I’ve finally started writing down my highly opinionated thoughts on PHP over at Biased PHP. Want some controversy? Here are my PHP Commandments
SaaS Adventures
Tom's attempts to make money with Software as a Service
Tom's attempts to make money with Software as a Service
I’ve finally started writing down my highly opinionated thoughts on PHP over at Biased PHP. Want some controversy? Here are my PHP Commandments
Databases and code are the obvious parts of any system to backup (and if you don’t have any backups, take a backup right this very second!)
But what else is it useful to have backups of, even if they’re on a one-off basis?
Here’s a quick list of what I’m backing up today.
Continue reading Server backups: everything else you should take care of
Hi, I have some questions.
The message popped up on my screen one afternoon. This was exciting; I’d been testing a new live chat tool on my websites, one that was starting to turn visitors into customers, and new messages that asked questions were usually a good sign.
Continue reading Talking with a porn chat spammer, a lesson appears.
Problem: your Linux system should be running nice and fast. Are there are strange slowdowns you can’t work out? Or are you seeing the odd,…
Continue reading Tech tip of the day: look out for the (very) large files
It’s all to easy to make grand claims, and then fail to follow through on them. A common example is to claim to offer fantastic support; who doesn’t want fantastic support? So many companies offer less than stellar customer service that, on the rare occasion an email is answered swiftly or competently first time around, it’s a cause of celebration.
The thing is, though, that if you fail to live up to your claims, your users won’t just be disappointed: they will be bitterly so.
Continue reading Extraordinary support? You’d better blow my mind.
2012 has been a year of highs and lows. On one hand, the realisation that my copywriting skills – and general marketing-savvy, for that matter – remain less than useless, despite repeated attempts to improve, has been extremely disheartening. On the other hand, one of my startups has taken off quite beyond my wildest expectations.
Continue reading An accidental, successful startup: 2012 in review
It can be difficult to know how good a job your IT professional is doing. If you haven’t hired many people before, or you’re not a programmer, it can be even trickier.
Fear not: this is my quick guide to some of the most common problems I’ve seen and heard about. I’ll list exceptions to each rule, but if more than a few of these match against your current professional, you might like to reconsider continuing using them.
Invoicing can be a time-consuming annoyance. Sure, things improve once they’re paid, but at the beginning, the whole process can quickly become a confusing and time-consuming mess. Here’s what I wanted to achieve for my SaaS apps, and for my consultancy work, hopefully saving you some time along the way.
At the start of 2012, I made the welcome return to consulting, setting up my company, TBB Polska, and planning to put all my income through this entity, rather than through my personal tax allowance.
Continue reading The European Invoicing Adventures of my SaaS Apps