. I have written it down. Heck, I’ve shared it with the Interwebs – that means its real. Right?

Tomorrow I’ll have the service better described so that both you and I will have a better understanding of what it will look like when it re-launches. Then I’ll have what we call an “MVP”, or minimally viable product. The front end will be pretty, but the behind-the-scenes stuff could be a little rough. But isn’t that okay? As long as the customer is getting the value they are paying for, how it is delivered is not as important. Right? Well, that will work for a while, but it really doesn’t allow for maintaining high levels of referable customer service and sustainable business growth. And after all, that’s what exploring new opportunities is all about now – finding something that I can do to support my family and I, while providing a needed service to my community.

By the way, if you haven’t read Dan’s book, do check it out. A refreshingly easy read, with a well laid out plan. I like his comfortable style of writing. It resonates with me. Maybe it will for you too.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/launch/index.html

I am an entrepreneur.

by Em Are · May 20, 2014

After a brisk walk this morning I headed off to the dentist for a 6 month checkup. My preference is always for early morning dental visits – ‘get it over with’ is my motto when it comes to dental experiences. As I was getting settled in the dental hygienist asks me if I had the day off. “No”, I said, “I have a website development company and I’m able to work from home.” Just like that. No second thought. No stumbling through the ‘in transition’ awkwardness that I never did get very good at when faced with the question before. I have a website development company and I work for myself! Wow.

That really felt good. I am an entrepreneur. (Note to self. You have to commit the spelling of that word to memory along with its proper pronunciation. Stop using right-click spell check on it.) This week I’m fully immersed in marketing mode. Writing copy for my website, re-working my LinkedIn profile, making networking connections with new mentors, fleshing out the business plan and pulling together the financials.

Tomorrow evening I’m registered for a course sponsored by the Small Business Development Center at Kutztown University. The class, “How to Start and Operate a Small Business” is part of their first steps program to enable me to get access to their business start-up consulting services. The following night I begin a 4 part workshop on Business Planning. This is sponsored by local SCORE chapter in Chester County, PA. I am energized by the opportunity to learn, to expand my skill set and better prepare myself for a successful venture.

My website is still just a shell, but it is starting to take shape. More copy to be written and added tonight. I’ll link to it soon enough. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

All the best to you.

Is it time to commit?

by Em Are · May 12, 2014

I read a post today from LinkedIn Influencer, Raj De Datta, CEO and Co-Founder at BloomReach. “Entrepreneurs don’t Interview. They Commit.” . At first glance I passed over it as something I didn’t want to get into on a Monday morning; but then something pulled me back to it as I read through some of the other Pulse news from today and this past weekend.

I am now into the second week of my second trip down the unemployed path of life. My wife and I have been reworking the budget, reshaping upcoming plans and trying to put a framework around what has the potential of being another extended period of greatly reduced income.

Last time, I began putting the pieces together for my business. Business plan, 5 year plan, researching the market, pro-bono clients, all while still looking and interviewing for the right career job. The job offer did come along and I took it with some trepidation. I had to. The hours at the local orange big box home store were taking their toll on both me and my marriage.

I could go back there – that big box store, I’m confident of it. Or, I could tweak the resume and polish up the job agents and get the search thing working again in earnest. I could put in the time and find that corporate job – along with all the security it offers [sarcasm implied].

Or, I could make the commitment this time. College tuition bills have ended; the car is paid off. Is it time to commit to being an entrepreneur? Is that person inside of me confident enough to move forward and commit? Do I truly want to start a company?

I do.

God, I hope it is not the hi-test coffee in me screaming this morning.