New Laptop, New Ideas, everything NEW!
October 19, 2006 – 6:53 am
I just got my new laptop from dell last night. I’ve wanted a laptop for ages but didn’t decide to buy until I needed it, which is pretty much… Now! Just thinking about it now… all those late nights coding, putting together marketing plans, business meetings… my laptop and I have a lot to catch up on. 
With all that is going on with business projects lately (the last few months) I have learned a few things….
- Being mobile is a good thing – though I personally don’t like to be fully automated remotely I am noticing that it does help given some situations. Lately I’ve been getting ready to code and launch my BizCandy service to companies and I’ve learned a lot. One of the hardest things I’ve learned is not having a “technical preference”. I evaluated my choices for which language to develop the code I need running for BizCandy and decided in the end to develop in ASP.NET 2.0/.NET framework. I know this Blog is PHP/mySQL and while I do love it time and compatibility is an issue
- Building your own system should be of a key concern – When I mean system I mean the tools that allow your business to thrive without you there in the room. Why am I concerned? I’ve built a few applications in my time and while the skills learned in negotiation, deal making or whatever you want to call it are important… most times at the end of the day the system you are building is not yours. I’ve aided in making others wealthy and I’ve learned a good share of things which I why I am focusing my attention to BizCandy in the coming months… besides I live in Canada and winter’s coming so I’ve got to do something proactive besides freezing all winter long in the dark! J
- Keep it simple – This lesson comes back to haunt me sometimes especially working in software. Like I always say, it’s like writing a book. The first lesson any good writer learns outside of grammar is “Think about your audience”. Some of the best selling authors pander to their customers and while they have an interest for what they are doing first and foremost that idea is always in the back of their minds. The same thing I am finding goes for software development. You can create complex features to really wow them but if they cannot follow you they won’t be your customers in the long run. Most people know a fair amount about computers, technology and software but that just means they know how to use things that are already on the market. This is something I think about as I develop BizCandy because it’s a balancing act between innovation and re-engineering.
So with the fact that BizCandy is my “new screaming baby” that I am sure will keep me up and busy over the next while but I am looking forward to it with excitement. The focus of BizCandy is the B-2-C market because it is all about collecting business intelligence on customers, campaigns, product launches, etc for business owners to market and build relationships with. Naturally as I’ve stated before I will be looking to work with existing business owners to make it a true success because this software is a “service” to aid business owners in their business. If you are one of these business owners looking to involve yourself in a “Taste Test” please feel free to get in touch with me and I can send you more information about the BizCandy Taste Test program.
Now that I’ve shared some life lessons and had a chance to rant a little bit I know that I feel better. What are some lessons that you’ve learned from business or life in general?
Lucas
CoDe PoEt – Pictures of the new laptop are still forthcoming
4 Responses to “New Laptop, New Ideas, everything NEW!”
I’ve learned to never rely on others for too much — make sure you know a bit about everything. You don’t want to be at the mercy of programmers and designers when you can just as easily do something yourself.
By David Askaripour on Oct 19, 2006
Hello David,
Learning to be a bit of a “Jack of all trades” is a valuable skill to have. Speaking of that i’ve got an article coming shortly that details the shortcomings of hiring some developers and something that people looking for the services of a good developer should watch out for. I am guessing that you had some issues with hiring past web developers?
I figure that also one needs the ability to delegate once they know what’s involved in say maintaining and developing a website.
Talk soon David,
Lucas
By lucas on Oct 19, 2006
Hi Luc,
Some good thoughts in your post…
Being a new start-up, one of the lessons I’ve learnt is don’t try and make it perfect from the get-go. I turned myself inside out trying to get the “look” and “feel” of my brand and the “customer experience” perfect from day one. It was more headache and more heartache than what it was worth.
What I’m finding now is that it’s all starting to fall into place naturally. It’s evolving, and I’m moving with it, refining as I go. The reality is, brand’s evolve. Like humans, they aren’t born as adults.
In essence, you don’t need to sweat every detail before you hit the market.
Cheers/Danielle
By Danielle on Oct 20, 2006
Hi Dani,
Good to hear from you. I think once you’ve made a choice to commit to a choice in business much like in life things have a way of pulling together. You could call it “The Planets Align” or something like that but it is interesting none the less.
A lot of people in software i notice are too much “analysis” and not enough “action”. Once you’ve got a stable version of something i think the best thing you can do is launch it and see where it goes, collect the feedback and prepare the next version. I am sure you’ve noticed similar things though.
Talk soon Dani,
Lucas
By lucas on Oct 20, 2006