Learn How to Build & Launch Apps. At a rate of 30 million a day, downloading apps is a popular hobby among consumers.
So, too, is developing ideas for great new ones. The trouble often lies in taking an app from conception to high-tech reality — but experts agree anyone can develop a successful, and potentially lucrative, mobile app with the right approach and effort. "You can make a lot of money off of this if you do things the right way," said Chad Mureta, who had no experience in the field before founding three mobile application businesses, including Empire Apps. While having the idea is paramount, Mikka Olsson, co-founder of the app development firm Ebbex, said a lot of other work, from design to marketing, is necessary for it to be a productive venture. "Having a great idea is just 5 percent of the process," Olsson said. " It's a huge opportunity, but you have to gear up and really want it. " "Find out of if they would use it or find it intriguing," Acuña said.
Once the idea is flushed out, the app can be built. 14 DIY mobile app development resources for small businesses. This post was updated April 8, 2014, to reflect the ever-changing mobile application development landscape.
Many small businesses sill shrug off the idea of creating a mobile app but the case for doing so continues to become stronger, not just when it comes to engaging more effectively with customers but for empowering employees. I wrote about one example of the latter scenario last month: ski and board shop Mount Everest in Westwood, N.J., created a mobile app to extend its LightSpeed point-of-sale (POS) solution so that the sales team is alerted when priority orders arrive. Its app helps the retailer boost credibility with certain search engines by responding more quickly. "This was essentially the only way to play. We wouldn't be able to do what we are doing without it," said Ryan McGarry, manager of e-commerce operations for the retailer. I mentioned two similar examples involving FileMaker late last year.
10 Tips for Small Business Owners. Scott Gerber is the founder of Sizzle It!
, a New York based sizzle reel production company specializing in promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals, and the Young Entrepreneur Council. He is a serial entrepreneur, internationally syndicated columnist, angel investor, public speaker and author of the best-selling book Never Get a "Real" Job: How To Dump Your Boss, Build a Business and Not Go Broke. Apps can be traps. Or specifically, time and money pits.
Yet in the increasingly app-friendly world where smartphones and web-enabled devices are essential, many businesses can reap bountiful revenues, reach new markets and garner awareness by hopping on the mobile bandwagon. That said, a business owner shouldn't produce any old app, nor can you just throw an app online and hope it will be found. 1. Have a location-based discount feature — customer has to check in at your location via your app to unlock special pricing. - Devesh Dwivedi, Breakingthe9to5Jail.com 2. 3. ... How to Build an App Empire: Can You Create The Next Instagram? Chad Mureta runs his seven-figure app business from his iPhone.
(Photo: Jorge Quinteros). I first met Chad Mureta in Napa Valley in 2011. Two years prior, he had been in a horrible car accident. He’d lost control of his truck in at attempt to avoid a deer, hit a median, and flipped four times, nearly destroying his dominant arm in the wreckage. While in the hospital for a lengthy recovery, a friend gave him an article about the app market. “In just over two years, I’ve created and sold three app companies that have generated millions in revenue. After finishing rehab, Chad was able to leave his real estate company, where he’d been working 70 hours a week, to run his app business from his iPhone… in less than 5 hours per week. “Apps” are the new, new thing, thanks to major successes like Draw Something (bought by Zynga for $210 million) and Instagram (bought by Facebook for $1 billion), among others. Last but not least, don’t miss the competition at the end.
Enter Chad Mureta.