All posts in Stage 4: Business

Grow Like This – The Hacker Way Action Excerpt

Hacker Way

I grabbed the excerpt as I found it applicable and similar to Chris Brogans “gate jumping” thoughts. Use this as fuel to forge ahead if you’re stuck.

Find what works, iterate, make it better if the idea proves itself worthy.

Pulled originally from Facebook’s IPO filing, then from my reading of Eric Ries “Startup Lessons Learned” post on it.

http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2012/02/hacker-way.html

Build your online business like this, there’s too much distraction, too much to get caught up in that without this mindset you just won’t get a chance to make your ideas fly, create income, and see if your business can be a freedom giving enjoyable endeavor. It’s something you can hear over and over as you develop. It’s awesome to see this methodology can be used no matter how small or big you are.

 

The Hacker Way (letter from Zuckerberg)

As part of building a strong company, we work hard at making Facebook the best place for great people to have a big impact on the world and learn from other great people. We have cultivated a unique culture and management approach that we call the Hacker Way.

The word “hacker” has an unfairly negative connotation from being portrayed in the media as people who break into computers. In reality, hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done. Like most things, it can be used for good or bad, but the vast majority of hackers I’ve met tend to be idealistic people who want to have a positive impact on the world.

The Hacker Way is an approach to building that involves continuous improvement and iteration. Hackers believe that something can always be better, and that nothing is ever complete. They just have to go fix it — often in the face of people who say it’s impossible or are content with the status quo.

Hackers try to build the best services over the long term by quickly releasing and learning from smaller iterations rather than trying to get everything right all at once. To support this, we have built a testing framework that at any given time can try out thousands of versions of Facebook. We have the words “Done is better than perfect” painted on our walls to remind ourselves to always keep shipping.

Hacking is also an inherently hands-on and active discipline. Instead of debating for days whether a new idea is possible or what the best way to build something is, hackers would rather just prototype something and see what works. There’s a hacker mantra that you’ll hear a lot around Facebook offices: “Code wins arguments.”

 

PS. IT Arsenal’s progress has been slow and steady. I’m the bottleneck, not packaging things up as deliverable digital products, and streamlining work delivery often or well enough. Still, revenue is climbing, hourly investment only slightly higher or fluxuating. A real progress report is due next on what’s working, what’s not working, and some reading inspiration. I really love the projects I’m working on it.

 

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“What’s Working” Online Business Report January

 

I don’t have tons of free time for my online business.

I don’t go to many online webinars from the “Pros” … I don’t host them either. I rarely send out e-mails to my list (once a month), barely do interviews or guest posting. I don’t have the time to dedicate those methods to my online business growth right now, and I think most would say those a pretty important ones.

It’s not that I don’t like those methods, or they don’t work, they can and do, but not for me while I’m being cut throat with my time, and holding to building IT Arsenal in only a few hours a day or less.

I focus mainly on those people who buy what I have on the shelf, or might, or have already. When I do promote something or get approached, I make sure I’m the winner for that person and they have the best experience possible. Service is my strength.

I’m just making something more obvious for myself that wasn’t previously. I don’t do a lot of popular business builders right now, or if I do, I ease very slowly into them, and it’s okay, there’s no right way and as shown below I can still earn an income without them.

That is something that is consistently mind blowing about business, it’s a human interaction when generally referenced. That’s it. You provide something, and someone pays you for it. There is no specific set of right ways or wrong ways. It’s also what makes it so difficult to grasp and pin down.

These revelations are landing for me as I’ve been in this (business) space for almost a year and a half down and continue to make sense of online business and what’s working for me right now. A beautiful meeting in Laguna Beach, CA helped grant perspective on doing more of what works helped too. Continue reading →

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Why Getting Up Early is Better than Staying Up Late for Products and Projects

i’ve been consuming information on productive living for a few years now. i’m by no means an expert, but from experience alone can comment on a few tactics for getting more done in less time, and the optimal actions for achieving results.

i have some challenging information for you today in growing your business based on experience and observation. i hope it benefits you.

i constantly see books, magazines, articles, and highly successful people toting the advantages of getting up early to start your day. i often feel bad about it because i have such a hard time doing it.

you’ve seen the articles, there’s typically an overwhelming outcry usually in the comments section about people who are “night owls” and do their best work or whatever at night.

but the argument has a hinge point that i think get’s overlooked… Continue reading →

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How To Test Product & Service Ideas Faster (instruction and motivation)

how do you get over the administration and organizational hump of implementing faster when you want to test an idea and launch something? this is what it looks like for me in my own circumstance right now, how can you re-produce for your business situation?

this is an introspective look

unless you have no idea if your idea can sell, the first real problem for services and products is putting up a sales page to gauge REAL interest, regardless of what is built or isn’t. challenge your assumptions and test with a sales or pitch page as soon as possible, some sort of capture page. people so often miss this with their ideas. your thoughts on your idea are not important, others thoughts on your idea are important. Continue reading →

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9 Ways to Grow Your Mild Successes Online

so i’ve had mild success online maybe you’re in the same boat. let’s grow them to something more than “mild”.

i’ve taken this blog, grown it, started a business, grown it, explored information products, automation and efficiency tactics, service creation, selling and marketing. i have the basics down, i understand the playing field, i have some really successful contacts and networking friends.

does this sound sound familiar to you?

i’m psyched and overwhelmed at times. i want some big wins and upward growth. how do i do that?

here’s some snappy answers, purposely short so i will, i mean you will take one to heart and go with it. Continue reading →

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