…and you’ll find my corpse!

I’ve been running myself ragged trying to get GrapeShow released, as promised, while I’m young. Ironically, it’s aged me quite a few years in the last few months and I’ve got the grey hairs to prove it. The passed couple weeks have been very high stress around here! Every day I watch the timer count down closer to launch date and my anxiety climb up closer to heart attack. There’s so much to do and so many bases to cover that it’s incredibly easy to get overwhelmed. After pushing myself to the absolute breaking point and trying to accomplish everything at once, the inevitable burn out has kicked in. Starting a web business is no small matter and as dedicated and determined as I am, the self doubt and exhaustion is starting to get the better of me. It wouldn’t be so bad in a vacuum, but coupled with a day job and trying to meet deadlines there as well, it can get a tad hectic.

My brain is all across the board these days. One minute a coder, the next a designer, the next a creative and/or technical writer, and the next a business man. I’m starting to see why they recommend at least a party of three when building a web app. Since I don’t have that, the deadline will once again need to be pushed. That’s what deadlines are for though, right? Am I right folks?

By far the biggest lesson I’ve learned lately is never EVER countdown a web app!!! Sure, it might seem like a good way to stay motivated and draw in a crowd (or at least it did to me) but it can back fire big time. First of all, there are way too many variables the first time around to accurately predict how long it will take. Secondly, it has raised my stress levels immensely and not in a good, motivating way. It did motivate me initially, but setting it too aggressively has caused me to go completely sideways. Needless to say I’ve killed the countdown indefinitely. I will continue to put 110% into this and keep you updated on the progress, but will never again (at least not until I know what I’m doing) publicly announce a definitive launch date. I’m not saying deadlines aren’t a good thing because they clearly are. I have a new one in place but plan to keep the specifics private except to say that it should be happening in the next couple months. In reality, this thing is going to take as long as it needs to take to do it right. But know this, it is definately coming soon!

Currently, we’re in GUI design phases and there are still legal and financial barriers afoot. I’ve been shopping around for an attorney and will be meeting with one next week to get the legal gears in motion. We will be talking about setting up the business, e-commerce, trademarks, drafting the terms of agreement and privacy policy documents for GrapeShow, tax issues, etc. This will hopefully take under a month to complete, but again this is all new to me so who knows. I’m still debating on applying for a trademark. It costs $350 just to apply for one (even if you are denied) and I’m not sure it’s worth it for me right now. I’ll also be meeting with an accountant prior to launch in order to get my books in order and ensure that I properly keep track of all that needs to be properly kept track of.

Here’s a few checkmarks that have been completed, or close to it, since we last spoke: account with Dreamhost setup, copy written (about, help, tagline, etc.), and home page designed. I’ve decided to take a break over Thanksgiving and try to forget about the business for a weekend. Hopefully the burn-out will subside and I can hit the ground running, or rolling as the case may be after this weekend.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Your appetizer is served…

Well the sign-up page is anyhow and it’s pretty exciting! Feel free to sign-up to be first notified on launch day.

So, what do you think? I’m very pleased with how this turned out and I want to congratulate Scott on a job well done. And, now you know the name, any idea what it is? I’m a bit curious myself. Some sort of social networking application for drunken wino’s perhaps?

Who knows, but progress is definitely being made I can tell you that, and I’ll be briefing you all shortly with more details. Just wanted to get the logo and sign-up page on here for you guys to check out.

Have a grape day! (Ouch)

For those who are curious, this is my current plan of action. These are only the bare essentials that need to be complete prior to launch. This is clearly a very aggressive timeline, but I think it’s doable. Many of my todo items (and I do mean many) have been pushed until after the “go live” date in order to meet the deadline. Trademark isn’t necessarily a necessity but I left it on there nevertheless.