Business Ideas

This continues last week’s post on Working With Computer Nerds (if you haven’t already, read part 1 first – it has cartoons!).
Unknowables
With computer work there’s almost always big unknowns.
Whereas most people learn their jobs, get good at them and do the same thing over and over (I want a lawyer who has seen hundreds of [...]

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In a (surprisingly well-received) post a while back, Working With Computer Nerds, I provided a profile of the typical computer nerd, and some suggestions on general approaches to understanding my clan.  In this post I’m hoping to provide concrete examples of problems that typically arise when working with nerds, an explanation of the misunderstanding leading [...]

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Don’t forget to enter the SmartyPig $25 giveaway contest which ends on Thursday, January 28.
Years ago I read the book “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. The idea behind it is techniques to go from satisfying customers to creating a consumer-cult of the style enjoyed by Apple, Tim Hortons or In-N-Out Burger.  It’s [...]

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Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: “it’ll never work dumbass” or “someone’s already doing it dumbass” (and they provide a link). Both are valid reactions to any of my business ideas .
Often a big part [...]

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There are all sorts of good reasons to want to start a business. Often it’s also possible to start a business doing something that the owner personally enjoys: people who like creating artistic works might become graphic designers, those who enjoy writing might become ProBloggers, authors or copywriters, while those who like talking [...]

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Eaton’s was a famous Canadian department store which was famous for it’s catalog, being a pioneer in having a “no haggling” policy and for its slogan “Goods Satisfactory or Money Refunded.”  Combined with the Eaton’s reputation, this provided a powerful guarantee to customers:  either they’d be satisfied with a purchase, or they would get their [...]

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When I start writing up a wacky business idea, one of the things I do is a quick search to see if someone has already done something similar.  I don’t spend hours on it, but I’ll look for 5 or 10 minutes.  In many ways it’s surprisingly rare to find someone is already doing what [...]

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I was talking to a friend recently and used the term “ramen profitable”, which she found incredibly amusing.  I realized that I had never used the term on the blog or posted about it, even though it’s a very useful perspective on starting a business.
The term was coined by Paul Graham, and he discusses it [...]

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Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or someone’s already doing it dumbass (and they provide a link). Both are valid reactions to any of my business ideas .
A few years ago [...]

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Confucius says “Man without smiling face should not open store”
When I lived at Bathurst and St. Clair, in Toronto years ago, there was a steady stream of new businesses opening and closing.  It was great for me, as I loved to try new restaurants, but it got to the point where I could tell when [...]

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In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

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One of the things that really impressed me when I first met Mike was HOW involved he was in the personal finance blogging community.  When he found a blog he liked, not only would he add it to his RSS reader and start following it (and commenting at it), but he’d dig in and read [...]

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In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or someone’s already doing [...]

{ 9 comments }

In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

{ 13 comments }

In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

{ 12 comments }

In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

{ 8 comments }

In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

{ 9 comments }

In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

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In a comment on a post a while back MoneyGardener expressed interest in hearing some of the business ideas that I’ve had and never developed. Scott Adams writes some of his business ideas on his blog, and he says people react in one of two ways, they tell him either: it’ll never work dumbass or [...]

{ 12 comments }