Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

The problem I see for so many entrepreneurs is that they (we) simply don`t have the money to do everything they`d like to accomplish. They often are thrown into their own DYI resources to build a Web site, handle marketing, build this or that, and generally take care of everything.

There are templates out there, turnkey stores, and so forth, but with a little bit of extra knowledge---not a huge amount---people can build a Web page or small site without using a template. However, it`s going to be pretty basic.

So in this situation, the entrepreneur---usually bootstrapping---can only do the basics, which means that any sort of demo for their product(s) is part of a Web page.

What I`m thinking, relative to your product, is that if it`s that simple and affordable, people could simply put a button or link onto a page along the lines of "View Demo" and then have the sales presentation run separately from the page. That way, when they`re done viewing the application, they close out and end up right back where they started.

For example, right now, in order to show people the details of our signal flags, we have to have separate pages and images. The content links to this and that page, opens blank windows, returns the person to pages, and generally follows the circuitous route of many typical Web pages.

What would be nice would be to have a link on our "about" page to a presentation that follows the development of our flags from start to finish. The user would click the button/link and your application would begin. It would have the "next" and "previous" options like building a slideshow. People could see the details of the flags in a moving, dynamic way, and when they`re done, close out and be right back where they started.

If it`s really as easy and user-friendly as you say, then it seems to me this would be an excellent low-end solution until people could afford a Flash! animation, embedded video, or some of the other, more sophisticated tools. See?

Actually, thinking about it, you might even expand and offer editorial services after you`ve launched the product. In other words, developing the application is sort of a one-time thing, and after you`re launched, you either develop something else or you handle ongoing tech support.

But you could add a revenue stream by offering to take user content, emailed to you, and then you or your employees would turn it into a presentation. Then invoice the customer, and after they`ve paid, send them the link. Maybe not something you want to do, I`m only suggesting a sort of parallel-track product line.

Good! I think you`re definitely on to something. In many past cases, people have invented something they "thought" was going one direction, only to discover it went in a very different way. Think about Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect.

Best, I think, is to build the product. Then, when it`s up and running, see what happens as different people begin to "mess wid it," to use a technical marketing expression. :-)

For sure let us know when you`ve got this to an initial state.

Not to be a naysayer, but you can do all this with moodle.org for free.

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Need web copy, press releases, articles for your website or newsletter, or even a video, we can do it.

Del Williams Media
Your Communications Specialist

 

Delzakiya,

 

Thank you for your comment. You had me wondering for a moment. I had never heard of MOODLE so I went to their site and created an account. It is an interesting concept but widely different from what I am doing. Through this I am not attempting to tear down MOODLE (which is probably a good product) but I want to contrast what I am doing in relation to this product.

MOODLE appears to be a software product that you have to install on to your own hardware.

 

The product I am working on is web-based and requires nothing more than a web-browser.

 

MOODLE does not appear to support easy integration with your current web site without a lot of modification.

 

The solution I am working can be used stand alone or can be imbedded to your own site using a simple IFRAME statement.

 

MOODLE is also complicated enough that the website promotes two different books that teach you how to use the product. Since I have not set MOODLE up myself I cannot speak to the ease or difficulty with which MOODLE can be installed but the existence of the books speak volumes. Also, throughout the site the documentation mentioned asking your system administrator to do this and that.

 

The solution I am working on requires no skill other than basic mouse and keyboard skills. It does not require you to hire a technical guy.

 

MOODLE appears to be geared to work with large organizations (though the web-site does say that it is intended for one to any number of users).

 

The solution I am working on will be geared to smaller groups and those who want to prepare a quick presentation without a lot of mess.

 

As a developer what I liked about MOODLE was that it is opened sourced and extensible both of which excite a technical person. My product is not open source and (while customizable) is not extensible – not as exciting to a programmer. However my market is not technical people but those who are non-technical.

 

Now, why do you want to pay for something when you can get something similar for free? Free is very enticing. But please add up the cost of free. In this instance the cost of a server plus maintenance, plus the time required to learn the product (both books are more than 250 pages long). If you cannot do the technical work yourself you will need to pay for a technical person to do the installation, upgrades etc.

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