I’ve just finished reading Rework – an ideas and strategy book by the founders of 37signals. It’s a great book for getting motivated to get on with building whatever it is you want to build, and ignoring (or at least minimising) the things that get in the way of you doing that.
It was really interesting to realise that their strategy (which is to keep things small and simple, and not bloat out your product/company/staff) is aligned exactly with mine. Simplybill is fairly simple – it does the main job (which is sending invoices) well, and adds a few other things that make that task easier, but doesn’t overcomplicate it with more features that people won’t use. And as it’s run by me – and not a corporation solely interested in keeping shareholders happy, I can keep the price low and keep developing it without worrying about ROI and other business buzzwords!
So, whilst I didn’t really learn anything new, it was good to read and get re-focussed on the core of Simplybill – which is sending and tracking invoices and making that task quick and easy for as many people as possible.
If you’re a small business, or a freelancer, with an idea for a product or service, it’s well worth the read.