You’ve got an idea you’re certain is a winner, a plan to make money and the beginnings of what you are sure will be a future internet powerhouse. Inevitably while you sit crafting your plans you will start working out some figures for this new venture. So you start throwing around imaginary numbers. A certain number of people visit the site, so many sign up, another number purchase and then probably you do some calculations, a x b x c = You are going to be rich, rich, rich! (more…)

A couple of years ago there used to be this program on cable TV about renovating homes called Property Ladder. It was a great little show that followed various aspiring property developers as they attempted to buy, renovate and then sell property in the UK. The host of the show, one Sarah Beeny, would advise the would-be property magnates on keeping costs down, being sensible about what sorts of choices they made and generally helping them to make a profit. (more…)

Editor’s Note: I originally had this post published on Problogger in Jan 2008, at Finding Profitability – The Tipping Point for Expansion.

Years ago when I had more time to spare, one of my favourite pastimes was to play computer games. In particular, I rather liked those real-time strategy games like Warcraft and Starcraft, which brought hours of enjoyment, to the decline of my studies and chagrin of my girlfriend of the time.

I’ve not had the time to play one of those games recently, but now and again I do think about them, and how they relate to blogging and business. In particular they are useful for looking at the tipping point for a blog that we run at Envato called Psdtuts+, and how it went from small site to expanding little business. (more…)

Like most people I always feel like there isn’t enough time to do everything I’d like to do. The hours slip by and most things seem to take longer than I think they will. But it used to be much worse, because for a long time I used to try to do everything myself. It took me a long time to realize that doing things yourself will only get you so far. (more…)

Getting things right straight off the bat is no simple task. It’s the reason writers write drafts. It’s the reason athletes practice and train. It’s why a photographer will take a whole memory card of shots just to get the one magic image. And in business it’s the reason we plan.

Before you start a business, you will inevitably (and rightly) produce a business plan about your product, the market, financial estimates, projections of sales and lots of other speculation on the future. Planning forces you to think through a lot of your assumptions about what’s going to happen after you invest your money and time. It ensures you’re not walking blindly into a storm.

But the truth is, no matter how much you plan, there are still many ways you can find you’ve totally misjudged things. Perhaps you price a product wrong incorrectly guessing what people are willing to pay, maybe there are competitors you didn’t know you had, or perhaps you find that people use the product or service in a totally and unexpected way. Like life, business is unpredictable. (more…)