Start with the understanding that contracts benefit both parties. Generally people go into a business arrangement with the best of intentions and a lot of assumptions. A contract makes those assumptions explicit by documenting the terms of engagement clearly.

‘The world is full of ideas that can be executed with 10 to 20 hours per week, let alone 40. The number of projects that are truly impossible unless you put in 80 or 120 hours per week are vanishingly small by comparison.’

How to present and sell design: 1) Don't wing it — postpone until you're ready. 2) Really sell your design — the idea that 'good design speaks for itself' is a myth. 3) Don't get subjective or allow your feelings to get hurt — tell them to tell you when it doesn't work. 4) Don't embarrass the client — make them look good, be honest, listen to them.

How to figure out what a client's budget really is. "Don't be smarmy. Don't be curt. Be respectful, be honest, and inform your prospect during the sales process. If you do it right, right from the start, you'll build mutual respect and communication into the entire project."

In response to Calacanis' "fire people who aren't workaholics" bullshit. "If your start-up can only succeed by being a sweatshop, your idea is simply not good enough."

Big Medium developer Josh Clarks talks about the many miles to go after completing the launch milestone, the importance of long and consistent hours, and the constant refinement of software development and support.

Notes on the growing importance of design in business. Good short reads.

On starting over. "It's better to have something we're both proud off than to try and salvage the work done so far. Sometimes you have to go all the way through the design process before you realize that you've built the wrong thing."