Entries with the tag “business”

These entries have all been tagged with “business”.

Self Reflection as a Manager

Dec 12, 2023 business management

Sometimes when I get called in to help a dev manager straighten up their team, I face a lot of resistance. But there’s hope. I have a solution!

How Do I Find a Programmer?

Jul 17, 2023 business

So you have a great idea. You have some budget. It’s now time to make your vision into a reality. The problem is - you don’t know any programmers. You don’t even know where you’d find one. What can you do?

The answer is so simple… you’re going to kick yourself. Let me explain:

How to Fix Chronically Out of Date Documentation

It seems that every project we run into has missing or out of date documentation. Wikis become stale. Don’t even start me on that out of date README.md file.

It’s almost not worth writing documentation because it gets out of date so fast.

Right?

Hourly Billing Gives You the Worst Results

Jun 12, 2023 business

I don’t do hourly billing (if I can help it) - but most businesses and partners still ask about my hourly rate. Hourly billing is bad. There are so many reasons. But in this article I will just focus on one: you get the worst results with hourly billing. Let’s find out why.

An Argument for Keeping Your Project Simple

May 22, 2023 business programming

Awesome. You used interfaces so you can abstract out the dependencies and swap services. Your database queries are all built with an ORM that is database agnostic. You don’t rely on anything special with your servers/cloud. You did it! You now have a project that retains the business logic while allowing all the technical aspects to be loosely coupled! But should you have done it?!

Statement of Work Example

Mar 1, 2023 business

Whether you’re on the side that just landed the big deal - or you’re the business eager to get your project launched - you need to know what a statement of work is. Let’s talk about contracts and statements of work for developers.

Requirements Gathering Questions to Ask

Mar 1, 2023 business

Gathering requirements for a new project can get unwieldy and unorganized pretty easily. It’s easy to get lost or go down a deep rabbit hole. You may be getting excited about the new project’s technical challenges or be blindly following the client’s explanation and description. How do you know you’ve covered everything, though? What if you’re missing vital points?

Requirements Documentation Examples Guidelines and Rationale

Mar 1, 2023 business

Creating a requirements document for a project can seem daunting. Where do I start? What sections are required? How do I capture everything and keep scope limited?

Why Care About Privacy with Web Analytics?

Dec 24, 2022 business security

If Google gives free access to their web traffic tool called Google Analytics, why would you need anything else? Why would you care? Let’s briefly talk about why privacy matters and what you can do instead.

Your team isn't the only special one

Aug 8, 2022 business

I was watching Bar Rescue (please don’t tell anyone) and a bartender said exactly the same thing about his job as a programmer I was just talking to… turns out they had a surprising thing in common.

Why is Deleting Code OK but Fixing is Not?

Mar 2, 2022 business programming

One of the most painful things for programmers - whether you’re in a startup or an established business - is leaving code alone that you know could be better. That should be better. There are reasons for this - but what about when it comes to deleting code?

What Non-IT Startup Founders Need to Know

Sep 22, 2021 business

If you’re going to try to launch a startup that has a website or app as its main product, and you don’t have a technical co-founder, you should read this blog entry. It’ll save you a lot of time, headaches, and a ton of money.

Why Does UI/UX Even Matter?

Sep 3, 2021 business ux

As you walk down the alleyway, you feel the hairs on your neck stand up. You’re a bit scared, but you can’t exactly put your finger on why. Was that some footsteps? Did you see a shadow shift? Why is it that you know you’re in danger?

Mass Slack Status Update App Idea

Jul 31, 2021 business

When I had active membership to more than 4 Slack workspaces, I thought: wouldn’t it be nice to have a way to update all of these statuses in one fell swoop?

What Have I Been Working on Lately?

Jul 14, 2021 business

I’ve been working on a lot of things lately - I thought it might be nice to do a quick run down of what those are.

Engineering Managers Must Embrace Conflict

Jul 8, 2021 business management

Conflict seems like a dirty word. After all, we don’t want to have fights at work, right? For managers, reducing conflict seems to be the best choice. But is it?

Programmers Aren't Being Lazy: They're Reducing Cognitive Load

Jun 14, 2021 business programming

There’s a common joke among programmers: I’m so lazy that I made this script to automate these tasks. Efficiency and process are prized, but also sometimes mocked and ridiculed. So, are programmers actually lazy - or is there something deeper here - have they been mislabeling something else?

What is a CTO? What do they do?

May 31, 2021 business management

The title CTO is short for Chief Technology Officer. But what actual roles and responsibilities do they have? Every business is different, so there’s no hard and fast set of rules. However, there are some core responsibilities and philosophies that I believe every person with that title should have.

Having Lunch With Employees Isn't Enough

May 8, 2021 business management

This advice is based primarily on an in-person team. I’m sure we could make this work with a remote team, too, somehow.

What I Learned From Giving a Few Interactive Code Review Interviews

Mar 15, 2021 business

Never one to be afraid of pointing out my flaws, I think it’s time to share what I learned from doing a few interactive code review interviews. It may still be a great idea, but it’s much more difficult than I thought.

3 Reasons to Stop Calling Your Dev Team a Family

Mar 1, 2021 business management

If you find yourself about to say “we’re a family” to a new recruit joining your dev team, this entry is for you. Managers, you should stop considering or calling your team a family. Here’s three simple reasons why.

Understanding Company Productivity, High Performers and Amoebas

Feb 14, 2021 business

I’ve seen a lot of high-performers enter slow-moving companies, make great progress, but then get upset. They can’t seem to move the company along anymore. What’s going on? Is it ok to move on? I’ve got a theory about all of this.

Who Do I Tell "I don't know" To?

Jan 18, 2021 business

When interviewing a junior programmer a couple weeks ago, I was asked a very insightful question: “Who can I tell ‘I don’t know’ to?” At first, I wasn’t sure what they were exactly aiming at with the question. But, as I formulated an answer, I realized this was a great question. Let me share a longer version of the answer with you.

Coming Up With Your First Portfolio Project (with coding walkthrough)

Dec 23, 2020 business css html javascript

When talking to junior developers, I hear the same question over and over: “how can I demonstrate what I know, or show experience, if I haven’t had any gigs yet?” Old-timers tell you to build a portfolio, but how do you do that? Where do you get ideas? How do you choose a project that’s not overwhelming? Let me explain my rationale as well as demonstrate how I might make my first portfolio project.

A Manager Must Always Be Perfect

Dec 11, 2020 business management

Oh, what a scary thought: a manager must always be perfect. But, stick with me here.

Sometimes Just Ask Why

Nov 16, 2020 business management

This is part of a series of articles from the retired The Dev Manager website.

What happened to “why?” What happened to make people so afraid of asking this question? Perhaps it’s when all of the 3-year-olds start asking “why” about everything. Why does mommy have to go to work? Why do we need money? Why is the sky blue?

The RedirectURL Experiment is Done

This is a tech and business blog, so I normally don’t get too deep or emotional. But, I’ve got to talk a bit about my dream and what I’ve learned.

Make Face-to-Face Work

Oct 26, 2020 business management

This is part of a series of articles from the retired The Dev Manager website.

It’s amazing what the internet can bring us, both positive and negative. Sadly, some of the worst people hang out on the internet. They bully, they rage, they say and do horrible things.

The End of QuickPic

QuickPic.dev was a site for quick edits, crops and touch-ups in your browser. After a year of stagnation, I think its time to move on - and share what I’ve learned.

Developer Time vs Manager Time

Oct 5, 2020 business management

A full calendar, hours on the phone, work into the night and a never-ending deluge of emails: the typical Dev Manager’s life. Time is precious and scarce. It’s also very fluid. You’re jumping from thing to thing; meetings get pushed and calls are rushed. It’s not ideal, but it seems to be the only way you can get to all of the things that need your attention.

3 Types of Developers and How to Manage Them

Sep 21, 2020 business management

This is part of a series of articles from the retired The Dev Manager website. It was called The Dev Manager Crash Course. Looking for entry two? Click here

A colleague once said to me that I’m very lucky I haven’t had to fire as many people as he had. I definitely agree with the fact that my management tenure has not involved many terminations, but I don’t consider myself lucky. I put in work, just like you’re doing, to understand how to manage different types of developers.

3 Tough Conversations from Stakeholders and Upper Management

Sep 15, 2020 business management

This is part of a series of articles from the retired The Dev Manager website. It was called The Dev Manager Crash Course. Looking for entry two? Click here

When you manage a team, the conversations you have change a lot. No longer are you justifying your own estimates or explaining your coding decisions. Now, you’re responsible for many different estimates, many different decisions, and many different personalities.

3 Important Management Books to Read This Quarter

Sep 10, 2020 business management

This is the beginning of a series of articles from the retired The Dev Manager website. It was called The Dev Manager Crash Course.

Welcome to the New Dev Manager Crash Course! Whether this is your first time managing a group of developers, or you’ve run the gamut a few times, I’m happy you’re here. My goal is to give you some useful tips and direction from my experience managing multiple development teams. I learned a lot of this the hard way, but hopefully you won’t have to!

The Pitfalls of Buying Pre-Made Software

May 11, 2020 business

When you’re working on a project with a tight timeline, it can seem really attractive to buy pre-made software to save time. But, there are a number of problems and pitfalls to be aware of before you do this.

Web Developer vs Web Programmer

Apr 13, 2020 business

Terms like web developer, web programmer, webapp developer, and software engineer get thrown around a lot. But, what’s the difference?

Share Your Results with Your Mentor

Dec 4, 2019 business

A question I’m asked often is “how do I pay back my mentor?” (If you’ve read other entries, you know I’m a big fan of mentoring.) Well, mentors have various reasons for doing their work, so not one solution fits all. But, I can tell you one thing that they’ll appreciate no matter what.

What License to Use for Private Software

When it comes to Open Source Software, you have a number of choices to make for licensing your software. When you provide a license for your software, you, as the copyright holder, are giving various types of permissions and warranties for the use of this software. You might even define the way it can be used and if modifications have to be submitted back to you. But, what do you “license” software that is closed, paid or private software that you don’t want anyone else to use?

The End of Possessor

Before I begin a security audit, I try to make sure that the client owns their website. Normally, this is pretty easy and obvious. However, sometimes it takes a little bit more work. That’s why I had thought of launching the tool called Possessor.

I Didn't Launch My Start Up - and That's OK.

Jul 15, 2019 business

I deal with a lot of start-up founders. One thing that I’ve noticed from a lot of them is that they feel like no one understands the struggles they’re going through. A lot have talked about being lonely or trying to find people to count on. Because of this, I had an idea - I wanted to help them with an online tool. I came up with the idea for StartUp Tribe.

2019 Goals: What am I Working On?

Jun 10, 2019 business

2019 was a great year, learned a lot. Unfortunately, The Dev Manager and StartUp Tribe are no longer active.

It’s about halfway through 2019 and I think it’s time to reflect a little bit on my professional goals.

Managers Should Welcome Side Projects

May 13, 2019 business management

I worked with a client one time who didn’t like when their employees had side projects. “If they have free time, they should be spending it on our project! That’s why they are salary!”

The Dev Manager One on One Coaching

May 6, 2019 business management

Not all things go as planned, and that’s ok. Entrepreneurship is hard! I’ve decided to roll my Dev Management coaching back into AaronSaray.com.

I’m proud to announce that I’ve launched One on One Coaching at The Dev Manager!

Bass Test App/Website

Apr 15, 2019 business ideas javascript

I was calibrating my speakers the other day, so I searched and found a Bass Test YouTube video. Later on, I was thinking about the presentation I saw where some guys made a DJ system with Tone.js and I wondered if it made sense to make a bass test website and/or app.

Have Informed Opinions

Apr 8, 2019 business programming

I don’t want this to turn into a rant, but…

Stop Considering the Same Password a New Password Attempt

Apr 1, 2019 business programming

One of the most rewarding things I’ve done as a programmer was watch a real life in person focus group use my application. At first, I didn’t enjoy it. But like most lessons, looking back, it was extremely valuable.

Why Some Bosses May Hate Remote Work

Mar 11, 2019 business management

First, to start out, I need to make one thing abundantly clear: This piece is just a bunch of assumptions, generalizations and feelings. I’ve gathered these together after all of my own experiences. That’s why I add the most important auxiliary verb may.

Track Things Done with Alfred (update)

Feb 11, 2019 business

In an earlier entry I detailed how I track things I do each day using an Alfred workflow. Basically, I wanted to track what I did from the Alfred launcher screen, one thing at a time. The end result was a txt file dated today.

How to Get More Feedback from Your Boss

Jan 28, 2019 business

Feedback from your boss or superior is incredibly important. How do you know if you’re getting all of the feedback they have for you, thought? Sometimes people are distracted - sometimes they don’t know if they’re pummeling you with too much information.

Put Your Salary Range in Your Job Posting, Please!

Jan 14, 2019 business management

Let’s start out with the basic request or statement:

What I Learned from My Most Recent Corporate Gig

Dec 24, 2018 business

I kind of hate that phrase, that buzzword-worthy label “corporate gig,” but I don’t know what else to call it. Office job? Large company employment? Anyway, I thought I’d take a bit to reflect on my last one and share a few things I learned.

Make Meetings 5 Minutes Shorter

Dec 17, 2018 business

Having many meetings, one after another, is not only tiring, it’s a recipe for memory disaster. You don’t have enough time between meetings to finish notes, gather your thoughts or even use the bathroom. Because of this, I’ve started doing something different:

The Many Motivations of Money

Nov 26, 2018 business

Motivation is a very hard thing to master. When used properly, you can get great things and enormous productivity. When misunderstood, a whole host of things appear to go wrong. Getting into all of the motivations of an employee or developer would take a book, one that I’m not ready to write yet! But, I wanted to focus on just one, money. And, in that motivation, only three types of the many ways and mixes that people can be motivated by money.

2 Ways to Use Alfred to Set Status on Slack

Nov 19, 2018 business

I’m a huge fan of Alfred - but I had to upgrade to get the pro version to get workflows. Because I use Slack a lot, I’ve been trying to set up status automation and workflows. When using my phone, I have an automated system that sets my status. You can find that here. But, what about using Alfred for some automation?

Stop Interactive Code Challenges During Interviews, Do This Instead

Oct 29, 2018 business management

Interactive coding challenges during an interview are common place these days. The idea is that you’ll get an idea of the type and quality of work a candidate will produce by watching them code during an interview.

How Developers Should Delegate

Oct 22, 2018 business management

As a manager, I spend a lot of time delegating. I delegate small tasks so that I can spend more time adding value to the process and project. The value I bring is my ability to see the larger picture, use my experience as a guide, things like that. If I’m doing too many little things, I can’t do what I’m good at.

Two Questions That Demonstrate if an Experimental Process Should Remain

Oct 8, 2018 business management

I experiment a lot with thoughts and process. I used to be scared of implementing something new because I felt like I was now married to that. Or, if it becomes habit, maybe I won’t want to stop it, even if it’s annoying (how irrational does that sound? But if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll see that happen a lot. If you ever hear “that’s just how we do it” then you’re experiencing it.)

Lessons Learned from Conducting more than 200 Technical Interviews

Sep 12, 2018 business management

Too often we find a team leader or a manager and just expect they’ll be able to hire new employees effectively. After all, they’re successful, they should be able to clone themselves, right?

Why Complaining About Bad Ex-Employees Never is Good

Aug 30, 2018 business management

Sometimes an employee becomes an ex-employee because they did a poor job. Their quality or output was just not up to par. Otherwise, they backstab, do fiendish things, basically try to screw you. Either way, you can get pretty strong feelings about this ex-employee. Pretty bad feelings.

Not Everything is Imposter Syndrome

Aug 25, 2018 business

If you’re not aware of what imposter syndrome is, let me share a quick synopsis. Then I’ll follow up with why I think the term is being abused.

Give Corrective Feedback Privately, Then Summarize Publicly

Aug 12, 2018 business management

“If you have the question, chances are someone else in the group has it, too. Be brave: get the answer to your question with a by-product of serving others.”

The Hardest Part of Mentoring is Knowing What and When to Share

I’ve written about mentoring a bunch before , so you know I’m a fan of it. But, there’s another aspect that has been bothering me lately. The questions are simple:

Teaching is a Privilege, Treat it as Such

Jun 25, 2018 business

I’ve been to conferences where I’ve shelled out my hard-earned money to attend, been to free local meetups, and all kinds of presentations in between. One thing that I’ve heard more than once, though, is a variation of this:

What I've Learned in 6 Months

May 19, 2018 business

Every mistake comes with a lesson or two…

Deciding What's Important in Life

Nov 17, 2017 business

I’ve made a horrible mistake…

Rockstar Coders are Ruining Your Business

It’s such a cliche by now - “We need a rockstar programmer” or “only code ninjas should apply” - but this choice in your job want-ad is ruining your business. Let me tell you why.

The Customer is Always Right, But Not With Everything

Nov 16, 2017 business management

You’ve heard the phrase “The customer is always right” before. I think you’ll find an equal amount of articles online saying that that sentiment is still and always true vs the fact that the customer doesn’t know what’s best for them and they’re not right. (You’ll even hear stories about how some “great” companies like Apple ignore the customer desire and that’s how they became successful.) But they’re not really digging further into the customer relationship.

Fake It Till You Make It

Nov 15, 2017 business

You’ve heard the saying before: “Fake it till you make it.” I agree with this philosophy - especially when it comes to getting a great programming job. But, I think the way you ‘fake’ it is important. It’s important to fake it ethically. Let’s discuss.

Pitch to Programmers Like Investors

Nov 15, 2017 business

What’s the difference between pitching for new programmers to join the team vs investors to fund it? Nothing. If you’ve not been pitching both of them with equal detail and vigor, you’re missing out.

33 Things I Wish Somebody Would Have Told Me

I’ve migrated the website 33thingsbook.com to this blog post.

A programmer’s guide to quality code, great work relationships and respect.

How Writing Good-Quality Code Reduces Expenses

Oct 30, 2017 business management

There’s a reason why we want to build high-quality code - actually there are man. But in the end, it boils down to this one point. Good Quality Code Reduces Costs.

Always Keep Learning

Oct 2, 2017 business misc-web

The other day, an acquaintance of mine was complaining about never getting ahead in their career. I didn’t really feel like I knew enough about their area of expertise to give any advice - until I heard what they did when they got home. During our conversation, they described their favorite TV shows, how involved they were with the outcomes; basically once they got home, 4 to 5 hours were spent on the couch watching TV.

The Importance of Tracking Work Accomplishments

Sep 25, 2017 business management

Answer this question real quick: What was the most impressive thing you did 2 years ago at work? Did you get the proper accolades for it? Or, possibly more important, did you get a performance-based wage increase or some other reward?

Why Didn't My Friend Hire Me?

Sep 16, 2017 business

I’ve been in the position to hire a lot of programmers over the last few years. This is a great responsibility; one that doesn’t come without a bunch of unique situations, especially when it deals with colleagues and friends.

Track the Things You've Done Today with Alfred

Jul 24, 2017 business

For our agile workflow, it’s important to provide a check-in each day. What did you do yesterday, what do you plan on doing today, do you have any blockers? My biggest challenge is actually remembering what I did “yesterday” - especially after the weekend.

I Made A Professional Connection: Now What?

May 16, 2017 business

I’m very lucky to receive multiple LinkedIn requests to connect each week. I rarely accept them, unless I happen to recognize or know the person. Also, if they have a compelling message and I think they might follow up, then fine, too. But that’s where it usually ends…

Startups - take note: Sometimes More Features Aren't Better

Dec 6, 2016 business

“The real reason we’re not successful or getting a bunch of sales, is because we’re missing feature X, Y and Z! Add them immediately!”

The Chicken or the Egg of Hacking Your Software

Jul 26, 2016 business security

Today I was faced with an interesting quandary about whether I should write the code to exploit an application vulnerability in our software at work. This vulnerability is not necessarily a “security” one, but more-so a known-risk: it was theorized that someone with enough knowledge could bypass a mechanism in our software.

Make the Reasons Overwhelming

May 16, 2016 business php

From a very young age, we’re told to brush our teeth regularly. We know we should, but it can be a struggle. The reasons to invest our important play-time aren’t always compelling. (If they were, why would some parents have to check to make sure the children had brushed their teeth before bed?)

Are All American CEO's Psychopaths?

Apr 11, 2016 business

Are all American CEO’s psychopaths? It is a very interesting question - one that I tackled in 2012 when I was finishing my capstone at Cardinal Stritch University.

Considering I write a lot about business in this blog - and a few years has passed now since I used this paper for credit - I thought I’d “open source” it for those who might have an extra few minutes in their day! Hah!

Government Website Idea

Mar 29, 2016 business

I find it very difficult to find out information about my local elected officials. Even the federal website for congress mentions that there is no central database of email addresses and contact information for their members - which is just crazy to me.

Coders be Confident, Not Cocky

Mar 28, 2016 business php

In the last decade or two, the US proliferation of low quality reality television shows has been unstoppable. “Big Brother” would be ashamed by some of his siblings. There are shows that follow famous people (although, I’m not entirely certain why some of them are famous), shows that involve the audience, shows that support nerds; basically anything you can imagine! I pretend I’m above this, I surely don’t fall into the category of people who sit at home and pine over “The Bachelor.” I normally flip the channel right past these shows.

I am a Failure

Mar 22, 2016 business

Fair warning - I normally don’t write too personally in this blog - but this one is something different. Something I think people need to read.

3 Steps to the Best Programmer's Cover Letter

Jul 11, 2015 business programming

The other day I found myself giving advice and revisions to a fellow PHP programmer about his cover letter for his next job application. That really inspired me to help out and write this entry.

Creating a Google Fusion Table from a Google Drive Spreadsheet

Apr 21, 2015 business misc-web

Wow! Enter Google Fusion Tables - an easy way to show, manipulate, sort and display data.

3 Steps to Getting Great Volunteers

Apr 16, 2015 business

If you run a volunteer organization, you might be turning away valuable volunteers! Let me give you 3 useful ways to lock in these volunteers - now!

Started my own company

Feb 10, 2015 business
So, I’m working for myself now. Check it out: 201 Creative. Would love to work with you! :)

3D Printing Makes Manufacturing More Like Programming

Oct 11, 2014 business programming

I think it’s pretty awesome that my daily job is making something out of nothing.

Preparing a Conference? Tell Your Presenters This

Sep 24, 2014 business

I’ve given a number of talks in the last few years. Each time I go to a new place, I have to bring this giant bag of equipment and three or four versions of my presentation. All too often, conferences don’t detail enough of the specifics for their presenters. Let me tell you, presenting and traveling can be stressful. So, to help reduce stress and anxiety, there are a few things you can share with your presenters ahead of time.

Keep Mentoring, Even If It Looks Like No One Cares

Aug 18, 2014 business management

I’ve had a lot of people come to me for various mentoring opportunities. They’ll ask for help, follow up once or twice, and then just disappear. I’m left wondering: Did I make a measurable impact on their lives?

Don't Underestimate the Importance of Work Space

Jan 3, 2014 business management

I’ve read the articles and studies about workers creating their own work spaces and I think it’s a great idea. (In fact, the company should too - it increases efficiency by 32%!) But, I never really realized how important it was until recently.

Why more creators are not entrepreneurs

Oct 1, 2013 business

The other day, I was presenting some of my hard work to a group of stakeholders in a meeting at work. I went through the screens, showing all of the fruits of my months of labor.

Idea: Voice Controlled Paginator / RSS Reader

Sep 17, 2013 business ideas

I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while…

Idea: CMS agnostic cloud storage plugin

Aug 27, 2013 business ideas

So I’ve been looking into cloud storage a bit again - and I decided to do a bit of quick research on the top three CMS in my life: Drupal, Joomla, and Wordpress. I wanted to see if my idea made sense…

Idea: CodeReviewWith.Me

Aug 13, 2013 business ideas

I had this idea about doing interactive screen share and code review. I wrote it about it earlier and even asked for feedback.

My StackOverflow Rant

Jul 30, 2013 business

Ugh. I really want to contribute to the community. I do! If others before me wouldn’t have done it, I wouldn’t be where I am.

Would You Find Value in a One on One Video Code Review Session?

Jul 17, 2013 business programming

Hello friends - I’m trying to get an idea if this would be a good idea. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Idea: Extra Analytics Information

Jun 25, 2013 business ideas

When browsing the documentation for chrome, I came across this:

Enable your blog comments already!

May 21, 2013 business

Sorry for the mini-rant here…

Developers: How to get your estimates right

May 1, 2013 business programming

Estimates can be one of the hardest things to create as a developer. The word estimate is a misnomer in our industry. It’s almost as if they should be called “agreements” or “promises” according to some bosses. Yet we all know that they are just that: an estimate of the amount of time, not a guarantee.

Idea: Bible Verse A Day

Jan 15, 2013 business ideas

I did a bit of looking for websites that will service a Bible verse of the day via email, and I did not like what I found. First, I felt that a lot of them were very confusing to use. It wasn’t immediately clear what you were there to do. I didn’t know where to put my email address, etc. Finally, after reviewing a lot of the copy right information with bibles, I wonder if they weren’t breaking the copyrights for a lot of the bibles they offered.

Twitter Book

Nov 28, 2012 business ideas

This idea is about the concept of grouping tweets in a meaningful way.

Lessons for Managers

Nov 13, 2012 business

I’ve been a manager before. I’ve lead teams before. However, it’s important to understand the difference between the title of ‘manager’ and someone who actually manages. This time around, I’ve been putting much more effort into managing, not just being the figure head. And, I’m learning things. I think these things not only apply to technology related teams, but teams in general.

Idea for Web Design Website

Nov 6, 2012 business ideas

So I’ve been looking at some parallax plugins with Javascript and CSS3 animations… and it got me to thinking: I have a great idea for a web site design firm.

What I Look For in a Code Review

Oct 18, 2012 business programming

A few days (ok, a bunch of days) ago, someone asked me on twitter what I look for when I do a code review. Pretty certain I was tweeting that I was either… a) doing a code review or b) annoyed at doing a code review. heh. I thought for a bit, and I think I’ve distilled the list of things I look for. Now, mind you, I don’t set out with my checkbox list or a manual, I just look at the code and “feel” it. Yes, that sounds crazy. I understand. But, subconsciously, I think I’m doing the following things when I do code reviews:

The Importance of Catching Your Breath

Sep 11, 2012 business

Do it. Catch your breath. Sit in one spot. Don’t reach for your phone. Look at the sky. Clear your mind.

Follow Through if You're Trying to Seduce a Developer

Aug 28, 2012 business

I remember a scene from A night at the roxbury where the less-than-slick brothers take some girls back to their room and have a problem closing the deal. One of them keeps saying pickup lines while he has the girl sitting on his bed. She basically says OK - we’re past this. He just can’t seem to close the deal - no matter how much she wants him to.

Ideas Online

Aug 22, 2012 business ideas

This idea is to create an idea repository. I started out wanting to make this website - and instead just decided to list my ideas on this blog. But, here goes.

TrackThings.com

Aug 22, 2012 business ideas

Idea: TrackThings.com. This website is made to track sales people and distribution of promotional materials. It was initially thought of as a way to track on-the-ground sales distribution. For example, if you had someone go to three businesses on one street, they could easily track where they went, and mark the interest for followup.

Web Developers: Invest the time to create your page!

Jul 31, 2012 business misc-web

I’ve heard the argument so many times: “I’m just too busy to do my own website” This usually is followed by pleading statements leading to the fact that no one is paying them to do their own website - like their current workload is paying them.

Site profile: whatscloseto.me

Goal: Clever named site that shows local establishments close to your location. Was based on Google Ip location services. The thought was just for people to think ‘whats close to me’ and type that up.

Employed Resumes vs Unemployed Resumes

May 31, 2012 business

There are two types of resumes out there: employed resumes vs unemployed resumes. Or that is to say bragging resumes vs qualifications resumes. There is a time and place for both… and mixing them up may not be in your best interest.

Site profile: thebetterbachelor.com

Goal: to create a bachelor cookbook and sell it to other bachelors online. The price of the cookbook was to be very cheap so that it wasn’t too much of a risk. The book itself was supposed to be picture rich and very verbose. It showed how to accomplish tasks that other books assumed a person knew.

Filtering and Validating Discussion

I came up with a great topic to write this blog entry about: filters and validators. Then, I got to thinking - maybe I can get more feedback from other programmers I know. I decided to send a note out to a few of my buddies and see what they thought as well.

Service Profile: mketweeps

Goal: I came up with an idea that I wanted to find local people in our area and mention them using a twitter bot. Pretty simple.

Site Profile: jemdiary.com

JEMDiary was one of my longest running websites, from way early in the century.

Site Profile: honorarybrother.com

Goal: to create a site serving females that felt a specific male in their life deserved positive recognition. Then, to monetize the recipient from one of two targeted ads.

Site Profile: amazondiscount.me

The goal was to use links that Amazon provided themselves to showcase categories and percentage discounts with my affiliate tag. The thought was a clean interface would easily encourage people to click a discount of say 90% but send affiliate contributions my way.

Site Profile: name-tag.me

Note: I have shut down name-tag.me. These notes were taken before I pulled the plug.

The goal was to make a “hello my name is” style name tag without the use of images but with a handwritten font.

Read Something Else

Mar 6, 2012 business

Many years ago, a business mentor of mine told me that I should “read something else.” I didn’t know what he meant so I asked for more.

Don't Always Lead: Sometimes Just Be Great

Feb 28, 2012 business

What is the measurement of a good career? Promotion? Raises? Running a project / leading a team? Usually all of this. However, the most traditional measurement of success in a career is moving upward. Time to run a department, time to lead a team, etc. However, I submit a very radical idea: Sometimes just be great, don’t lead.

Shape the Sales of The Better Bachelor 10 Dish Cook Book

Mar 3, 2011 business

The Cookbook is no longer available.

Hey everyone - I’m looking to push the sales of the 10 Dish Better Bachelor Cook book to the next level.

Solving the Problem, Not the Solution

Feb 8, 2011 business

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been told how to do your job… Yep. It’s happened more than once - and I’m sure you already had a flash of red and maybe some warmth come to your face even hearing that phrase. In my current position, I run into scenarios where people seem to think they have the best solution for the problem. And, you know, they may be right, but it’s not their job. This is generally a problem that either technically minded stake holders or completely ill-informed users have. Let’s dig deeper, however.

Milwaukee PHP Users Group - 1st year anniversary

Jan 4, 2011 business
I’m pretty excited: January 11th: MKEPUG 1 year anniversary. Are you going?

It's not shameful to cut your losses

Nov 9, 2010 business

One thing I’ve learned about the entrepreneurial spirit is that it leads to failure. With figures as high as 90% of businesses fail, this is something you have to get used to. Even leaders like Robert Kiyosaki mention that knowledge is what makes money - and that knowledge is gained by failure. You’ve heard the sayings before, learn from your failures…

Pareto principle - 80/20 in Software Development/Support

Sep 21, 2010 business

For many events, roughly 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause.

My NonDisclosure Promise

Jul 6, 2010 business

As you may remember, I wrote a piece about why I do not sign any NDAs here. I’ve had some time to reflect on that entry, and I want to move forward. I want to give any client I work with my new “promise” - the Non Disclosure Promise. Let me tell you a bit more why I choose not to sign NDAs, and what I can offer you instead.

Twitter @anywhere platform: web414 presentation

Jun 13, 2010 business
I did a presentation at Web414 this last Thursday. You can find the PDF of the presentation here.

Aaron on NDAs

Mar 5, 2010 business

From time to time, I get approached with a new project from an excited business person. They are just bursting to tell me all about it, to see if I can help them out (or even make it for them), and looking for some clarification on their next steps. This inevitably is hindered by my reluctance to answer their first email. You know that email. The one that includes the attached Non Disclosure Agreement.

Milwaukee PHP Users Group

Feb 9, 2010 business

I started the Milwaukee PHP Users group a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, today we had to cancel a meeting because of the outpouring of snow… but it’s on for the 4th tuesday of the month.

Multi-Version Programming to Successfully Leverage Overseas Programming

Sep 20, 2009 business programming

Today, I read through the paper titled ‘An Experimental Evaluation of the Assumption of Independence in Multi-Version Programming’ (Find it here).

Why the Boss makes YOU make a List or Proposal

Mar 11, 2009 business

From time to time, I’ve been asked to make a list of my design ideas, or to develop a better proposal for an idea I have. This really irritated me: didn’t he believe me? Didn’t he trust my ideas?

How to throw an AMAZING meeting

Nov 13, 2008 business

I’ve been to far more meetings than any one on earth should ever have had to by the time they’re 25. With that experience, however, I can start to pick out key points of running a great meeting or demonstration. I know this is a different type of post for this blog, but I think its important. There may be times that you’re called on to conduct a meeting or demonstration, as a technical resource. Follow these tips and your meeting will go along smooth, efficiently and successfully.

What do all of those acronyms mean?

May 11, 2008 business

Whether you’re looking at web hosting advertisements or speaking with an internet firm, you’re going to run into various acronyms. If you’re not familiar with the industry, this can get confusing. Let’s check out the main ones to see what they really mean to you.

What do I need to get a website?

May 11, 2008 business

This article covers the basics of what you need to know to get your business on the Internet fast and successfully.

What is a Domain Name?

May 11, 2008 business

What is a domain name or a dot com name? And why are they needed? Let’s find out.

What is Website Hosting?

May 11, 2008 business

What is website hosting and why do you need it? Those are two very important questions.

Why are there different web browsers?

May 11, 2008 business

In the same way that not everyone drives a Honda, we find that we have different web browsers. For the beginner to the Internet, this might come as a surprise. Normally, they are only used to the default browser on their computer. For example, Windows users are familiar with Internet Explorer. Mac users might be familiar with Safari.