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minsyal · 5 years

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Mutual Feelings Pt. 9, [Revali x Reader]

Summary: Smart nerdy stuff that smart nerdy people do

“Incoming!” The small metal hinges on your door shook as a heavy foot collided with the old crackling wood, only making its condition worse. The door flew open, slammed against the wall, and rattled the entire room. If the shelves and desk weren’t bolted to the wall, they would have clattered to the ground or move. Purah stood under the frame with the widest smile stretching across her face.

She was nothing but a lit firecracker. Her smile spoke words of mischief, as it always did, speaking essays and forty-minute presentations without her even having to part her lips.

You slid the papers you were working on under a leather-bound book. She wouldn’t like their contents. After all, they were full of information to the Divine Beasts controls that she didn’t know about. Controls that you added. You could imagine the look on her face if she learned that you were going behind her back to answer the Champion’s requests.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” She waltzed into the room with an energy that dumbfounded you. How she managed to stay in a perpetual state of joy was something that intrigued you, but you had no desire to live through yourself. “Brought you more super royal work! I know how much you love all that jazz.”

“You know me better than anyone.” You joked, turning your chair to face her. “What is it?”

“Oh,” she danced around you to slink toward the window. “you know! Just… some stuff.” The pile of papers in her hands didn’t seem like too much work. There were only two notebooks and maybe a dozen sheets of paper with scribbles all over them. There was one thing you took note of, the princess’s perfect cursive that seemed to glide across the page.

“Some stuff.” You repeated, quickly snatching a paper before Purah could protest. “Zelda’s work?”

“Precisely!”

“Why?” There was no way Zelda would want you messing with her work.

“Well. Big boss-man told her to focus on her powers. That means that you and I, more so you,” she quickly added, “get to finish it for her!”

“She would be furious if I so much as touched this.” You speedily put the page back on the stack that was now perched on your desk. “Are you sure we’re supposed to do this?”

“It’s not so much as finish it. Rather,” she leaned to the right and then swayed to the left, “add it to our work! It’s about the shrines and everything. You know? Science stuff.”

“Is she allowed to continue searching for shrines?”

“Probably not. That means less trips with her for you! Maybe more time to spend with,” she waggled her brows in a suggestive manner, “you know who.”

“Purah, let’s not go there.”

“Oh sweetie, you already went there! In fact, you’re way past there! You’re,” she pretended to cast a fishing hook off into the distance, “waaaaayyyy over there! And over there,” she pointed in the opposite direction, “was the point of no return.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“All in a day’s work!”

“Don’t you have other work to be doing?”

“Nope!” She swayed on her toes, the mischievous smile never leaving her face. “So, are you and Revali like, a thing?”

“It was nice to see you, Purah.” You rose from your desk chair and began pushing her out the door. “Please, visit less.” Her feet halted in the hall. “I’ll send a card.”

“It better tell me you and Revali are dating!”

You slammed the door in her face. You could hear her giggling to herself as she left.

Shortly after meeting Keumi and learning of her situation, you traveled alone to Zora’s Domain to obtain updates on how many shines were identified in the surrounding areas from King Dorephan and Mipha. Sidon, who is Mipha’s brother, tagged along but proved to be little to no help as he was just beginning to learn how to utilize his swimming skills.

While there, you met a peculiar older gentleman who gave off an air of wisdom and vast medicinal knowledge. He was kind, quiet, and understated. Unlike the other Zora, he lived in the outskirts of the Domain. His whereabouts remained a mystery to the other Zora, and he was said to only appear when he sensed illness.

It was surprising when he set foot in the Domain seeking you.

You sat with the medicine man, listening diligently as he told you stories of his many travels throughout Hyrule. He had been everywhere you had and more. The ingredients he collected for treating illness were from all walks of the land.

“What brings you to the Domain?” He asked, folding his wrinkled hands in his lap. The two of you sat on the steps of the Domain.

“Research.” You commented.

“Just research?” He implored, eyes leaving you to look off dreamily to the sky. He closed his eyes, taking in the breeze that blew through the canyon walls. “I think you’re here for far more than that.”

“More?”

“You have someone special to you. Very special,” his gaze returned to yours, “and they’re very sick.”

“How do you know that?” You whispered, eyes going wide.

“It’s all over your face.” He smiled, “And I’m not oblivious.”

The medicine man, Sopho, told you of a mysterious plant with an inimitable name, “Omisaato.” The enigmatic flower heavily resembled the Silent Princess, but with small differences in its shape and the introduction of golden speckling on its petals. It radiated the scent of fresh vanilla bean and only sprouted from the ground once a year in varying locations around Gerudo. Sopho told of its intense healing abilities. When brewed correctly with specific ingredients, it could cure even the most devastating diseases or genetic mutations.

He couldn’t provide you with the exact information you needed but could gift you a descent sized book that he had bought on a trip to Kara Kara. Even if there was no evidence of its existence, it was worth a try.

It could fix her. It could save her.

Though it was only a few days ago, Zelda was growing restless. She was itching to breach the walls and return to the wild where she could spend time with what she loved most. You’d find her lingering in the library for longer periods of time, watching over your shoulder as you sifted through her research notes. She’d practically be dangling from the balcony to see what you thought of her work. It was detailed, far more detailed than you had ever bothered to do. She described the make and model, how many screws and bolts she estimated they have, and where she hypothesized, they led to. With such a small entrance, it had to go down. But where? That was the looming question.

“Why don’t you just join me, instead of scare the hell out of Link?” You turned around to find her wide-eyed, either surprised you called her out or surprised that you knew she was there. With a short nod, she descended the stairs and sat down across from you at the table. Link stood a few feet behind her, looking as uncomfortable as he typically did while he followed her around like a lost dog. “Link, come on.”

He hesitantly sat down.

“My notes.” Her fingers danced across the pages that you piled together. “What are they like?”

“They’re yours,” you let out a tired laugh, “you tell me.”

Many emotions crossed her face in very few seconds. Her eyebrows drew together as she contemplated what she wanted to say next. Link was staring blankly at her, likely wondering the exact same thing as you. Zelda reached out and fixed the stack neatly, ensuring the pages corners lined up perfectly.

“Thank you.” She finally said in a quiet tone. “For saving me when we were in Hebra.”

Catching you completely off guard, you examined her expression, trying to figure out whether or not she was telling the truth. She showed no signs of dishonesty. Her eyes were glossy and large, her fingers rubbed together lightly, and her shaking leg inched the table over with each bounce.

“It’s no big deal.” You gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Guess I didn’t expect being a royal scientist meant experiencing 60 volts of electricity coursing through your veins.” With another smile, she was relaxed and smiling back. “Your notes are good. Detailed to all get out. But we haven’t been able to pinpoint whether the shrines in the different regions vary. I’d like to arrange a trip to Gerudo, sooner rather than later, to examine the shrines there.”

At the mention of traveling, she perked up. Something crossed her face that told you the conversations with her father were resurrected in her mind as she physically slumped a bit.

“We can request it to make ambassadorial relation meetings with Urbosa and for the possibility of finding another spring in the desert. He won’t question that.” You assured her.

“I’ll have it arranged at once.”

The next day you set out with Link, Zelda, and Mipha for Gerudo. Daruk and Revali had decided traveling separately would be faster and more efficient for the group as a whole. Plus, they wouldn’t even be allowed to enter the city so getting there immediately wouldn’t be called for. Zelda was much more pleasant than usual. Her attitude changed the moment you suggested the trip and a way around the King’s tightening rules for the young princess. She didn’t even question the cage you wore on your back meant to house the legendary flower.

Mipha, on the other hand, was curious as all get out. She poked and prodded at it, examining the welding techniques used. Link and Zelda led the group while you walked along side the Zora princess who swam slowly through Aquame Lake.

“What is it for?”

“I’m collecting some samples from the desert to take back and analyze at the castle. Boring stuff.” You laughed it off.

“Fascinating.” She was always so joyful. If there was a definition to innocence, it would surely be Mipha. “I’ve always wanted to do more scientific things. There’s just no time to.”

“You’ve helped me install updates to Ruta. I’d say that’s pretty scientific.” You commented. Mipha smiled, ducking beneath the water for a moment before coming back up.

“I mean with lab goggles and coats!”

“Next time I visit, I’ll make sure to bring an extra.”

“I’d enjoy that!”

#revali x reader #revali imagine #revali imagines #revali #botw revali #botw #botw fanfic #botw fic #botw fanfiction #botw loz #loz #tloz #tloz breath of the wild #breath of the wild #x reader #revali x you #loz fanfic

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ardwynna · 4 years

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I think I remember you saying you're indian, but idk where you said that so I might be misremembering. But you said you're not american, and I wanted to know how practicing medicine might be different in india compared to america. Or wherever you practice. From your perspective.

No clue about India, Anon, I’m diaspora, have yet to make the pilgrimage to the Motherland. But I do practice outside the US in one of those ‘shithole’ countries with socialized medicine and a second tier of privately funded care. The options are not necessarily better or more advanced in the private hospitals, but there is less of a crowd there so care can be accessed faster. National Insurance automatically deducted from paychecks helps fund all care at public clinics and hospitals but the wait time can be hard for non-emergencies. I had to whip out my own health insurance for my spine because if I kept waiting for the clinic at work, I would only be getting my MRI this week instead of a month ago. The public system’s overcrowded and understaffed.

But for all that, the public system still provides everything from childbirth to bypass surgery, chemo and all prescription drugs free of charge, which is, IMO, one leg up on the nightmare bills I’ve heard about in the US health industry. People don’t avoid care because they can’t pay for it here, they avoid care because they don’t like doctors and would rather trust herbalists, folk magic, the healing power of prayer etc. or good old stubborn denial. Supplies can be an issue even under normal conditions, as in ‘make do with ten even though you requested twelve’. Access to the most cutting edge technology takes just long enough that it’s no longer cutting edge by the time you get it. The research field is not the widest. The population can’t generate good sample sizes for rare conditions, and of course, cost issues.

There’s less litigation than the US, but there definitely is some. Most of it might have legit cause but some families were trying to sue doctors just to get the malpractice insurance payout even when there’s nothing wrong done, so they could then take the lump sum and fly abroad, seeking alternative care. Our main insurance provider put a cap to the amount they pay out to put a stop to the practice.

One of my pet peeves in practice here is people who take their free prescriptions from their free doctors’ visits, to the free pharmacy to collect their free pills and then don’t fucking take them. D: OMG, the families come in with, I kid you not, gallon ziplock bags full of meds going months back, and the patient ‘only took them if they were feeling sick’. The understanding of living with chronic conditions is pretty poor in a certain demographic, and the patient counseling and education attempts go a whole lot of nowhere because what do we young, overeducated whippersnappers know. And fine, don’t take your meds, it’s your life, but this deprives people who actually did want to take their medication from doing so properly. Pharmaceutical supplies in the public system have their short-term shortages too. Sure, you can buy stuff in the regular pharmacies but that option is not accessible to everyone.

In short, wherever you are, don’t choose this profession if you like sleep or peace of mind. Even if everything runs smoothly and beautifully, the human factor will find a way to stay in your head.

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bloggerjoedoe · 4 years

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This summer, when Apple detailed iOS 14 and the Home screen changes it would bring, the company highlighted personalization as one of the key features of the new widget-populated Home screen. Rather than just containing an assortment of apps, iOS 14 Home screens can feature the information that matters most to you. Whether that’s your Activity rings so you can stay on top of your health, the current weather forecast, your task list, a memory from the Photos app – there are an abundance of options for personalizing your Home screens now.

I’ve tried a ton of Home screen widgets from third parties over the summer, and developers are doing lots of creative things with their apps’ widgets. One of the most exciting trends I’ve seen is the emergence of a new category of apps entirely centered around widgets. While most widgets will come built in to the apps you already know and love, some developers have built brand new apps for the sole purpose of enabling users to create and customize widgets in a hyper-personalized way. The best widgets I’ve tried offer configuration settings so you can tailor them to your exact needs, and these new apps take that idea even further, offering widget creation tools relating to a variety of traditional app categories – like weather, photos, health and fitness, productivity, and more – but in a single centralized app.

Leading the pack in this regard is Widgetsmith from David Smith, which not only covers one of the widest array of different widget types, but also features a power user-friendly scheduling option that sets it apart. The App Store hosts a growing number of other widget creation tools too, such as Widgeridoo, Widget Wizard, Glimpse, and Health Auto Export.

Because each app specializes in providing its own custom set of options, there’s no limit to the number of apps worth trying. Widget needs can be highly personalized, so it’s no surprise that the apps designed for creating widgets all offer their own takes too.

Get ready to upgrade your Home screens.

Widgetsmith

Widgets built with Widgetsmith.

Widgetsmith needs to be the starting point here, both because it arguably offers the most comprehensive suite of widget creation tools I’ve seen and also because the core concept of the app was birthed even before Apple unveiled iOS 14’s new widget system at WWDC. Widgetsmith directly builds upon the foundation laid by Watchsmith, the app David Smith launched in April for building custom Apple Watch complications. As I wrote in my review at the time, Watchsmith took customization on the watch face to a whole new level.

Now, half a year later, Widgetsmith is essentially Watchsmith but for iPhone and iPad widgets rather than Watch complications. Since Apple’s new widget system is directly based on the company’s work with complications, Smith was able to build Widgetsmith from a great starting place due to his very timely efforts with Watchsmith.

Widgetsmith enables building custom widgets across eight different categories:

Weather

Calendar

World Time

Reminders

Health

Astronomy

Tides

Photos

These categories each hold multiple widget options spanning small, medium, and large sizes. The widget creation process in the app is really simple, but offers lots of customization. On the main Widgets tab of the app you’ll see sections for configuring small, medium, and large widgets. You can add new widgets in each size, or simply modify the pre-built widgets by tapping on them, after which you’ll see the option to rename your widget, and you can choose to modify the default widget or set up a timed widget, which I’ll cover in detail shortly.

Creating multiple widgets of each size.

After tapping the widget preview, you’ll enter the setup screen. From here, you’ll find a myriad of widget styles matching the eight categories named above or some variation of them. If you’re configuring a small widget, for example, you’ll see four styles for Time, six for Date, one for Calendar, two for Reminders, six for Weather, and so on. Each style offers either different utility, or a different design for holding the same data. There aren’t near as many style options for the app’s large widgets as for small and medium, but I expect smaller widgets are by far the more popular options, so it makes sense that Smith prioritized those.

Depending on the widget you choose, you may see additional options at the bottom of the screen to modify the widget’s font, tint color, background color, time format, photo album, location, or whatever else is appropriate to that widget type. I can’t even begin to count the number of different possible widgets you could create with all of these options.

A sampling of Widgetsmith’s widget customization tools.

Once you’ve chosen all the right customization options and built your ideal widget, going back to the previous view (via the top-left back button) shows a preview of your new widget. Hit Save and you’re ready to add it to your Home screen.

You can create as many different small, medium, and large widgets as you’d like. Installing them is as easy as choosing the correct size from the Home screen widget installer, then tapping the widget while in jiggle mode to see its configuration options. This is where you choose which exact widget you want displayed. Since Widgetsmith enables building multiple widgets in each size class, this last step is necessary for selecting which specific widget you want.

No matter how many different widgets you’ve created, in the installation process you’ll always just see a single small, medium, or large option, but then after choosing the widget size and adding it to your Home screen or Today view, you’ll be able to select which of your created widgets you actually want displayed. This is why the ability to name your widgets in the app’s setup screen is so important.

Widgets built with Widgetsmith not only display the data you configured for them, such as your reminders due in the next day, but you can also tap them to view that data inside the full Widgetsmith app. The functionality inside the app is limited, so you won’t want to use Widgetsmith as a replacement for your full task manager, or calendar or weather app, but it’s nice being able to see related data to what a widget displays with a single tap.

Tapping a widget takes you into one of these views, which are fully-functioning features of the app.

The wide array of widget categories, styles, and customization options make Widgetsmith stand in a class of its own. However, there’s one other unique strength of the app that must be mentioned, and that’s the widget scheduling system.

If you’ve played around with Apple’s built-in widget options in iOS 14, you might be familiar with the Smart Stack. Apple has applied machine learning to widgets such that a stack of widgets can show the right widget from your stack at the right time – or so goes the promise. In iOS 14 when browsing all of your widget options, the Smart Stack is a stack of widgets the system has assembled featuring widgets from a variety of apps it thinks you’ll value; those widgets will then automatically cycle throughout the day based on your normal use behaviors. You can also, optionally, apply Smart Rotate to any widget stack that you created yourself. If they work well, these ‘Smart’ features can make each stack of widgets more powerful by showing you the most relevant widget at just the right time, that way you shouldn’t ever need to manually flip through a widget stack.

For the average user, maybe the Smart Stack and Smart Rotate features can be a nice way to get more out of widgets. But for power users who want a little more control of their widgets rather than trusting machine learning to understand their use patterns, there’s Widgetsmith’s scheduling system.

Scheduling widget setups for different times of day.

Like I mentioned earlier, after tapping on a widget from the app’s Widgets tab, you’ll see an option at the bottom of the screen to ‘Add a Timed Widget.’ This lets you create additional widgets that are scheduled to appear within a single widget slot at the exact times of day you choose. What this means is that rather than needing to create a stack of different widgets and cycle through them manually, or rely on Smart Rotate to do that for you, Widgetsmith enables having a single widget that changes automatically throughout the day per the schedule you give it.

With Widgetsmith I could, for example, build a single widget that shows the following data on this schedule:

My Activity ring progress from 6:00am-8:00am while I exercise

A reminders list from 8:00am-5:00pm while I work

Activity rings again from 5:00pm-6:00pm to ensure I’m close to completing my rings

Some of my favorite photos from 6:00pm-9:00pm

The next day’s weather forecast from 9:00-10:00pm

With Widgetsmith, you can program a custom schedule like this for any of your individual widgets. No need to stack widgets, or rely on Apple’s machine learning smarts to learn your habits – you know your habits, so you can program them right into one of your Widgetsmith creations. Then, whether you add that widget to your Home screen or Today view, it will automatically update throughout the day per your instructions.

This scheduling feature is built into Smith’s Watchsmith app too, for scheduling Watch complications, and I’m thrilled that it’s come to Widgetsmith. Stacks and Smart Rotate are nice options to have, but I’ve never liked relying on a computer to figure out what I want, when I want it – I’d much rather explicitly program it to do what I want. I hope Widgetsmith’s scheduling feature is adopted by other apps’ widgets in the future.

Widgeridoo

Widgets made with Widgeridoo.

Widgeridoo, similar to Widgetsmith, offers support for a variety of different widget categories. You can build widgets that display:

Static text

Photos

A specific album, playlist, or song from your music library

Battery level for your device

A countdown to a specific date

Upcoming birthdays for your contacts

Steps, distance, or flights traveled today

And much more

As this list makes clear, even though Widgetsmith offered its own diverse set of widget types to build, because of the vast possibilities for different widgets, an app like Widgeridoo can have a similarly impressive list of supported widget types yet with very little overlap between the two apps. With most of these widget creation apps, the question isn’t which one app you should download, as though you were picking a single task manager or notes app; rather, the more widget creation apps the better, because they all offer different options.

Widget configuration in Widgeridoo.

Aside from its distinct list of available data types to build widgets with, one of the things that makes Widgeridoo unique is its use of special layouts for building widgets that offer multiple data types in a single widget.

When creating a widget in Widgeridoo, you can have multiple content blocks laid out in a single widget. You might want one content block to take up the left half of the widget, for example, while two blocks occupy the right half, one in the widget’s top-right corner and one in its bottom-right. You could then select three different sources of data for that widget to display at all times.

Something that makes the widget building experience really easy in Widgeridoo is that you don’t have to specify a size for your widget. Every widget you build in the app will automatically have small, medium, and large versions available for your Home screen. If you use too many content blocks, the small version of that widget would ultimately be too truncated to be useful, but it’s nice being able to seamlessly preview small, medium, and large versions of the same widget without needing to manually re-build it several times. In Widgeridoo you just build once, then all three sizes are available to you.

Widget layouts offer multiple content blocks in a single widget.

I love the layout feature of Widgeridoo because it makes the app’s widgets extra powerful. It’s interesting how different apps have taken their own approaches to supercharging your Home screen: Widgetsmith does so with its scheduling feature, making a single widget display hyper-relevant data at different times of day; Widgeridoo, on the other hand, makes a single widget more powerful by letting it contain multiple content blocks.

The flexibility provided by Widgeridoo’s content block feature, combined with its extensive customization options, means the app is nearly guaranteed to offer enough value to earn one or more of your precious Home screen or Today view slots.

Widget Wizard

Widget Wizard offers simple widget setup.

If you want some powerful new widgets but without the work of manually configuring those widgets in an app like Widgetsmith or Widgeridoo, Widget Wizard may be what you’re looking for. Widget Wizard doesn’t support near as many data types as the apps I’ve covered so far, but like Widgeridoo it supports having multiple content blocks in a single widget; additionally, it removes the need for manually building widgets inside the full app.

Once you’ve opened Widget Wizard and granted it access to data like your calendars, reminders, and health data, you’ll no longer need to use the full app. Rather, you can go straight to iOS 14’s widget picker (by entering jiggle mode on your device then hitting the plus button in the top-left corner) and build your Widget Wizard widgets from there, choosing from three main types:

The One Widget - This comes in small, medium, and large varieties and can display a single type of data.

The Double Widget - This comes in medium and large, and can display two data types at once.

The Triple Widget - Available only in a large size, this displays three data types of your choosing.

The three main widget types of Widget Wizard.

After you’ve selected one of these widgets, its data can be configured by tapping the widget when your Home screen’s in jiggle mode, or by long-pressing the widget and hitting Edit Widget. This configuration screen is where all of Widget Wizard’s customization tools lie.

For each content block in your widget, you can choose from data sources like Calendar, Health Stats, General Reminders, Countdown, Agenda, and Clock. After making a selection, you’ll see additional options for customizing the data you see. For example, if you choose Health Stats you’ll see options to select which stats are displayed – there are lots of stat options available, and you can choose three or more different stats to display in a single content block. Since all of the widget configuration happens from the widget itself, rather than inside the full Widget Wizard app, it’s much easier to get up and running with the widgets you want.

Glimpse

Websites on your Home screen with Glimpse.

Unlike the apps I’ve detailed so far, Glimpse doesn’t aim to offer a variety of widget types, but rather it’s singularly focused on providing widgets that display web views. That’s right, you can have Home screen widgets that preview the latest content on your favorite websites.

Creating widgets with Glimpse is extremely simple. Open the app, hit the plus button to add a website, then type the site’s name and URL, and you’ll see a preview of the page. One of the most valuable features of Glimpse is that when you see this preview of the site, you can scroll it to your desired starting point. This means if you want to create a widget for MacStories, for example, you can avoid wasting valuable widget real estate on our site header and featured stories at the top of the page; rather, your widget can start displaying content at the exact point where our most recent article lives.

After saving the newly configured website in the app, you can add either a medium or large Glimpse widget to your Home screen, and from that widget’s configuration mode you can choose which site to display, how often the widget refreshes (as often as every 15 minutes), and toggle the widget’s bottom bar on and off. The bottom bar tells you the site’s name and how long ago the displayed page was refreshed, but if you’d prefer to devote the entire widget space to the site’s content, you can toggle it off. When you tap the displayed page, as you might expect, Glimpse launches it in your default browser.

I really hope iPadOS 15 adds the ability to place widgets anywhere on the iPad’s Home screen, because if so, I’ll absolutely create a full Home screen page dedicated to Glimpse widgets for my favorite websites. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s large display would serve as a fantastic dashboard for my most visited sites.

Health Auto Export

Widgets made with Health Auto Export.

The last app I’ll highlight in this story, Health Auto Export, is similarly focused on providing a single type of widget. I’ll give you one guess what that type is.

Like Widget Wizard, Health Auto Export offers a large selection of health data types to display in widgets. Why mention yet another widget app that supports health data? Because these widgets are so nice looking that I couldn’t resist.

There’s not much to say about Health Auto Export besides what I’ve already said. It offers customizable health widgets, and they look great. Maybe I’ll just let the screenshots speak for themselves.

I still wish Apple would build its own first-party Health app widgets, but Health Auto Export does a fine job filling the gap.

Widgets in iOS and iPadOS 14 are a big deal. At MacStories we’ve tested and written about so many excellent widgets from our favorite third-party apps, but this new category of apps centered entirely on widget creation makes iOS 14’s biggest new feature even more exciting.

Apps like Widgetsmith, Widgeridoo, Widget Wizard, Glimpse 2, and Health Auto Export show not only how powerful widgets can be, but also how personal they can be. We all have our own computing needs and design preferences, and tools like these widget builders ensure that everyone can have access to widgets customized just for them.

As exciting as these five apps are, what’s perhaps even more exciting is that they’re just the start. Many other widget creation apps are available on the App Store, with more to come that I’ve been beta testing. Who knows what developers will enable users to build in the future?

It’s always hard to tell so shortly after an OS release which software trends will stick around, but if my time with widget creation tools, or browsing the App Store’s top charts or Twitter trends serve as any indication, this new app category is here to stay.

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suzanneshannon · 4 years

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What the web still is

Being a pessimist is an easy thing to fall back on, and I’m trying to be better about it. As we close the year out, I thought it would be a good exercise to take stock of the state of the web and count our blessings.

Versatile

We don't use the internet to do just one thing. With more than two decades of globally interconnected computers, the web allows us to use it for all manner of activity.

This includes platforms, processes, and products that existed before the web came into being, and also previously unimagined concepts and behaviors. Thanks to the web, we can all order takeout the same way we can all watch two women repair a space station in realtime.

Decentralized

There is still no one single arbiter you need to petition to sign off on the validity of your idea, or one accepted path for going about to make it happen. Any website can link out to, or be linked to, without having to pay a tax or file pre-approval paperwork.

While we have seen a consolidation of the services needed to run more sophisticated web apps, you can still put your ideas out for the entire world to see with nothing more than a static HTML page. This fact was, and still is, historically unprecedented.

Resilient

The internet has been called the most hostile environment to develop for. Someone who works on the web has to consider multiple browsers, the operating systems they are installed on, and all the popular release versions of both. They also need to consider screen size and quality, variable network conditions, different form factors and input modes, third party scripts, etc. This is to say nothing about serving an unknown amount of unknown users, each with their own thoughts, feelings, goals, abilities, motivations, proficiencies, and device modifications.

If you do it right, you can build a website or a web app so that it can survive a lot of damage before it is rendered completely inoperable. Frankly, the fact that the web works at all is nothing short of miraculous.

The failsafes, guardrails, redundancies, and other considerations built into the platform from the packet level on up allow this to happen. Honoring them honors the thought, care, and planning that went into the web's foundational principles.

Responsive

Most websites now make use of media queries to ensure their content reads and works well across a staggeringly large amount of devices. This efficient technology choice is fault-tolerant, has a low barrier of entry, and neatly side-steps the myriad problems you get with approaches such as device-sniffing and/or conditionally serving massive piles of JavaScript.

Responsive Design was, and still is revolutionary. It was the right answer, at the right place and time. It elegantly handled the compounding problem of viewport fragmentation as the web transformed from something new and novel into something that is woven into our everyday lives.

Adaptable

In addition to being responsive, the web works across a huge range of form factors, device capabilities, and specialized browsing modes. The post you are currently reading can show up on a laptop, a phone, a Kindle, a TV, a gas station pump, a video game console, a refrigerator, a car, a billboard, an oscilloscope—heck, even a space shuttle (if you’re reading this from space, please, please, please let me know).

It will work with a reading mode that helps a person focus, dark and high contrast modes that will help a person see, and any number of specialized browser extensions that help people get what they need. I have a friend who inverts her entire display to help prevent triggering migraines, and the web just rolls with it. How great is that?

Web content can be read, translated, spoken aloud, copied, clipped, piped into your terminal, forked, remixed, scraped by a robot, output as Braille, and even played as music. You can increase the size of its text, change its font and color, and block parts you don't want to deal with—all in the service of making it easier for you to consume. That is revolutionary when compared to the media that came before it.

Furthermore, thanks to things like Progressive Web Apps and Web Platform Features, the web now blends seamlessly into desktops and home screens. These features allow web content to behave like traditional apps and are treated as first-class citizens by the operating systems that support them. You don’t even necessarily need to be online for them to work!

Accessible

The current landscape of accessibility compliance is a depressing state of affairs. WebAIM’s Million report, and subsequent update, highlights this with a sobering level of detail.

Out of the top one million websites sampled, ~98% of home pages had programmatically detectable Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) errors. This represents a complete, categorical failure of our industry on every conceivable level, from developers and designers, to framework maintainers, all the way up to those who help steer the future of the platform.

And yet.

In that last stubborn two percent lives a promise of the web. Web accessibility—the ability for someone to use a website or web app regardless of their ability or circumstance—grants autonomy. It represents a rare space where a disabled individual may operate free from the immense amount of bias, misunderstanding, and outright hate that is pervasive throughout much of society. This autonomy represents not only freedom for social activities but also employment opportunities for a population that is routinely discriminated against.

There is a ton of work to do, and we do not have the luxury of defeatism. I’m actually optimistic about digital accessibility’s future. Things like Inclusive Design have shifted the conversation away from remediation into a more holistic, proactive approach to product design.

Accessibility, long viewed as an unglamorous topic, has started to appear as a mainstream, top-level theme in conference and workshop circuits, as well as popular industry blogs. Sophisticated automated accessibility checkers can help prevent you from shipping inaccessible code. Design systems are helping to normalize the practice at scale. And most importantly, accessibility practitioners are speaking openly about ableism.

Inexpensive

While the average size of a website continues to rise, the fact remains that you can achieve an incredible amount of functionality with a small amount of code. That’s an important thing to keep in mind.

It has never been more affordable to use the web. In the United States, you can buy an internet-ready smartphone for ~$40. Emerging markets are adopting feature phones such as the JioPhone (~$15 USD) at an incredible rate. This means that access to the world’s information is available to more people—people who traditionally may have never been able to have such a privilege.

Think about it: owning a desktop computer represented having enough steady income to be able to support permanent housing, as well as consistent power and phone service. This created an implicit barrier to entry during the web’s infancy.

The weakening of this barrier opens up unimaginable amounts of opportunity, and is an excellent reminder that the web really is for everyone. With that in mind, it remains vital to keep our payload sizes down. What might be a reflexive CMD + R for you might be an entire week’s worth of data for someone else.

Diverse

There are more browsers available than I have fingers and toes to count on. This is a good thing. Like any other category of software, each browser is an app that does the same general thing in the same general way, but with specific design decisions made to prioritize different needs and goals.

My favorite browser, Firefox, puts a lot of its attention towards maintaining the privacy and security of its users. Brave is similar in that regard. Both Edge and Safari are bundled with their respective operating systems, and have interfaces geared towards helping the widest range of users browse web content. Browsers like Opera and Vivaldi are geared towards tinkerers, people who like a highly customized browsing experience. Samsung Internet is an alternative browser for Android devices that can integrate with their proprietary hardware. KaiOS and UC browsers provide access to millions of feature phones, helping them to have smartphone-esque functionality. Chrome helps you receive more personalized ads efficiently debug JavaScript.

Browser engine diversity is important as well, although the ecosystem has been getting disturbingly small as of late. The healthy competition multiple engines generates translates directly to the experience becoming better for the most important people in the room: Those who rely on the web to live their everyday lives.

Speaking of people, let’s discuss the web’s quality of diversity and how it applies to them: Our industry, like many others, has historically been plagued by ills such as misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism. However, the fact remains that the ability to solve problems in the digital space represents a rare form of leverage that allows minoritized groups to have upward economic mobility.

If you can't be motivated by human decency, it’s no secret that more diverse teams perform better. We’ve made good strides in the past few years towards better representation, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Listen to, and signal boost the triumphs, frustrations, and fears of the underrepresented in our industry. Internalize their observations and challenge your preconceived notions and biases. Advocate for their right to be in this space. Educate yourself on our industry’s history. Support things like codes of conduct, which do the hard work of modeling and codifying expectations for behavior. All of this helps to push against a toxic status quo and makes the industry better for everyone.

Standardized

The web is built by consensus, enabling a radical kind of functionality. This interoperability—the ability for different computer systems to be able to exchange information—is built from a set of standards we have all collectively agreed on.

Chances are good that a web document written two decades ago will still work with the latest version of any major browser. Any web document written by someone else—even someone on the opposite side of the globe—will also work. It will also continue to work on browsers and devices that have yet to be invented. I challenge you to name another file format that supports this level of functionality that has an equivalent lifespan.

This futureproofing by way of standardization also allows for a solid foundation of support for whatever comes next. Remember the principle of versatile: It is important to remember that these standards are also not prescriptive. We’re free to take these building blocks use arrange them in a near-infinite number of ways.

Open

Furthermore, this consensus is transparent. While the process may seem slow sometimes, it is worth highlighting the fact that the process is highly transparent. Anyone who is invested may follow, and contribute to web standards, warts and all.

It’s this openness that helps to prevent things like hidden agendas, privatization, lock-in, and disproportionate influence from consolidating power. Open-source software and protocols and, most importantly, large-scale cooperation also sustain the web platform’s long-term growth and health. Think of web technologies that didn’t make it: Flash, Silverlight, ActiveX, etc. All closed, for-profit, brittle, and private.

It also helps to disincentive more abstract threats, things like adversarial interoperability and failure to disclose vulnerabilities. These kinds of hazards are a good thing to remember any time you find yourself frustrated with the platform.

Make no mistake: I feel a lot of what makes the web great is actively being dismantled, either inadvertently or deliberately. But as I mentioned earlier, cynicism is easy. My wish for next year? That all the qualities mentioned here are still present. My New Year’s resolution? To help ensure it.

The post What the web still is appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

What the web still is published first on https://deskbysnafu.tumblr.com/

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slrlounge1 · 5 years

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The Nifty 35 | A Review of Canon’s New RF 35mm F1.8 Lens

The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS Macro is the widest prime lens Canon has released to date for the new EOS R line of mirrorless cameras. It’s also the first native lens I bought for the camera due to it’s relatively affordable price tag of $499.00. While its price and plastic build befit an amateur level lens, I wanted to test it out and see if it might be good enough for professional use, especially because of its versatile focal length, image stabilization, and macro abilities.

In this review, I’ll provide a summary of the lens’ features and break down the positive and negative points. While it’s not a perfect 35mm lens to be sure (is there such a thing?), there are many reasons that I’ve enjoyed using it and will keep it in my kit for both personal and professional use.

The new Canon RF 35mm F1.8 weighs only 10.67 oz and includes image stabilization, macro capability, and the new RF mount control ring.

Quick Specs

Aperture Range: f/1.8-f/22

11 Elements in 9 Groups

Optical Image Stabilizer

Macro

Super Spectra Coating

Customizable Control Ring

Rounded 9-Blade Diaphram

Things I Loved About This Lens

The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 is a great little lens with impressive image quality and features galore. It’s about as light as a hamster (seriously, I looked this up), and with image stabilization and macro, this thing does a bit of everything.

1. Impressive Image Quality

The image quality on the RF 35mm F1.8 is surprisingly very good. The lens is sharp in the center at F1.8 with some vignetting and softness towards the corners. At F4, there’s still some vignetting and softness in the corners but the sharpness is fine. By F8, vignetting is minimal and the lens is very sharp across the scene. I actually found this lens at F1.8 to be sharper in the corners than my Sigma 35 at F1.8 and just as sharp in the center. In real world testing, the lens performs well for portraits, detail shots, and just about anything you could think to use it for.

2. Dreamy Bokeh

This lens produces beautiful bokeh, with out-of-focus elements looking smooth and creamy. When shooting details close up using the macro ability of the lens, the bokeh was insane as you can see in the image below. Since the widest aperture on this lens is F1.8, you’re not going to get the kind of smooth bokeh that you might with the Canon or Sigma F1.4 lenses. But with 9 rounded aperture blades, you’re not going to be disappointed by the bokeh in this lens. You may even be blown away.

3. Light weight

When I first bought the new Canon EOS R, one of the first things I noticed, and lamented a bit, was the size and weight of the new Canon RF lenses. Add to that the size and weight imbalance when you use Canon’s EF lenses with the optional adapters, and you’re in for quite a wrist and hand workout. I’m not really one to complain about the size of a lens if it helps create incredible images, but it’s nice to also have an option of bringing a lens with you on vacation or just walking the streets without lugging around some heavy monster. The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 is small, well balanced, and very light, which makes it great to carry around on a daily basis.

4. Image Stabilization

For those who’ve complained about the EOS R not including in-body image stabilization, this lens has optical image stabilization. It works well to help keep shots in focus at low shutter speeds. It works so well, in fact, that I ended up with a few blurry images when I accidentally turned it off during a family shoot and didn’t adjust my shutter speed accordingly.

5. Macro Capabilities

This tiny plastic 35mm lens also shoots macro! It’s perhaps the perfect lens for shooting details at weddings or just about anything else up close. At a recent stylized shoot, I was able to take wider shots of the cake and rings, and then seamlessly move in for a tight shot. The results were really impressive and this is one of the major reasons I’ll be keeping this lens in my kit at weddings.

6. Versatility

The Canon RF 35mm F1.8 is one of the most versatile and fun lenses I’ve ever used. It’s kind of like a Swiss Army pocket knife. While it’s probably not the best lens for any one thing, it does a lot of things well. Want a small, light lens for street photography? Check. Need a macro lens for tight detail shots? Check. Need a lens with image stabilization for those hand-held low shutter speed shots? Check. This lens really can do it all.

Things I Didn’t Love About This Lens

Ok, so let’s come back down to earth. This lens is surprisingly good for $499, but it’s not perfect. Here are some of the things I don’t love about this lens.

1. Slow Focus

There were multiple instances where I had to try over and over again to get the lens to auto-focus while using the outer focus points. This isn’t a big deal if you’re shooting still portraits, but it can be frustrating if you’re trying to capture a candid moment and just can’t lock focus.

2. Loud Noise Factor

This is not a lens that you’d want to use during the middle of a quiet moment at a wedding ceremony in a church. It sounds a little like a tool you’d hear at a dentist’s office at times, especially as it hunts for focus. What did you expect for $500?

3. Cheap Plastic Lens

What else is there to say? The lens is made of plastic. It’s actually a beautifully designed plastic lens with the same silver brushed metal look on the mount connector as the other RF lenses, but it’s plastic nonetheless. Does that make it less durable than Canon’s metal lenses? I don’t know because I didn’t drop it on the ground to find out. I’d actually bet that, because it’s so light, it might lightly fall to the ground and bounce a few times if you drop it. But I’ll let you test that yourself.

4. No “It” Factor

Does the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 provide a unique look to it’s images that the Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART is renowned for? I’m not sure. I’d need to test it in a lot more circumstances to be able to say if this lens provides photographers with that extra something. At this point, based on my current testing, I’d have to say no. I don’t think it has that unique “wow” factor. But again, that’s probably not why you’re thinking of buying this lens.

Why I’m keeping this lens

After using this lens for the last week, I’ve decided to keep it for three reasons:

It’s the perfect RF mount lens for everyday use. I plan to carry my EOS R around with me as my day-to-day camera now because this lens is light and inconspicuous.

I’ll be using it a lot at weddings for detail shots and other moments where I might want to use the image stabilization for creative portraits.

It actually takes great images!

Should You Buy This Lens?

This lens will only work on the new Canon EOS R, and future Canon cameras in the lineup. So if you don’t have one, then this lens is not for you.

If you do have an EOS R, I’d highly recommend this lens. If one of the reasons you were really excited about switching to a mirrorless camera was to take a little bit of weight off, this is the only lens in the current lineup that actually makes the camera feel light. And it feels extremely light! If you are a wedding photographer who wants a versatile lens for detail shots, you’re going to love this lens. If you just want something small and light that you can use when on vacation or when you’re out walking around, you’re probably going to love this nifty little 35.

However, If you’re looking for a workhorse 35mm that you can use for portraits, and rely on to capture those fast moving candid moments for family photography or weddings, I’d recommend the Canon or Sigma 35mm F1.4 lenses and an adapter instead.

Samples

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/the-nifty-35-a-review-of-canons-new-rf-35mm-f1-8-lens/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #SLR Lounge

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filipeteimuraz · 6 years

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How to Turn Your Business Idea Into a Startup Company

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Everyone has them.

Some ideas are great, and others could be improved.

As an online marketer, I’ve heard countless business pitches from prospective entrepreneurs over the years. While I admire their creativity, just coming up with an idea alone is far from having a viable business concept.

If you are ready to put your idea to the test and launch a startup company, I encourage you to read this guide.

Your idea needs validation.

The last thing you want to do is launch a new business and realize six months down the road that it wasn’t a good idea. By this point, you’ve already sunk too much time and money into the venture.

Don’t skip any steps in the startup process.

Here’s what I’ve done. I’ve outlined how you can take an idea and turn it into an actual business. I’ve tried to keep this guide as general as possible so that it can speak to the widest audience of entrepreneurs.

For example, some businesses will need to buy or lease retail space. Other brands will need production equipment or partnerships with manufacturing facilities.

Some of you may even need permits and have to meet certain legal obligations before your launch. I stayed away from going into depth on these types of details.

That said, this is an excellent reference for anyone with a business idea and no experience launching a startup.

Even if you’ve been part of startup launches before, this guide can help you avoid some mistakes you may have made in the past.

Write a business plan

When you approach your new business venture without a plan, you increase your chances of failure.

The odds are already working against you since such a large percentage of new startup companies fail.

You need to do everything possible to try to give yourself an advantage and increase your chances of success.

Here’s a pretty common conversation I have with entrepreneurs. They pitch me an idea and follow up with something like, “Wouldn’t that be a great business?”

My honest answer is I truly don’t know. And they don’t know either.

Many ideas sound good when they’re verbalized. But when it comes to the logistics, finances, and other important details, the idea may not be as good as you initially thought.

That’s why you need to learn how to write a business plan for your startup company.

Your business plan will help you tremendously and ultimately increase your chances of succeeding.

Startups with a business plan have a 29% greater chance of securing funding, which we’ll discuss in greater detail shortly. Writing a plan also increases the chances of business growth by 50%.

These are the common components of a business plan:

executive summary

description of the company

market analysis

competitor analysis

organizational structure

details about products and services

marketing plan

sales approach

budget and funding

finances

Your plan will outline everything you need to do, even if your idea is very simple. For example, let’s say you’re planning to sell shirts.

How are you going to sell them? Where will you sell them? Whom will you sell them to? At what price will they be sold?

You’ll explain in detail your costs to produce the shirts. The business plan will even outline when you plan to break even on your investment.

The financial projections section is arguably the most important part of the entire plan.

You need to come up with realistic numbers. In addition to listing all your expenses, you need to project your sales.

This information will help you determine if your new business can generate money. You’ll be able to come up with price points so you can turn a profit.

Again, you must figure all this out before you open the doors of a new business. It starts with proper planning.

Define your target audience

The idea for your new business might sound good, but for whom is it a good idea?

Whether you have a product, service, invention, or modification to an existing product, you need to clearly define whom you’re selling to.

I hear people say all the time:

“Everyone will like this idea.”

This is simply not true. Plus, from a marketing perspective, it’s unreasonable to try to launch a brand intended for everyone.

Imagine trying to come up with promotions that appeal to men, women, and children of all ages from every corner of the world. It’s not a realistic approach.

You need to learn how to identify the target market of your startup.

Start with broad assumptions about your prospective customers, and narrow it down even more.

Begin with factors such as their ages, genders, and physical locations. Then get more specific, and identify their interests and lifestyle habits.

Here are some ways for you to segment your audience based on geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral categories.

For example, let’s say your product is intended for males between the ages of 25 and 40. That’s still a broad audience.

You can make it more specific by saying you’re targeting males between the ages of 25 and 40, who live in the United States, make more than $60,000 per year, and are interested in fitness.

Do you see the difference? That’s much more detailed. You can develop a customer persona to help you with this process.

Also, you need to look at your target audience from different perspectives. Let’s say you’re launching a startup that sells toys for young children.

That’s not necessarily your target market.

Three-year-old kids don’t buy stuff. You need to target their parents instead. Make sense?

Conduct market research

Now that you have an idea of whom you want to target, it’s time to test that theory. Just because you think your idea is great for a specific market doesn’t mean this is true. You can use:

surveys

interviews

focus groups

beta testers

product samples

You need to get out there and talk to people. Validate your idea.

It’s also necessary to figure out who else is offering the same thing you are. Today, it isn’t easy to come up with an idea that’s 100% unique.

Don’t get me wrong: it doesn’t mean you can’t make money by having the same idea as someone else. But if the market is oversaturated, it might not be in your best interest to proceed.

I’ll give you a simple example to explain what I mean. Let’s say you want to open a pizza shop in your city.

You’ve scouted out a location that can fit your ovens and tables. You can rent it at a reasonable rate. Your pizza recipe is outstanding. Plus, everyone likes pizza, and more than 100,000 people live in the city.

This idea must be a homerun, right? Not if there are 20 other pizza shops within a few blocks of your prospective location.

It’s going to be too difficult for you to compete with a market that’s so saturated.

This is an example on a small level, but you can scale it to any industry. Look at the ecommerce space. There is a huge competition globally.

In addition to niche brands, you’ll also be competing with giants such as Walmart and Amazon.

The number one reason why startups fail is that there is no market need.

While your idea might be cool, there may not be a need for your product or service.

Or even if the market needs what you’re offering, it could be getting it from someone else already.

Market research will also require you to analyze your competition.

Establish your brand

Your startup company needs to have a differentiation strategy that separates you from your competitors.

What’s your identity?

Your brand may be cool, edgy, and trendy. Or maybe you’re going for a brand identity that is conservative and family-oriented instead.

Some startups launch with a mission to help a greater cause, such as a nonprofit organization.

No matter what your brand identity is, it needs to be clear to your audience. All of your branding campaigns will reflect the image you’re trying to portray.

Your website colors, marketing campaigns, and promotions will speak to your brand identity. This even relates to your logo and the name of your startup.

Come up with a name that doesn’t restrict your growth. Even if you’re focusing on something specific right now, you don’t want the name of your brand to put you in a box, preventing your expansion in the future.

Your brand needs to speak to your target audience, which was already defined. A proper branding strategy will nurture your brand reputation.

In a perfect world, your brand image and brand reputation will be the same. You want people to see your company in a positive light.

So it’s important to get your branding strategy right the first time because your reputation is going to stick with you for years to come.

It’ll be hard to rebrand yourself in the future if you make a mistake during the launch stages, so don’t rush into anything.

Surround yourself with the right people

It’s time to assemble your team.

The size of your team will vary based on the type of business you’re launching.

You want to find people strong in areas where you are weak. For example, if you’re extremely creative but don’t have managerial skills, it doesn’t make sense to bring another creative mind on board without hiring someone who can manage employees.

Or let’s say you’re building a mobile app but don’t have any experience with coding or design. You’ll need to hire a developer and designer.

Surround yourself with people whom you are compatible with. You want to build strong working relationships with your team.

Here’s another problem I see all the time. People launch a startup and just start hiring their friends and family.

Don’t get me wrong — this can work. But you need to think long and hard about this decision. Do you want your personal relationships to be impacted by the business?

Can these people take directions from you? What if you need to fire your best friend?

These are all sticky situations, so tread carefully. You also need to make sure every member of your team can bring something to the table.

Just because you were bouncing ideas off a friend a few months ago doesn’t mean they’re part of the business.

I’m not saying you need to be selfish or stingy, but ultimately, you need to do what’s best for you and your business.

Secure funding

Your startup will need some money to get off the ground. Depending on what you’re doing, this can range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars.

Everyone’s situation is different. You’ll need to recognize all your business costs. Here are some examples to consider:

research and development

equipment

cost of property to buy or lease

website and server

inventory

insurance

legal fees

payroll

startup costs

operating costs

You need to realize you won’t have any income when you first launch, but you’ll still need to cover all your expenses.

Based on this information, you’ll be able to determine how much money you need. Learn how to get your startup funded.

Use your business plan and financial projections when you’re speaking with prospective lenders or investors.

You may consider getting a bank loan and pay interest fees for the funds you borrow. But big banks may not be your best bet. Just look at these approval rates for small business loans:

For your startup company, you may want to consider some alternative options:

venture capitalists

angel investors

personal savings accounts

friends and family

crowdfunding

These are all reasonable sources to raise capital to launch your startup. You’ll just have to consider these options and decide which ones are the best for your scenario.

Figure out if it’s worth giving up equity in your company. Will your investors bring anything else to the table besides cash?

While it may be nice to have other opinions, you want to make sure you have the final say in all decisions. There is nothing wrong with giving up some equity, but just don’t lose control of your company.

Build hype before you launch

Everything is falling into place.

Your business plan looks good. The target market is clearly defined. All your market research is complete.

The team you assembled is qualified. All of your funds have been secured.

Now it’s time to put your company branding strategy to work.

Buy a domain name. Launch your website. Create social media profiles.

Start to market your brand. Even if you’re not officially launched or selling anything just yet, you can still take pre-orders.

Create a blog. Try to get featured on press releases or news articles. Send free samples to influencers.

Do anything that will make your presence known. Get creative with guerilla marketing and content marketing strategies.

Be prepared to work

Before you officially launch, you need to ask yourself if you’re ready to work.

Sure, you know your idea is great and it’s been validated through your research. But are you ready to take the plunge into entrepreneurship?

Just look at how many hours the average entrepreneur works per week:

In order to launch your startup, you might be leaving a job with a steady paycheck to work twice as hard on your new business, without being able to pay yourself for years.

Is this something you can handle mentally and financially?

Research shows 41% of entrepreneurs say they feel stressed almost every day. An additional 33% say they feel stressed a couple of times per week.

But only 7% of entrepreneurs say they never feel stressed.

Unlike with a regular job, there’s no quitting on your own business. You can’t call in sick when you don’t feel like working.

You’re the boss. You set the tone for the entire culture of the company.

While being your own boss definitely has lots of benefits, it also comes with added responsibility and plenty of sleepless nights. You need to recognize that your startup can still fail.

I’m not saying all of this to discourage you from following through with your plan, but you need to accept this reality.

But if you’re willing to take these risks and get to work, proceed with your business plan, and make it happen.

Conclusion

There is a big difference between an idea and an established business. You need to take steps to validate that idea before you launch a startup company.

Write a business plan. Identify your target market. Conduct market research.

Then you’ll need to come up with a branding strategy.

Assemble your team. Surround yourself with people who can contribute to the success of your new business.

Recognize your costs and outline your financial projections. This will give you a better idea of how much money you need to launch your company.

Being an entrepreneur can be rewarding, but it’s no walk in the park. You need to ask yourself if you’re capable of being a business owner.

But if you’re ready to work and you’ve taken the steps I’ve described in this guide, you can turn your business idea into a reality.

What steps have you taken to turn your concept into a startup company?

https://www.quicksprout.com/2018/07/27/how-to-turn-your-business-idea-into-a-startup-company/ Read more here - http://review-and-bonuss.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-to-turn-your-business-idea-into.html

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