If you look around at successful online businesses, you will see many things that they all have in common. Maybe they have a good design, have a well-written blog, convincing sales pages, or some combination of these and other characteristics. But many successful sites an businesses share another characteristic: they know and take advantage of the power of a unique business idea. Because let's face it, you can have all the other pieces in place... Continue Reading

Starting your own online business is a lot like a long journey. You will need perseverance, stamina, and some faith, and you will reach your goals. But lots of people burn up all of their energy right out of the starting gate. Have you ever gotten really excited about a business idea or an online mentor, thrown a lot of money at it, and then never done anything or really learned anything from it? There... Continue Reading

Still sitting on an idea for a blog without having done anything about it yet? It's probably time to get rolling. Get some hosting, buy the domain, and find a theme you like (we're partial to Socrates), and you're ready to start in on the content. But before you jump in, here are a few things you should be ready for before going live with your new website: Continue Reading

Lots of people set out to make money online by selling a product whose audience they don't fully understand. They might make some logical conclusions based on a set of facts and decide that a given product has the potential to make a lot of money. But do they really put themselves in their customers' shoes? Not only do you need to know your niche inside and out, you also need to understand your competition... Continue Reading

Have you been putting off starting your online business because you can't decide what kind of business to start? If deciding on which direction to take with your online business feels like trying to map the desert, you need to list out some of the more obvious possibilities and then pick one. It's time to get moving. One of the first steps to getting going is to take some time to outline a rough business... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Fletcher Groeneman) It can be said that consumers are persuaded to purchase by their perception of the product and not by the actual product itself. What promotes the idea that every need can be satisfied with the goods or services from a given company? Effective and creative advertising is a skill that every corporation desires yet few succeed in mastering. What makes some ads so successful and others just pathetic? A... Continue Reading

Perhaps it is the way creatives are wired or the difficulties of collaborative projects, but too often creatives have a file management system that is.....well, "creative." Organization is often not one of our strengths. Yet keeping advertisements, stock photography, designs, proofs, versions, illustrations, and production files organized will maximize your efficiency and your ability to collaborate with all the members of your team. Continue Reading

A lot of people were surprised at the success of iFart Mobile. Apple had brought out this incredible device - a phone that was a computer and a camera and could do just about anything except make coffee and add the sugar. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Fletcher Groeneman) Brainstorming is commonly considered a waste of time but can yield some of the most powerful and creative ideas for your project. And it can be fun! Continue Reading

Twitter is great and all, but sometimes it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. If you are at a bit of a loss and wondering what to do now that you're on Twitter, check out Listorious.com for some ideas on who to follow. Listorious is a compendium of every kind of list imaginable of people who are on Twitter. No matter what you are into, be it Photography, Tech, Design... Continue Reading

I have been doing contract development since 2003, and I have learned a lot of lessons in that time. Some lessons are from success stories, and some are from disasters. By putting them all together I hope to give you some insight on hiring a developer and ultimately becoming successful on the Internet. Continue Reading

Since Apple has opened the iTunes App Store, my company has released a number of applications. iVote was one of the first 500 apps released. iFart has gone on to become what is perhaps the most-often referenced app in iPhone history. And we also had the pleasure of creating apps for Mashable, Charles Trippy and MC Hammer, among others. I love creating apps and we've got some pretty cool stuff on the way. Continue Reading

The people behind Twitter were incredibly lucky. They weren't lucky because they had a great idea. They weren't even lucky that no one else had thought of their idea before them. They were lucky that the system took just two weeks to build. My staff and I get together for regular brainstorming sessions. We toss out ideas left, right and center. By the time we walk out of that room, we've got a white board... Continue Reading

Here's a confession... Not every idea I've had has been golden. In fact, I can say that many of the business ideas I've tried have managed to bring me... well, let's just say something was funding one or two lunches per week. That's one of the advantages of marketing. Everyone gets to know about your successes but your failures just fade away. Continue Reading