blog.tdobson.net

The Uncomfortable Truth About Why Your Side Project Isn't Taking Off

You shipped it. It works. The code is clean. The architecture is solid. And nobody cares. You're refreshing your analytics. Posting on Hacker News. Wondering if you should add that one feature. Maybe the landing page needs work. Maybe you should try Product Hunt again. Here's what's actually happening: you've moved your biggest risk into […]

10 January 2026

#TimOnLoan: borrow me for a week for FREE (worth £3000)

Are you drowning in emails? Trying to get some things done whilst juggling a bunch of other things? Perhaps I can help? I want to lend out my skills to organisations in Manchester for free: Is this you? You know decision makers need your product or service but it sometimes feels like they speak ‘different language’ […]

15 March 2017

What happened after my van was broken into (or how you can harness a customer's negative experiences for good!)

My van was broken into the other night. Someone removed the front front side window, from the outside, without breaking the pane. They took a dashcam and walkie-talkie but kindly left the window pane in the gutter unbroken! I'm ok, all is well but I had a problem: I had a van with no front, […]

9 March 2017

Why I failed at a Sales Conversation that looked like it went well

Back when I was a technical sales person trying to help customers find the right hosting solutions for their products, I had a sales memorable interaction. A customer "Alice" get in touch, looking for an onsite meeting to discuss what they needed. Me and a less technical colleague, "Brendan", went to visit. At the meeting, […]

7 March 2017

What no-one will tell you about rocking employment fairs! (specifically the Manchester Digital talent fest)

All you need to know: Get a ticket Turn up. Talk to as many tech companies as possible to try understand what they do and how they operate All you need to know to rock it: Do: Ask people lots of questions – especially about the area you're most interested in. People LOVE anyone who's interested […]

3 February 2017

Like climbing? In digital? Join us for #DigiClimbMCR

Are you a climber? Set a new years resolutions to be more active? Spend most of your day behind a computer because you work in technology or creative industries? #DigiClimbMCR is an informal, weekly Wednesday evening climbing meetup in central Manchester for any friendly person linked to or interested in technology or digital & creative industries. […]

2 January 2017

Nearterm 2017 plans!

My plans for the next month or so, are fairly focused: Setup the #DigiClimbMCR meetup Research how people climb, and use fitness apps, by spending almost as much time at MCC as possible. Launch #TimOnLoan and loan myself for ~2+ weeks to small/exciting companies in Manchester I'm looking forward to sharing how I get on […]

27 December 2016

This one time I screwed up leadership and communication

When I was 18, I lead a team of young people into a 12 hour sailing race. I was relying on the support of a bunch of their parents, but because we'd all done it before the previous year without a hitch, I assumed I didn't need to communicate directly with these key team members. […]

8 December 2016

How I came to work at Bytemark

At the end of September, I left my job at Bytemark where I'd worked for the previous 6 years. I'll be sharing more, about the future in due course, but I was reflecting on my path to Bytemark. I first was introduced to technology by the #manlug IRC channel, where I quickly became affiliated with the local […]

14 October 2016

What I learned from a landing page

Recently I've been working on canvas and landing page for a Muse business. Let me explain where I started: What I was aiming for Dave suggested to me that I might want to look at Tim Ferris-style Muse-businesses – lifestyle businesses that might at some point generate passive income. Not startups. By listening through some […]

13 October 2016

Can motorists and cyclists ever be friends?

My friend Josh recently posted on twitter: “The weird thing is there is literally nothing bad about more people cycling yet there is a cultural war against it.” Cyclists often feel marginalised— like everything has been setup to favour those with four wheels and an engine. And if you get into the vehicles, and talk […]

7 October 2016

My 7 aims for 2016.

Last year was tough. It was so tough, that I didn't write any resolutions or plans, because I couldn't divert any outward energy to them, and didn't feel I was able to write candidly without self-censoring. So I wrote no plans. This year I'm going to try to be more transparent – my current aims […]

6 March 2016