Posts tagged as venture

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My Little (Non)Vacation

Took a vacation from work last week- I did absolutely NONE of the things I planned to do. I did manage to party like a rockstar Halloween weekend. Last time I just hung out all night was before graduating. Life after college has been - not as chaotic, way less parties. 

I literally ended up taking a vacation (ate, slept, chilled). I didn’t even turn my desktop on once. Checked emails through my phone here and there. Oh and played some mean Scrabble ( I seriously kick ass at that game - find me on Words With Friends @ itsShala)

I planned on redesigning a site, starting on a new shirt design, designing my new business cards, and narrowing down which company to print my custom shopping bags. Yea, none of that happened.

Now I actually feel refreshed though, and hungry to get back working on my new business venture this week. I plan to launch the name and the first sector of the new company this January.

As of last week, the old company has been put to bed. SX Innovations is no more. It was a great run. But on to bigger and better things. Complete new business model. Getting custom designed silk screen shirts from me will be near impossible going forward. It’s no longer in scope- finally taking that leap to produce for the masses. Long time coming-

Don’t worry, I’m still staying true to my passion. I’m not designing based on trends, or what’s hot. I’m setting out to create a Creative Movement.

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How I Start A New Business Venture/Project

I like to start off with a business plan to lay everything out. That way I have a clear set goal and a direction spelled out on where I want to go and how to get there. Now, in the case you are having someone help write the business plan, I would go grab that person first and start working on the business plan.

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Next as you start your business plan and finalizing a name, I would start checking into getting a DBA, trademarking, domain names, and so on. The last thing you want to do is build your project/business around a name to find out it is already taken. That can be major blow to your project and its schedule.

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Before rounding up a team, it is also important to start thinking through and creating a communication plan. Start looking into how you are going to keep all the project team members on the same page, hold meetings, share files, etc. What tools are you going to use to manage the project and make sure it stays on schedule.

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Once I take care of the biz stuff, the “i’s” dotted and the “t’s” crossed, I move on to brainstorming on image and design. Normally I am the designer, but in the case I am doing a collaboration, I start scouting for the best designer for the project. Once wireframes (initial sketches or rough design of the site, app, or whatever it is) have been created it is time to start scouting and locking down the best developer(s) for the project.

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Personally, based on my experience, I design first, then code. Coding without a design is coding in the dark. The design helps the developer visually see what all needs to be coded in the first place. Such as text boxes or buttons. Imagine trying to build a house with no blueprint to sketch out what the finished project looks like. Design first then code.

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Also when designing, have the context ready. it is much easier and saves time to create a design around the context (the wording) present on the design. It is bad practice to design and then throw words onto it.