Blog Backgrounds Website Scrapped

So, I came up with a strategy to make a website that makes blog backgrounds. I was going to have Laura make the backgrounds and then I would make the website. Well, I had no idea how to make a website so that was a problem. I ended up talking to my friend Sam about how to make that type of website. He pointed me to a CMS (content management system). I downloaded an open-source CMS called Joomla. Joomla turns out to be a great program, and I figured out how to make my computer a local host, meaning I created the website on my computer. I was able to make functional backgrounds that I could download and install on my blog. If I had pushed the Joomla site I created onto the internet through a hosting service, visitors to this blog probably would have seen the ugly backgrounds that I created. Since the site was local, only I saw the backgrounds.

We ended up needing a better program to make backgrounds, so we got Adobe Photoshop. After purchasing Photoshop I found out that Laura didn't want it to make blog backgrounds, she wanted the program to make her pictures cooler so she could post them on our family blog. So, my star artist no longer has motivation, so I pretty much have to scrap the strategy of the blog backgrounds website.

The plan was to put the site online within the next couple of months. We would make some money through ad revenue and bring people to our site through SEO (search engine optimization). But the sustainability would have come from doing "consulting" or customized blog headers and Christmas cards, etc... that people would actually pay for.

Was this a lost effort? No! I learned how to make a website, and it's sweet! I wish I could show you what it looks like. So I'll have to come up with a better business idea or something or maybe just make a family website in the meantime. It's just back to the drawing board for business plan ideas.

Core Competencies

We've been learning about all the great companies of our era, Google, Apple, Southwest, etc... I'm getting tired of learning about those guys. But one thing I've been thinking is that they all have a list of core competencies--focii that point them in a strategic direction. Apple found its niche in the consumer market with innovative "gee whiz!" products. Google simplified something no one else could and is making bank off of figuring out how to advertise based on user information. Southwest dared to be the low cost provider and incorporate fun and love in their programs.

Thinking about that, I want to develop some core competencies of my own and see if I can't come up with a good idea. Look for that in future entries.

And the postal service Redbox idea would be helpful when the post office was closed, making the post office available for people who are at work between 9 and 5.