April 12, 2004 | View Comments (11) | Category: Web Business
Summary: I have so many ideas for new websites, but I take very little action going through with them.
I am a man of many ideas. I come up with about 3-4 new websites a day that would be interesting to develop. Get me online talking to my friends and we can come up with 2-3 good websites ourselves. And I don't mean just websites that are there just for the hell of it, but these are ideas with potential. Every once in a while I get some "business propositions" over email and those never sound good.
If you own a site and you wish to partner up with me (or anyone else for that matter) you have to bring something to the table. It is really admirable to want to partner with the CSS Vault for example, but to do so I always ask what would you bring to the Vault? How would you help make the experience better for its users? I get answers to these questions, but they are never good. It all comes down to the person basically saying, "I know the Vault gets a lot of traffic, so let's partner up so I can get more traffic to my site." Just doesn't cut it.
You have a wonderful idea, but it doesn't work out in the end. The reason usually comes down to the effort you put into it. I have made the mistake of joining so many ventures with people that I have spread my resources thin. If I can't depend on others to take action then usually these ventures go no where.
I have created three successful sites (Whitespace, CSS Vault, Version 2) and I am working on a fourth one right now (Forever Geek). They are not successful in the Nick Denton network sense of the word, but for me they are successful because I understand the limited size of their audience. They are successful because I can see the amount of work I have put into them. You want a successful blog, put some work into it. It never fails.
Business is the same way. Put a lot of work into it and you are on the road to success. Of course I am assuming that the business plan and idea are solid. Without those foundations you have no path to walk on.
Of the four sites established so far in the 9rules Network, Forever Geek has the most potential to make money. This is largely due to the broader audience that it caters towards. This plan also incorporates giving some money to the authors of the site. It all takes time of course.
If you wish to start something, better tighten up on those time management skills. You will need every second you can get. I have been in many discussions with people who wish to start a business, but the only thing holding them back is time. To be honest this is when sacrifices need to be made.
For me the deciding factor now if I am going to start another site has to do with potential income that the site will bring in. I don't think any one of my sites will get me rich, but what if I had 10 sites that generated a total of $4,000-$7,000 per month? That wouldn't be too bad at all if you ask me. In any case none of these new sites will see the light of day until I finish redesigning the Vault and Whitespace. It gets harder and harder to write for a site that you don't even wish to look at anymore, huh Jarrod?
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Or is that not the kind of business proposal you were refering to? hehehe
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)
With that in mind I am always willing to listen to legitimate business proposals. :)
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
Any co-business venture or cooperative effort that can't be done face-to-face, at least occasionally, shouldn't be done - especially if it involves the investing of or receiving of money.
Mark Fusco (http://www.lightpierce.com/ltshdw)
I agree with that one. Partnerships rely on trust and without actually being able to see a person then really all you are going on is online words. Who knows, I could be starting businesses with 10-year olds.
Scrivs (http://www.9rules.com/whitespace/)
I have received a few emails from people who want me to link to them in the past. It usually goes like: "I linked you in my site, so you link me in yours" or "if you link me in your site, I'll link you in mine".
I usually answer politely that I'll take a look at the site and if I like it, I'll add it to my list of links, and that I don't expect anything in return.
That's for a link. A partnership would be much trickier. I wouldn't get into one of those things online, I believe.
Sergio (http://overcaffeinated.net)
I dunno, Sergio. Dan Rubin and Didier Hilhorst do a pretty good job teaming up for Superfluous Banter. Isn't Dan in the U.S. and Didier in Europe somewhere?
I say never close the door on any possibilities. Collaborating with people on the internet, if all parties involved are serious and diligent, can be a very rewarding experience. The difficult part is finding the perfect match.
Lea (http://xox.lealea.net/01/)
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#1
Dear White Space.
Your contact information was referred to me by one of my trusted contacts, whose name I am not at liberty to compromize. I would like to approach you with reguards to a profitable Business Proposal, reguarding the transfer of FOURTEEN MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY TWO THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY EIGHT ($14,862,988) U.S. Dollars into your Bank Account. For reasons I am sure you will appreciate, I ask that you keep this commucation confidential, and avoid it falling into the hands of any agents of the Angolan Intelligence Service that may be operating in Your area.
My name is Chuichui Todescu, and I am the Loyal Servant of General Antonio Jacobs, the recently Assassinated General in the People's Army of Angola. If you have been following the events in my country over the last few years, you will remember the big scandal that took place when General Jacobs was brutally gunned down in front of his vacation house, just outside of the capital.
You see, my Master had a lot of enemies among the other Generals, who envied his great secret fortune. It was they who removed him in the hope to gain access to the money looted from various villages that the Army has ransacked under his command. Fortunately, there was too much scandal and media coverage in the aftermath of General Jacobs's murder for them to move openly to claim his money. This gave me and a few trusted people who were still loyal to my Master, an opportunity to move the money into a secret account at the Second Central Bank of Angola.
While we managed to do this without the Angolan Intelligence Service becoming aware of our activities, the money cannot remain in this account, because at the end of the tax year, all deposits and interest will be reported to the Taxation Bureau of Angola, where our enemies have informants in their pay. The only option available to us, is transfering the money to a trusted partner who is a foreign national and cannot be linked to General Antonio Jacobs in any way.
As your name was brought to my attention by a very trusted contact in Angola's Foreign Office, I have been authorized by my partners to contact you with this Proposal. All that would be required of you is the use of your bank account to perform a transfer of FOURTEEN MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED SIXTY TWO THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED EIGHTY EIGHT ($14,862,988) U.S. Dollars. Once the money has been deposited, one of General Jacobs's other Loyal Servants will contact you, at which point you will release ELEVEN MILLION FOUR HUNDRED FOURTY FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($11,444,500) of the amount into his custody.
I am authorized by my Master's estate in Angola to offer you the remaining THREE MILLION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTEEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY EIGHT DOLLARS ($3,418,488) as a compensation for your services. Because the money would only need to be in your bank account for a few days, and your danger of being discovered by The Angolan Intelligence Service is minimal, we believe the commission of TWENTY THREE PERCENT (23 %) to be more than generous.
Once I have received Your consent and Bank Account number, I will be able to make a claim under Your name with The Angolan Trust Fund for the above sum. We have a friend on the Board Of Oversight in that organization who has assured me that the claim will be processed without raising any red flags, and the money will be released into Your Bank Account no later than within SEVEN (7) days from the time I receive your response.
I am at your disposal to answer any questions you may have about this Transaction, so don't hesitate to contact me via telephone, at +1-555-555-6366 (Just ask for Chuichui). I eagerly await your reply, though I must ask you to treat this matter with great secrecy, lest you betray me and my partners to the agents of Angolan Intelligence Service.
Respectfully Yours,
Chuichui Todescu
JC (http://thelionsweb.com/weblog)