Comments on: From Idea to Cashflow

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:13:53 +0000

Rob – your business is the perfect example of a non-web business where having both a product and a service working in conjunction can be very successful…probably more so than if you just had one or the other.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:35:43 +0000

This is another excellent post Adam, thanks for sharing.

One thing that actually only struck me less than a year ago is that business are broadly devided into two categories; “products” orientated businesses and “services” orientated ones. I know, that sounds really dumb that I hadn’t realised, but it was only when we started experiencing scalability issues that it suddenly struck me (like a brick wall…). Now, we’re looking to move towards products but still keep the services, as we enjoy it and it’s great for cross-selling. Starting with a service has also, as Oke put it, realise a lot of truths we didn’t already, and notice a lot of gaps in the market that we can hopefully fill with products, things we never would have considered before.

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:38:13 +0000

Oke – can’t wait for your trip. We’re gonna have a fun time hanging out. I’ve got like a million questions for you!

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:36:59 +0000

Great point Josh!

By: Adam McFarland

Adam McFarland — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:36:11 +0000

Dale – the “corporatpreneur” state is interesting. You’ve got the funding down as you said, but the really hard part is finding something you can give consistent time to. In a way, it’s better to try to run something that’s semi-automated (like your textbook site) and just stick it out for a few years while you slowly but surely gain traction.

The one regret I had when I was working on SportsLizard while at a full time job was that I was too thrifty. I’m not saying spend frivolously, but I know I had several sites/events I should have just paid to sponsor, but was too cheap to do so. For a few hundred dollars I could have gotten in front of my exact target market. Instead I tried to do all cheap/free marketing, which only gets you so far on a limited time budget.

By: Oke

Oke — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:53:48 +0000

Adam,

Great great post. It seems that what I’m dealing with right now is all aligning for something great – I just have to do it! I think during the trip I will write some about my business idea and start the service part of it first. That is such a good idea. This essential part only helps move the business. Yes, it could help you to realize that that isn’t what one wants to do, but it can also develop another type of business, because of the exposure a person would get and truths he/she didn’t know about in the beginning.

By: Josh Turner

Josh Turner — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:52:54 +0000

This post is really personally applicable to my current situation, and I couldn’t agree more. It’s kinda like personal income diversification.

One comment I’d add, from my experience as corporate entrepreneur. New initiatives and startups will always cost much more than anticipated to get to cash flow even, and will take longer than anticipated to get to that point. People take that for granted when they work for somebody else, and if you haven’t experienced this enough then it might be tough to convince you that you probably won’t meet your 3-month revenue goal for that new thing you’re starting. Always have more cash than you think you need, and more time as well, before making the plunge.

By: Dale

Dale — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:00:02 +0000

Hmm… interesting! The time vs. money trade-off is really relevant. I’m obviously in the “Corporatepreneur” state, which gets you to the money part, but limits your time part. It’s so hard to start working on something else after you come home from your day job, and especially if you’re traveling a lot like you said in a previous post. And it makes your opportunity cost really high, especially if you’re in a good situation.