Six-Figure Businesses Built for Less Than $100: 17 Lessons Learned Photo: 401K. The following article is a guest post by Chris Guillibeau, who’s traveled to 150+ countries and studied more micro-businesses than anyone I know. I hope you love this piece as much as I did. Enjoy! Enter Chris Over the past several years, I’ve been on a quest to study micro-businesses—small operations (typically one person) that make $50,000 a year or more (often a lot more). I wanted to hear from all kinds of businesses–both offline and online–to decipher what made them so successful. After much effort, a small team and I narrowed down the case studies to a subset of 70 that I focused on for final analysis. Here is a highly-condensed list of 17 lessons learned… The 17 Lessons of $100 Start-ups Note: Links show the businesses in action. A gap in the marketplace reveals a business opportunity.Gary Leff used his Frequent Flyer Miles to travel all over the world in First Class, and his friends kept asking for advice. Latch on to a popular service, then simplify it for others.
This post is also available in: Chinese (Simplified), Italian, Russian, Korean Note from Ray: This is an abbreviated version of a chapter from iOS 7 by Tutorials that we are releasing as part of the iOS 7 Feast. We hope you enjoy! You have probably come to realize that iOS 7 is something of a paradox; while you’re being encouraged to do away with real-world metaphors and skeuomorphism, Apple encourages you at the same time to create user interfaces that feel real. What does this mean in practice? This sounds like a daunting task, as it is much easier to make a digital interface look real, than it is to make it feel real. UIKit Dynamics is a full physics engine integrated into UIKit. When used together, motion and dynamics form a powerhouse of user experience tools that make your digital interfaces come to life. Getting started UIKit dynamics can be a lot of fun; the best way to start learning about them is to jump in feet-first with some small examples. Adding gravity Setting boundaries
How to Make Money on iPhone Apps How many times has a friend showed you his or her favorite new iPhone app, and you lamented: Why didn't I think of that? With total application downloads from Apple's iTunes app store topping three billion, and monthly sales of upwards of $200 million, the marketplace for apps is booming. If you're a designer or programmer, how can you afford not to be creating apps? Well, it's not quite that simple. Apple says it receives between 8,500 and 10,000 application submissions every week. Greg Trefry, a veteran game designer who teaches at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program, recently founded Gigantic Mechanic with Mattia Romeo. "There are so many apps out there, it's an extremely crowded market so that the barrier to entry is so low and the barrier to success is so high," he says. Of course, there's more to making a profitable app than just having a good idea. Dig Deeper: More News on Apple's iPhone Making Money on iPhone Apps: Getting Approved
Beyond X PRIZE: The 10 Best Crowdsourcing Tools and Technologies Peter Diamandis explaining X PRIZE economics. (Photo: Hubert Burda) Dr. He’s no underachiever. I’ve known Peter for several years, both as a friend and as advising faculty at Singularity University. The following guest post offers an optimistic look at the tools and technologies he believes will change this world for the better, which you can harness. In it, Diamandis and co-author Kotler challenge us all to solve humanity’s grand challenges. I hope this excites you as much as it excites me. Enter Peter In 1861 William Russell, one of the biggest investors in the Pony Express, decided to use the previous year’s presidential election for promotional purposes. His goal was to deliver Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address from the eastern end of the telegraph line, located in Fort Kearny, Nebraska, to the western end of the telegraph line, in Fort Churchill, Nevada, as fast as possible. ICT’s impact doesn’t end with novel ways to spread information or share material resources. Gold in Dem Hills
Learn iOS design and Xcode The most efficient design tool just got better Design isn't hard to learn. That's because most of us are already building products and are familiar with what design means. What used to be complex and confusing is now simple and effective, thanks to Sketch, an app that is entirely focused on user interface design. Unlike Photoshop, you don't need to worry about photo editing and the hundreds of other settings that are noises to designing a simple application. Sketch uses one unit, styles only relevant to UI design, a built-in iPhone previewing tool called Mirror and Artboards, the most efficient way to template multiple screens. Everything is already in vector, so you don't have to worry about designing for multiple devices. It's only been one year since Sketch has completely changed my design workflow. What's new in Sketch 3 Sketch 3 has some of the biggest improvements I've seen in an application. Improved UI Symbols Text Styles Quick Export to Multiple Resolutions Getting Started CSS Styles
60 Useful iPhone Applications Apr 13 2011 Owning an iPhone is a dream for most people nowadays. And why not… it’s equipped with smart apps and softwares that leaves mouths wide open in astonishment. To continue this legacy of the iPhone, we’ve searched for even more applications to make your iPhone your best friend, navigator and adviser. Gilt for iPad You can shop for fashion and luxury brands at get up to 70% discounts. Its a member only community. WordPress Now you can edit, Manage and moderate your WordPress blog and/or website from your iPhone through this wonderful application. Simultravel GPS With Simultravel you can locate hotels around your location while you travel. Adobe Ideas Its your digital sketch book which lets you capture ideas anywhere you go. Hey Where Are You : Location Service (HeyWAY) (HeyWAY) is a location service with which you can keep track of your family, friends or employees and you will get constant updates on their location and they can also request the details from you. Yahoo! Yowza!!
Automation (Photo: Stuck in Customs) For the last two years, one name has come up again and again when talking with A-class start-up investors: Pivotal Labs. See, Pivotal Labs quietly helps dozens of the fastest-growing tech companies in the world, including freight trains like Groupon and Twitter. I first met the Founder of Pivotal Labs, Rob Mee, when one of the start-ups I advise, TaskRabbit, began working with them. One thing is immediately clear: Rob is obsessed with how to get obscenely high output. The Wilburns have created a multinational from their home. “So, do you have any ideas?” “Well, if we’re going to do something, it should be big. The conversation continued in front of the Thai restaurant, me pacing on my cell phone in San Francisco — foregoing food in excitement — and Tobi in his offices in Ottawa, Canada. We decided in the subsequent 10 minutes to offer $100,000 cash as a bribe to you all. The details make it even better… Read More Too many choices. Who made more progress?
How To Create A Simple 2D iPhone Game with OpenGL ES 2.0 and GLKit Part 1 This is a blog post by site administrator Ray Wenderlich, an independent software developer and gamer. Create a simple game for iOS - the hardcore way! There are a lot of great tutorials out there on OpenGL ES 2.0, but they usually stop after drawing a rotating cube on the screen. How to take that rotating box and turn it into a full game is usually left as an exercise to the poor reader. That, my friends, is where this tutorial series comes in! I’ve tried to make this tutorial series as similar as possible to the above Cocos2D tutorial so you can compare the two to see the differences in implementation if you are curious. The goal of this tutorial series is to keep things as simple as possible, and walk you through the process step by step. Before reading this tutorial series, I recommend reading the Beginning OpenGL ES 2.0 with GLKit tutorial series. Once you’ve read that, keep reading to make a simple 2D game for the iPhone – the hardcore way! Why OpenGL ES 2.0 and GLKit? Why Use GLKit?
How Much Does It Cost To Develop an App | iPhone App Development Costs Table of Contents Types of AppsApp Development ProcessDevelopment CostsDesign CostsTotal CostsFree iPhone App Quote Overview In the past two years, the app market has exploded. And for good reason. The good news? Let’s talk about what goes into getting an app developed. Types of Apps You Can Develop There are many different kinds of apps you can develop. Basic table functionality – think about this as a hierarchy: opening screen has big topics and you click one and you now have a set of new lists to click on. The type of app you want to develop may change based on how much content you have and how much control you want to have over the entire process. App Development Process The app development process can be broken out into four major parts – idea, layout and planning, design, and going live. 1. This is the first genesis of where the app will be going and one step after “I want an app.” 2. 3. 4. iPhone App Development Costs iPhone App Design Costs Total App Costs There Is Another Way
The Truth About Abs: How To Make $1,000,000 Per Month with Digital Products (Plus: Noah Kagan results) Six-pack abs sell. (Photo: San Diego Shooter) Once or twice in the past, I have referred to “someone” who has earned $5,000,000-$10,000,000 per year with e-books and cross promotion. For that, I should apologize, as it’s not accurate: his numbers are now closer to $1,000,000 per month, and “e-book” doesn’t begin to explain what he does. That someone is named Mike Geary. He prefers to keep a low profile, skiing powder and refining his “muse,” or automated business, to a precise science. For the first time, this post will explain how he built his business, some of the key lessons learned, and common mistakes with digital products. As you read, keep in mind two things: - He is, without a doubt, considered one of the smartest online marketers and traffic buyers (a key differentiator) in the world. - He started off knowing nothing and got there through intelligent testing. As Thomas J. Enjoy… Enter Mike Geary Can you describe your muse? What is the website for your muse? How did you get started?