If I Started Now: How to Start a Software Company That Makes $40,000 Per Month

by James Clear

This post is part of the If I Started Now series, which hands you the step–by–step blueprint on how to get started building a particular business.

Let me share a secret with you.

Software is the greatest tool for building a profitable business that the world has ever seen (even if you don’t have any money to get started).

Bold statement, I know.

However, once you’re finished watching today’s interview, I’m confident you’ll feel the same way.

Why Should I Watch This?

Today’s interview is with Dane Maxwell and it will cover the exact steps you need to take to go from nothing (seriously — you don’t even need an idea!) to a profitable software business.

Dane has already built four six–figure software companies and his biggest seller, Paperless Pipeline, currently pulls in over $40,000 per month. Yes, every month.

If you have ever thought about building an iPhone app, web app, or any type of software then this interview is for you.

The goal of this interview is to help you answer the question, “If I started building a software business, what steps should I take right now?”

Don’t miss this one. You’ll love it.

Click the Play Button Below

Mentioned In This Interview

Special Gift — Because Dane is my main man, he has decided to give away a free gift to Passive Panda readers. Click here to find out more.

Spin Selling — Dane mentions this book in the interview (and I promptly pull a copy off my shelf like it was planned all along). You can check it out on Amazon here.

The Foundation — Dane has also taught hundreds of students how to build their own software companies. One student, Sam Ovens, recently went from having no money to building an iPhone app that pulls in over $2,500 per month … and he did this all in 10 weeks. You can get a case study of Sam’s full story here.

What You Should Do Now

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on this interview and on any questions you have about building a software company.

As always, I’ll do my best to help.

100 Search Engines Every Business Student Should Bookmark

May 25th, 2010

Learning about business in college can be a great way to prepare yourself for the working world, no matter what field you end up joining. Coursework can create a great foundation to work with, but students can keep up with what’s going on in the business and finance worlds as well as get some help researching for courses from resources on the web. Here are some great search engines that can help you find essential business resources and tools all over the web.

Business Centered

These search engines will help you navigate a wide variety of business topics.

1. Business.com: Through this site you can search for products and businesses and get answers to your business questions.
2. Zapdata: Sign up with this site to search for business data you can use.
3. Bloomberg: Follow the latest business news and fluctuations in the market using this site.
4. BPubs: Here you’ll be able to search for great business-related publications, great for personal and school research alike.
5. ThomasNet: Connect with others in the industries you find intriguing through this site.
6. Corporate Information: Use this search tool to find out more about businesses out there.
7. AllBusiness: There are loads of resources on this site that will help you learn about business and corporations.
8. BusinessInDepth: This site will let you go through business resources by country and search for what you need to know.
9. SmallBusinessExpo: Those hoping to start their own businesses can find a wealth of searchable services, software and franchises here.
10. Where2Go: Search through this site to easily find the resources you need to start and run a business.
11. Small Business Search Engine: This government site is home to numerous search engines that will aid you in searching for everything from legal issues to local policies.
12. TopTenWholesale: Retailers looking for wholesale products can search through thousands of listings here.
13. Zibb: Check out this global business search engine to get news, business updates and more.
14. BusinessSeek: Use this site to find businesses around the world.
15. Masterseek: Find products, news, jobs, business leads and much more through this search engine.
16. Fox Business: If you need a business quote, want some news or videos, this site offers easy searchability.

Entrepreneurs

Those thinking of starting their own business can benefit from these search engines.

17. Angelsoft Investor Search: Need an angel investor? This search engine can help you find one.
18. Business Finance Loans: Search through this site for available business loans.
19. Entrepreneur.com: You’ll find tons of information on starting and running your own business through the search tools on this site.
20. Head Startup: Try out these search tools to find websites, apps and resources for small business.
21. The Funded: Use this online community as a place to search for and see ratings of funding sources worldwide.
22. Vator.tv: Watch videos from other startups on this site and search to see others in your field.
23. Alltop Startups: When you search through this blog aggregator, you’ll get the latest news in entrepreneurship.
24. Young Entrepreneur: Search through this site for helpful articles and advice.
25. Partner Up: Using the search engine on this site, you can find members of this business community who can be investors and partners.
26. Entrepreneurship.com: This organization, dedicated to helping people start their own businesses, is a great place to search for guidance.
27. Inc.com: Try searching through this magazine for articles that fit your research or business needs.
28. Killer Startups: When you search through this site, you’ll find articles on marketing, blogging and technology as well as access to the Datapedia site so you can find relevant business data.

Stocks and Investing

Find out more about the stock market and investing–two essential components of business–from these search engines.

29. DailyStocks: Search for and track all the changes in the stock market using this site.
30. Yahoo! Finance: Follow the latest financial news on Yahoo! Finance.
31. Investor Guide: From managing your own finances to getting help with business prospects, search through this site for helpful articles.
32. Investopedia: This Forbes company will let you search through tutorials, study for CPA exams, and just plain learn more about finance.
33. TradeWiser: You can find an online broker through this site or just get some advice on smarter investing.
34. Dividend: Search for stocks that meet your interests here.
35. Option Find: Find out more about hedging options through this site and search for funds that match your needs.
36. Motley Fool: This site offers users a chance to search for specific information or to browse through articles, tickers and news.
37. Tickerpedia: Here, you can search for stock, Forex or brokers.
38. TradingDay: Search for stocks, highs and lows, quotes and more through this handy site.

All-In-One

These meta search engines will save you time in finding the results you need.

39. Powerset: This site offers a better and more comprehensive way to search through Wikipedia.
40. Dogpile: Search through all the major search engines at once using this site.
41. MetaCrawlerWeb: Save time and search through several search sites at once here.
42. mamma: mamma lets users find images, news, videos and tweets.
43. Myriad Search: Use Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com at once here.
44. HotBot: This search engine goes through Yahoo!, LyGo and MSN to find the best results.
45. SurfWax: You can search news, RSS feeds, Wikipedia, shopping and more using this tool.
46. Clusty: Using several top search engines, this site combines the results into clusters organized by topic.
47. Copernic Agent: Search the web smartly using this search tool.
48. Scour: Scour makes it easy to get the latest and most popular results in images, news and videos.
49. Vertical Search: Get targeted, relevant search results on this site in a range of categories, including business.

Research

When doing research for your courses, these search engines can be a big help.

50. Google Scholar: This site guarantees that you’ll get great results that are academic and trustworthy.
51. WorldCat: If you can’t find what you want in your own library, use this search engine to locate it.
52. HighBeam Research: Search through tons of articles and journals using this tool.
53. iSeek: This site will deliver results focused on academics and education.
54. Librarian’s Internet Index: Find information you can trust through this search engine.
55. Virtual Learning Resource Center: Search or browse through loads of topics on this site to find the information you need.
56. Open Library: Doing research for a business project? This site can help, with access to lots of free books.
57. Virtual Salt: This site offers access to a variety of search engines as well as listing some tools that can help you find what you need.
58. NoodleTools: Not sure how to go about researching? This site takes into account numerous factors and gives you a plan to get it done.
59. Academic Index: Here you can search through academic and professional resources.

Economics and Finance

Find out more about the world of finance through these search tools.

60. EconLit: Search through numerous articles published in econ journals through this site.
61. National Bureau of Economic Research: Find out more about economic research projects by searching this site.
62. RePEc: Find research papers in economics by searching though the hundreds of thousands of papers listed here.
63. Inomics: Use this site to keep up with the latest news in economics meetings, education and jobs.
64. Google Finance: Follow the markets and important financial news here.
65. DailyFinance: You can search this site for market results, or just read the news published daily.
66. Boardmark: This financial search engine and community will put you in touch with great resources and people.
67. SeekFin: Search the web for the best financial information using this tool.
68. Business Finance: Through this site, you’ll get access to information geared towards business professionals.

Legal

Gain a better understanding of the legal aspects of business by using these tools.

69. FindLaw: Find answers about the law, get access to lawyers, and much more through this site.
70. LawForum: Here you can join in discussions on law and find helpful information through the search functions.
71. Everybody’s Legal Glossary: Use this site to look up legal terms so you can be in the know.
72. Law.com Quest: This search engine focuses on law firm sites and legal blogs to bring you results.
73. FedLaw: If the research you’re doing requires learning more about federal law, then try out this site.
74. World Legal Information Institute: Try out this site to find out about law and legal decisions worldwide.
75. Meta-Index for U.S. Legal Research: This site isn’t a search engine itself but will point you in the direction of dozens of other great searchable sites.
76. LawGuru: Ask a legal question or search through past answers on this site.

Advertising and Marketing

Try out these search engines to research advertising and marketing, past and present.

77. Ad Access:You’ll find over 7,000 ads here that you can search through.
78. Ad Forum: Using this site, you can search through a collection of modern ads and get access to an online community.
79. MarcommWise: Find articles and a glossary on this searchable site.
80. Marketer’s Portal: Search through this site for resources that can help you be a better marketer.
81. Vintage Ad Browser: Get an idea of what ads looked like in past decades from this site.
82. Workbook: This site is an excellent photography and illustration database for advertisers.
83. Marketing Find: Through this search tool, you can find marketing news and helpful apps to navigate the web.

Social Media

These social media search tools will help you better navigate social tools that can help you market and promote your business ventures.

84. Aardvark: Find all kinds of answers to your important questions on this searchable site.
85. Backtype: Type in any URL to this site to see its social impact.
86. Delicious: Use Delicious to search for information that is popular with web users.
87. LinkedIn: LinkedIn can be a valuable tool for searching for business connections.
88. Scoopler: Find out what the biggest scoops are out there in business, technology and more using this site.
89. Technorati: Need a blog? Use this site to search for those related to the topics you need to read about.
90. Taggl: Search for tagged posts relevant to your query on this site.
91. Twingly: You can follow big news stories or help yourself find ones that you really want to read by signing up and searching this site.
92. KnowEm: Search through all the big social media sites to see what people are saying about your company.
93. Omgili: Find communities, message boards and discussion threads about any topic using this search engine.

Green Business

With more and more businesses looking for ways to be green, these search tools can help you learn about the latest developments in sustainable business.

94. EcoBusinessLinks: Through this site, you can search for green products and companies.
95. EcoSeek: This site is a searchable green products directory.
96. GreenGamma: Use this directory to find out how green tech is being used by all kinds of different companies.
97. Green Maven: Search green news sites and blogs using this search engine.
98. GreenBiz: Use this site to find great blog posts and articles on the green business world.
99. Green America: Here, you’ll be able to search for companies who are changing the face of business by becoming greener.
100. Sustainable Business: Learn about green business, investing, connections, jobs and more through the search tools on this site.

1. Jason Decks Says:
   October 12th, 2012 at 12:52 am
   Very useful information you provided in your post. When I first started trading, I could’ve used any information available and even though I’m not a newbie trader anymore, I still find blogs and posts like this a must-read material.

50 Places You Can Learn to Code (for Free) Online

If you’re curious about learning a programming language then you’re in luck: there’s no shortage of resources for learning how to code online. University-level courses, tutorials, cheat sheets, and coding communities all offer excellent ways to pick up a new language, and maybe even a new job, too. Read on, and you’ll discover 50 great places to learn how to code, for free, online.

University

Many big names in education including MIT and Stanford offer programming courses, absolutely free.

1. UC Berkeley Webcasts:UC Berkeley’s Computer Science department offers a huge collection of online college courses in programming and computing.
2. MIT OpenCourseWare:Find more than a hundred online course materials for electrical engineering and computer science in MIT’s OpenCourseWare collection.
3. Stanford University:Through iTunesU and Coursera, Stanford University offers plenty of programming courses, including Coding Together: Apps for iPhone and iPad, Programming Methodology, and Human-Computer Interaction.
4. The Open University:U.K.-based Open University has a variety of learning units in computing and ICT.
5. University of Southern Queensland:From the University of Southern Queensland, you’ll find courses in Object Oriented Programming in C++ and Creating Interactive Multimedia.
6. Princeton:Through Princeton University’s Coursera site, you can find courses on algorithms, computer architecture, and networks.
7. University of Michigan:From the University of Michigan, you’ll get access to great programming courses including Computer Vision and Internet History, Technology, and Security.

General

If you’re just dipping your toes into programming, or you want to find a variety of resources, these sites offer several different ways to learn how to code.

8. School of Webcraft:Mozilla Foundation’s School of Webcraft is a peer-powered school that offers free web development education.
9. Google Code University:Google Code University is full of excellent resources for code learning, including tutorials, introductions, courses, and discussion forums.
10. Google Code:Search Google’s repository of code through this awesome resource.
11. Webmonkey:On Webmonkey, you’ll find tutorials for everything from building your first website to developing with HTML5.
12. OER Commons:Find programming courses from the Saylor Foundation, Teachers’ Domain, and more in this directory of open education.
13. ArsDigita University:In ArsDigita’s curriculum, you’ll find excellent courses for programming design, computer science, and even artificial intelligence.
14. Code School:Many of Code School’s courses are paid, but they do offer rare gems like Rails for Zombies that are worth checking out.
15. SitePoint Reference:Find references for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on Sitepoint.
16. Khan Academy:Video tutorial site Khan Academy offers computer science courses with an introduction to programming and computer science, including lots of Python resources.
17. Lifehacker Night School:Lifehacker.com offers this concise guide to learning code, with 4.5 lessons offering the basics of programming.
18. Wikiversity:Through Wikiversity’s School of Computer Science, you’ll be able to study techniques for programming in computer systems.
19. Wikibooks:Check out the Computer Programming section of Wikibooks to find resources in just about every coding language.
20. Programmer 101:Another one from Lifehacker.com, Programmer 101 is a great guide to getting started with programming.
21. Mozilla Developer Network:Find plenty of resources for learning web technologies on Mozilla’s Developer Network, including lessons in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
22. Landofcode:Get an introduction to programming from Landofcode, with practice resource, reference, tools, and how-tos.
23. Academic Earth:Academic Earth’s collection of video courses is impressive, boasting computer science and programming courses from Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more.
24. Skillcrush:Learn how to develop anything you want with this site, offering explanations of terms, resources, and cheat sheets.
25. Udacity:Udacity is a great resource for finding programming courses, including Intro to Computer Science, Web Application Engineering, and Software Testing.
26. Udemy:Learn computer programming from these popular courses on Udemy. Many are free, but be sure to check; some are paid.
27. Learn Code the Hard Way:On Learn Code The Hard Way, you’ll find books and courses to learn Python, Ruby, C, SQL, and Regex. Although courses aren’t free, the books are.
28. The New Boston:The New Boston offers an incredible collection of video tutorials for all types of programming, including iPhone and computer game development.
29. HakTip:Check out this weekly web show to find programming how-tos that you can use.
30. Onvard:Onvard offers a self-guided resource for learning different tracks, including Ruby on Rails, HTML, and PHP.
31. WiBit.net:Wibit.net shares several courses and videos offering free education in programming, especially C and Java.

Community

Learn how to code on these sites with a heavy community influence ready to offer help to newbs.

32. Stack Exchange:This Q&A community, programming is one of the most popular subjects, offering users a great way to learn from peers.
33. Stack Overflow:Like Stack Exchange, Stack Overflow is a Q&A site, but this one is all about language-independent programming questions.
34. Codecademy:Check out Codecademy for an easy, interactive way to learn how to code.
35. Code Year:A part of Codecademy, Code Year is a project that provides participants with a new interactive programming lesson each week.
36. The Code Project:This incredible development resource offers articles, discussions, quick answers, and tips for programming.
37. Village88:Learn how to code for free with the help of a personal mentor on Village88. You can even get certified and find a job through the site.
38. Dream.In.Code:Find tutorials, discussion, and more on this community learning site for programmers.
39. Ladies Learning Code:Join this community, and especially the email list, to find tech help and resources for code learning.
40. Programr:In this IT community, you’ll be able to start projects, join contests, and more, all for developing your programming skills.
41. Processing Forum:Check out the Processing forum to find a great community for answering programming questions.

Language Specific

Drill down to the language you really want on these sites, offering expansive learning in one or two specific languages.