Based on a few emails floating around among us, it sounds like we're getting together Wednesday the 26th at 5:30 at McCoy's in Westport.
253 karma · joined August 4, 2010
I'll join the linked group.
..though I've been told it's like taking a hooker for a long walk.
There are other places, like ebay or digital point. They're OK, too.
Or, work on a private sale. Approach a competitor or customer or someone you know who may want the business.
Finally, you can drop me an email with some numbers about revenue, growth, technology, prospects, and such. I'll probably make you a fair offer.
Good luck!
What do you have in mind, something like a Friday afternoon happy hour or something?
Since it's the kind of thing I'd use once every few months or less, and I'd use it for one project at a time, I'd probably pay $10 to $20 one time for 3 or 5 mockups. Then, I use the best one mockup to make a site and quit needing the service for a while. I don't need three free ones since the demo gives me a really good idea of what I'll be getting for my money. Does that kind of pricing scheme sound reasonable?
PS - after I buy that package, email me a few months or a year later to see if I'm ready to mockup another site. Also, refer me to someone who can take the mockups, improve them, and make websites out of them.
A popular valuation method is to use a multiple of average recent monthly profit. Depending on how much work it is to run your site, you might get 5-15 times recent monthly profit.
Also, if you send me some numbers, such as traffic, customers, revenue, and such, I'll probably make you an offer.
Or, let me know what you want for it. My email address is in my profile.
It has completely changed my life (for the better). I don't have any after-effects (that I know about). I can read, see far away, drive at night, and have written software for a living for the past 13 years.
Don't forget that most people who have a great experience don't write about it on the Internet, only the people with bad experiences do. That means that there's a selection bias on the stories that you read online.
As everyone else will suggest, swap your caps-lock and control keys.
I also found it useful to have a single key on my keyboard that does M-x. You might already have one by default. It might look like a wavy window flag, or a cloverleaf, or a menu, or something weird.
As you have said, start to learn to use more of the special keys on the right side of the keyboard. Don't forget shift. You shouldn't be using the left shift for capital letters whose keys are on the left side of the keyboard.
You might find it useful to put your mouse on the other side of your keyboard and use it with the other hand a few days a week. It sort of trains your hands to do things differently.
You might find it useful to try a different keyboard. I've found a Microsoft Natural keyboard to be great. Your employer will spring for this if you mention that your hand hurts.
Adjust your chair height, display location, desk height, and the way you sit. Yeah, this actually affects the way you use your hands.
Don't forget to take breaks. Go get some tea or something every once in a while. I think jwz wrote a thing that periodically makes emacs force him to do that when his hands started hurting.
Don't be afraid to go see a doctor.
Good luck!
A quote (also known as a "price") is the price at which you're doing the work. If you do the work, they'll pay you that amount. In this case, you're taking the risk of unforeseen circumstances.
If it's an estimate, call it an estimate and tell them what kinds of things might make the final price different from your estimate and give examples of how much it might change.
If you're giving them a quote, then do the work for that amount. If they change the project in the meantime, renegotiate the price.
* compilers. Seriously. It's hard, but it's the single class I look back on as having made me a better engineer
* at least one "weirdo" math class. Non-Euclidian geometry, or group and set theory stuff, or whatever else you see that is off the beaten path and possibly taught by a well-liked professor. You will learn to solve problems better using non-standard techniques, and it may be just plain fun.
* One of the two or three classes in the philosophy department that deal with logic, puzzles, paradoxes, and such. You may be surprised at first that about a third of the people in those classes are in your CS classes, too. Figuring out what is computable and what is true isn't all done in your discreet math classes.
* A basic science class unrelated to your engineering field. Astronomy is a good one. Learn about your world, and possibly meet your future spouse.
* The most popular class on campus. Every school has that cool class taught by the famous professor that everyone attends. There's a reason for that. It's probably in the psycology, english, or history departments. Your spouse may also be in this one.
* Introduction to Civil Engineering. Knowing a bit about static forces, failures, and materials helps you when you need to build or fix stuff. These guys also have been engineers a lot longer than there have been software engineers. They teach you how to fail properly, perform repeatable tasks to ensure quality, and other engineering practices.
* Law for business students. Your business school offers an intro class to the law. It's like the first year of law school smashed into a single semester class for business students. It covers contracts, torts, agencies, and other things that will keep you out of trouble.
Yeah, most of these classes aren't in the CS department. Don't miss your opportunity to see the folks on the other side of the campus in that other quad.
1. Go ask Student Agencies if they need any tech problems solved. I think they run TakeNote, those coupon books, and a bunch of other student-related services. They may have an idea for a student-related service that you can implement and run yourself or eventually sell to them. Since they're sort of a student-run organization, they would be a good way to bring together some problem-solving students and more open to eventually paying you for starting a project for them.
2. show up to the cslug or acsu meetings and mailing lists. Ask others what they're working on, or ask them for help or advice on your ideas. Show them that you have a commercially viable project, and they'll start following your lead either by participating with you or by starting their own. Cross-pollinate these groups with the Ithaca Perl Mongers, Ithaca free software group, Ithaca linux users, and whatever other small, niche user groups are around there these days. One activist per year can completely change any of these organizations.
3. If you can't consistently steer the meetings for one of those clubs towards the topics you would like to hear more about, start your own. Meet monthly someplace nearby off campus where they serve beer, but you don't have to be 21 to enter. Select someone at each meeting to talk for a few minutes about their idea or project at the next meeting.
4. Find the professors who are actually doing things. Sure Tim Teitelbaum's company is pretty academic and different from the general YC startups, but at least he has a company. There are others. Ask him for advice on starting a company in Ithaca. Have a professor speak about starting and running a local company at the meetings discussed in steps 2 and 3.
5. I don't know what the "Center for Advanced Computing" is like these days, but it used to be that hanging out by the coffee cart in the Theory Center was the best way to meet folks who were actually using computers to solve problems. Go hang out with those guys.
6. Sit in on some classes at the Johnson School. Eventually, you'll figure out which of those MBA students actually want to start businesses. Invite them to your meetings, or join theirs. Offer your technical services to any of their pipedream projects. They need you.
I'm glad to hear you're interested in this. You can make a large difference just by consistently beating a drum. I'm serious, one dedicated person in a community like that can change a lot. Good luck!