Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Rule Change to Bring Back Passion

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

In the midst of talking to a good friend of mine, Tom Leroux, he mentioned that I buy and sell online projects like some people change their socks, and I had to agree with him, though since last talking to him, my philosophy of working online had changed.

I quickly presented him with my new set of rules.

  1. No more writing for other people.
  2. Only start projects that I can see myself doing for 5 or more years
  3. No more selling projects

Of course there are always exceptions to rules, but I think that following this set of ideals will help me become more passionate and successful online. I’ve always had issues with staying focused, and that was usually because I was chasing money instead of chasing passion or my dreams.

It is hard to be passionate for a long period of time, and even more so when you aren’t doing exactly what you want to be doing. I’ve had numerous people in the past tell me how cool it must be to work as a blogger full time, but they don’t give thought to the types of topics I have to cover in order to pay my wages. I’ve written about so many things I have no interest in, and worked very hard, only to end up at the end of a period of time with “nothing”.

What are your own “rules” for working, either online or offline?

Some New Undeveloped Domains I Have

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Here are some of my latest domain purchases, some of which I want to develop, others that just seem decent to me.

  • BargainVine.com
  • BrandRant.com
  • BrandShoppe.com
  • CapitalSeed.com
  • DomainStumbler.com
  • GoThumbs.com
  • HireVine.com
  • LessonNetwork.com
  • LinkedCareers.com
  • LogoSpring.com
  • MarketingBits.com
  • MatchTask.com
  • OptimumPPC.com
  • PayPerClickEdge.com
  • PictureNest.com
  • RSStoMobile.com
  • TaskMatch.com

I have to stop buying domains, but I really enjoy acquiring new names. They give me ideas, most of which I’ll never find time to utilize, but all are fun to consider.

I have always thought of myself as an idea person. I am good at coming up with ideas for solutions to problems, or to create new sites.

I don’t think of myself as a domainer, but I definitely own more than my fair share of domain names at this point.

Anyone else suffer this exciting, and potentially expensive “disease”?

Some Other Domains I Own

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

So previously (Project Ideas: What Should I Work On?), I talked about some domains I owned, and my own plans for them. I’ve been thinking long and hard about doing some new things that I am passionate about and that I can hopefully build into a small online media and publishing company. Today, I wanted to list some other domains that I own and mention a few of the ideas I’ve had for them.

AltSciFi.com – This used to be a science fiction blog, in the same vein as a previous one I had. I am a huge fan of science fiction, but I’ve never been able to maintain a blog for the topic, as I’d rather read posts written by others.

BloggingWeight.com – I’ve put on a fair bit of weight over the last four years. In part, I am sure, due to being stuck to a computer desk, my office only thirty-feet from my bed. I blogged on here about my efforts in loosing weight, as well as various other related things. I’ve thought constantly about relaunching this blog, as public scrutiny and accountibility made my weight loss easier.

CellSnoop.com – Maybe a cellular phone blog (like there aren’t enough of those in the world?)

CheatBase.com – Cheat code repository (again, super saturated, but something I am interested in)

CSSFuel.com – CSS/Design Gallery with blog. Many people don’t know this, but at one point in my career, I was responsible for running one of the first design galleries, CSSVault and the site did rather well with my choices.

FeedSEO.com – Maybe something about RSS feeds and the limited search engine optimization issues surrounding them, or a site about SEO, and how to feed it into your site? Not sure, just felt like a good purchase at the time.

HealthNewsFirst.com – Health site, with news from all over North America. With my wife becoming a nurse, these types of topics interest me more and more, especially from a technology standpoint.

PodCastSponsor.com – A service to bring podcasters and businesses together, to try to come up with sponsorship opportunities.

RootBeerHero.com – Yes, I am a Root Beer fanatic. I’ve already put a few posts on here. This is just one of those “fun” things.

SolarHype.com – I love the idea of solar technology, and wish the awareness regarding solar was higher. I don’t feel like there are many good blogs talking about solar technology exclusively. Usually, solar technology is just tacked onto other alternative energy sites.

TabletWatch.com – Tablet Computer blog, maybe Apple Tablet Rumours.

TheBlogJob.com – Blogging related jobs. I’ve attempted to do this before, using WordPress as a platform, but I gave up on it way too soon. I’d love to be the reason why people are able to get a job doing what I’ve loved for the last four years.