I used to run a forum on zKorean, and in early 2005 I “came out” and let everyone know it was just me running the site. Over time I wanted to jump back in to stealth mode to avoid backlash from jerky decisions and accepting criticism. So I did. And I made it look like my site had been…
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After a discussion with my buddy Harry, I decided that the “privacy” tag and “Private Enterprise” categories were a poor choice. “Privacy” tends to link minds to privacy policies, identity theft, cookies, etc. And “Private Enterprise” was too…
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When you’re working with a contractor to build your site prototype, or you’re just brainstorming your site and discussing with others, using a wireframe/mockup tool is helpful and saves time. I’ve come across two mockup tools recently that I’m proud to…
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Back when I ran my startups under the veil of secrecy, I had to manage my secret identity, and did it pretty well. This post continues in that regard for those who want to keep their privacy while running startups. For those who have been reading about me a bit, you know that it’s just me…
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Although I tend to talk quite a bit about getting your startup done yourself, not all businesses can thrive that way. A good home-based startup with lots of traffic and revenue will require quite a bit of customer support efforts, and eventually you will need help to keep it running. The idea is…
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When I went through 99Designs to get the logo for Startup Next Door, in my proposal I requested that the designers either provide a vector image or a layered PSD with a large DPI (at least 300). By requesting one of these formats, I can be assured that I can use the image on large-format printing…
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In my last post, I explained how 99Designs works. Now I’ll tell you a little more about how it worked for me, some advice on getting good results, and some of the controversy about using such a service. My Experience I had heard about 99Designs a while back, and wanted to try it out. When I…
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When I came up with the concept of this site in early 2009, I was coming across many services that effectively outsourced tasks that you would normally hire someone to do. One of these tasks is logo design. Update (Feb 1, 2016): I’m no longer using the logo on the site. There are hundreds,…
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When I was driving to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport today from Abilene, I saw an old building with a large realtor’s sign on it that read “Residential - Commercial - Ranch”. That got me thinking - how different is a ranch from a residence or a commercial property? It’s…
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I used to run my startups anonymously, and made them seem somewhat corporate in order to gain credibility. I didn’t want anyone to know it was just a one-man show. So in order to cover my tracks I used anonymous domain registration. I had registered with GoDaddy, and they offered the option…
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