Congratulations! In just thirty days I've...
Written on 5:21 PM by Mark Osborne
...GOTTEN IT GOING!
I'm gonna pat myself on the back today - feel free to watch...
I've fancied myself an entreprenuer for a while, but the fact is I've spent most of my life working for other people. Part of the reason is I'm a bit of a nerd, I like to research, and read, and study, and plan, and review options - Paralysis by Analysis is the catchy way to say it.I was reading an article by an entreprenuer one time who said we often make the mistake of confusing LEARNING about what we want to do and DOING it...Success isn't learning about it, Success is doing it.
In another article I read the phrase - "You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going." That phrase has served as a good balance to my over analyzing everything. Toward that end, I've tried to just get things going on this project, not worrying about making them perfect.
30 days ago I decided to write an iPhone app, for fun, and blog about it, for fun. Here's what I've done since then, in chronology (all while working my day job, tavelling every week for work, and handling some stuff around the house ).
- Bought an instructional book on how to develop and sell iPhone apps (thanks Charlie Parker).
- Started a Blog to chronicle the process (thanks Blogger).
- Gotten iPhone Developer Status from Apple (thanks Steve Jobs).
- Came up with a marketable idea (thanks god).
- Registered 6 domain names related to the idea (thanks GoDaddy.com).
- Learned enough HTML code to run this blog, set up tracking/analytics on this site and build another website with analytics code and e-commerce built in (thanks StatCounter.com).
- Launched a web-site re-selling the instructional book (I thought it was so good I bought licensing rights) (Thanks 000webhost.com).
- Registered the web-site and this blog with search engines (thanks Ping o Matic.com).
- Learned to integrate Twitter and Facebook for Marketing (thanks blogosphere).
- Attracted the attention of new Twitter followers (Thanks Twitter).
- Launched advertising campaigns on Yahoo Search, Google Search, and Facebook to promote my web-site and blog (Thanks to all my employers past and present).
- Put together a Non Disclosure Agreement (thanks LegalZoom).
- Solicited bids from Developers (thanks Scriptlance.com).
- Put together a demo movie and uploaded to YouTube for use with developer bids (thanks Wondershare).
- Reviewed bids from Developers (thanks for nuthin, most of them were terrible).
- Conducted conference calls with Developers from 4 different countries (thanks Skype).
- Put together a Freelance Development Contract (thanks again LegalZoom).
- Contracted a developer to help me with the heavy lifting on the code (thanks Alfred the GREAT!).
- Learned about inserting Analytics into the app (thanks PinchMedia).
- Learned about inserting advertising into the app (thanks AdWhirl).
- Written the basic framework of the application (thanks For Dummies!).
- Developed a Logo (thanks to doodling in High School).
- Developed the artwork and graphics for the app (special thanks to my lovely wife for cleaning it up for me).
- Taken photos for use in the Application (Thanks Kathie Winsor).
- Recorded audio for use in the Application (thanks Adam Schnieder).
- Worked with a PR agency to develop a marketing strategy for the application (thanks Deanna Anderson).
- Come up with some "Secret Weapon" guerrilla marketing to hopefully push this over the top (thanks Seth Godin).
- Contracted an Accountant to make sure I'm doing everything up the right way for the IRS (thanks Lynda Galler).
- Set a development timeline and launch deadline (thanks Dad for making me so anal).
PHEW - Sorry to be so self indulgent, but the stated purpose of the blog is to chronicle the journey, 30 days is a big milestone...and I need a little self congratulations to stay motivated and positive.
NEXT.......?
