Thanks Mark! I'll take all the free mentoring I can get. ;) I could use both types of mentors, but wasn't expecting an entrepreneurial mentor on a Django site. The idea is actually pretty well thought out, but I doubt most people in this list would care for business plans. I have a local group of 143 churches that want what I'd like to build, but building is the difficulty. I'm sure if I can build it I'll be able to attract churches outside my town.
On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 4:04:57 PM UTC-4, mark wrote: > > Joe, > > It is not clear from your post if you just need a django mentor for > technical questions, or if you need a business mentor to flesh out your > idea. There are hundreds (thousands??) of expert django mentors on this > list all willing to give you free advice. Learn how to ask direct questions > (https://www.gerv.net/hacking/how-to-ask-good-questions/, > http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html) on this list and the > time spent spinning your wheels will vanish. > > A couple more thoughts - > > * Refine the business idea first, then tackle the technological > components. There are many source of business mentors in every city - > bankers, lawyers, accountants all have Rolodexes of successful people who > are retired and are willing to mentor entrepreneurs. Check with the local > Rotary group. Check with you college or high school alumni group. Mentors > do not need to be local. Before you build a better mouse trap, be sure > there are mice out there who want it. > > * You will need an attorney to help you get 501c3 (or some other > non-profit) status with the IRS - expect to pay ~$1,000 for that. The forms > are easy to fill out, but you want an expert to review what you have filled > out in order to not shoot yourself in the foot - easy to do. You first need > to create a local corporation or partnership before you tackle the IRS - > this will cost a couple of hundred dollars. > > * Non-profit - have you suggested open sourcing your idea? You could start > an open source project as a way to attract developers for the django > development. If you plan to make money from this venture, then you would > have to figure out how to separate the parts of you idea that give you a > competitive advantage from those things that don't. Open source the ones > that don't. > > I can't emphasize enough the need to spend 99% of your time to refine your > business idea before you invest in other areas. Spend 1% learning how to > create a django site with the help of this list until you and your business > mentors are convinced you have a rock solid and defensible idea. > > Just my 2 cents and some free mentoring! ;) > > Mark > > On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 9:56 AM, Joe Landrigan <dri...@gmail.com > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> I'm in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I'm not aware of any meetups in the area. >> The nearest that I know about are in Chicago, but that's a 3 hour drive one >> way. >> >> On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10:21:14 AM UTC-4, Avraham Serour wrote: >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> I suggest going to local meetups, you may meet people that could mentor >>> or help you on specific issues, or help you to find a mentor, they could >>> either know someone or know of local mentorship programs. >>> >>> Where are you located? >>> >>> On Tue, Apr 4, 2017 at 4:26 PM, Joe Landrigan <dri...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> I need a mentor. I've got an idea for a non-profit that I think could >>>> be spectacular, and I think Django is the right platform. But, every time >>>> I run into a challenge it takes me days to solve for multiple reasons: I'm >>>> a father of 6, my job has nothing to do with Python, and I don't know what >>>> I don't know. If I had someone who has actually made a site to guide me, >>>> I >>>> bet most of my time consuming roadblocks would be decimated. If anyone >>>> could suggest a good route to find a mentor, I'd be very grateful. I've >>>> wasted far too much time trying to solve problems only to find a package >>>> that solves the problem perfectly weeks later. Ideally, I'd like to find >>>> someone who has some entrepreneurial experience, but I'll take any help I >>>> can get! 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