It’s the fork most brick-and-mortar retail store owners fear

There was Amazon offering the printer for about $20 less than the local brick-and-mortar store. Usually customers like myself see the price and beat a path to Amazon. Not only that, I’m a fairly loyal Amazon customer. I can’t tell you how many Kindle books or other purchases I’ve made on Amazon. As someone who doesn’t like shopping, I love the convenience of buying online. I hate the hassle of finding a parking spot and then potentially waiting in a long line at the store.

But in this instance I headed over to the local office supply store

And I plumped down an extra $20 for the HP8600 printer. I still didn’t like the parking. But here’s why I did it.

The 3 Reasons I Chose the Brick-and-Mortar Business

Reason 1: I was afraid to order a $200 printer and have it delivered at a time when I wasn’t home

Now Amazon would likely have made me sign for something like this so I wouldn’t have to worry about it getting stolen. But if I missed it, in my experience, there’s a chance I may have had to have gone to the local UPS store to pick it up, thus defeating the convenience factor of ordering online.

Reason 2: Personalized service

I like the idea of knowing that if I buy a printer from a brick-and-mortar business, I can always talk to someone if there’s an issue and they have an incentive to help me out as a customer. While I’ve used Amazon’s customer service in the past and have no complaints, I still like the idea of person-to-person interaction.

Reason 3: Return hassle

If for some reason I had to return the printer, I knew with Amazon that meant packing it up in a box and shipping it back somewhere. For me it would be more inconvenient than stopping by the local store and settling the issue or exchanging it for a new one there.

Price isn’t the only factor

Convenience (i.e., time) is a factor when making purchasing decisions for all customers. Hopefully the messaging in your marketing is letting your customers know about the convenience factor of buying from you. A lack of in-person customer service, the hassle of online returns, and deliveries when you aren’t home can all turn customers off from Amazon. And those might be new customers for your brick-and-mortar business.

It’s the same overwhelm you feel when you’re starting up a business

When you’re starting a new business the overwhelm comes from all the marketing you suddenly realize you have to do or all the administrative tasks that seem to consume a good chunk of time (e.g., bookkeeping, payroll, etc.) You might have started a business to improve your income situation or to have more control over your day, but you certainly didn’t start it to feel overwhelmed by business logistics.

Overcoming the overwhelm

I read David Allen’s Getting Things Done and in his productivity system he talks about defining concrete next steps as a way to keep a project moving forward.

The power of the next step

Why do you keep putting off cleaning the garage? Besides the fact that it’s not fun to do, cleaning the garage is too broad. In my experience, when something is big and broad, it’s easier to procrastinate on, especially if it’s a long term project. To help yourself take action, you need to make your next step small and specific. Try writing something like “go to hardware store and get broom”. That’s the very next smallest action you can take to get started.

And then comes the feedback

Once you’ve taken the action, then you get the feedback. As a business owner or entrepreneur, feedback is how you learn.

But what if you hit a dead end?

Good. You want to hit it as fast as possible. A dead end is just one form of feedback. It enables you to throw out the strategies that aren’t working and move on to the ones that do.

But first you have to set the next step

It’s no different than the next step you need to clean the garage. You can succeed in spite of your mistakes. But you can’t succeed if you don’t try. So set that next step and watch the overwhelm vanish.

But are these rule-breakers outliers, or are they part of a larger pattern? I think it’s helpful to examine some data.

What is the average salary of a programmer?

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics[^1], the median annual salary for computer programmers was $71,380. This may not be the most precise way to measure salaries as that number can change depending on experience and level of education, but I feel like it’s a good starting point.

Programming: The Upside

When you factor in the benefits an employed programmer will receive (as well as some perks like flex-time and potential telecommuting), it sounds like a nice deal so far. Plus, there are other benefits of being a programmer such as:

• Demand: A fairly strong demand for programmers with an occupational growth rate of 12% from 2010-2020.
• Mastery: It’s a challenging and intellectually stimulating occupation that allows people to strive for mastery, one of the primary drivers of job satisfaction according to the book Drive by Daniel Pink.
• Passion: If you’re a programmer who really loves programming, it really can’t get any better than being paid to program all day.

Programming: The Downside

The downside is more closely related to life as an employee.

*Potentially long hours: If you’re working for a startup, hopefully the stock options and the salary you receive are enough to compensate for the long hours you’ll be putting in. Even if you’re not working for a startup, it’s a credo of the professional world that you’ll stay until the job is done (real world translation: you’ll keep working even if you’re not getting paid).

*Bad bosses: As an employee, you’re always subject to the chance that you may have a “bad boss”.

To be fair, I think the strong demand for programmers means a really skilled programmer won’t have to put up with the downside for very long if they’re willing and able to change jobs fairly quickly.

Programming: The Long Term Sacrifices

Sustainability

One of the tradeoffs that a young eighteen-year old may not realize about pursuing a career in programming is how fast the field evolves and how this means you always have to be reading and studying in order to keep up. As a single twenty-something, this seems doable and fun. But if you’ve got a family and want to maintain something resembling a regular social life, you may find yourself squeezed by all your time commitments.

No Assets

The other tradeoff is that typically as an employed programmer, you’re not really building an asset. As a salaried employee, you’re essentially getting paid just enough to come in, but not enough to be truly “financially free”.

As I signed my first NDA (non-disclosure agreement) on a contract programming job, I recall thinking “wow, the business that owns this is really going to be the one that makes all the money in the long-run.”

Making the Case for Entrepreneurship

But what about David Heinemeier Hansson of 37 Signals you say? And Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook? Bill Gates of Microsoft? Aren’t they programmers who make a lot of money?

Um, yes. But that’s because they have their own companies. I’d argue they make their big money because they are entrepreneurs who started their own companies, not because they are employed programmers. After all, employed programmers are the ones who sign NDA’s and aren’t able to retain any kind of ownership in their companies. Even if you get stock options, the kind that truly create great wealth typically aren’t given to the average employee.

This means the best way to obtain great wealth and freedom is to build an asset for yourself.

Lifestyle Entrepreneurship?

Of course, there’s no point in building great wealth if you have no time to enjoy it. Ideally, I think entrepreneurs should be able to step away from their businesses and have systems in place so it can run without them for a period of time. Some of the examples I’ve named above are probably pretty busy in the day-to-day running of their companies. They may not be able to go on vacation and detach themselves from work (or may choose not to).

But in talking to other entrepreneurs and listening to interviews, I know it’s possible to have this. After all, your company is probably pretty poorly run if you can’t step away to take a vacation without it falling apart.

But what about the ones who don’t make it as entrepreneurs?

That pretty much happens in any career – whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur. And I’d argue you only “don’t make it” when you stop trying.

For myself, the primary tradeoffs between being an employed programmer versus an entrepreneur as I see them are:

*Sustainability – being able to keep up with the latest changes while maintaining time for the things you want to do in life

*Asset building – you should be able to build up assets that you own and control over time

*Growth – you’re able to grow and learn in your career

*Comfortable living – you’re able to make enough to live comfortably

I think an entrepreneurial career meets all of the above criteria while being an employed programmer only allows for the last two. This makes me vote for entrepreneurship as the best career path. What are your thoughts?

Footnotes

1. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-programmers.htm

As a solopreneur, you can’t afford not to have gratitude

When I was first starting out as a solopreneur, I had unexpected expenses (worn out tires, parking tickets, etc.) that were the price of moving to a brand new metropolitan area. I was stressed and had plenty to grumble about. But guess what one benefit of gratitude is?

Benefit #1: There’s a correlation between gratitude and less stress

Psychologists like Dr. Robert Emmons (author of Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier)
and Michael McCollough have done studies¹ and found that compared to people who journaled daily about all their experiences (good or bad) and people who journaled daily only about unpleasant experiences, people who journaled daily about things they were thankful had lower levels of depression and stress.

Oh, but it doesn’t stop there.

Benefit #2: It turns out practicing gratitude also gives your creativity a boost

Those same psychologists also found a correlation between people who practice gratitude and higher levels of creativity. Coming up with creative solutions is one of the necessary skill sets of a successful solopreneur. Think about how much your income could change if you could see the big picture to a problem and come up with a creative solution for it.

Benefit #3: There’s a correlation between gratitude and stronger social connections

If you’re a solopreneur, having a network of strong social ties is important, because it makes you better able to weather the emotional ups and downs of business. Customers come, customers go. Your revenue is up, and then it’s down. It’s nice to be able to have people to share your troubles and your joys with. It helps you weather the storm and stay happier all around.

Of course, having gratitude is easier said than done.

How do you learn to have gratitude even in the midst of difficult circumstances?

I’m reminded of a story about what Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe said at the Battle of the Bulge during World War II: "Men, we are surrounded by the enemy, We have the greatest opportunity ever presented to any army. We can attack in any direction.".

I’ve struggled to have this perspective during difficult times. I’ve found it really comes down to just trying to practice gratitude (when things are not as difficult) over and over, so that during the tough times, your "gratitude habit" kicks in.

So to help us all out (because I can still use some practice at this), I’m posting some of my favorite gratitude quotes…

True forgiveness is when you can say, "Thank you for that experience.
― Oprah Winfrey

If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.
― Meister Eckhart

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.
― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.
― Thornton Wilder

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
― John F. Kennedy

And of course, finally I should end with "things I’m thankful for today…"

1. I have enough to eat
2. I have a place to live
3. I get to write a blog post
4. I have supportive friends and family relationships

What are some things you are thankful for?

Sources:

1. How Gratitude Can Change Your Life. Marelisa Fabrega. <http://www.thechangeblog.com/gratitude/> Accessed 11/19/12.
2. Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier . Robert Emmons. Mariner Books; November 6, 2008.

What is a comfort zone-based business strategy?

It is a business strategy you pursue because you’re comfortable with it. In fact, though I have no hard data to back it up, I think it’s a mistake fledgling entrepreneurs often make.

The birth of my comfort zone-based business strategy

As a new web developer who had been following a lot of developer-entrepreneur type blogs, my original business strategy was to write an entire Ruby on Rails web application and see if my idea took off commercially.

In my defense, this is not unlike what Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg did

He wrote the Facebook application in his dorm room at Harvard, watched it take off, and the next thing you know, he’s one of the richest men in the world. But based on all accounts, Mark Zuckerberg wanted to "change the world" with technology.¹ One of his friends said if he had to choose between making money or being influential, he would choose to be influential.²

Ah yes, passion + change the world = financial success??

But let’s assume for a moment you’re not Mark Zuckerberg (like me). You’re starting out in your dorm room, bedroom, etc., and your goal is to make money, not change the world. Then I would wager a comfort-zone based business strategy is not for you.

Here are a couple of the problems with my comfort-zone based business strategy

1. I didn’t consider how much money was in the market…With AceMusicTeacher.com, I never bothered to ask whether it was a lucrative market to get into. In hindsight, music teachers may not be the most lucrative business market (unlike say Wall Street bankers). They may pay for your service, but they may not have as much disposable income as other markets (i.e., so you can’t charge as much as you could in another market).
2. I didn’t consider how long it would take me to learn to code… Because I had technical training as an engineer and had written simple programs and programming scripts, it never occurred to me to consider whether I would be better off paying a senior web developer to code it for me. I wanted to learn to code for its own sake (i.e., fun) but never considered the fact that learning takes time. And time equates to money. The time I spent coding could have been time spent evaluating the market reaction to the product and deciding whether to "pivot" to a different product or change markets altogether.

So why didn’t I stop even after 3-4 months into it, I realized I might have gone about executing my business strategy the wrong way?

Besides the fact I’m persistent (as I think all entrepreneurs have to be), the reality is I felt more comfortable coding an application than I did doing market research. Plus, I find coding to be more fun than doing marketing (e.g., sales calls with people you don’t know).

And I justified it by saying that even if my idea failed, I could always offer my services as a freelance programmer because my application could serve as a portfolio piece.

The lies we tell ourselves to stay in our comfort zones…

Yes, while I could offer my services as a freelance programmer, the reality is that by freelancing, I’d be creating another 9-5 "job" for myself. Going from client to client is very much like having a job, though arguably harder in terms of managing your time, because you have to be constantly marketing your services.

And marketing my consulting services was not my original goal…

Instead, building a product (or products) with recurring revenue and help me build stable cash flow over time was my original goal. As any freelancer will tell you, you need to keep an emergency fund for those lean times when clients don’t appear as readily as you would like. That’s why you want to have a product(s) that you can sell over and over. The idea is to create something once and then sell it again and again, thus freeing up your time.

My new strategy for moving forward

First, I’m going to see how the market takes to AceMusicTeacher.com. I’ve already talked to potential users, and they seem genuinely interested in using it. Next, if it doesn’t pan out, I will implement the following steps:

1. Research how lucrative a market is
2. Identify the needs and problems of the market by talking to actual people before I write a line of code
3. Once I identify a problem that people are willing to pay for, I will build the product (or pay someone to build it)
4. Market the crap out of said product(s)
5. Potentially, I’d like to find a mentor who has already succeeded in what I am trying to do and follow in their footsteps

I’m still glad I took the time to learn web development via the Ruby on Rails framework. I enjoy a good challenge. The flip side of this excursion is that I also learned just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. That’s why I’m now implementing a non-comfort zone-based business strategy.

Sources:

1. "The Problem With Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg Is Unfixable." August 1, 2012. <http://seekingalpha.com/article/769451-the-problem-with-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-is-unfixable>

2. "The Problem With Mark Zuckerberg. April 25, 2012." <http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-04-25/tech/31396516_1_facebook-quora-farmville>

And yet, that may not be the right approach all the time, especially when it comes to developing software someone will use, unless of course you get lucky.

And I think I got lucky

At least, that’s what my user profile interviews told me. For the purposes of this article, I’m defining a user profile interview to be a type of market research and feedback mechanism with potential users of the software product you are building. A user profile interview can take place before you start building the software (to determine if your software product is needed), during the building of the software (to see if you’re on track to build something the user wants), and/or after the software is shipped (to learn about bug fixes, potential new features, and the user’s overall experience).

What I term a "first user profile interview" is the one you do before you build the software, ideally to figure out that you are indeed building a solution your user (or customer) will pay for.

For the first user profile interview, the goal is to figure out:

1) Is what you are building going to be useful to them? (specifically, useful enough that they will pay for it at some point?)

2) How are they going to interact with the software or what platforms (desktop, laptop, mobile devices) are they going to be using it on?

3) What features would they like to see (and would be willing to pay for)?

Ideally, you do your first user profile interview before you even start building the software (because if your user isn’t willing to pay for it, there’s no point in building it from a business standpoint).

Naturally, because I was in more of a "developer’s mindset" (i.e., code first and then ask whether it would be useful ), I didn’t follow the ideal scenario.

In retrospect, this seems like an obvious point to understand. But as many an entrepreneur will tell you, sometimes we fall so completely in love with our ideas, that we just keep working on it anyway. You know, "shoot first, ask questions later."

So I shot first. I built a working prototype. And then I had the first user profile interview.

So what did I build?

I built an advertising service for music teachers, AceMusicTeacher.com. Basically, a teacher joins the site and fills out some information to create an online profile. Potential students can then go to the site and search for a teacher in their area and contact them.

And according to the users I sat down with, my instincts were right

It turns out music teachers wanted a convenient way to advertise their services and get students to contact them. They were eager to begin using the service. They were willing to pay for some of the premium features of the service (like being able to upload sample music files).

So what did I learn from all of this?

Lesson #1: Do the interview before you develop the software

There’s no point in building a piece of software no one wants to use. I definitely got lucky in that my user profile interviews told me that AceMusicTeacher.com had the potential to be useful to them. But I think "shoot first ask questions later" can potentially result in a lot of wasted time when it comes to developing software for specific users.

Lesson #2: Users have great ideas

Your users can give you ideas about what features to include. For instance, one of my users suggested I add a feature to let teachers indicate whether they taught at home, a studio, online, or were willing to drive to the student. I probably never would have thought of that on my own.

Lesson #3: Users can tell you when your product is done (or at least good enough to use)

For instance, I thought I needed to hire a graphic designer and give the site a sharper look and feel before I launched a trial version. But during one of my user interviews, the subject told me the site looked great and "very professional." To be fair, I did purchase a low-cost premium theme for the website to make it look as good as possible, since I don’t have a design background. Nevertheless, I thought it could use some improvement. Naturally, I was shocked to learn the opinion of my user.

Lesson #4: Users will tell you what they’re willing to pay for (and they understand you have to make a buck)

Whew. Because I didn’t talk to potential users first to validate my idea, it was a relief to find they found the "premium" features of the service valuable enough to pay for. It was even more of a relief to find out they knew the service had certain costs (like web-hosting) that had to be covered and knew they would have to pay something somewhere down the line.

A Final Caveat

Ultimately, I don’t know how this project will pan out as it is still in the launching stage. But time will tell, and I’ll have regular updates about it on this blog. I do know that next time I will talk to users first before writing a single line of code.

Why did I start this blog?

Other blogs might have a sole focus on entrepreneurship or personal development, but this blog is a hybrid of the two, focused on solopreneurs. I started this blog for 2 reasons. The first is to share all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained (and am still gaining) from engaging in my business projects and experiments. The second is to document how my current business projects are going.

What do I hope to accomplish with this blog?

Hopefully in a few years time, I’ll be able to look back on the writing of this blog and see all the good things it lead to and people it helped.

What entrepreneurial projects am I currently working on?

Currently, I am working on a website that helps connect music teachers and students. It’s called AceMusicTeacher.com. I’ll be documenting my progress on it as it heads into official launch over these next couple of months.

I always welcome feedback and hopefully you out there in the blogosphere can help me by telling what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong. It’ll help make me a better blogger and solopreneur. This is a new blog but I hope that it really makes an impact.

Thanks for reading.