Category: Technology

Droid Mini Review

In this article, I sit down with the latest tech gadget that I received. I provide the prone and cons of the Droid Mini with this in-depth review.

 

I recently got hooked up with a Droid Mini phone to check out. As always, I’ve been loyal to the iPhone but I often get technology items sent over to me so that I can review them.

 

 

I’m a huge tech enthusiast and fan of technology so checking this phone out was an honor. After using the phone and going through the motions, I had to say I was extremely impressed with the device.

 

 

The pros of the phone were as follows:

 

– Long battery life

 

– Extremely fast processing speed (really surprised me)

 

– Many advanced features that most Android devices don’t have

 

– Slick design

 

 

 

All in all, I was extremely impressed with the phone and what it could do for me. If you have Verizon and are looking for a new phone to upgrade to, take a deeper look into the Droid Mini.

 

 

You’ll be surprised what you’ll find!

 

Networking Etiquette: Why People Have Networking All Wrong…..

From visiting tons of events, I’ve learned a lot about networking. Unfortunately, too many people ignore proper networking etiquette and they have networking completely wrong. In this article, I share my thoughts on this highly popular topic.

 

Networking has become more and more popular over the last few years. From attending hundreds of meet-ups, mixers, conferences, and networking events, I’ve learned a thing or two about it.

 

 

Unfortunately, networking isn’t having such a positive impact as it should be. I had the amazing time to spend the last few days with entrepreneurs who understood networking. We attended Startup Grind in Northern California and had an amazing time.

 

 

As soon as we got there, we began networking and I found tons of people who didn’t know a thing about networking. In this article, I talk about why people have networking all wrong…

 

 

Quality Over Quantity

 

People feel like it’s a gold rush and that they have to talk to as many people as they possibly can. For me, networking is all about building quality relationships with high quality individuals.

 

 

I’d rather have 5 amazing relationships built in one night rather than 500 business cards from people I know nothing about. I saw one guy going up to everyone passing out business cards talking about how they do mobile development.

 

 

They spent 30 seconds with each person and they literally treated the experience like a gold rush. As you can imagine, they would be the last person I would call for mobile development. Why? Because, they don’t give a shit about me.

 

 

All they do is care about the money and that became very evident from their interaction with me. By the end of the night, their business card was in the trash. On the other hand, I met great people who actually wanted to build a relationship and I’m going out of my way to help these individuals for FREE.

 

 

Follow Up Yourself

 

Don’t feel that you’re entitled to getting a follow up from anyone. I slacked off a bit with my networking follow-ups throughout the week and I was disappointed with myself for it.

 

 

However, I met the founder of Rotten Tomatoes – Patrick Lee. He was a great individual and he took my business card. Within a few hours of meeting him, I had an email in my inbox from him following up and looking forward to chatting with me further.

 

 

Wow, here’s a guy who built one of the most successful film platforms in the world and he was emailing me to follow up. That’s simply amazing because he doesn’t feel more superior than others. He treats everyone the same and understands that following up is a vital part of being successful as a networker.

 

 

Stop Taking, Start Giving

 

I hate people who come to networking events looking to take whatever they can. Many people seem very keen on learning enough about you so that they can see what they can take from you.

 

 

Business relationships especially do not work like this. A successful networker doesn’t ask, they instead spend that time giving. What can you do to help make someone else’s life better?

 

 

Don’t Be The “ME” Monster

 

The best thing a networker can often do is just listen to what other people have to say. I have developed some of the best relationships and connections by shutting my mouth and listening to others.

 

 

We all love to talk about ourselves and share our accomplishments, which there is nothing wrong with. When networking though, remember that others want to share the stage and the spotlight with you.

 

 

I ask people questions and take a genuine interest in what they do and enjoy. I can probably talk hours on end about myself, but I’m not there to bore people. I’m genuinely interested in building relationships with others.

 

 

Be You

 

I don’t care if you’ve sold a business for hundreds of millions of dollars or if you’re building a startup from your garage. I care that I can meet people who are authentic and are showing who they really are.

 

 

I come across too many people who are bullshitters or completely fake at networking events. It’s a huge turn-off. I become disinterested in the conversation and have no interest in knowing them further.

 

 

Be real and be you. It’s not hard at all, but often times people put on a fake personality that they think will impress others. If people don’t love you for you, don’t bother spending time with them.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I shared a few tips on why people have networking all wrong. Do you have any comments or thoughts on this article? Share them below!

 

 

My Christmas Gift From Verizon – The LG G2 Smartphone

The new LG G2 Smartphone was gifted to be my Verizon and it’s an amazing phone. Here’s my review on it!

 

This December has been a great one for me! I’m so excited to announce a partnership with Verizon. Through this partnership, I was rewarded with an early Christmas gift.

 

 

I was lucky enough to receive the amazing new LG G2 Smartphone. Being an iPhone user, you can imagine my reluctancy with any device that’s not made by Apple. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I began using this device.

 

 

Not only is the device extremely sleek, but the screen size is a thing of beauty. I am able to perform more business-related tasks on this phone compared to my iPhone simply because I’m not straining my eyes.

 

 

In addition to that, the battery life on this phone is a savior. I am able to go days without charging the phone with heavy use, which makes this a very practical choice for me. With a very user-friendly interface with easy to swipe features, this is a great phone!

 

 

Add this one to your Christmas list guys.

 

Note: I received this device as a member of the #VZWBuzz team by Verizon Wireless and all opinions shared in this article are of my own.

 

5 Things I Learned About Public Speaking From Delivering A TEDx Talk (Video Inside)

In this article, I share the 5 things I learned about public speaking from delivering a TEDx talk. Through this talk, my perception on speaking to audiences was changed forever and I want to take this time to share the lessons I learned.

 

Note: If you’re looking for the video to my TEDx talk, you can find it embedded at the bottom of this article.

 

 

In October of 2013, I had the amazing opportunity of delivering my first ever TEDx talk. From the months of preparation to the delivery of my speech, it was an unforgettable experience.

 

 

I had done many public speeches before, but speaking at TED was completely different. There was a lot of hype around the event and there was good reason for it. The process from preparing and delivering my talk taught me a lot about public speaking I didn’t know before.

 

 

In this article, I share 5 things I learned about public speaking from delivering a TEDx talk:

 

 

1. Do It For The Message, Not The Money

 

The world of public speaking has been tremendously saturated by individuals who want fat pay checks for a few hours of their time. I too was in this fairytale land and collected a few great checks for speaking to people.

 

 

I spent over 200 hours planning, practicing and perfecting my pitch before delivering my talk in October. Most normal speeches are too focused around you, which ends up causing people to preach to their audience.

 

 

After seeing a handful of individuals get cut from our lineup, I quickly realized that I couldn’t rely on my traditional speaking skills to get me through my TED talk. I had to quickly adapt. After spending 200 hours, I didn’t get a single dollar in return. The whole focus for my talk was my message, which is why I went out of my way to run focus groups to gather data to back up my ideas.

 

 

This lesson was really simple and I plan to implement this in all future speeches I deliver. Focus on your message and what people can take away from it. Only a few people get the opportunity to talk to an audience, give them something to remember.

 

 

2. Don’t Make Everything Serious

 

Throughout schooling and my first few public speaking gigs, I had always been taught to deliver a speech. The format of speeches were supposed to be serious and formal sessions where I could convey a message, idea or information to others.

 

 

The hardest adjustment I made for TED was figuring out a proper way to be conversational during my speech. If you’re constantly serious with your audience, they feel like they’re listening to a superhero and have a really tough time relating with you.

 

 

I quickly figured out that the best speeches are ones where the speaker keeps things informal and conversational. Make your audience feel relevant and help them relate to your story and message. That’s what truly makes a great speech.

 

 

3. Work The Crowd

 

At the end of the day, remember that your audience is investing money, time or sometimes a combination of the two. Teachers teach and preachers preach. However, a speech is all about getting your audience involved.

 

 

Make them laugh and engage with you during your speech. While TED isn’t fond of allowing your audience to answer questions or join you on stage, a great speech gets the crowd hyped up for what is to come. Understand who your audience is and what they’re looking for so you can better deliver on their expectations.

 

 

Before I delivered my speech, I made conversation with the attendees so they could get a better understanding of me. I wanted to introduce myself to everyone and chat with people to build a positive relationship with them long before I got on stage.

 

 

4. It’s Not All About You

 

Many speakers convert their speech into a self-interview session. What I mean by that is people often talk about themselves and their story without paying any attention to the needs of the audience.

 

 

While my TED talk does share a lot of experiences from my life, it’s not about that. My background helps to build up the story and the message to provide more of an impact on the idea I’m trying to share.

 

 

When you watch my video, you’ll clearly notice that my message has nothing to do with me. It’s all about showing people that there is no better time to chase their dreams than now.

 

 

5. Maximize Your Time

 

I went through all the major moments from my business career, shared data from my focus groups and showed people how I overcame the barriers others faced in less than 10 minutes. Before TED, this type of speech may have taken me around 45 minutes to deliver.

 

 

TED isn’t about wasting other peoples time and no speech should be like that. Just because you have 1 hour to deliver a speech doesn’t mean you should use all of it. Maximize your time on stage because you only have the attention of your audience for so long.

 

 

Focus on the main points and hit on them. Don’t beat around the bush and add a ton of pointless fluff to your story if it is irrelevant. I had a clear focus of what I wanted to achieve through my talk and I was able to do that!

 

 

Conclusion

 

If you are a public speaker or have dreams of becoming one someday, I hope you take these tips into consideration. Furthermore, I would love for you to watch my TED talk and share it with the world if it inspires you in any way (TEDx video from my speech can be found at the very bottom of this article).

 

 

Why I Blog For Free And You Should Too

In this article, I share a few reasons why I blog for free and you should too. I have been in the blogging world for almost a year and a half, but I have experienced tremendous success because of my blog.

 

For almost a year and a half now, I have been blogging through my website for FREE. When I say I blog for free, I mean that I don’t run ads or try making money by promoting products of others in an affiliate manner.

 

 

When blogging was popularized in the mid 2000’s, everyone began writing content for the sake of making as much money as they possibly could. By not making any direct revenue from my blog, it has actually been very beneficial for me.

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share why I blog for free and you should too:

 

 

Your Learning is Stronger When You Teach It

 

I’ve always heard that if you really know something, you can easily teach someone else. If the other person doesn’t understand what you’re saying, then you might not know as much as you think.

 

 

From blogging, I was able to sharpen up my own skills by sharing the various things I learned. By doing this, I was able to get a better understanding of what my own strengths and weaknesses were so that I could improve upon them.

 

 

Help Others For Free 

 

You don’t always need to make money to help others. Instead of giving out all this information I put in my blog to only those who are willing to pay me, I dish it all out for absolutely FREE.

 

 

I have learned as an entrepreneur early on that if you give with true genuine intentions, you will be rewarded in return. I don’t write on my blog because I expect my audience to give me something, I do it because I love to help others.

 

 

Content Spreads Fast 

 

Through my blog, I have been able to grow my personal brand faster than I could have ever imagined. I quickly learned that great content spreads really fast. I’ve had certain posts that have had over 25,000 visitors just because people truly enjoyed what I had to say.

 

 

If you write good content, people will share it. From those shares, tons of new people will see what you have to say. After that, you’ll be able to grow your audience from the chain reaction of events.

 

 

Solidify Yourself As An Expert

 

When a 20 year old offers consulting for anything, people are a bit skeptical. My blog was a great way to showcase the knowledge I did have, which in return got me a lot of perks in my other businesses.

 

 

By creating a platform where I could share my knowledge, lessons, experiences and more, people had the opportunity to really get to know me. From my blog, I’ve been able to earn countless interviews, consulting gigs, speaking opportunities, and more.

 

 

It’s Free To Speak Your Mind

 

With so many platforms available to blog for free, you can truly get your own site up for very little cost. Once your blog is up, you don’t have to pay any money to speak your mind.

 

 

I love blogging because it gives me the opportunity to share many deep thoughts with the world. From there, my thoughts and experiences create conversations which are really fun to engage in.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Overall, entering the world of blogging without thinking of monetization has been extremely fun for me! I have enjoyed every minute of it and the value I have gained from it has been tremendous. In this article, I shared why I blog for free and you should too!

 

 

photo credit: Stuck in Customs via photopin cc

 

5 Tips On How To Find A Technical Co-Founder

In this article, I will share 5 tips on how to find a technical co-founder. Finding a technical co-founder isn’t easy, but is often extremely crucial to your startup success.

 

With technology and the internet becoming the easiest place for entrepreneurs to start businesses, more tech startups are being launched than ever before. With tech startups, you need someone who can manage the technical side of your business.

 

 

One of the biggest struggles many business-minded entrepreneurs have is finding the perfect technical co-founder to help them execute their vision. Starting out, I dealt with the same issues and learned some many valuable lessons along the way.

 

 

In this article, I will share 5 tips on how to find a technical co-founder:

 

 

1. Pitch Different 

 

Technical people are constantly getting pitches from hundreds of people with business ideas just like you to join their startup. There’s a reason why they haven’t joined their startup and that’s probably because their tired of hearing the same pitch.

 

 

When pitching to technical co-founders, you have to really convince them on numerous factors:

 

– Your idea is not only better, but has a higher chance of succeeding.

 

– You’re the right guy to execute the idea.

 

– You have something that none of the other people pitching them have.

 

– You value their technical knowledge and expertise enough to give them the equity they want.

 

 

Realistically, technical founders are in high demand. However, business ideas are in high supply. That means that for every 50 or 60 ideas that a technical founder hears about, he/she buys into 1 of them.

 

 

2. Don’t Worry About Skill, Worry About Ambition 

 

Often times, the best techies are already working for other startups or are getting paid ridiculous amounts of money. This can make it extremely difficult for you to find a very good techie to join your business.

 

 

Depending on the technology you’re building, sometimes it’s a smarter idea to hire the techie who may not have all the answers, but has ambition. If you find a techie that’s willing to learn and do whatever it takes to build your product, you may be on to something.

 

 

3. You Never Know Where You’ll Find Your Techie

 

Look everywhere! It’s not easy finding the right technical piece for your startup, but hard work pays off in the end. Here are a list of places you can try searching for your technical co-founder:

 

– Do some research on techies who have built cool things, connect with them (email them talking about something they don’t expect you to know about them), and try building a relationship.

 

– Find techies who are passionate in an industry or market you’re working in.

 

– Go to tech events such as Hackathons, StartupWeekend, and any conferences where techies may be present.

 

– Post advertisements in college newspapers/bulletin boards.

 

– Reach out to Computer Science professors to see if they can promote your project to students for you.

 

 

4. Prove Something

 

When you can’t build your product, there are other things that you can do in the meantime to figure out some data for your startup. You don’t need a product to go out and survey customers to get their feedback on what you’re building.

 

 

You can even pay someone a couple hundred bucks to throw up a landing page with information about your idea and a “Buy Now” or “Sign Up” button that doesn’t work. Test how many clicks those buttons generate and figure out your conversion rate.

 

 

These are things all great entrepreneurs do. For the techie who hears hundreds of pitches, think about how many of them have actual statistics to back up their assumptions?

 

 

5. Your Friends Know Friends Who Know Friends

 

The biggest part of being an entrepreneur is that you have to leverage everything you have. Sometimes, the most unlikely people end up being the biggest part of your business.

 

 

If you aren’t having any luck with some of the other techniques mentioned in this article, you might want to try networking. Talk to anyone and everyone you meet about your project and what you need, you never know who they can connect you to.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Finding a technical co-founder is never easy, but great things are worth waiting for. Patience is key when searching for one of the biggest parts of your startup!

 

 

photo credit: plewicki via photopin cc

10 Common Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

In this article, I discuss 10 common characteristics of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs everywhere share specific qualities that translate to their successes. Find out how many of these qualities you share!

 

After I became an entrepreneur, I started spotting them everywhere. Most of these people didn’t even know that they were entrepreneurs.

 

 

Entrepreneurs often share many common characteristics that really separate them from non-entrepreneurs. In this article, I’m going to share 10 common characteristics of entrepreneurs:

 

 

1. You Can’t Keep Them In A Box

 

Entrepreneurs are extremely creative. Give them a job in a cubicle or something that’s repetitive and they will rebel. The reason I became an entrepreneur was because I worked in a cubicle as a project manager and the whole experience became very mundane.

 

 

I knew I couldn’t do this for the rest of my life and I simply quit. After trying a little bit of everything, I somehow stumbled upon entrepreneurship and have fallen in love since.

 

 

2. They’re Believers

 

People are who confident, positive thinkers, and always believe are usually great entrepreneurs.

 

 

They believe heavily in the projects and things they do, which usually leads to success in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs must believe and do everything possible to achieve in order to succeed.

 

 

3. They’re Risk Takers

 

Entrepreneurs are daring individuals that are willing to calculated risks when necessary. As a high school senior, quitting my job without any plan in mind was a pretty big risk.

 

 

However, it was one of the best risks I took because it opened up my eyes to a whole new career. Typically individuals who are willing to take a leap of faith often stumble upon entrepreneurship.

 

 

4. A Burning Desire To Be More

 

I work with a lot of startups as a consultant, advisor, and an investor. The biggest thing I look for in a founding team is the ambition that they have.

 

 

Successful entrepreneurs have a burning desire to succeed and achieve their purpose. If you strive to be the greatest in something, you’re definitely thinking like an entrepreneur.

 

 

5. They Don’t Take NO For An Answer

 

As an entrepreneur, the difference between success and failure is how you react to the answer NO. Most people take the answer NO and live with it, while others refuse to accept it.

 

 

Successful entrepreneurs never live with the answer NO. They will do whatever it takes to get what they need.

 

 

6. They’re Not Scared To Fail

 

For some reason many people are extremely scared of failure. Entrepreneurs on the other hand understand that everyone fails and it’s part of the process.

 

 

As long as the failure leads to growth in some way, you’re on the right path. I personally believe failure doesn’t define you or your business. It’s rather an event (something that happens on a certain day). If you don’t get back up and try again, then failure will define you.

 

 

7. Work Hard, Sleep Less

 

Entrepreneurs are hard-working individuals. Many of them can be found working long across the night because they’re truly passionate about what they’re doing.

 

 

People who are willing to put in a 110% into everything they do make the best entrepreneurs!

 

 

8. Love What You Do 

 

The best entrepreneurs are the ones who are driven by passion. If you’re passionate about the work you do, your chances of success dramatically increase.

 

 

Entrepreneurs love what they do and are extremely passionate about seeing their ideas succeed on a grand scale.

 

 

9. They Don’t Need To Be Babied 

 

The best thing about entrepreneurs is that they are self-starters. They don’t need a motherly figure in their life who will constantly tell them what they need to do.

 

 

They are free-spirits who embrace the freedom to do whatever they want. Through their freedom and creative spirit, they are able to create amazing things.

 

 

10. They’re Hungry

 

Entrepreneurs are hungry for a better life. Whether they’re trying to change the world, achieve financial freedom, or simply do what they love, entrepreneurs have a deeper motivation to succeed.

 

 

If you’re determined to succeed and achieve your goals, you eventually will! The best entrepreneurs are the ones who want to accomplish something more than anything else.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I share 10 common characteristics of entrepreneurs. Do you have some characteristics that make you more of an entrepreneur? Share them below!

 

 

 

8 Things You Should Know Before Starting A Blog

Starting a blog has been the most popular thing on the internet recently. In this article, I share 8 things you should know before starting a blog that will save you headaches later.

 

With more bloggers than ever producing content on the internet, blogging has become extremely popular. While blogging may seem like an attractive thing to do, there are a lot of things you should know about it before getting started.

 

 

Many bloggers think that success and traffic will come easy, but they’re in for something else. While blogging is easy to set up, it’s extremely difficult to consistently write great content while bringing relevant traffic to your site.

 

 

In this blog article, I will share with you 8 things you should know before starting a blog.

 

 

1. Focus Your Content

 

Before writing your content, you need to focus on one specific topic. Typically, your topic choice should reflect your skills, expertise, and passions.

 

 

Once you have focused in on the type of content you want to write, make sure all your articles somehow revolve around the general topic you choose. The quickest way to lose traffic and readership is to write about things that your audience doesn’t care about.

 

 

2. Consistency Is Key

 

Bloggers rarely know the huge responsibility they’re getting themselves into. By blogging, you vow to write great content on a consistent basis. If you promise your readers that you will post every 3 days, you HAVE to post every 3 days.

 

 

Many blogs disintegrate quickly because the blogger loses interest or cannot keep up with the posting schedule he/she started with. It seems like lots of fun when you get started, but you HAVE to be consistent.

 

 

3. Traffic Has To Come From Somewhere

 

Many bloggers start a blog and get extremely frustrated when they cannot bring in much traffic. On paper, bringing in traffic to a blog seems easy since most people don’t know what struggles bloggers go through.

 

 

Just opening up a blog alone will not get you much (if any) traffic. You need to spend 25% of your time writing great content and the other 75% of your time finding ways to bring free or paid traffic to your website.

 

 

4. Don’t Lie In Your Titles

 

Many people think a great way to promote their articles and get a lot of readers is to write amazing titles. Typically, these amazing titles end up being fake or cannot deliver on the promise.

 

 

When you write a title and someone sees it, they are expecting you to deliver on the title that you have promised them. Always make sure your title backs up the content in your article!

 

 

5. 6 Figure Incomes, 4 Hour Work Days, and Vacations Don’t Come Easy

 

The blogging world has been corrupted by many individuals who have sold people on false hopes and dreams. While it’s definitely possible to live a great life by making passive income from running a blog, the chances of it happening are very low.

 

 

Even more than that, most of the successful bloggers who make 6 figure incomes and take vacations all around the world entered the blogging sphere in the early 2000’s. Don’t start a blog thinking this will happen to you in a few months because it takes years of hard work and great content to be on this path.

 

 

6. Quality Outweighs Quantity

 

Marketing a blog can be very challenging. You can spend $100 on a PPC campaign, bring 500 visitors, and get zero positive value out of it.

 

 

Bringing in a shit ton of traffic to your blog won’t make your website popular. Blogs need to have a community of loyal readers who return to the website on a regular basis. Instead of looking for ways to bring large amounts of visitors, find ways to bring a few visitors who you know will convert to long-term readers.

 

 

7. You’re On Your Own 

 

Unless you have a budget to outsource design, development, or online marketing work to third party companies, you’re truly on your own with your blog.

 

 

You’re in charge of uploading pictures, editing/cleaning up the website, adding new information/content, and running your own marketing campaigns. Blogging isn’t for slackers and you have to be committed to your craft.

 

 

8. Do It For Anything But The Money

 

If you’re starting a blog, do it because you love writing about a specific topic. Don’t start a blog because you see someone living an amazing life as a professional blogger.

 

 

If you do it for the money, your content stinks and your judgment is clouded by your desire to make some cash. It’s great to make money off any website, but it shouldn’t be the main reason why you’re starting.

 

 

Conclusion 

 

Blogging is a very exciting, but challenging thing for people to take on. It’s extremely fun and rewarding, but be sure to know these 8 things before starting a blog.

 

 

photo credit: Telstar Logistics via photopin cc

How To Build A Tech Startup Without Writing Any Code

One of the most common questions I get asked by other aspiring entrepreneur is, “How do I build my tech idea if I don’t know how to code?” As long as you have the ability to hustle, I will share with you how you can successfully build a tech company without writing any code.

 

One of the most common questions I get asked by other aspiring entrepreneurs is, “How do I build my tech idea if I don’t know how to code?”

 

 

When I tell people I have a tech company, they automatically assume I know how to hustle,  design, and code. However, I really only know how to hustle.

 

 

With all my tech startups, I’ve never really written one line of code or done any of the major design work. I’ve been the business side and I’ve used my skills to get ideas put together.

 

 

The crazy thing is, my first company was a web design & web development firm that I ran for 2 years, but I still didn’t do any of the dirty work.

 

 

In this blog article, I’m going to share tips and strategies on how to build a tech startup without writing any code:

 

 

Hustle Hard

 

If you can’t be the technical side of the business, you have to really hustle hard. I know I use the word hustle a lot, but that’s just because there’s no better way to describe this action.

 

 

You have to leverage resources like you have never imagined. If you don’t have money, but you still want to execute your idea you need to get others to believe in your vision. You have to recruit independent developers to join your team for the long haul.

 

 

Go to hackathons, meetups, startup events, computer science classes, and just about anywhere else coders may be at. Once you get the interest of developers, you have to capture their attention.

 

 

Show them what experience you have with startups, where you see your vision in a few years, and how much you expect from them. These are key things any coder, designer, or development team will ever ask for.

 

 

Hire Well

 

If you have some capital or are somehow able to raise money on just a concept, you can always look to development companies. There are many companies out there that have experience working with startups and can really help you put together a killer project.

 

 

Look for small development firms that have experience working with startups. If they know a little bit about startups, they’ll probably understand your financial situation and be willing to give you the best price possible.

 

 

One thing to keep in mind: Never sacrifice quality for affordability when developing your idea. 

 

 

Outsource Strategically

 

Outsourcing is something I have done since I started my first company. I acquired customers here and I had all the design/development work done in countries like India, Philippines, Brazil, and Sweden.

 

 

I learned many lessons from outsourcing hundreds of projects, but the biggest one was that you can’t trust someone right away.

 

 

If you plan to outsource, give them 10% of your project or another small project to test their skills. If they are able to execute a smaller project to your satisfaction, you can begin contracting them for your bigger idea.

 

 

Outsourcing can be very stressful because people begin to trust companies in other countries too quickly. Look through their portfolio, use platforms like Odesk or Elance that protect your interest, and start small.

 

 

The best way to successfully outsource projects and build solid startups is to communicate effectively. When conveying information, specifications, wireframes, and just about anything else pertaining to your project, always remember to explain things as you would to a 5 year old.

 

 

Conclusion

 

If you are really committed to see your idea in fruition, there are many ways to get a tech company started without learning to code. I personally haven’t been a big fan of coding and have leveraged all these strategies to successfully launch numerous tech startups.

 

 

photo credit: plewicki via photopin cc

One Simple Tip To Increase Click-Throughs On Your Call To Action Buttons

Call to action is a word used in web design that hopes to achieve a certain response from the user on the web page. There are many ways to create call to actions, but one of the most popular ones are buttons. This blog article will show you one easy trick your website can utilize to immediately increase click-throughs on your call to action buttons.

 

Call to actions are used in websites hoping to garner a certain response from the user. There are many ways to create call to actions, but one of the most popular ones are buttons.

 

 

Call to action buttons can include a variety of different things. Buttons can say things like “Buy Now”, “Sign Up”, “Get Started”, or anything else.

 

 

The goal of these buttons is for a user to take action immediately by clicking the button. Often times, call to action buttons can lead users to purchase something, sign up for something, or even fill out a form (lead-generation).

 

 

Regardless of what the purpose may be, there is one easy trick your website can utilize to immediately increase click-throughs on your call to action buttons.

 

 

The Wrong

 

Color plays an extremely crucial factor in click-through rates for your call to action buttons. Often times, website designers do not specialize in marketing. Thus, your website looks great, but doesn’t do an effective job in converting users into sign-ups or customers.

 

 

Most people would agree that the website above looks absolutely great. It has a nice design, it’s easy to understand, and it’s clean.

 

 

However, this website has a HORRIBLE call to action button. The goal of their call to action button is to get users to take a tour of their product and hopefully sign up with them after.

 

 

This website was designed from a web designers perspective instead of a marketers perspective. The “Take the Tour” button is engulfed within the maroon background and doesn’t stand out very much.

 

 

Now we’re going to look at the simple trick this website or any other website can use to drastically increase click-throughs on their call to action buttons.

 

 

The Right

 

Color choice is everything when designing call to action buttons for the user. Your call to action button has to stand out (in a non pretty way).

 

 

Typically, your websites goal is to sell products, generate leads, or create sign ups. Sometimes the prettiest websites have the worst conversions rates because of this reason.

 

 

We’ll use my website as an example to show you how I increased click-throughs with my call to action bar.

 

 

On my website, my call to action bar can be found at the very top of the website. It’s got a bright orange background. Ugly? Yes.

 

 

Works? Hell Yes. My click-throughs increased by over 100% after I changed the background color from beige to orange.

 

 

As ugly as the orange looks with my blue website, it creates a dramatic contrast. Everything is blue, but suddenly there is orange at the top of my website. The users eyes automatically wander there.

 

 

Call to action buttons/bars need impressions to successfully generate leads, sales, or sign-ups. Below are a few more examples of great call to action buttons/bars that work well.

 

 

 

This website wants to evoke action from users by getting them to download their product for free. Their call to action is the “Free Download” button and that button stands out with the bright green color used.

 

 

 

MailChimp hopes to get users to sign up for free on their website and does a great job of creating a call to action button that stands out. They go with a red button that matches no part of the website.

 

 

 

This website utilizes a bright yellow call to action button. They want users to try their product for FREE and their call to action does a great job of directing the users eyes to the bar below the slider.

 

 

The Tip

 

If you haven’t been able to figure it out by now, the simplest way to increase click-throughs on your website is by changing the color or style of your call to action button.

 

 

Look at your website and create a list of colors that have not been used anywhere on your website. Then, play around with the list of unused colors to see which color stands out the most.

 

 

Typically, the ugliest combinations make the best call to action buttons. If your button is so ugly that users can’t help but look at it, you’re on the right path.

 

 

Conclusion

 

This is one simple tip to increase click-throughs on your call to action buttons. Share any other tips and suggestions you have to increase conversions on call to action buttons.

 

 

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