The Plan

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In the last post, I mentioned that we have a plan. It's more like a guideline. Or a thing I thought, but never wrote down. Or really thought out.

So, we don't really have a plan. Time to fix that.

Why make a plan?

To get from A to B, you need some directions. Even better, a map. When you get lost (or need some inspiration), it's good to remember: I have a plan, I know where I'm going, I have at least a vague idea how to get there.

Why post it here?

You, the reader, make me accountable. Even if there are no readers. This is not a new idea, it is one I stole so successfully that I can't remember where it came from. Maybe the wonderful blog folks over at Backblaze Blog. Maybe in the incredible depths of Coding Horror. Or one of the many other places online. If any of the non-existent readers of this blog can point me in the right direction, I'd love to give credit where it is due.

The Plan

You know it's a real plan because because it's not just a plan, it's The Plan. Like most plans, this one will not survive contact with the Real World. But it's a start. And an end. With bits in between.

The Start

As of today, MyDaycareOnline is a bit over two years old. The application is 'good enough' to sell. I feel it is worth the price. Our beta users feel it is worth the price. We don't have any production clients.
Current beta clients: 3
Current paying clients: 0

Progress is in spurts as we have time. Each of the founders work a full time job. Two of us have young children. The third member now works in a city about seven hours away. We know not to expect a lot of man hours each week. This is not expected to change.

Finances are a bit rough. We made the mistake of incorporating too early, moving to hosted services too early. Our first income has finally rolled in, a one time revenue for building a new website for our largest beta client. The income will tide us over for about five months. Everything else comes out of our own pockets.

The Goal

We need to get enough people signed up that we break even on our hosting and legal fees. This is not a high barrier.

The Bits

How do we get there?
  1. Adjust pricing to reflect our ability to serve larger centers, while keeping the $10 per month value for the dayhomes.
  2. Revamp our home page to reflect the pricing and additional focus on larger centers.
  3. Knock on doors. This is inspired at least partially by the Do Things That Don't Scale essay by Paul Graham.
  4. Talk to more potential clients. Trade shows, online groups, anything we can find.
That's it for now. Of course we will keep adding features, making changes as recommended by our beta users, and fixing bugs. The real focus for the next six months (or however long it takes) is getting the software into more hands.

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