Startup Next Door

From time to time, I’ll divert from talking business into getting down into tech details, because doing more with fewer servers or other resources will save you money and that’s good for business, especially when bootstrapping.

For this tutorial, you’ll need to be running your apps in PHP and can configure it, and have the ability to install software to your server. If you’re still reading, I’ll assume you’re comfortable with both. Let’s go!

Read the rest of this entry »

Early Friday morning, I was thinking that if I could get an instant domain search going, I could hook it up to Hover.com and send them traffic (because they’re awesome) and get some affiliate revenue when someone bought a domain with them.  After work Friday I started coding, and Sunday night I finished it: http://dotcomornothing.com  Ah, weekend projects.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is Part III of the Delaware LLC series. Start series here.

OK, this is where the real action happens. Once you’ve got your business and personal accounts separated, it’s time to take the plunge and get your LLC.  There are any number of companies that would jump to help you: The Company Corporation and LegalZoom are just two.  But since I’ve had good experience with LegalZoom in the past I used them.

I’ll guide you through the whole process, which takes about 30 minutes.  Let’s go!

Read the rest of this entry »

Part I: Why you need one, and your options

This is the first of a three-part series on how to set your startup with a Delaware LLC. I recently did this, and will guide you through the process. Let’s get started.

Sole Proprietorships are good if you are very small

When you’re first starting your business and you’re making a few bucks, you don’t have to worry too much about getting sued. For one, you may only have a few customers, you’re making them happy, and they are paying you. But as time goes on and your customer base grows, it’s realistic to expect that something will go wrong.

Read the rest of this entry »

After using GoDaddy for about 4 years, I ditched them and switched all my domains to Hover.

Read the rest of this entry »

Whether your site is a content site, an e-commerce portal, a museum site, or something else completely, you’ll likely have fans.  Fans come in two types: sneezers and non-sneezers.  The word “sneezer” comes from Seth Godin’s Purple Cow.  A sneezer is someone who wants to tell others about your site or product.  Usually because there is something remarkable to talk about.

Read the rest of this entry »

You may not be aware that placing your email address on your “contact us” page is a sure-fire way to get yourself truckloads of spam.  As we speak, there are bots traversing the web, looking for email addresses that have been published publicly on web pages.  These email addresses (and items that resemble email addresses) are stored and sold to spammers.

Read the rest of this entry »

In this day and age, faxes are still surprisingly widely used.  Should you have a fax machine to run your business?  Not necessarily.  I’ve got the solution to all your faxing needs and it’s not expensive.

Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t use photos of people pointing at computers

You’ve come up with a brilliant startup idea, and perhaps have even completed the site, but at this point it’s just working wireframes.  It’s ugly.  It’s time to employ your design skills to make it appeal to people.  But if you’re like me, your design skills are not up to the task?  So what do you do?  Hire a design firm at thousands of dollars?  That could work but it kind of goes against the cheapskate theme I have going here.  What you need are some attractive, ready-made site designs!

Read the rest of this entry »

My last post covered getting your email campaigns out on your own.  Today will cover all-in-one email services.  These services will handle subscribes/unsubscribes, email composition, CAN-SPAM compliance, will keep your email looking consistent across many email clients, send email for you, and keep analytics on opens, bounces, and clicks.

Read the rest of this entry »