It’s a business. But we haven’t started it yet. Well, maybe it’s an idea, but we have people to implement it. Well, the people aren’t on board yet, -we need to offer them a lucrative salary. And we need an office, and about 6 months of operating expense to get going. And we might not be “profitable” for a while…

WTF ever happened to Ramen Noodles, and working till 3am? Where’s the passion? Where’s the drive?

Nobody needs an office these days. Nobody needs “operating expenses.”

You know what software to develop a million dollar company costs today? Zero dollars. Or if you want to splurge you can spend, maybe, $1000 on software that can do amazingly incredible things. Hard work + cheap tools will beat lazy + great tools every single day.

You need an Aeron, and a conference room? You need a company car, and a secretary? F. U.

We started out with a 3 year old laptop, and financed Macs. Apartment coffee tables, and care packages of beef stew from our parents. Our girlfriends scrubbed the floor of our first filthy office on their cute hands and knees. Our “conference table” was an old restaurant booth we found at salvage. We worked late, and worked hard.

We’re not rich now. Far from it. We’re still scrapping, and working our butts off. But we’re living on our own 2 legs, and working for nobody but ourselves. Even the people who were not here at the beginning know that we survive on nobody’s benevolence or wits but our own. It is the only, only way that makes any sense to us to live.

So go. Go suck off the corporate teet if you will. Maybe you’ll get lucky, and not ever have to care about anything in your life, – because caring about postponed success is a hard and sucky endeavor. But we little “startups” who are self funded go to bed at night late, exhausted, modestly employed, and happy as hell.

“Apple is like a mutant virus, escaping from the traditional structure of the PC industry, but the industry will still eventually build up immunity, thus further blocking this trend, and we believe the size of the non-Apple camp will exceed Apple’s, because this is how the industry normally evolves.”

- Acer founder and retired chairman Stan Shih

If you’re basing all your business plans on how things “normally evolve” you’re about to become extinct.

“Complex” apps are usually a mess. Look at any Adobe app, or Microsoft app. Most of them (not all) are a catastrophic mess. They look like the drawer in your laundry room. The one where disparate items like flashlights, rulers, sewing kits, giveaway pencils, off-sized screws, and IKEA pieces, and half-used batteries come to rest. Not purposefully lain, but because no force but apathy, and gravity could hope to contain them.

Complex apps “do more.” But they do it at the expense of crashes, and a manual in seven languages. Users use them, they hate them. They’re trapped by some function that no other app has, but that they need.

Take Photoshop for example (please take it!). No other app does RGB/CMYK, and compositing as elegantly. It’s amazing with it’s bezier curve handling and it’s simple yet incredibly powerful layer management. Keep Reading

When do you get your ideas? I mean literally, in the middle of the night? During your work hours? While eating dinner with your family?

My husband snorts at me every time we’re in the car and I turn my purse inside out looking for my notebook. I’m usually in a panic to jot down the idea I just had- but that’s me; if I don’t get it down in a hurry, who knows if I’ll remember it later. (I quite possibly have memory issues…)

My ideas aren’t always directly tied to work- in fact, most of the time, they’re not. (I’m one of those who has to really step away from the monitor a few hours a day.) But if I try, I can steer them in that direction eventually. Keep Reading

Realizing you have nothing original left to say is a heavily depressing emotion- especially when your job depends on your ability to generate content. But don’t worry- a writing marathon could be just what you need to dig up some ideas you didn’t even know you had. Not just for writers, this strenuous exercise applies to… well, everyone who can type who needs to come up with ideas. Keep Reading

“There’s growing evidence to suggest that innovation flourishes when people are given the space to make mistakes…. Why, then don’t we allow, much less encourage, making mistakes?” – Vineet Nayar, The Harvard Business Review.

I couldn’t agree more. Failing is part of life and often leads to some of the greatest discoveries along the way! Plus, it’s a great way to learn. We shouldn’t be afraid to fail; we should get really excited at the opportunity to turn it into a positive.

Now we’re one step closer to what works best.

I have a problem.

I need to learn more about “x” so I can write a solid article about “y.” There’s lots of info online about “x,” plus there’s this really interesting book sitting on my desk that I’m sure I could get a lot out of. The book is calling my name, and I really want to read it. But here’s my problem.

I know it’s weird, but it feels like I’m breaking the rules if I’m away from my computer much during normal work hours. Reading Boagworld, Bobulate, Kottke, or Daring Fireball in the middle of the afternoon feels fine- but the second I pick up a physical book, in my mind, I’m suddenly indulging a guilty pleasure. Keep Reading

We’ve been thinking a lot about Page Description Diagrams lately, and how they might fit into a workflow which frequently interacts with clients. Simply put, we’re fascinated with website planning, and always interested in ways to make Jumpchart better. Keep Reading

If you’ve written, or are writing an article about Paprika, let us know and we’ll send you a $5 iTunes gift card for your effort and interest.

There are just a few terms:

• Any article written after June 22nd, 2010 is eligible.

• If you live somewhere where iTunes doesn’t exist, no worries- we’ll figure something else out.

• We try really hard to produce quality work, and we know you will, too.

• Please note! We’re not paying for good reviews… We’re paying for publicity. We pay all sorts of major blogs and ad networks for exposure. We love all the sites we advertise on, but we think this is a way to micro-advertise. Say something good, say something bad, just say something!

Thanks again everyone- tell us about your article at support@getpaprika.com!