by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Business Development, Self Analysis
This post is a bit of history, a bit of product promotion, and a bit of diary. I am pleased to announce that over on my main game development website, that I have released CreateOrConquer.com Version 1.5. Now a Version 1.5 is not usually something to write an entire blog post about, but this time it is. Why? Because it took me a decade to get from Version 1.0 to 1.5 which is an absurdly long time to do so little. How did this happen? I’m not a coder. I don’t have the time to take on coding as a sideline. I work full time in a health care career, have a family, and like to tinker around with lots of different things. I am not the kind of person with a singular laser focus. I typically will have five plus books on the go at one time, plus numerous projects. I spread myself around intellectually and interest wise. To be competent at coding there needs to be dedicated attention and I hope to one day apply myself at it, but currently it is not possible. I acquired CreateOrConquer.com back in 2010. Though it was in development from 2006 to […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Business Development, Human Condition, Tools
I’m blessed and burdened with an active and creative imagination. I regularly have new exciting thoughts penetrating into my concentration becoming a distraction from the task I’m on. The burden I experience is how to handle these thoughts. I can’t stop them from arriving and I dismissing them undermines my creativity. I’ve learned that these thoughts are important and have provided solutions to longstanding problems. I needed a method to store these thoughts so that they’re shown respect but don’t seriously interrupt my flow of concentration. I took to writing them down in paper journals and eventually moved on to writing them in emails sent to myself. It was not long before this method became quite cumbersome and limited in usefulness. Writing down thoughts in a linear note-taking method makes it hugely difficult to retrieve the information. Even using an electronic record in email or a word-processing document, there is no efficient method to find thoughts. Transferring these thoughts to a task-management tool was another new process. Thoughts written down in a string of entries does not lend itself to prioritization or sorting. When I came across an online Kaban system I was intrigued about what it could offer but […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Hobby Heedings, Jets Flight Control, Playstates Theory0 commentstags: Blogging, Change of Mind
This past summer has been a time of review in relation to this blog and my ventures (billo.ws/cyber.holdings). I’ve followed enough game developers on Twitter to witness the carnage in the industry and have decided that I am not going to put any effort for the next year or two on new game projects. My plan is to re-launch CreateOrConquer.com, do some promotion to its mailing list, do exploration of viability for Urbaniacs.com, and casually work on design ideas for Heropath.com. I still love the industry as a fan and advocate, but there simply is no way to justify any serious time investment. There is almost no Return on Investment in Video Games as a game developer. The Video Games industry has become just like the other creative industries with the barrier to entry becoming so low that anybody and everybody is doing game development. This is an abundance of riches and comes with its own downside which is that it is extremely difficult to compete. My focus will shift to website properties which can be developed to attract an audience. I have a couple of projects that I will be turning my attention to, one is related to Sports […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Business Development, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Summarizing a Business Organization
Paul Graham is not only a successful entrepreneur he is a analytical master who has written extensively on business, economics, and culture. I greatly appreciate how he deconstructs complex topics and makes it accessible. Below is some of my favorite articles by him: Nerd Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html Hacker Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html Wealth and Inequality http://www.paulgraham.com/gap.html Wealth, Technology, and Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html American Culture, Craftsmanship, and Design http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html Graduating from High School http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html Finding What You Love To Do http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html Building a Startup http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html Startup Lessons http://www.paulgraham.com/startuplessons.html Startup Mistakes http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html About What Good Art Is http://www.paulgraham.com/goodart.html Intelligence vs Wisdom http://www.paulgraham.com/wisdom.html Thinking about Equity Valuations http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html About Philosophy http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html Principles to a New Product Launch http://www.paulgraham.com/newthings.html Types of Disagreement http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html 5 Regrets to Avoid http://www.paulgraham.com/todo.html The Counter Intuition of Startup Investing http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html How Startups are Different from other Businesses http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html How to Find Ideas for Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html Convincing Investors http://www.paulgraham.com/convince.html
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Business Development, Summarizing a Business Organization
When I was taking my business certificate, I created a mental model about the steps of creating a viable business venture. I called it the Destination Model of Strategic Management. Using the analogy of getting somewhere, I envisioned a road, driver, passenger, and vehicle with each part representing a strategic consideration. I created this model years ago and just recently stumbled onto it. I am posting it for posterity sake. I think it has some utility.
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller0 commentstags: Branding, Business Development, Contrarian
So I have been in the domain and website business since August 2010. I have made a little bit of money but have also lost more. While I can’t brag about success, I can share with you an opinion that is informed by experience. Here are three important things to know about avoiding the shame of the domain name game. 1) Brand First, Concept Second – A domain name is important only if it has a brand or contains words that point to a popularly held concept. This is why so many domains get scooped up because it contains a keyword that can generate traffic, which helps make a website more lucrative. It is like having a really high traffic storefront. This can be valuable, but only if there is traffic. People are now scooping up domains for every niche concept such as wirelessprinterscanner.net (disclosure: I used to own this) all with the intention to capture search engine traffic with the keyword. These keyword heavy domain names (what I call Concept Domains) tend to be very low quality, cheap, and can be profitable, but usually not. It is better to go for a brandable name that is unique and you […]
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