develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Building a Business: All-in vs. Bootstrapping

When you start building a business there are two extremes you can follow.  There is the all-in approach on one end and the bootstrap approach on the other.  Fortunately, these are not mutually exclusive options so you can find a middle ground that works best for you. All In For Building A Business This approach is one that seems to be in most people’s heads.  There is the vision of the entrepreneur that as one that eats, sleeps, drinks, and breathes their business.  They have long days focused on their business.  This portrait is accurate in many cases.  However, it is not the only approach.  When we are all-in for our business, we are not working on anything else.  We... Read more

Software Architecture Conference
Posted on General

Software Architecture Conference 2018 Highlights

The O’ Reilly Software Architecture Conference 2018 was held in New York City.  It was a week full of excellent lectures, hands-on opportunities, and all things architecture related.  We departed from our normal lecture series in the mentor class to take a closer look at what topics were prevalent this year. Hot Topics Overview Many of the latest technologies and platforms were covered.  These are not surprising to anyone that keeps up with technology news.  Nevertheless, there was a lot to be gained from stories of how these advances are used by the biggest players in the industry.  Presentations from Google, Netflix, and IBM often covered projects bigger than your needs while providing some examples to learn from anyway.   O’Reilly Software Architecture... Read more

launch your business
Posted on Become a Better Developer

3 Ways To Start Your Business

Think about what you like about your job.  This is where you want to go first to start your business.  By the way, we can start down this path at any time.  However, we are more likely to succeed if we have spent some time honing our skills before we try to go out on our own.  Also, starting down a path of self-employment does not mean you have to quit your job and go all-in.  The risk of starting a business can be reduced by working on a side hustle until it can sustain itself. In choosing your path, it is helpful to know that the options each have traits and approaches that are better suited to different joys... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Object-Oriented Design – A Pragmatic Approach

Object-Oriented Design has been around for a few decades now.  Therefore, we have whole generations of developers that have been taught OOD in their college courses as well as in their studies.  I am a big fan of this approach to software.  However, this, like many other theories, must be taken in moderation.  You can over-design your objects just as databases can take normalization too far. Sand vs. Legos When I mention moderation, I think of a discussion from years ago about design.  We were building a rather large and complex system at the time.  It also needed to be very flexible.  Our initial plans were not far from a microservice approach.  Every function in the system was a snippet... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

Binge-Watching For Fun And Entertainment

You might find it odd that anyone would recommend bingeing of any sort.  We all know that moderation is always best.  Nevertheless, I think there is good that can come from binge-watching your way through a season or even a series.  Let us count the ways. Binge-Watching Saves Time And Reduces Stress I am not a doctor, nor have I looked up research on binge-watching.  However, let’s think about some common traits across all types of shows.  One of the traits every show has is a cliff-hanger or other hook to get you to watch the next episode.  This can be stressful at times.  You may even waste hours debating how the cliff-hanger will be resolved.  When you binge your way through a series that time between... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Podcast

How To Decide When To Quit

One of the hardest choices to make with a business is to close the doors.  Many of us have the “winners never quit” quote floating around in our head.  That quote keeps us from ending things when that may be the best step to take. It also is likely a prime factor in the sunk-cost fallacy.  In fact, knowing when to quit is almost as important as finding a window of opportunity.  That idea that we have spent too much time and money on something to give up now. Success or Failure Can Tell You When To Quit Quitting is not always about failure.  Sometimes we need to consider getting out while we are on top.  This concept is regularly discussed with... Read more