Displaying All Posts tagged with Planning

How Much Money is This Business Going to Make? – 4 Pitfalls to Avoid

Collis Ta'eed 26th April Startups 18 Comments

moneyYou’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! Read More

So You Want to Start a Startup? 5 Places to Start

Collis Ta'eed 16th April Startups 25 Comments

startThe world is rife with business opportunity, and nowhere more so than online. I often think of the web as something of a wild west frontier, awaiting anyone intrepid enough to stake out a claim. But to start an online venture you first need to have an idea of what you want to do. For many would-be entrepreneurs ideas are many and easy to come by, but not everyone feels this way.

Some time ago I met a very talented developer who was independent and industrious, more than capable of developing a brilliant web app. Despite wanting to start some sort of online business of his own, he was hamstrung, for he wasn’t sure what exactly to build. I remember being asked how I found so many different business ideas, and my on-the-spot reply went something like “uhm… they like, just pop into my head.” Not exactly a useful reply!

With a bit more thought and contemplation I’ve decided to catalogue some different methodologies for finding a business to get into. The post is split into five parts, each one detailing a different angle. Read More

Sometimes It’s Better Not To Know

Collis Ta'eed 14th March Startups 21 Comments

walkingWhen you have a long journey ahead, sometimes it’s best not to think too much about it. You’re much better off just getting started.

For some weeks now I’ve been working on a large upgrade to our popular freelancing site FreelanceSwitch. The upgrade includes a complete overhaul of the design, some large changes to the functionality of the site and coordinating a few different sub-projects. It’s been taking a lot of time and energy and as I write this, we’re only half way there.

This morning I was reflecting that if I’d known quite how much work was involved in the upgrade, I think I might have been a little less ambitious. And in many ways that makes me glad that I didn’t know.

A bit young, a bit naive

Three years ago when starting Envato I wrote out a business plan for our fledgling enterprise. It wasn’t a particularly solid plan, at least it didn’t have any hard numbers, or organisational charts, or many of the other things I’ve since learnt are meant to be in business plans. But it did contain our strategy for how the business would grow, and to put it mildly, it was an ambitious plan. Read More