I was watching Fox News this morning and saw the interview with Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, once the boss of Steve Jobs. When Jobs was launching Apple, he offered Bushnell 1/3 of the company for $50,000. He didn’t take the offer. I wonder how many times he thought “What if?”. Everyone hears these stories from friends and family. Companies have been launched in parent’s garages all over the world. Most of the time these start-ups offer stock or partial ownership of the company for cash to get started. Sometimes its a waste, but wouldn’t you love to go back and give some money for a few shares of Zuckerberg’s company or even help out Page and Brin with their search engine start-up in that rented garage? I had a family member once sit on a plane next to Cook before he started Blockbuster. I had a friend tell me he was once offered stock in Netscape, which you may recall was purchased by AOL.
You never know when the next big thing will be put in front of you. Maybe that lottery ticket is the winner! Maybe that slot machine is about to hit big! If you have ever been to a casino and seen people hit the jackpot, its easy to get caught up in the excitement. I have hit some big wins before in a slot machine, but most of the time, you lose money. Everyone can’t win in a casino. They have to take in money to pay those light bills and other expenses.
Have you ever chased the easy money? I know I have been caught up in shiny things that seemed like they would be hugely successful. In most cases, they ended up being scams or even deemed illegal by the government and shut down. I have been involved with start-ups that went no where. I have helped people get started with an idea by creating a website for their business. Some are still up and still produce results. Some of those companies have gone out of business either due to the economy or just didn’t have the right product at the time. I have built websites hoping to get paid one day and didn’t get paid. Its a risk.
Today, if you are going to try and start anything new, I can’t imagine trying to do it without a website. You may have the money to hire someone else to build it for you. If cash flow is a problem.. learn to do it yourself or work with someone that is willing to help you. My biggest advice! Make sure the person that helps you is getting some benefit, else they will eventually lose interest in helping you. I am guilty of this. I try to be up front in the beginning of a client/friend project, but if I don’t see any benefit, I will move on.
That being said. I don’t want to miss out on the next big thing. So if you have a project that you want to explore, let me know. I presently have a couple of things going that I need assistance. Let me know if you would like to work with me.
Fill out my online form.