I stumbled across this the other day…
Fantastic idea – Basically you sign up, submit your website, and a whole stack of people will put your site through it’s paces and give you feedback on it’s usability.
User feedback testing is important – As an entrepreneur we are generally very closely involved in the design and development of our web presence, and objectivity is pretty easy to lose…
If you do c heck them out please let me know how you go…!
This is one of my favourite blogs… This post talks about some of the things one needs to consider when working a part-time “on the side” (or a “5 to 9″ as I like to call it).
There are some very interesting points to consider about liability, how to treat your employer, when to exit, etc… Definitely worth the read.
Being a part-time entrepreneur is hard work. It stretches you in many directions. But doing other things on top of your day job is also a great way of teaching you what you can and can’t do, what some would say you are destined to do. As Richard Branson famously said: “I wanted to be an editor or a journalist, I wasn’t really interested in being an entrepreneur, but I soon found I had to become an entrepreneur in order to keep my magazine going.”
I heard a speaker at a business seminar today so something quite simple, but I quite a profound way:
“When the perceived value is an issue, the cost becomes a problem.”
This is basically Sales 101: Establish an understanding of the value of what you are selling to your prospect before you discuss price.
The thing it made me think about though was along a different vein – the decision to become an entrepreneur or a businessman in general.
I love the ride I’m on. I love what I’m learning, I love the success of it, I love the people I’m doing it with, I love the feeling or being a part of building something significant… Except for when its boring. Or I lose. Or the people I’m doing it with just don’t quite “get it”, or there are what seems to be insurmountable roadblocks.
Then what do you do? Enthusiasm, passion and excitement is fantastic, but it is meant to get you though the start, not sustain you in the long run. For the long haul you need a vision, you need a dream. I have a belief system that is pretty big on dreams and life’s purpose – When ever I get the the place where my passion is not carrying me I just go back to why I got into this thing in the first place.
I’ll put it to you – being an Entrepreneur to “be rich” or being in business to “get out from under the man” is not enough. Riches are lovely to have, but at various points in a persons journey there are times when the purpose of all they are building will be challenged, and the size of their bank balance or asset base alone will not be enough to justify the effort they’re expending on their business pursuits.
I know for me, at this juncture of my life and professional development, having my dream on the tip of my tongue will mean the difference between abdication and victory. Time to go grab the journal.
