Posted: August 28th, 2010 | Author: jasonbell | Filed under: Customer Loyalty, StartVI, bootstrapdiaries, business, data mining, startups, twitter, unemployment | 1 Comment »
I suppose everyone has “a book”, it might be a journal or a word document. It’s the place where everything goes into. For me I have an A4 sketch book, it’s coffee stained and a bit bashed around the edges, not great to look at it but it contains every note about Datasentiment’s development from day 1 (and the previous four months from that). I started this book during unemployment, it was a horrible time as well. On the positive side this was the time I started meeting likeminded people in the startup arena, ones who I will keep in contact with wherever I am on the planet.
It’s got screen shots, market research, quotes, everything that got planned and binned, everything that got planned and implemented.
Rough business plans, projections, customer segmentation, buying patterns, phone numbers, interested customers. It’s got SQL statements, recency/frequency/value calculations….
I’m sure you get the idea.
Most things I’ve been involved with never start at the computer, it starts with pen and paper. It forces me to start with a bunch of notes and ideas and refine them into something usable that I can produce.
Every month I revisit the black book (today is my scheduled day) and I’ll go over notes from 12 months ago and see if there’s anything I’ve missed. Oddly enough things that I’ve put on the back burner (but are in the book) are now starting to emerge into something usable again. It didn’t go in the direction I’d originally planned but it’s good to see it’s not wasted.
This book makes sure I don’t forget.
Posted: January 6th, 2010 | Author: jasonbell | Filed under: Digital Circle, articles, barcamp derry, belfast telegraph, bootstrapdiaries, business, it jobs, linkedin, networking, open coffee, open coffee coleraine, open coffee derry, social networking, software development, startups, twitter, unemployment, web design, web development | No Comments »
I think it’s fair to say, in reflection, that 2009 was basically spent trying to find my centre of gravity. Towards November I was starting to sound like a bit of a personal pity party so something had to change. Thanks to my network, finding out the technology landscape and talking to good people I could put myself in the right place at the right time.
There were a few things that happened that did help it along.
Open Coffee and other network meetings do work
You can’t beat face to face networking. There was a time when I didn’t have to do this, the work was streaming in during the boom times. Skills are plentiful and it’s a case of being able to sell yourself. From Open Coffee I’ve managed to show my face once at XCake as well. On the online side I keep up with Digital Circle and the usual stream of info on Twitter.
Speaking
I don’t think it does anyone any harm to publicly speak once in a while. I loved doing Barcamp Derry last October. Prospective customers, investors, employers and collaborators can instantly see what you are like and what drives you. From the Barcamp experience I would really like to do some more speaking in 2010.
You’re friends
Considering that I moved to Northern Ireland in 2004 it’s taken a good five years to find my networking feet. There’s a couple of factors in that, partially to do with the existence of technology like Twitter. I always had a LinkedIn account but I did my searches by sector, not location.
Through the likes of Open Coffee I’ve met some great people. Even better that most have them have become good friends and are on speed dial if I really need them. The help, advice and provision that these people are willing to give is also available to you, all you have to do is to make yourself available and willing to show your face.
Write
I have an “articles” section on this site. These aren’t articles that I just wrote for the fun of it, they are important networking tools to prove your knowledge. The likes of Java Developer’s Journal, IBM developerWorks and the Belfast Telegraph have given me the opening to write articles on a wide range of technology subjects over the last nine years.
So, to summarise, with this mix of activities I’m just starting to shape and form what 2010 is going to look like, I’m really excited for 2010. There’s some big things to happen.
Posted: September 5th, 2009 | Author: jasonbell | Filed under: devdays, open coffee, startups, unemployment | 5 Comments »
A quick reality check, the job situation is crap out there. Regardless of the all the headlines stating the recession is over, it’s crap out there. West of the Bann, it’s really bad with Derry, Limavady and Strabane chalking up the higher end of the unemployment figures. Also, reality check number two is that Project Kelvin will not create the jobs that people will expect.
So while the unemployment figures just keep climbing it doesn’t give much heart to try something. On the other hand it’s a good time to have an entrepreneurial heart and give something a bash. The number of micro sized (five employees or less) is certainly on the rise.
Right, first of all the bad news. If you are signing on there’s a good chance that money is tight and you’re watching every penny. So startup funds are well short, given the other fact that the Start A Business Programme now doesn’t give money on completion of the programme (which has whittled down from £1500, to £750, to £400, to £250 to nothing) it’s now more difficult to startup from scratch. While InvestNI go hunting for export opportunities in Northern Ireland companies (and anything else that makes good press releases) the rest of us are entitled to very little.
Yes the SABP does run but they are just seminars, that’s it. No money now. They are handy, don’t get me wrong, though the main reason for doing this route was for the cash at the end to give a helping hand to setup, though the amount was piddly by any stretch of the imagination. If you really need money then it’s friends, family and savings (if such a thing still exists).
So, what for the unemployed with a dream…. well don’t let any of that stop you. In Branson terms, screw it, let’s do it. The reason that software startups are a good one is that the cost to market is low. If you are stuck for ideas there are plenty around (you can go have a look at
http://www.oneforten.info if you are really stuck and desperate).
From there it’s networking and tons of it. Open Coffee’s are a good place to start and they are all over the place… Derry, Limavady, Coleraine and Mid Ulster if you are west of that river and then Belfast, Newry and Lisburn if you are east of it. Attend Refresh and all the other uber cool nights that go on in the province. There’s a sacrifice of your time but you’ll meet you who need to meet at those events. Plus they are the nicest bunch you’ll come across.
For the totally adventurous among you, you can have a look at the Propel Programme run by XCel Partners for InvestNI. Applications are online and will give the final 30 an eight week seminar programme from which the final 15 are 50% salary paid for the next 10 months. I did talk to Diane at XCel about the salary band for the unemployed but still haven’t heard anything back at the time I’m writing this. Propel is interesting in terms of it’s goals of developing networking and being able to stand in front of VC’s. The bit that did stick in me is that the initial seminars are in Belfast and I’ve not seen mention of any travelling expenses being paid to the unemployed if they are accepted on to the last 30. All routes may lead to Belfast but there are a number of companies that reside outside of Belfast.
These are the times that Twitter is useful to put you in contact with people who know the funding routes. There’s a load of groups on Facebook as well. Incubators in the North West are few and far between, there is Noribic in Derry but I never have any idea what they are doing as their website doesn’t really work properly. The blog’s great but you have to find it and it doesn’t link from the front page (in other words useless). It’s currently under construction which means all my whinging may have paid off.
The North West is desperate for a digital content high point, something that I’m hoping
Barcamp Derry will do. So if you are in the area and are doing something startup (even if it’s on the paper planning stages) then it would be good to see you, talk to you and offer some encouragement along the way. I know from bitter experience of the last five years living in the North West it can be a lonely existence in startup world. From doing more talking through networking I’m doing more talking…. watch out for DevDays in 2010.
It’s got screen shots, market research, quotes, everything that got planned and binned, everything that got planned and implemented.