Whenever people talk about business they talk about a business plan. Where you put down on paper all your expectations, the budget and how you think your business will grow. And most of the time you stick by it. Time passes and from being almost broke you start earning. A little at first, and then more each month.

Sure, you have that budget, but there are so many nice things you’d like to purchase (internet related, we’re not talking that Mercedes you have your eyes on .. or even that car, it’s still money spent), so many scripts/designs/hosting/advertising campaigns you think you need.

As I have mentioned before we do need to spend money to be able to also earn something, this is how business works, but sometimes we might get into another problem, spending too much.

I started very low too. 6 years ago spending 10 USD for a domain or 3 for a monthly hosting was impossible. I just didn’t have the money for my hobby, so I had to work on free everything. Some years passed and I started spending money. I wasn’t earning too much, but there were already few Adsense checks and I could dream of my future online empire.

As the revenue started to increse, so my ideas. I would search for a very cheap or even free script to run forums/directories/auction sites etc., now I have no problems with spending 180 USD on a vBulletin or 100 USD for a Wordpress skin I really liked.

And it’s NOT OK.

I do overspend. It’s true that all these scripts do help a lot and after some months those sites will get a nice PR and traffic and would earn me money. I invest in them and will collect revenue in just few months. But still sometimes I realize I could go slower. Focus on what I already have (an over 30 site network) and improve content/advertising options etc. and also find ways to monetize better) and keep my spending to a minimum.

As we speak I have ideas for 3 more sites. This would mean at least 400 USD on scripts, but right now I said NO. I will try to set a budget (was never good with planning) and try to have few months with minimum expenses (domain renewals and hosting only) and try to increase the profit. Otherwise I might hinder my growth just because I am a shopping maniac.

How do you handle this? Do you have such a problem?

This article, just like many others in this topic, states the OBVIOUS. Why am I wasting time telling you something you already know? Maybe because some of my readers still don’t “get” it. They still run after “freebies” thinking this is the way to be successful. Sure, less expenses mean bigger profits, but what if these freebies actually keep you from getting a good profit?

I started my first site in March 2006. I wasn’t willing to spend money, in fact I didn’t have money to spend on a “hobby”. The site was placed on a free host and I started working on it, doing my best to keep myself from anything that would require money. My problem was that Paypal wasn’t available in Romania either and paying abroad was really a pain.

The next 3 sites were also made on free hosting, with free scripts and more work from my part. I was getting so involved in them and they started to take off. I can’t say they started making money though, since the Adsense payments were so small it would take me half an year for the famous 100 USD check.

And then it hit me. I was limited. My free hosting meant no domain, this meant less chances to brand the sites. There were some free domains available (.tk), but I knew that it was not a good extension for a serious site. And my sites were serious. In 2005 I made my FIRST domain purchase and moved the main site (back then) to the domain. June 13 was the day I realized that FREE is good, but FREE is not always the BEST.

I kept on working with free scripts and tried to make the most out of them. In 2006 my Women Forums were elected “PhpBB of the Year” on the reputable phpBBhacks.com. A lot of work was put into it, but I proved I was able to manage a free script and really take it to the next level.

The Webmaster Forums were still on phpBB and more members complained such a script (even if modded and skinned to a great result) wasn’t “professional” enough for this topic. I knew that myself, so I managed to pay for my first vBulletin script.

More sites followed. Right now, the Dojo Design network consists of more than 30 sites. Some bigger, some very small, some inactive now or buzzing with posts and members. They all required investments (hosting, domains, scripts in some cases, skins for blogs etc.) Even if I do spend money on them (at least 200 USD/month) the profit has increased dramatically over the last 6 months. The earnings were small in the beginning, but now, as the sites grow and some get a good traffic and PR, they increase each month. The investments are now less than 20% of the earnings and this offers me the chance to make a pretty decent profit from them and also be able to grow them some more by re-investing some of the money.

I have friends telling me that I should stop reinvesting and just focus getting as much as possible from them. Still some of the money spent in my sites are important for their development. Stopping my reinvestments would mean hindering their growth and this would result in a smaller profit in the end. As long as the budget is carefully kept under control and the sites make more money each month, then it’s all just a good business.

What kind of investments does your site need? A domain name is mandatory, such as a good hosting account. Sure, this is the smallest investment possible, but together with your talent and hard work these would ensure a good growth and future profit.

Don’t be scared of this. Don’t be too cheap to keep your site from getting the minimum it needs to start well. A 10 USD (even cheaper) domain name and 3-4 USD/month for the hosting are the smallest investment you NEED to make in order to secure some future profits.

With under 50 USD/year your site will have a good domain name and a decent hosting account with all the things you need. No one said you have to buy expensive scripts (unless you need them for the site) or a fancy skin. You can manage the design on your own (if your design budget is too low) and you’d be able to make it work from the first moment. If you need a special script though (it’s not a blog for instance or anything that can rely on a good free script), then prepare to make the investment from the first moment. Most of the time script conversion leaves you with 404 errors, database problems and it can be hectic for you and your visitors.

The moment you start an online project with the idea of getting some revenue in the future, make sure you know all the details and are ready to invest. Not much at first, but the least you need so that your site would have a decent start. It really takes money (even small investments) to be able to think about money.

Few days ago one of my favourite Romanian bloggers decided to quit his job and pursue professional blogging. Full time job. He is already getting a nice revenue from this projects and it was just a smart move (even if a tad courageous as he also mentioned). His only concern was that he might think again to get a “real job” since most of his friends and relatives are shocked to see his new career, even if he does make money.

GET A REAL JOB!

No, really.

What’s a real job anyway? I kinda heard this too for the last 10 years. I finished highschool and instead of starting to work in the class as a kindergarted teacher, I decided the pay is too small and this is not what I want to do with my life. So I got a radio DJ job. Yeah, a “real” job indeed.

While my friends would get up at 7 in the morning to start the work at 8 and come back at 4 (our “nine to five is an hour earlier), I was getting up at 9, started the show at 10 and got back at 2. 4 hour work-day, triple the salary. Wasn’t this a real job? Why? Because I didn’t work for 8 hours? I didn’t work in shifts? In a factory?

Most of the time I would feel like I don’t have a real job since it’s indeed special. I can’t say I work a lot, especially now, since I have done this for many years. I am able to start talking about anything in seconds and get my “cool” no matter what happens on air. I am doing my “mixing” too, so I have my show in my hands so to say.

And still, even if it’s relaxing and I am pretty fast in my work, it’s a job. It requires something the people who tell me to get a real job don’t have: a good voice, excellent English pronounciation, self-esteem, humour, music knowledge etc. Whenever some of my friends would make fun of me, I’d also invite them to do my job. If it’s that simple why don’t they do it? Ah, they can’t .. Just as I thought. The radio DJ business is not for anyone.

And now, we get back to us, “weirdos” who sleep late at night and can’t wake up in the morning if their life depended on this. Yes, we wake up at 12, dizzy and oblivious of anything happening to us, we think in hex, pixels, divs and keywords, we spend hours typing, searching, designing. We earn a decent living and we do enojoy it. And of course, for most “normal” people, we are not having a “real” job.

Some years ago I was a bit ashamed too. For being a “strange” person, for not being able to have a normal life and a job like all my friends and family members. And still, after some thinking, I realized my job is real and there is nothing we should be ashamed of. Because we are specialists and we work a lot each day. Here are some of the things that make my web development job a real one in my eyes:

• 9 to 5? Sometimes I have 9 to 12 (midnight). Even if I don’t go to a regular job 8 hours a day, my working day sometimes is more than 16 hours. Any developer knows that when a deadline approaches, we lose sleep so that we solve it all. And when we should be relaxed, we have so many projects that would require us to have a 25 hours day and work 48 hours of it. Just because I don’t go to a regular office for hours, doesn’t mean I sleep my life.
• salary .. in the end that’s what makes a job. We all earn money. Advertising revenue, hosting, web design and programming, content creation etc. Even if this doesn’t sound like “real money”, it’s a pay for a good service. This money is real and we can live off our firms/projects. In my case I have the other “unreal” job (radio DJ) and believe me the salary is very real there too
• we don’t play on our computers, even if the “regular” people think this. The fact we seem to get lost in god knows what article for hours or caress that mouse as if it was the love of our life doesn’t make this less real. No, we don’t build houses, we don’t cure cancer, we don’t even clean the halls. We use our hands and brains to solve problems, to keep clients happy, to provide advertising ideas and solutions. The fact our services are different, doesn’t make them a joke. Our checks and bank accounts prove that at least our clients don’t think it’s a game.
• no, not anyone can do this. In many times, when I got some looks for being successful in an area others just couldn’t survive and getting judged for “having it so easy”, I’d just reply: OK, ya’ think you can do this? What’s stopping you? You think my radio DJ job is a joke and I am getting paid for nothing? Cool, come and do my show. Open the microphone and SAY ONE DECENT SENTENCE without choking with emotion, without being schocked you are on air. Sure you’re almost wetting your pants. I’ve done this for MONTHS till I was able for the first time to just not think about an entire city listening to me and laughing when I say a stupid thing. Because I do make mistakes and all my audience knows it and laughs about it. Does this seem easy? No, it’s not. I have nightmares about my radio job, even if in 10 years no one made a huge fuss of any of my mistakes.

  I’ve also had a coleague tell me “how easy it’s for you. You get a wage value for a site, you’re so lucky.” What does stop him? Doesn’t he also have a brain? Doesn’t he also have fingers and eyes? Why is he struggling to make the ends meet each month when he could earn so much? Ah, he can’t do my “job”. He can’t learn HTML, Photoshop is just a word to him, even after 20 hours of explanations I’d be forced to let him go without him being able to understand that a code in HTML makes the page look like this and act like this etc.

Everytime someone invites you to get a real job, just let them know what you are doing here online is a JOB. And a good one. You have to study all the time, as if you were a doctor. Sure, you’re not saving lives, but the trends change so fast, you can never be too sure you haven’t missed the “train”. You spend tens of hours in a week looking at code, searching for the best keyword, trying to make that green-blue skin look good for your client’s site, creating yet another interesting article.

The blogger I mentioned has quite a talent when it comes to writing. He’s already secured an audience for his blog and the site grows nicely. He’s got talent, he’s hard working, he lost hundreds of hours refining that blog, changing skins, placing the ads for the best CTR. He does have a very real job and seems pretty good with what he does.

I stopped caring about my neighbours opinion for a long time or any other people who think I am a “loser”. I go to the radio at 4 (when others get back) and stay there till 8 since I have an evening show. I work half a km far from home. Then I get back and work on my sites. The mornings I spend sleeping or meeting with my clients. I have a “pregnant lady schedule” as my BF likes to joke. I do earn as much as he does and this is done withouth spending 14 hours as a civil engineer, building blocks in the cold snow or hot summer days. I stay indoors, I take my laptop with me and work, I can taka a break whenever I want, I can shop and then lose the night finishing a project. If we do the sums I also have 10-14 hours of work daily, even if this doesn’t “show”.

Instead of being “ashamed” we don’t fit in any social pattern, I’d say we should be proud. Proud that we can earn a decent living with a relaxed schedule, proud we are so smart to understand all this web related “mambo-jambo”, that we are successful in our projects, we have pleased clients, people who read our articles and enjoy them, advertising systems paying us for links and banners. It’s not a normal job, but it is REAL. At least that’s how I feel it.

Even if most people will tell you “it’s an oversaturated business, don’t bother anymore”, let’s try for a second to plan such business. Even if there are so many web hosting firms around and so many services to chose from, why not try it? It’s a tough niche, but with some work and dedication you might make it really work. I have thought about this possible business too and, even if I just sell hosting to my web design clients and not work on this as a standalone business, there were some ideas that crossed my mind. I won’t be a hosting provider only because it’s not my dream niche, but allow me to offer some advice and maybe some hints I have thought about all these months.

What can I bring new in this business? Read the rest of this entry »

Would you like to drive this car? What of you had access to it from the moment you take driving lessons? Would you like to learn how to drive on such a car?

I have a client who is a driving instructor in my city and he taught me how to drive too. He would be our example of the best way to drive clients to your door as a business. He’s done it and maybe we can learn from his experience too, about how to offer our clients something that would make them COME to us and WANT to work with us.

He is a “crazy” guy, he just bought a Peugeot 307 Coupe (135 HP) and he’s using it as a “school car” for the clients who want to learn how to drive a car. And let me tell you: THEY ALL WANT TO DRIVE THIS BABY.

He started with a small car that has no value (as compared to this one). Then he got better cars and he realized that clients are picky and want more and more for their money. 6 months ago, when I took driving lessons he used a Volkswagen Passat car (a great one too) and the reason I chose him (from all the instructors he had there on all kinds of cars) was the fact I’d be able to drive such a nice car.

Sure, in the end I had to learn how to use a car in the city, but I got something more: the chance to “ride” an over 100 horse-power engine on an “almost luxurious car”. It was a blast: a good car is a pleasure to drive.

After some months that “maniac” took his business to an even greater level: got a “jewel” of a car, a coupe that looks amazing and attracts people like a magnet. I drove that “baby” and let me tell you I was in huge ecstasy. Now, he’s not teaching people how to drive (as tens of other similar firms do in my city only), he’s the ONLY one to let his students drive a convertible. Even if the car will have to suffer (it wasn’t new, it cost 13 thousand Euro, just like my new Opel Corsa, 90HP), he’ll be able to make lots of money to cover the car’s “use” and also bring way more clients to his school and secure a good profit.

What did he teach me and all of us now, since you know the story too? That in this business world thinking outside the box and offering something better and different can be the secret to success. Such a “perk” drives people to your door. It brings you recognision (you’re the “crazy” one to offer this and that) and clients who’d kill to work with you.

The only thing is to be able to understand what might make your business special and “push it”.

In a previous article we were able to track down some tips for keeping our small web business expenses to the minimum while being able to maximize the profit. For a web related firm there are some expenses that are not required from day one and this helps us build some revenue while being able to provide more quality services and secure some profit.

For many starting entrepreneurs the idea of losing their salary is scary. Even if the wage is not that big and there are other issues too (otherwise, why think about starting on your own?), it’s still money coming into their accounts every 4 weeks (or 2 weeks, depending on the way the wages are being paid).

This money is still good money and can be used in order to sustain the new web business at least in the first months. There are still some problems we need to think about and this article will address them one by one.

1. Your new web business shouldn’t be a direct competitor to your official job.

Read the rest of this entry »

Years ago I started a small site about Karate. It was called Dojo.ro (from that I created my brand: Dojo Design) and was just a small creation of a woman with too much time on her hand. After 6 years Dojo.ro has a lot of brothers and sisters (new sites in the network) and 1 year ago Dojo Design became the name of a small web design firm. MINE.

I recall years ago a thread in one of the big webmaster forums I like to be a part of, when someone made fun of another member implying how pathetic a small apartment business is. If I remember it well it was something like “oh, so you are so tough, working from your momma’s basement”.

What’s wrong with having a small firm?

I know most people would like having a huge building (maybe something like the Empire State Building, since we don’t have the Twin Towers anymore), with hundreds of floors and at least 20 thousand employees (just as many as Yahoo seems to have fired lately). We’d be running an empire and feel good about ourselves.

Is this a VIABLE option for most of us when we start up? It is, you can get a huge loan and pay it for the rest of your life and have your grandkids pay monthly rates till the end of their lives too (that if you’d find any bank stupid enough to give you so much money).

Read the rest of this entry »

The first months of our new web business are crucial and in the end the hardest ones. We have all the paperwork prepared, we have the right to sign the papers, we are now our own boss and the world is our oyster. The moment we have the small web firm up we feel the need to conquer the world. Yes, been there, done that (not conquering the world though, we have some more work to do)

You found out you have your own firm now, try to get from the hangover (I assume you celebrated) and prepare yourself for the life you’ll have as an entrepreneur. Your next steps are important: the way you know how to handle the budget will also result in your early bankruptcy or maybe having a profit from the first day.

Maybe my example won’t be the best one, but I hope some of the things I can present here might help you too. No, I am not rich from my web business, but I was on the “positives” from month 1. Here is how I did it all:

Read the rest of this entry »

Most of the sites we have are created with the purpose of offering good information (since not all of us are interested only in money making spammy sub quality sites) and in time advertising revenue. Working on a good site is a demanding task and we need to make sure that in time we are able to sustain this effort and why not get a return of that investment (money and work at the same time).

We all know about the big “money making” systems: Google Adsense, Yahoo Publisher, Text Link Ads, Linkworth, AdBrite etc. They are excellent for us to start earning revenue and before anything realizing OUR SITES CAN SELL ADVERTISING.

I think it’s at first a mental thing: we work on our sites and lack realizing that they can indeed make money. The traffic and PR can justify the investment in advertising and most important THERE ARE PEOPLE who’d buy such ad placement plans.

After we work as much as we can with such advertising companies it becomes more clear that we can sell advertising on ourselves. It’s not that difficult in the end. Let’s see then how can we start and how can we manage this:

Read the rest of this entry »

I seem to have started posting quite some messages in here. Maybe I’ll make it a good habit

Anyway .. back to the task at hand. I just started a topic in the forums about ways people present sites in their online portfolios. To quote my list:

1. each site has his own page in the portfolio, some description, clickable link to it and a snapshot (that’s how dojodesign.ro will have them in few days when I have the time to finish redesigning it)

2. a list with information and clickable links

3. just a list of links

4. just images

Which do you find better? Read the rest of this entry »