SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

SimpleProject is a web based project tracking application which I intend to use in my consulting business and in my wife's tax preparation business. If everything goes as expected this is also an application that I will be offering to other solo entrepreneurs and micro and small businesses.

Last night I finally completed the mockup of all the main pages and the navigation, and I am very happy with the results. I want to mention I used balsamiq to create these mockups and I absolutely love this product, it is easy and simple to use and with a little practice you can really create nice looking mockups.

The next step is completing the database schema, I am probably 60% done with it so I should be able to start coding (finally) this weekend... wish me luck! I have decided to use asp.net web forms for this project instead of MVC... my decision was based on the fact that I have much more experience with webforms than I do with MVC and this will allow me to move faster... I also have invested time and money on some third party controls that I might end up using for this web application.

About office space...

I am still reluctant about getting a shared office space, it is not cheap, and I know I will only be using it maybe for a few hours every other day or so. You see, I have a full time job and also run a small software consulting business from home on the side and I am very responsible about not using but my free/personal time to work on this startup. I have the idea that having a space where I can do work for my startup is going to help me to think of this as a real business and not only a hobby... but then again I don't know if I can stretch myself (and wallet) by getting a shared office space where I'll have to drive to and also pay a monthly amount for it... I asked a question here and got some real good answers... but I haven't made a decision yet.

If you have any suggestions please share them with me. And if you have some free time and would like to participate in the beta test for SimpleProject, please sign up here.

Feedback

# re: SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

hey,
Nice to know your thoughts, its Darshan from India, i would like to participate for beta test for your simple project... 2/10/2010 12:39 AM | darshan thacker

# re: SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

@darshan Thank you, I see that you have signed up for the beta test, you'll receive an email when the beta is out. 2/10/2010 12:51 AM | Ricardo

# re: SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

Too bad you didn't choose MVC for this project. Sometimes, just for fun, I write a WebForms and MVC version of my little apps to practice sharing the DAL and business object classes between two apps. It reveals area where I am writing too much code in the UI layer. 2/21/2010 2:30 PM | Matt Slay

# re: SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

@Matt
That is an interesting approach, I'll try it soon to see if it works for me :)
2/21/2010 6:53 PM | Ricardo

# re: SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

Have you considered Conjunctured off E 7th? I think they have a waiting list but they're also talking about setting up a new office.

The atmosphere there is great.

It's certainly true that being around other entrepreneurs and freelancers is better than going alone. If nothing else, it's great to bounce ideas off, show them prototypes, and vice versa -- you learn just as much helping others than the other way around.

TechRanch is like that too, and great, but more expensive. There's another one downtown (Austin Coworking maybe, I forget the name). They're popping up everywhere. 3/2/2010 1:59 PM | Jason Cohen

# re: SimpleProject is taking shape - thinking about getting a shared office space

@Jason
Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog, I appreciate it. I have checked Conjunctured, and you are right... there is a waiting list.

I'll keep checking with them for openings and I hope they open a new location soon... it'll be great if they open a new space in North Austin.

3/2/2010 10:07 PM | Ricardo

Ricardo D. Sanchez