You don't have to get yourself into debt for the things you need to launch a startup. You can start from zero and get off the ground organically . Divide the journey into phases, and use the successful completion of each phase to bootstrap the next. I. Write a Roadmap Start by envisioning where you want to end up, then plan what you need in order to get there. For example, you might want to end up with a registered trademark, employees, a legal corporation, and your own office building. You don't need to run out and try to obtain all four of these things on day one. Consider which things depend on others. For example, you could hypothetically get a registered trademark and employees before you form a legal corporation, but you might want to form the corporation before you purchase a building. II. Align Phases with Milestones Set a specific goal that you intend to accomplish with each phase. For example: You might start in January, and set milestone in your roadmap, ...

Minimizing overhead by doing everything online Have you ever thought about launching your own small business? You can take advantage of technology to reduce costs and streamline the process. Promote Through Online Ads Online advertising offers the opportunity to drive relevant customers straight to your company's web presence. For example, Google AdWords offers the ability to place ads containing links beside search results and other content based on relevant terms. You can bid against other advertisers for the same terms to compete for higher placement, and they offer an option that you only have to pay when someone actually clicks through the ad. This is a great way to promote your offerings, because you will get people who clicked on your ad when they were already interested in, and actively search for, the related terms. With a platform that is so far above other promotion methods, you could possibly focus all of your promotion efforts on this platform, without worryin...

Here is a list of 7 things you need to know, in order to be a manager of software developers, within any significant modern company. See how many you already know. Beauty = Value Functionality = Quality Quantity = Usefulness Physical Labor = Knowledge Genetic Makeup = Technical Literacy Hype = Skill Results = Magic Details: Beauty = Value Technical competence is not necessary to judge software quality Always attribute inherent value to software with a cosmetically appealing presentation Applying hype makes software more valuable If hype is present, so is the associated value Functionality = Quality If it seems to work how it should, then it really does People who have been doing it longer must be better at it Quantity = Usefulness Usefulness can be measured by quantity of output The more people working on software development, the faster it will get done Physical Labor = Knowledge Expect workers to create a comprehensive, accurate, detailed plan befor...

How to Measure the Quality of Software Development Work ...Without Being a Software Developer (Or, "3 Things a Developer Wishes His Manager Understood") There's a great difficulty in managing software . This is because many organizations call on non-developers to make decisions impacting software development. But non-developers do not have the qualifications to understand the underlying software. So, if you do not understand software, how can you make a good decision related to it? The easy answer is--you can't. But, if you don't like easy answers... You need to break through the masked complexity and gain a shared understanding . Masked Complexity The challenge is in the masked complexity. The great thing about software is that it masks complexity. The terrible thing about software is that it masks complexity. Software is made of stuff that is not readily understood by most people. Yet, to be useful, it is always applied to things that are unde...

The Need For a Better Way It's a real problem.  It happens in governments, non-profits, and in the powerful enterprises that control our private industries. Every day, authority figures are forced to make decisions that directly impact software development. These authorities include leaders, managers, and business people, many of whom are clearly not qualified to understand how computer software works. To make things worse, many workers rush in purporting to understand software, yet have, at best, mediocre competence in it. How can non-developers, or mediocre or poor developers, successfully make good decisions that impact development? Many workers with a mediocre or poor understanding of software even end up holding positions directly responsible for software development. An admitted non-developer may look to a purported developer to help inform their decision. This includes decisions about what worker should be in what role. But how can the non-developer tell whic...

Seven Steps to Prepare to Launch I. First Things First Before you dive in to creating a startup company, you should determine what is really important. And one of your first priorities should probably be: setting priorities. You don't want to register a trademark of a name you will change, hire an employee you'll need to fire soon, or rent an office space then decide it's more efficient to send the workers to work from home. So what do you do when a number of factors seem a bit like the chicken or the egg? You might think, " we need all of them to be in place before we can start, but we need to start before we can get any of them into place." I would recommend you take some time to prioritize before you put any other big things in motion that will cause significant waste if you end up needing to change them soon. After your initial priorities, you can keep refining them as you go. And, it's probably going to be a little bit different for each compan...

How to register a business name in Nebraska A business name registered with the state is also known as a DBA (Doing Business As), trade name, or fictitious name Approximate Cost: $233.82 Approximate Time: Five business days Overview of Steps Decide on a name Fill in the online form Print and sign the form - $0.10 Scan and submit the signed form - $103 Wait for confirmation email - 1 business day Contact newspaper to get notice published - $130.72 Wait for publication and affidavit from newspaper - 3 business days Submit affidavit online and wait for confirmation email - 1 business day Important Notes This is based on my experience in Nebraska. While most of this advice may apply in other places, you should check on the process in your particular state I am not a lawyer. This article is not a substitute for professional legal advice This is based on how it went for me on August 14, 2017. Your "mileage" may vary When you might want to register a bu...