I now have my project layed out in Base Camp, which if you’ve never used, is a very user friendly web app from the guys at 37 Signals. Here are my milestones…

December 20th is my target launch date. I would also like to get a private beta version out by my birthday, November 28th, when I will be 30 years old. My god…where has the time gone? I better get a move on! Setting up milestones has helped me analyze what needs to happen and has made the process that much more real and exciting. I now have direction and deadlines to keep me in line. However, I am definitely a newbie at managing a commercial web app project, so if you’re laughing right now…I assure you, I don’t get it. Please comment and fill me in.

So now all the pieces are layed out before me and the process is much less overwhelming and complex. At this point, I just have to “Baby step to four o’clock [December 20th]”. (What About Bob)

So, where am I at with this thing? Well, I set up this blog for starters. And, I think that’s as far as I’m willing to go. I’m scared to death.

The End!

Actually, it’s moving along quite nicely. My “homework schedule” is now posted in the home “office”.

I feel like I’m back at college. One of the hardest thing has been cutting out TV, but I think I’ll be alright once the shakes subside. Oh crap, the SEASON FINALE of Hell’s Kitchen is on! Where’s the remote? This is not a drill people! To be continued…

Alright, where was I? Oh right, let me fill you in on what I’ve done as far as setting up this blog and beginning the marketing process. This blog serves as a marketing tool for my business, so let me briefly talk about how I set it up. First of all, it is a WordPress blog that I installed on my web server at home. Something Ventured is a title that I felt nicely embodied what it is I am doing. As always though, whenever I think I’m being original, there’s a million people out there thinking the same thing. When I tried to register the name at GoDaddy I discovered there’s already a “somethingventured.com” out there.

As I did a little more investigating, there are tons of sites out there using this phrase. Go figure. I’m unique and original just like everybody else, right? So I tried a few others and finally settled on someventure. I think it works, what do you think? It’s all in how you read it. If you have a half-full glass, it’s “wow, that’s SOME venture you got there!”. If your glass is half empty, it’s “neh, that’s just some venture, who cares”. Or maybe you happen to be drinking a quadruple shot latte or mixed drink and it’s “hey man…some [people] venture…think about it?”. However you read it, it’s a done deal, and I am now officially financially invested in this puppy. A whopping $9.20 too!

Now, the next order of business is how to market my marketing tool. For starters, I setup an RSS News Feed (top right, if you haven’t already subscribed) to run through the all powerful FeedBurner, so I can monitor usage and enhance/promote the feed. I then setup an account with Google Analytics to help me measure traffic to this site. And the first wave of marketing is underway. The search engines are probably crawling as we speak, as I submitted the domain to Open Directory, Google, Yahoo, and other free directories. I linked to it from a few others sites that I own as well as blog search engines Technorati, Weblogs, and BlogSearchEngine. It’s been added to my list of del.icio.us links and I’m hoping others will follow suit (wink). If you use Technorati and want to add this blog to your profile, I added a link in my sidebar just for you.

So, my plan from here is to start participating more in other peoples blogs and get the word out that way. I am also considering posting links in MySpace and other social networking sites. And if you’ve ever heard of the game SecondLife – I may do some advertising there as well. I’ll keep you updated on how my marketing efforts are paying off and new tools I find along the way. If you have any good tips, please comment.

My lovely and talented girlfriend Misty helped me out with the logo. Although she’ll probably never help me again because I was such a pain in the process, right Misty? Misty? Huh, that’s odd, there’s just a note where all her stuff used to be?

I have been brainstorming ideas off and on for the passed 3 years or so, and have been very close to following through on more than one occasion. Just never quite made the leap. My problem is, I’m my own biggest critic and the master at talking myself out of the follow through. For me, brainstorming a new idea is a lot like riding a roller coaster. I’ll think of a great new tool and I’ll be damned if it isn’t the best idea ever, it will completely revolutionize the web and…aaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhh…you know, on second thought, it’s really not all that unique and great when you think about it, there’s already something fairly similar out there, I should probably pass on this one, but wait a second here, what if I did this, or what about this idea, now this one will definitely revolutionize the web. And up and down we go…wee.

Whenever I start getting close to the line and ready to hop over and take action, I stop myself and toss up a wall: “where do you think you’re going pal?” Suddenly new ideas start popping up and before you know it I’m back on the ride. I know the process so well that I barely trust my own brain anymore. I have to cross-examine: “excuse me brain, but are you telling me this because it’s a good idea, or because, in fact, you just want to escape the current idea and stay in brain storm mode where it’s safe? Answer the question!”. It’s not good when you can’t trust your own brain…can lead to serious migraines!

Anyways, it’s time to silence my inner critic and take action. Over a month ago, I managed to compile a top 10 list of my ideas and in the spirit of all the contest shows on TV these days, I came up with…Zack’s American Idea. Pretty clever name, no? So each week (couple times a week really) I eliminated one of my ideas and sent it home crying to it’s momma. Which, in reality, is me, so that was a bit awkward. I based my elimination decisions on factors like: quality of existing products, market size, complexity, profit potential, usefulness, my passion level, etc.

Now there is only one left. The winner! And this one really will revolutionize the web (audience laughs). What? Seriously folks, I am passionate and excited about this one and can’t wait to show it to you. I think it will prove to be a very useful tool for alot of people. If nothing else, I’ll use it.

Hello and welcome to Something Ventured! My name is Zack and this is my personal blog all about starting a professional business. I’m currently 29 years old (this is subject to change), I reside in Portland, Oregon, and I build web apps for a living. This consists of driving to work every day at 6:30am and sitting in a cube until 5pm. I then drive home, watch a little TV, go to bed, and wake up and do it all over again. Quite the rock star life I’m living, eh? Well, that’s about to change. I’m going to take a big risk and roll the dice. I am going to try my hand at being a Web Entrepreneur and start a business. My first ever attempt and I am going to do it all live, right here. This blog will bear witness to all my accomplishments and shortcomings along the way. Good, bad, ugly…I’ll share it all!

Building a web app is my first order of business and the primary focus of this blog. In the process, I aim to be as transparent and informative as humanly possible, without giving away my idea. I started this blog to keep a journal of my efforts, share my journey with the world, and hopefully inspire and motivate those of you in the same boat to take the leap along with me. It’s time to come up with an enthusiastic response to that lingering question: what the heck am I doing with my life? This blog gives me a live audience and provides that much more motivation to follow through and do it right. Make no mistake…there will be mistakes along the way (which I’ll share for your viewing pleasure). I hope this will attract both those anxious to learn the process, like me, as well as those who have been there and can offer advice. If nothing else, I want this to be a good learning experience. If you have good venture tips/tricks/stories, please share.

So now that you know the purpose of this puppy, let me just briefly tell you how I got to this point. After college graduation and living on my parent’s couch for several months searching/begging for work, I finally found a job. And now that I have it, I wonder why I wanted it. It’s now apparent to me that I should have been brainstorming web apps on that couch instead of sending off resumes. But, that’s not how it went down. It’s been around four years now and I’m gradually making my way up the old ladder, although I’m pretty sure it just leads to more ladders. Maybe what I need to be doing is digging holes. This is starting to sound a lot like the game LoadRunner (classic computer game). Anyways, the excitement of being in the real world with a college education and shiny new job has worn off. I am realizing that if I’m not careful I could wind up spending my life in a cubicle, only to retire and upgrade to a nice, roomy coffin. It’s time for me to slap myself out of it and wake up. I need to unplug myself from the Matrix, walk off the set of the Truman Show, wake up the day after Groundhogs Day, make somebody an offer they can’t refuse…something. At very least I need to watch less movies. Seriously though, it’s time for me to make my own way and be my own boss. Any of this sound familiar? Good, then you are definitely in the right place!

Why not step over that line with me? For those of you who already have – congratulations, maybe you can offer us some guidance on our journey. For those of you who are happy where you’re at – congratulations, kick back and enjoy the ride. As for the rest of ya’s – I say it’s time to take a risk. You know the old proverb: nothing ventured, nothing gained? Welp, I reckon it’s time to venture out and find us something. Let’s roll!