More Information About the Launch of My Business

This is more like an appendix to my previous post.

I had originally intended on launching my business sometime in late September. But it is now early November and the business has not launched. Some of my friends and other associates I’ve described my venture to have been wondering why my business hasn’t gone live.

An integral part of my company’s website is an account management center that allows customers to manage their services, billing, and support all in one convenient interface. This is a major feature and is actually an important competitive advantage. The software that I intend to use for this account management center is currently undergoing a major revision that will make tremendous improvements. This new version is scheduled for release some time before the end of the year.

I’m waiting for that release because to implement the current version and then have to upgrade when the new version comes out will cost me an enormous amount of time, effort, and money which far outweighs the opportunity cost of pushing back the launch 2-3 months due to the fact that client and revenue growth is likely to be very slow in the beginning.

Another reason for the pushback is that I’ve been doing additional research into the IT needs of small businesses and I’ve decided to restructure a lot of my services, which has lead to the revision of previously finished sections of the website. This is an alteration in my marketing strategy and is obviously quite important. Overall, I feel these changes simplify my marketing communications and makes the website more useful for potential customers.

I’ve read that for many entrepreneurs it often takes twice as long and costs twice as much to start a business than originally planned. This is certainly coming true. I currently devote about 50-60% of my waking hours to this venture, a lot of it late at night. The rest go towards school and leisure - you know what they say about all work and no play.