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	<title>Bootstrapping Independence</title>
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	<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com</link>
	<description>Escaping the Mundane Existence...</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:03:49 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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			<item>
		<title>SaaS and New Business Models</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/saas-and-new-business-models/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/saas-and-new-business-models/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bootstrapping as Method]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Startup Challenges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opportunity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[product design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=181</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My previous work on gaming came to a standstill several months ago. Many things happened to cause me to abandon my foray into the gaming market.

Project Darkstar was shut down by Oracle. It has since re-emerged as Red Dwarf Server. I hope this project finds great success, but the risk involved was making me uncomfortable. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Network Marketing is Evil</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/why-network-marketing-is-evil/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/why-network-marketing-is-evil/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:52:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bootstrapping as Method]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=171</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the past few years, growth of network marketing has moved around the globe in a variety of product categories.  Also called Multi-Layer Marketing, Pyramid Marketing, and Direct Selling, (although direct selling is a broader term which encompasses business models I will not discuss here), network marketing has touched almost everyone&#8217;s life in one form [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/why-network-marketing-is-evil/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Internet Start Up Mistakes and How to Avoid Them</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/internet-start-up-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/internet-start-up-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:40:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bootstrapping as Method]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Startup Challenges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business plan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entrepeneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mistakes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[product design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[startup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I launched my first web business 2 years ago, and just like that the venture flopped. Resurrecting the whole thing was pointless, and I spent a fair amount of time reflecting on what went wrong, what went right, and why it was doomed to failure from the beginning. Since that time, I have met many people in the same boat, or who were heading in that direction. To help prevent others from facing the same situation, I compiled a list of the main mistakes I made and see others making, and some tips on how to avoid them.
1) Not seriously writing a business plan

Many first time entrepreneurs and even some long-term entrepreneurs make this mistake. Everything you read online will suggest writing a business plan, but many people take this step for granted, hubris that they have skills others do not, and thus are bound for success with their great idea. The problem is that the idea may not be so great, or the execution of the idea may fail. The business plan forces you to consider this carefully and honestly, to assess if it will be a successful venture, and what your chances of success are.

This is an easily avoidable mistake to make. Don’t just commit to writing a business plan, but commit to writing....]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/internet-start-up-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Short List of Current Reading</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/current-reading/a-short-list-of-current-reading/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/current-reading/a-short-list-of-current-reading/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:49:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Current Reading]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reading]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=146</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A sampling of some of the interesting reading I have done this week:
The Greatest Deception in the History of Finance &#8211; An excellent post on why financial freedom is an illusion, which lead me to an interesting blog where I found&#8230;
Man&#8217;s (Career) Search for Meaning &#8211; A post which mirrors my own philosophies on work, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/current-reading/a-short-list-of-current-reading/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Meditation on the Subway</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/satisfaction/a-meditation-on-the-subway/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/satisfaction/a-meditation-on-the-subway/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:55:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Career Satisfaction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[awareness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[career satisfaction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meditation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=138</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This weekend, I found myself alone in a central subway station. I had a lot of time to kill - a couple of hours before I would be leaving the trains. I played around with my phone for a little bit, watched people walk by, and purchased a bottle of water. Then I sat on a bench, pulled my legs into a cross-legged seated position, and began to meditate. It was a challenge at first, what with people coming and going, sitting near me or standing and waiting, screeching trains every few minutes, the nonstop bustle of a major city. Still, I was able to slowly follow my breath into the center of my body, and push away the sights and sounds around me, finding happiness. The time passed, and I was content.

It was later that I realized that this story makes a good metaphor for life. The people and trains that parade through the subway like clockwork mirror the emotions and events in our own lives. If we allow them, they will happily distract us for our entire lives. Only when we are forced to do we stop and look inside... otherwise we are just another blank face in the crowd, waiting for our train to come.

Sometimes it's hard for me to take time out. I work a lot, and necessarily spend a lot of time moving from one place to another. Finding time to reflect on oneself is always difficult, but among the most rewarding things. When I was young, I would frequent the dark corners of my mind, and see what was hiding there. As I got older, this natural tendency towards thought led me to classic novels, meditation, and a propensity for long, solitary walks in the woods. Unfortunately, the more I see of the world, the harder it is to find time to reflect upon it. I continuously strive to escape the daily grind, which in modern society is a loose requirement for a satisfying life. I always want a unique, individual business to succeed so I can make optimal use of my time and increase my own awareness and happiness, but the workings of getting there leave little time along the way. The casualties of starting something new are many, and sometimes I playfully wonder if I should not just accept the everyday life most Americans enjoy, and jealously guard the petty hours left to me by world.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/satisfaction/a-meditation-on-the-subway/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Project Darkstar Game Server Risk Benefit Analysis</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/project-darkstar-game-server-risk-benefit-analysis/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/project-darkstar-game-server-risk-benefit-analysis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:25:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bootstrapping as Method]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Darkstar]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multiplayer games]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=90</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Darkstar is an Open Source server platform developed by Sun Labs, specifically created for massively multiplayer game creation. It has a long list of useful features, and allows the development team to build application logic directly on top of it while handling all the low level server tasks which are traditionally the most difficult - concurrent data access, user connection level loading, multi-node scaling, and persistence across server crashes or shutdowns.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/project-darkstar-game-server-risk-benefit-analysis/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Blue Screen of Death Marriage Proposal?</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/personal/a-blue-screen-of-death-marriage-proposal/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/personal/a-blue-screen-of-death-marriage-proposal/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:42:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blue screen of death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[c]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marriage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[programming]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=118</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend, my dear friend A. decided it was time to propose to his long time girlfriend. Sadly, her father has fallen ill, so she was leaving Monday morning for another state. This pulled forward his plans, and highlighted the face that he didn't yet have a concrete proposal plan, only a few various ideas. His favorite idea was to use her interests in a joke to surprise her. She has been playing a lot of Dragon Age lately, and loves computers, so he wanted to incorporate that somehow.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/personal/a-blue-screen-of-death-marriage-proposal/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Indy Game Economics 101</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/indy-game-economics-101/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/indy-game-economics-101/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:16:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bootstrapping as Method]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Startup Challenges]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[building expertise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[entrepeneur]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multiplayer games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opportunity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[startup]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=100</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently entered the Indy gaming market, a crowded market if ever there was one. I liken being an Indy game designer / programmer to being a first cut author, except without an entire publishing industry looking for hot talent. Imagine being an author and getting your first book put on Amazon for download, or included in an online store along with millions of other titles, many of which have name brand recognition, thousands or millions of dollars in marketing spend backing them, or a lower price point (free). Your book is new, it touches universal themes, the writing is solid, and the characters alive. Still, it is useless unless people see it and buy it. How is such an author to make enough to feed the family?]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/indy-game-economics-101/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New Direction: Gaming</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/satisfaction/new-direction-gaming/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/satisfaction/new-direction-gaming/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:41:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Career Satisfaction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Flash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[career satisfaction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[happiness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[multiplayer games]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[opportunity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=77</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To be perfectly honest, when I started this blog, I already knew that my current direction was towards creating multi-player games with niche appeal for profit. It came to me one day a few months back as I was brainstorming and looking over a few ideas I had for my next venture. The problem I [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/satisfaction/new-direction-gaming/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Small Business Guide to IT Outsourcing</title>
		<link>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/small-business-guide-to-it-outsourcing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/small-business-guide-to-it-outsourcing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:25:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boots</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Bootstrapping as Method]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cost]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[outsourcing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[planning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/?p=63</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many small businesses, whether just getting started or established and growing, consider IT outsourcing but do not know where to start. In this article, I will walk you through the benefits and risks to outsourcing various parts of your IT infrastructure, and some common strategies as well as ways to go about implementing those strategies]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.bootstrappingindependence.com/bootstrapping/small-business-guide-to-it-outsourcing/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
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