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Ten dollars into my first million

NotAtAllStrangeNotAtAllStrange subscriber Posts: 1
edited April 2007 in Home-Based Businesses
I would like to consider my wife and I an entrepreneurial success story. Have I earned this right? I really think I have. Do I have an established company under my belt? No. Have I ever invested heavily in an existing company? No. Do I even sit on the board of a company? No.So why would I like to consider myself a success? Because after 10 years of thinking up ideas and then doing nothing to follow them through, I have spent the last five months working with my wife, bleeding, sweating and crying over an idea that we are following through with.Five months - it feels like five years We feel we really have something and we are putting everything we have into it. Unfortunately we`re not in the position I would have liked to have been in financially before tackling a project of this scale.I`ve never been a fan of doing something kind of well - it`s a character flaw. I have to reach for the stars in order to stay interested. So, when we started mumspace.net, there was never a question of building it for the local market, or building it in the way that others wanted us to - small and catering for just a select audience.I wanted to believe that we could take on the world, and the multi-million dollar startups. It didn`t matter that we were a team of two. It didn`t matter that we didn`t even have a thousand dollars to back our idea. I wanted to believe we could do it, and so we did.We obviously had no idea what we were getting into. The late nights, the arguments, the changes in direction second guessing competitors.We are just now beginning to get write-ups, mostly because we have been trying to develop our idea under the radar. We are being compared to the larger multi-million dollar startups we wanted so badly to compete with, and in most cases the comparisons are favorable. The idea is coming together and we are proud of what we have done, but now the reality of what we have taken on is starting to set in.Building a business as a husband and wife team with a 2 year old daughter has been hard, and just gets harder. Each hurdle you clear seems to reveal another.We work really well as a team now feeding off each other, and supporting each other, but a lack of funding means that real life rears it`s head fairly frequently, and means that I get an average of two, maybe three hours a night to work on the site if I am willing to get around four or five hours sleep.The site is coming along and we are building a real following, but there are constant juggling acts in place, weighing up the new functionality that we need to entice and the fixes to existing functionality that are required, weighing up the money that we know we could earn by spending time commercializing the site and the money that we will not earn by building new functionality that we know could benefit our members.And there lies the crux of the craziness. We know how to make the site profitable. We know how to make it attractive. We know how to make it sing, but doing that while in the real world? That is something I struggle to come to terms with.And so, I consider my wife and I and entrepreneurial success story, in the same way that I consider anyone who is willing to slog it out, with no short-term foreseeable gain, day after day in the pursuit of a dream.Entrepeneurs rule.I have earned $9.47 from Google AdWords and I am proud of it

Comments

  • InactiveMemberInactiveMember subscriber Posts: 12
    Great looking site. Great marketing. Could use a bit more of a hook with respect to a headline or tagline or something.
    "Each hurdle you clear seems to reveal another." = Welcome to life, right? This is the leading cause of business failure. I don`t think this will ever change for most people, throughout their lives.
    I guess ... I have some technical remarks with respect to your comments about functionality -vs- commercialization. There has to be a balance. But often times an infrastructure-build-in costs a lot of time/money and has the appearance of adding little in terms of immediate commercial value. [ I`ve personally signed on the dotted line for heavy investments in infrastructure that had little chance of any immediate commercial gain. ] On the other side of this is practical reality of business. Boils down to strategy. Since this is early in the game, I would remain focused on infrastructure and public relations. That`s the best side of both coins. More traffic from PR = more users. More infrastructure = more performance. I think many technology businesses look at their infrastructure only in the sense that it`s eventually an interface to their clients, when actually it`s the engine of their business.
    This is the kind of business that does well from heavy promotion, fantastic marketing, and cool technology. Keep those balanced.
  • JeannieJeannie subscriber Posts: 8
    :-) In my opinion, the crossover point between an "idea" for a business, and an actual business is that first sale. It`s the point where the intangible becomes tangible, where dreams become reality, and where mental effort creates physical results.
    Craig, I just love what you wrote above. After reading your comment, I realized that my dream HAS become a reality after my first sale. I didn`t think of it that way before since I thought that my dream would only come true ONLY after I`ve made a million dollars!   So thanks! It sure makes me feel better about my business now. I needed the cheering up!
    Jeannie
     
  • rajinenterprisesrajinenterprises subscriber Posts: 3
    I`m working on my second million dollars.........I`ve given up on the first.
  • JeannieJeannie subscriber Posts: 8
    Craig,
    You are absolutely right! Thanks again for your inspiration! I really appreciate it!
    Jeannie
  • JeannieJeannie subscriber Posts: 8
    And so, I consider my wife and I and entrepreneurial success story, in the same way that I consider anyone who is willing to slog it out, with no short-term foreseeable gain, day after day in the pursuit of a dream.Entrepeneurs rule.I have earned $9.47 from Google AdWords and I am proud of it
    Hi NotAtAllStrange,
    It`s great that you see things this way! I`m feeling the same way now, thanks to your post and to Craig`s inspirational words! and YES - Entrepreneurs do rule!
    I`m very proud of my bit of earnings too -even though it`s not up to a million yet!  
  • smeedoosmeedoo subscriber Posts: 1
    Hey NotAtAllStrange,You are definitely a glass is half-full kind of guy.    I was bummed that I had only made $17 from my AdSense campaign over the last few months, but now I have a fresh perspective.
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