The challenge with starting a business using your own savings, is you have to try to achieve elegance while being stingy.

A few of my challenges at the moment:

I need a legal opinion on my site so I can get public indemnity insurance. Just to get the Terms of Use document written is $4000. I do not have this money. I also need further advice to avoid being sued for copyright infringement, which with my type of site, is a risk. I cannot afford to do this – perhaps later when/if I have secured venture capital funding or when the site is making money, but right now, this money does not exist. So I have been asking my lawyer friends to help, which has meant I have my Terms of Use document written, but they don’t feel very sure about the copyright protection side of things. I am taking a gamble that I will be safe for now.

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A massive apology to those kind souls who have been supportive and interested in my burgeoning business. I have been terribly recalcitrant in keeping this blog up to date, instead distracted by the ever demanding nature of work and late nights.

I have lots of good news though to finally impart. Although not yet launched, I am now in what I call the ‘soft launch’ phase of my business. The site is live, and I have invited friends and those in the industry to have a sneak preview, to give me feedback on what needs refining. The process has been excellent, and I have gotten very useful criticism.

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