The Seven Steps
There are at least seven distinct steps towards Internet entrepreneurship. I'll begin with the caveat that these seven steps only apply in the Internet space and not other avenues such as starting a bakery. From my (limited) experience, everyone goes through these steps in order. Some steps take hours, while others can take years.
The seven steps are:
- Putting something online through a platform such as Tumblr, spreading the word, receiving critical feedback, and improving your work
- Building and putting out any type of website of your own creation
- Building a site conceived from your own idea with potential for monetization
- Launching your first web application with a sign up process and methods for payments
- Getting your first paying customer, obtaining feedback, and improving your product
- Having a steady stream of customers
- Becoming profitable, growing your customer base, and increasing your product's value to your customers
By understanding these seven steps, you can assess your own position and determine how you can take the next step. The goal is not to rush through each step to get to the next one, but instead to learn at each milestone. Become comfortable with yourself, your own skills, and determine what aspects you need to improve.
For example, I created many sites with Python and Django in 2009. I designed, developed, and deployed them, learning a lot about Django's best practices and Linux system administration in the process. However, I realized I had (and still have to some extent) a deficiency in design. I knew that before I could take the next step towards building a site that could be monetized and feel good about it, I needed to learn better design and get to know more people who could give me honest, critical feedback on my website designs.
Once I spent several months reading, drawing, building, and discussing designs, I felt more comfortable that I could take the next step. About six months and a lot of late nights later, I launched ProofDriven with a reasonable design I was okay starting with that I knew I could improve as I grow more comfortable in this step. Eventually I can look ahead to the next step in the path towards Internet entrepreneurship.