Nipaco wrote: » True. But there is no maybe. If I had the money now I'd pay up front and get a company to do it. Say the work on those first pages cost 2,500. The person will be paid that if the business goes to pot ( very unlikely ) but might not get it for six months. The business is not essentially a web company but rather a "tool" to satisfy a need in this industry. So it's kind of like pickapro in which monies come from professionals. To anyone can get this job done I would set up a contract.... Minimum is paid for work, up to making 50,000 per year after for just keeping it ticking over.
HellFireClub wrote: » You are obviously very new to starting up a business when you are coming out with stuff like, "True. But there is no maybe." This kind of nonsense is well and truly knocked out of anyone with even the minimum of self employment business experience who has cut their teeth along the way... If there is no "maybe", then there is no need for the risk sharing that you are inadvertently proposing on here, so go out and borrow or earn the seed capital for this part of the project yourself, pay for what you need done up front and keep the profit for yourself instead of pushing the risk onto a software developer who could put months of their life into this project for no reward whatsoever at the end of it should it not be successful. I was in your position 2 years ago and spent the last 2 years learning the necessary web development skills, through free online study, buying books and asking loads of questions on here and on other relevant fora on the internet.What you are trying to do here is shift the financial risk onto someone else, when the risk as an entrepreneur is, and should always be, taken on by you, the promotor. I don't buy this thing at all above where you are claiming that the person will be paid 2.5K in 6 months time or whatever if the project doesn't work... In any event, 2.5K represents about 10%-20% of the work that is probably required for this kind of a data driven project, so offering 2.5K to someone in 6 months time is essentially throwing crumbs at them, if you are even in a position to pay it in 6 months time. The value of what you are looking for here is not even remotely close to 2.5K, depending on final specification and delivery date. What you need to do is save up for a couple of months and save a few grand, borrow against it and pay for what you want done up front (final payment when solution is delivered, 20% up front). If it's a safe bet as you claim it is, you'll be well rewarded for it and can pay off your loan very quickly and go on and make loads of profit...
Deleted User wrote: » Harsh....but true, especially the bit about shifting the financial burden. Thats the reason its hasnt been developed yet. The cold hard truth is it comes down to money, and you need to invest to make it happen. Maybe you should pitch an investor instead of a developer, because what your looking for is a developer who is also an entrepreneur. This is a small pool you are searching I think. Get 5-10K off an investor/partner and pay for the development theres probably 10 guys on boards that will quote you for it.
Kinetic^ wrote: » I have to agree with the last couple of posts. If you were 100% sure that this is going to work, you would have got funding from either the bank or another investor. With no financial input from you, it gives you an easy out if something goes wrong and shows a lack of commitment imo.
EIREHotspur wrote: » Well I'd have to disagree with the first post hellfire had and agree with the second. What you said about the need to learn the IT is right on the money, from his answers I don't think he wants to. What I tell people who I build database websites is that they can update it easily.....ie if you can write an email then updating is just as easy for them to do. Despite what it seems and from the questions I asked him, what he wants really isn't rocket science. He wants a database driven website with a login system for users (I remember the week I learnt myself how to do that......looooooooong week). He just needs an initial bit of money to hire a developer to build it with an eye to adding more features as it goes along. The only big decision for him is how he would want to go with the payments, Paypal or Merchant Account. Talking of Seed capital etc is inflating and talking up what he actually needs.
TristanPeter wrote: » Hi All, I was reading through this thread as I am also trying to get an online business off the ground. Very interesting by the way. I have been at it for about 8 months now and I'm still a ling way off. Recently I applied for an EI Innovation Voucher and I was awarded it. It's not money but it allows me to approach "knowledge providers" and ask them to help with the project in exchange for €5000 worth of chargeable labour from EI. So far I have approached a few third level institutes. I have had some communication but the only enthusiastic one seems to be Sligo IT. I'm not looking at this as a solution to my technical difficulties but more as a bonus in that I hope to use it to tweak and test the site before going live; perhaps add a few features etc. Anyway OP, maybe you should apply for one. It can't hurt. I can't comment on the real world value of the voucher yet as I'm still in the process of "spending" it. If it goes well or if I turns out to be at all useful I'll fill you in.
HellFireClub wrote: » I ran into this same web of beaurocracy when looking for funding, the story seems to be similar, loads of training and courses and swopping stuff and all sorts of codding, f*ck all of what you actually do need though which is seed capital. Been there with the CEB's and the rest of them. The only thing you need to get your head around when you are doing something like this at the moment in Ireland is that you are completely and utter on your own. Forget about state agency start-up grants, you will go through a year of filling out forms, meetings, bullsh*t and nonsense and at the end of the day you will not be a step closer to where you want to be. But if you can learn the skills to get a site up and running and you can muster together a bit of cash to pay for Realex, web hosting, any stock you migh need to acquire, etc, you might just get your idea to market. But as for any assistance whatsoever from state agencies, just forget about it...
Nipaco wrote: » Say the work on those first pages cost 2,500. The person will be paid that if the business goes to pot ( very unlikely )...
Nipaco wrote: » ...but might not get it for six months.
Nipaco wrote: » Hellfire, I think you have put too much time on writing your post and not enough on reading it. And I find your content insulting. I don't wish to partake in a slanging match, I will deal with some of your comments and leave it at that. "Minimum self employment experience" - 18 years "Inadvertently proposing" - I'm actively proposing "learn web skills" - I would assume that an it qualification is one gotten with time, hard graft, and talent. To attempt this myself even after a year, well I'd be an idiot and deserve a good kick in the hole. "could put months into it, no reward" - another poster already answered this for you. "shift financial risk" - the risk on an investor is financial, that's what they do. The risk on developer is time, not money. "safe bet as I claim it is" - Nothing is safe, and I don't recall saying this. If I did please set me straight. I set in my opinion it's a no brainer, very different. "scale back" - also answered by another poster. "to lure someone..." - I refuse to respond to such a terrible statement. If you should like to continue posting, please do so. However I would prefer comments that relate appropriately to the discussion, and which don't insult. Thank you
Nipaco wrote: » "babysitter gets paid more than 13 per day" As I said, the initial pages and features could for all I know be done in a weekend. 2,500 divided by 3 is not 13. Again as already said, there is no money upfront or at all right now. If in the event the project falls, I will pay this. I'm trying to be as black and white as I can here. There's no hidden agenda or bull. It is what it is. If you're interested pm me. If not, I appreciate your input and advice.
HellFireClub wrote: » Ehhh you don't need a "qualification" in something in order to be able to get something done in that particular field. I've developed an excellent website, I did it by sheer perseverance, hard work and long hours. I took ownership of what I needed to learn and taught it to myself by studying and experimenting with what I was getting into which was software development. It wasn't easy but now I can do anything with my site without relying on any other person. You've been advised on here to try the same approach by several posters but you apparently take offence to that advice, well so be it...
EIREHotspur wrote: » If I hadn't looked over at the reflection of myself in the window I'd say you were me. Thats exactly how I learned what I know.....and as for a degree....the closest I have come to college is watching Beverly Hills 90210 on the Telly. Also I hear you on persevering and being elated at having some aspect that has you tearing hair out at times...i once spent nearly a week trying to figure how to make database articles format properly on a page. (nl2br) I now can design websites that look as good as my favourites (nbc.com, fox.com nfl.com) Let me explain this part to you and this is a persons dilema. When a web developer designs a website he/she loads the files onto web hosting. If you have the passwords and don't pay the money for the work, being that the work is files that cannot be accessed by anyone but you there isn't much he/she can do bar going after the money in court. Thats why developers will not work without concrete a payment plan.
TristanPeter wrote: » I agree with you YouBuyLocal. I have a Master in Information Technology and I still don't know enough to be anywhere near good enough to code what I require from my site. But what I think I do have is a reasonable understanding of the basic workings of many IT aspects. This means that at the very least I can tell (well I hope so) when I'm being screwed by a pure tech. person who's working on some aspect of my project which I simply don't know enough about or don't have the time to learn to do myself. I'm not so concerned about the IT end of things despite my short comings, I'm more concerned with, as another poster pointed out earlier, getting the service out into the public domain, marketing it, getting people to use it, developing it and hopefully one day making a few quid from it. I still question myself a lot as to the merits of it, and I think that's to do with a lack of objectivity but there's really only one way to find out if it will work or not and that's to do it. By the way, if anyone wants to share online business marketing advice please share and share alike