I have no money, but

I have just hired someone to do some web design/set-up work for me. Someone I know and like, who just so happens to do good web.

I spent some time telling him how broke I am and to be gentle. I was a little surprised when he came back with something that was a little too gentle.

I am of the theory that doing things on the cheap just leads to more expensive repairs later on. I have presided over a few business disasters partially caused by my desire not to spend too much upfront. This time I want to use effectively what little money I have. Hey, what a novel idea. Today’s thought is that cost-effective does not equal cheap. I asked my friend to spend a little more time on things and I will spend a little more money.

Bargaining from weakness

My lovely little start-up is being to generate a little action as I have finally gotten someone, I think, to design a home page that will one day be populated with content. It always seems to come down to content. No matter how brilliant (or not) my idea is, nothing moves forward without a commitment of content. That usually requires money.

Last night, I was on the phone with a game developer I know trying to sell him on the idea that he should help develop games based on my still non-existent content for low cost with a large back-end. You can imagine how successful that was.

Today’s thought is to never bargain from a position of weakness, it makes for some ego crushing behavior. However, if you got to do it, you have two choices. The first is to bluff and pretend you are in a position of strength, i.e., got multiple bids. The other is to be honest and talk about long-term benefits and potential. In this case, I went with the latter. We’ll see how it works.

Cleaning the fish tank

Today has been productive. I cleaned the fish tank. This of course has nothing to do with my attempt at starting a business, but it was productive nonetheless.

I did something that took my mind off work, took me away from doing useless things on the computer and made my bedroom smell nicer. All good and necessary things.

Being at work or sitting at your computer does not make one productive. I worked for years at Japanese companies and the amount of time spent at meetings or at work was in no way correlated to productivity. People are good at faking it, but after a while you can tell who is doing work with meaning and who is just wasting time.

Good Resouces

There is so much information out there. I send way too much time reading articles, blogs and just about anything that is available online to know, understand and maybe, just maybe, something will spark an idea. One of the more interesting blogs I have come across is from a VC, Lightspeed Ventures Partners — http://lsvp.wordpress.com/ — check it out.

However, do not fall into the trap that I have, reading too much commentary that has no meaning. Twitter can be addictive too, limit how much time you spend on it or your days/nights will start to disappear.

The Quiet

It is often said that there is a sense of stillness and absolute quietness before a storm. I sure hope that is true, but I am experiencing an incredible silence these days. When you mention to people that you are doing a startup, everyone wants in, but just not yet. Completely understandable, not everyone is as stupid as I am to focus on a pipe dream. However, someone has got to do it.

Those that do help are obviously blessings. It is amazing how an intro. or a suggestion can be a lot of help. A little can mean so much.

So, what are my suggestions. One thing not to do is give up from frustration. Another thing is not to be sarcastic with people who find themselves too busy (as opposed to when you were in a position to help them). I would suggest that you take it as it comes with a smile. Just remember when you succeed, they will be your best friend again.

NDA

I’ve got what I consider a solid business and a somewhat different way of looking at the online gaming business. When you are talking to people, you usually ask them to sign an NDA. A little protection against someone stealing ideas or business concepts.

My problem has been that everyone that receives my NDA runs away. It was drafted by a pretty tough attorney, but this is ridiculous.

I guess today’s lesson is that one should use a simple NDA when they are in a position of weakness. Otherwise, people decide you are not worth their time. This is how I used to react when I was a corporate executive, guess I forgot.

blog to blog to blog

My recent experience in blogging what not to do when starting a company has left with the profound knowledge that I have a very unsuccessful blog. What to do? Check out blogs that are more successful.

One blog in particular that I found was called Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist (http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/). Funny, smart, irreverent and timely. Too bad mine falls short, but there is hope.

So, today, rather than worry about what one should not do when starting a company, I will think about how to improve my blog. Hopefully, next post will generate some excitement among those few who read it.

Games

Even if your business is going to be in the online gaming world, research can only go so far. Playing chess or solitaire or any other casual game is probably not research, but wasting time.

Thus, today’s what not to do is not too make excuses that you are doing research. When it comes down to it, mindless play is just mindless play.

Seeing why things work and what makes a game addictive is another story, but, there are some days where it is not that story. Maybe there is a way to tap into all that mindlessness and use that energy for good. Probably a little too complicated for me.

Network

Everyone knows that networking is important. However, there are different ways to network, which, as most know, include social media sites like LinkedIn & Facebook, or the seemingly old fashioned going through one’s rolodex.

What not to do is start the process without anything to say. Reaching out is great, but people often are busy and prefer to meet with specific topic or request to discuss.

Me, I tend to be great at networking when I have something specific to sell, with the exception of myself. Guess I should be able to do better than I have in finding a partner with which to get Sipsopsup off the ground.

the speed bump

All is well, things are cruising along when all of a sudden there is an unexpected speed bump. I had to stop and check the car. Unfortunately, I did not like what I saw.

today’s post is about not what you should not do, but what you have to do. One has to fit past the speed bump. Starting up a company is not easy (or everyone would do it). Starting up a company involves all sorts of decision, some of which are not obvious. This is where I am stuck.

I need content, but have not found a way that satisfies what I want to do and how I think it needs to be done. Since it is so early in the game do I just chuck my business plan and wing it or be a little patient to see what comes?