This is bang on target for me as I've been a real "tightwad" lately. Instead of focusing on the outcomes, I've been counting the pennies. It's tough when you're leaking your own money and that's before you've even launched anything! I think it is just something I need to adjust to - that in order to make money, one must first spend it.
I've also realised that marketing early is so important. I've been getting more active on Twitter lately and though I have a decent blog (been on Digg front page and Lifehacker), I haven't given it the love it deserve all year. I wish I had ramped these two promotion avenues up 6 months ago. This way I'd have a ready audience on launch day.
I thought I'd echo your reply for the other budding entrepreneurs out there. Don't be afraid to spend money! Start creating your story and marketing your brand early!
Watch this for details: http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2056...
I think it was Paul Buchheit who said "launch your product if it's better than anything else out there". To me, it means launch when it's ready but not before.
Not having to answer to investors saved a ton of hassle (and having all the equity and control at the end is really spiffy) but (to echo some of the other comments here) there are a few pitfalls:
- Don't be a tightwad. In my first year, I would avoid spending wherever possible and often made do with free tools rather than spend cash to buy a perfectly good commercial solution. I quickly learned that's almost always stupid: If you can make a problem disappear for good by buying the solution, reach into your wallet and pay the cash.
- You should be marketing before you've even started development. Marketing isn't just advertising -- it's the social component of design. Where you're 'making something people want', marketing identifies both the 'people' and the 'something' (that is, the market for your product). If you don't have those, you'll end up with a spiffy 'make' that nobody wants.
Erik Sink provides a great summary of the topic under his "Marketing for Geeks" articles (at http://www.ericsink.com/Marketing_for_Geeks.html ). I'd call it a 'must read' for any software entrepreneur.