How Much Debt is Safe for Businesses to Borrow?
So I’m still trying to get one of my businesses off the ground and I finally realized that I might need some capital investment (Play music-Dun Dun Duh)…The problem at hand: I hate debt. My original plan was to bootstrap but that will prove difficult while trying to pay for a wedding, honeymoon, and a new home for myself and my bride to be.
That being said, I finally talked myself into perhaps getting funding because, like all of us, we want our babies to be successful.
So how much debt is safe for businesses to borrow?
The long answer:
Finance for Entrepreneurs has a nice piece on this topic.
The short answer:
Borrow at least 25% less than they’ll give you.
-E
April 14, 2008 No Comments
Explosive Markets For 2008 And Beyond
Being an entrepreneur, I am on the constant prowl for new opportunities and growing markets. Below is a list of the industries that I believe will explode within the next 3 years.
High Tech Ordering - Pizza companies have been doing this for a few years now but I’ve recently seen it in many restaurants, for reservations, delivery, or vending machines.
Social Network Widgets - Facebook has them, you see them on MySpace, download them with your iPhone. With the explosion of Social Networks during the past couple of years, many networks are allowing outside developers to create tools for existing websites. This benefits Social Networks since widgets offer more interaction and keep users on the site longer and benefits the outside developers by giving them instant access to millions of users. This one is huge in my opinion.
Online TV/Video - This market has been growing steeply since 2006. I believe it will continue to grow and morph until giants like Bright House and Cox offer TV over broadband.
Customized Services - This includes catering to a specific need or demographic. For instance, I have recently seen ads for fitness training specifically designed for children or senior citizens. In the city I live in, there is a place where you can go and they will get your exact foot measurements and perform statistical tests on you to see what kind of athletic shoes you need to wear. I also read an article about UJeans, a company that makes custom fit-to-order jeans. This industry will spread like a virus.
Niche Consulting - With all the gadgets and technologies in the market today, businesses are being created by people possessing specialized knowledge in something. This can even include retail stores like Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods hiring people with specialized knowledge for specific departments. Some of the consulting niches that I have seen recently include, College Planning Consulting, Smart Phone Seminars, Technology Consulting, and Cooking Consulting.
Eco-Everything - From grocery bags to invoice paper to car washes to clothing (and more clothing), everything is going green. Within the next few years the federal government will start heavily regulating businesses green practices. Many heavily populated states, such as California, have already started regulating this industry and offering tax breaks to companies that go above and beyond the requirements. Since a large portion of innovation comes from California, I believe others will follow suit.
If you can think of any other industries that I missed, please feel free to add them in the comments.
-E
markets,2008,business,eco,green,widgets,api,social network,online video
Technorati Tags: markets, 2008, business, eco, green, widgets, api, social network, online video
February 16, 2008 No Comments
Why You Shouldn’t Bid Top Dollar For Adwords
I am, by no means, an expert on the subject. Everything stated below are simple things that I have observed about my searching habits, the searching habits of others around me, and my Adwords account. Take my advice at your own risk.
Biding top dollar for Google Adwords will probably bring you the most traffic. However, I feel that one can achieve desirable results in the Pay-Per-Click advertising model with a little creativity and with much less money.
Ever since I started advertising through Google Adwords, I have put in many hours of research, and have been more observant to my own searching habits and of others around me.
Being a bargain shopper, I truly believe that biding top dollar for Google Adwords is not always the best idea, especially when you lack deep pockets and/or your niche requires popular search phrases like “buy domains.”
Instead, I feel that having a clever or humorous ad near the middle of the page can be almost as effective.
When people search Google, typically they are not looking for someone to sell them something in an advertisement. Instead, they are looking for keywords which suggest a solution to their problem.
One thing I noticed about my own search habits is that I usually keep my eyes on the left column at least half way down the page before I even glance at the ads on the right. Usually if I am not seeing what I am looking for in the regular search results I look to see if there is anything of interest in the ads section.
When this happens my eyes are already about three quarters the way down the page and scroll from bottom to top (not top to bottom) on my way up to redefine my search terms. That means that I would see ad number 4 or 5 before I ever found ad number 1.
Since I do a lot of things differently than others, this trend really did not occur to me until I started noticing some of my friends and coworkers had similar searching habits. In fact, I think more people do this than you would think.
The same idea can be applied to web browsing also. Since people do not typically browse websites looking for ads, its safe to say that the ads are not viewed until at least the introductory paragraph is read if not the majority of the page.
If you think about it, if this wasn’t true then ads would have a much higher click-through rating than they do now. In fact, almost everyone would be clicking on ads because they would be specifically looking for them. If it wasn’t true ad biding would be less competitive. You wouldn’t need to bid as much because you would get a good amount of traffic from biding only the minimum.
As I stated before, this method is probably not better than simply having a fat wallet to run your ads. Great ads that appear at the top of the page will most likely always perform the best. However, this method is certainly an option to the rest of us just starting a business while living off of Top Ramen and tap water or just trying to conserve money.
If your looking for a bargain way to get traffic to your site, write a clever ad and place it in a lower spot. You may be surprised with the results.
Adwords, making money online, Adsense, ppc, pay per click, online niche
-E
Will Ferrell Owes His Landlord Rent Money!
The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, Meets Ross The Intern From Jay Leno
Funny Email Forwards: Tongue Twister Joke
Technorati Tags: Adwords, making money online, Adsense, ppc, pay per click, online niche
June 21, 2007 No Comments
The Greatest List Of Web Developer Resources
Some friends and I are finally starting the web development business that we have talked about since the first year of college. So during the past five years, I have done a lot of research on web development and now I have an extensive list of resources for web developers.
Well spring is in the air and it’s time to clean out those developer links that I have accumulated over the years.
So hear they are, I hope they are as useful to others as they have been to me.
General Web Developer Resources
A step-by-step guide to becoming a freelance web developer
Web developer Firefox extensions
Things that web developers should always do for clients
Fonts and Text
Preview fonts
Search Engine
Submit your sites to the major search engines
A Google Tech Talk about internet security
Google search tools collection
Colors
Tricks and Other Useful Information
Ways to hide an email on a webpage
Smart ways to redirect a webpage
htaccess - prevent hot linking your images
-E
Technorati Tags: Web, Developer, Reference, Tools
June 21, 2007 1 Comment
Amazing BMW Airplanes…Travel Fit For A King
This is one of those posts where I go off into a tangent.
Being a big BMW fan, I feel that I am doing an everyone an injustice if I weren’t to post about this.
I recently found a couple of articles about BMW’s new jets a A350 Twinjet and a 787.
The designs are probably the most luxurious things that I’ve ever seen. It looks like a cross between a futuristic science fiction movie and a James Bond movie.
Uh, I’ll take one of each!
-E
Technorati Tags: BMW, Airplane, Jet, 787
June 21, 2007 No Comments
Advice From The Most Successful People On Earth
Years ago I made it my desire to be successful in life and be able to give back to the world. I was raised on the principle that you should leave the world a better place than when you came.
I have searched high and low, read books, magazines, websites, listened to podcasts, and watched videos seeking guidance in my goals to be, in the words of Borat, a “Great Success.”
Although the idea of success is different to every person whether it be money, fame, or something as simple as to have a good family life. I have learned that the rules and advice to reach your idea of success are the same everywhere.
Below is a list of the most common advice that I have collected from those who have made it. Note that in order to make the list, the advice, or some variation, had to of shown up more than once and from more than one person.
So here it is, what one should do in order to become successful.
Convince Your Brain That You Are Already Successful (Think and Grow Rich
I truly believe that the human mind is far more powerful than anything in the world. This is why navy seals can hold their breath for so long and why people can learn to ignore pain. With the proper training, you can train your mind to do about anything.
Convincing your brain that you have already achieved a goal makes you that much closer to it. I have learned that goals are much more difficult to achieve when they are placed up on a pedestal. Believing that you have attained them already keeps them on your level and makes them easier to achieve.
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” -Bill Cosby
Learn To Go With Your Gut Instinct (Anyone who has ever founded a startup)
I remember a high school teacher of mine telling me to always go with my first instinct on a test. Well the same rule applies in life and in business. Always do what feels right at the time. Although you probably won’t be right every time, you will be when it really counts.
“When in doubt, don’t.” -Benjamin Franklin
Life Is All About Relationships So Don’t Burn Bridges (Tina Seelig)
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” -Theodore Roosevelt
You will run into the same people over and over again in life so you need to make good relationships now.
You are not going to like everyone and everyone is not going to like you, no matter how nice of a person you are or how much you donate to charity. Just take a look at Bill Gates. He and his wife probably donate more to charity than anyone, yet he still had a group of people who hate him.
“Don’t be so petty. Sometimes you have to do business with people you don’t like. It doesn’t mean you have to be like them or like them.” -Donald Trump
Learn to treat all people with respect, no matter what.
“When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.” -Thomas Jefferson
Learn Everything You Can On Sales And Marketing
“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success… The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” -Thomas A. Edison
No matter how cool the newest technology is, it is useless unless it provides value to the user.
Would you use the slick looking iPod if it was difficult to use? What if it didn’t even play music? Would you use Google if you got back a “No results found” message everytime?
Create things with value to the user in mind before anything else.
Many Ideas Come Out Of Something That Already Exists
Barbara Carey has used this concept to bring over 100 products to market and acquire more than a dozen patents.
There’s a way to do it better - find it. -Thomas A. Edison
Be Persistent (Chapter 9 from Think and Grow Rich
I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work… Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. -Thomas A. Edison
Successful people do not get that way accidentally nor do they usually achieve great success on the first try.
All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure. -Mark Twain
Make Mistakes Then Learn From Them
Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. -Thomas A. Edison
If the answer is no, find out why. If you get the wrong answer, learn the right one.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. -Winston Churchill
Know Your Weaknesses And Surround Yourself With Positive People That Can Do What You Cannot
This is similar to the “self-fulfilling prophecy” and why many people who are told that they will never amount to anything often don’t. If somebody tells you enough times that you are a mongoose, after awhile you will probably start believing them. Surround yourself with encouraging people that believe in you and you will believe in yourself.
If you are passionate about your idea, it is likely that others will be also and they will want to help you. Call on those people when you need them.
Learn To Say No
Saying no to someone is better than saying yes and not being able to give 100%. I used to think that I could and should do everything I had an opportunity to do, but have since learned that it is not possible.
“You can do it all, just not all at the same time.” -Tina Seelig
Try Lots Of Things And Keep What Works
When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes. -Thomas A. Edison
Ideas are like baseball, your going to strike-out more than you hit out of the park and your probably going to bat under .500.
Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work. -Thomas A. Edison
When You Are Ready To Quit, You Are Closer Than You Think (Bob Parsons, Founder of GoDaddy)
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. -Thomas A. Edison
Many things that have failed could of succeeded with a little more effort.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. -Thomas A. Edison
Learn When To Call It Quits (Om Malik)
In contrast you don’t want to beat your head on to a wall repeatedly and expect different results.
As I said above, try lots of things and keep what works. If nothing works and your most creative part of your brain is exhausted. Maybe you should pull the plug. After all, the most important decision that we make everyday is what we spend our time on.
Never Miss An Opportunity
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Always give 100%.
Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching. -Thomas Jefferson
Above is the advice that I have collected on my road to success, I hope it helps others as it has helped me.
-E
Technorati Tags: rules for success, Tina Seelig, Donald Trump, Thomas Jefferson, Bob Parsons, Thomas Edison, Om Malik, Winston Churchill, Mark Twain, Napoleon Hill, Barbara Carey, Benjamin Franklin, Theodore Roosevelt, success
May 27, 2007 1 Comment
Why People Still Pay Thousands For Domain Names
I never understood why anyone in his or her right mind would spend thousands of dollars on a single domain name.
It just never really made sense to me. I would understand the need for a simple domain name like car.com, if this was still the mid 1990’s where people had to type in a domain name directly. However, with the invent of Google and Yahoo, nowadays it is borderline insane to pay anything more than a hundred bucks for a domain name.
I recently found a published a list of domain names and how much each sold for.
The highest selling names:
cameras.com
flowers.mobi
forclosures.com
mortgage.net
vb.com
sailboat.com
sexeducation.com
creditcards.net
own.com
university.org
hb.com
fun.mobi
credits.com 95000
Thats just crazy!
Hold on one sec for those of you with dollar signs in your eyes! Not to sound pessimistic but you are probably about 7 years too late and lack deep enough pockets to purchase enough good domains to get any kind of ROI.
Now that your back to reality I can tell you that there is a better way to come up with domains.
What really sets domain names apart today is how memorable they are.
I repeat. What really sets domain names apart today is how memorable they are.
How do I come up with a better domain name?
You can either try coming up with a domain name yourself or you can pay a company to do so.
Coming up with one yourself?
Combine two simple words
Take a look at YouTube. Two simple words with the tag line “Broadcast Yourself” which is golden because of its implied meaning and connotation to the words Tube and You.
WordPress is another one. When you think of press you think “publish,” so WordPress must mean that I can publish something.
Change the spelling a bit
A googol is the number one followed by a hundred zeros. Google wanted to organize the worlds information online. So they changed the spelling and Google.com was born.
Use an acronym
Yahoo stands for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.” Pretty geeky, huh?
One of my favorite startups, Meebo, used this method even though its the acronym for an older project that the founders were working on and has nothing to do with instant messaging. “Mouse Exonic Evidence Based Oligonucleotide” in case you were wondering!)
Algoco, the service lets you make money from surfing the web, stands for “A Global Community.”
Still can’t think of anything good and available? Pay people to come up with one.
I’ve done both and have noticed that large web design firms usually charge a boat load for only 2-3 people who work for the company to generate a few domain names for you to pick from. Another rip-off if you ask me.
If you are going to pay someone to come up with a domain name, I would recommend a service like Clever Site Names where you submit a description of your website and a whole community of people generate custom available domain names for your business. Its usually pretty cheap and best of all if you don’t find a domain name you like, they will refund your money.
As you can see, you have many options when coming up with domain names besides paying thousands for a parked domain.
Simple, one-word domain names do not necessarily perform better. What matters more is that your website is useful and has a memorable name.
Why do people keep paying thousands for domain names then? The answer is beyond me.
-E
(sources Moniker, Freewebs, Meebo, WebRankInfo)
Technorati Tags: algoco, yahoo, google, meebo, parked domains, domain names, website names, business names, coming up with names
May 16, 2007 4 Comments
Awesome Business Ideas That Got Stolen From Me
Every time I find an business or website that I have given serious thought to pursuing years before, I put them in folder entitled “Stolen Ideas.”
I suppose I could still pursue the businesses but there are only so many hours in the day. Plus many entrepreneurs have told me not to be the “Me Too” of an industry.
Shouldn’t I be jealous?
As an entrepreneur, no. The only person I have to blame for not pursuing any of the ideas is myself.
I am publishing them to teach myself a lesson and as a constant reminder to act faster when I have an itch.
I think I’ll look to the horizon to position myself in front of the next wave!
My advice for everyone that has a great idea is to act fast!
I am big on travel, in fact it is one of my favorite things to do. I thought it would be a great idea to allow people around the world to meet other people online that live in the area where he or she will be visiting in order to find a place to stay. Many of these websites exist now in the forms of Place2Stay.net, GlobalFreeloaders, CouchSurfing, and TheHospitalityClub although I’m sure there is more.
Postful converts your email into a real letter and mails it for you. My project was called RealMail.
My idea for this one was a peer-2-peer network for trading media (books, cds, dvd), while I have not seen any that allow you to trade anything, I have seen websites that allow you to trade specifics like Paperback Swap for books and LaLa for music.
FindMeOn is a website that tries to manage all of your online identities.
This one was more of a concept that I had back before cell phones were mp3 players and vice versa. My idea was to have a phone that acts as a music player but instead of storing the music on the phone, it would stream it from your home PC. Phling has a product that does just that.
I know gig boards (similar to a bulletin board for the web) are nothing ground breaking but I swear I had the idea way before anyone like 37signals and Lifehacker had theirs. Its a pretty simple concept and the only reason why I didn’t pursue this one is because I figured it would do well on a site that already had a decent amount of traffic daily. That was exactly what I was lacking. After all, you wouldn’t put a bulletin board in a place where no body would see it, would you?
Although this one might not be in the bag yet once I build more traffic on some of my sites, for now it is out of my mind.
-E
YouTube - Saturday Night Live: Sofa King Skit
Technorati Tags: business ideas, stolen, entrepreneur, start your own business
May 12, 2007 No Comments
How Simple Business Ideas Can Make You Wealthy
If you think your simple solution to a simple problem cannot be made into a successful business, then think again…
For instance, the expense of taxi fare prices in cities such as New York influenced entrepreneurs to come up with a creative solution. Their business called Hitchsters.com, connects people traveling to or from the airport to share a taxi ride. You even get to select whether you prefer a male or a female.
Have you ever wanted to buy a designer hand bag for a special event but couldn’t justify the cost of the bag for only one use? Your solution may be with a company BagBorrowOrSteal.com who rents out designer bags for either a monthly rate or a one time rental.
Coming up with a available domain names for new websites is becoming more difficult since domain investors buy many of the easy-to-remember domain names, then try to sell them for thousands of dollars more. CleverSiteNames.com worked out a solution for website and business owners to come up with more clever domain names. For a flat, refundable fee, you can list a description of your site or business on the site for others to offer up suggestions of available domain names. If you don’t receive a name that you like, they refund your money.
Ever have a rainy day or rainy month ruin your outdoor business. Worry no more with this company that provides weather insurance to businesses that rely on good weather.
Or you could take this concept a step further like WedSafe.com did, to insure that your wedding day goes as planned, rain or shine.
What if you didn’t get much sleep last night and you have an important meeting today. Need a quick power nap to recharge your batteries and clear your mind? MetroNaps.com has your solution since they offer power naps to professionals in the city.
If you move around a lot but never have a place to store those cardboard boxes,
BoomerangBoxes.com may be just want you need. The company primarily reuses cardboard boxes and disposes of unusable ones properly. It may sound like a silly idea but Boomerang Boxes sales are expected to exceed $750,000.
This young man made a million dollars simply by selling pixels for advertisements on a web site located at MillionDollarHomepage.com. His newest venture, charge $2 per pixel, then give away half of the profits randomly as a lotto.
This company sells large bows for large gifts such as cars.
This novel writer turned her hobby of writing into a successful business. She creates personalized novels where you can chose yourself to be the star of the book.
These real businesses are proof that your simple idea, too, could be worth millions.
-E
YouTube Video - Voted best beer commercial of the year
Technorati Tags: Simple Business Ideas, Make Money Online, Business Ideas, Cool Business
April 21, 2007 2 Comments
Rules For Success From GoDaddy Founder Bob Parsons
Bob Parsons, The CEO and Founder of GoDaddy has an interesting article of things that he has learned over the years from a lower middle class family to almost losing his life to a millionaire and successful entrepreneur. Included in the article is his 16 “Rules For Success.”
My favorite “Rules” from the article include:
“1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.”
I can relate to this because when I am out of my comfort zone, say in a foreign country, I learn much more, much quicker than I would if I were in my country.
“3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.”
I’ve been on the verge of quitting many times in the past but I’ve noticed that every time that I have pushed on, everything has worked out in the end.
“6. Take things a day at a time.”
There are only so many hours in the day and one person can only handle so much. Take things step-by-step, piece-by-piece.
and
“16. There’s always a reason to smile. Find it.”
I like this one because I forget it sometimes when I get so wrapped up with what I am doing. Some times it is just best to step back and smell the roses. You will find that you work more effectively after doing so.
Take a look at the full article and see how powerful it is for yourself. Via BobParsons.com
-E
Technorati Tags: Rules For Success, Success, Bob Parsons, GoDaddy, Entrepreneur
April 16, 2007 1 Comment