The last post about CapitalCents was about how I really got the project out of my brain and on some electrons, with a bunch of free labor, agh um I mean smart MBA student friends of mine. Now let's talk about how a guy who knew NOTHING and I mean nothing about making a website, web hosting, or anything else HTML related got a site up on the internet.

My first problem was I had a really good business plan but no knowledge how to make it real. So I evaluated my options which consisted of the following...
1- Do nothing quit (It crossed my mind, but it was never really an option)
2- Learn to code and do it myself (I considered this for about 3 seconds, didn't want to be a coder, I'm going to school and I hold down a full time job)
3- Find someone to pay and make the site for me (BINGO)
Any of these could be an option for you, if you are a great coder, what do you have to lose? I find working on my site much more enjoyable than watching TV. Plus watching TV has about ZERO chance of paying me. Now the 3rd option maybe a bit harder for some, I won't lie, I had been saving for a long time to try something like this. Since I own a condo I saved every dollar my roommate paid me in rent and utilities. But Ryan I don't have lots of money to pay someone to start my site. Well consider this the world is flat, that's right the person or company you use does not need to be down the road, in the same state or GASP in the same country.

I did a ton of research and found out I could pay someone to build me a site and outsource the work. That's right I outsourced my site design to another country on the other side of the world. Now even if you don't have lots of money, start with a small idea that is in a niche market. Starting small has many advantages not the least of which is the fact if you screw up it won't set you back too much. There are a few websites on the net that can help, rather than link some of them here, I'll let you do some research try looking for freelance talent.

Once you find a good site you need to write a Request For Proposal (RFP), basically some words stating what you want without giving away everything, you never know who might be out there and reading. Then state some criteria and wait for the responses, I was frankly amazed at how many responses I had received, I believe it was between 8-12. A few people called me, some of them I talked to others I didn't, most emailed me, but I finally settled on one firm after some fairly exhaustive analysis.

Once I had awarded the project, is when it got real interesting. The team was on the other side of the globe, I had become an international businessman overnight. I had outsourced work that a United States worker could do, because I wanted to get the most for my money. What was I thinking? The next post will dwell on working with an international team and getting the site up.