Hi folks – welcome to the Monthly Town Hall blog post, where I discuss everything Makerlog related and recap everything that has happened last month! I really am going to do these monthly now, rather than the previous format of a yearly State of the Log. We have a lot to share and I really want to keep the community posted!

So, without further ado, this is what we've done this August.

EnterPRize

In March, we entered a business competition for startups in Puerto Rico called EnterPRize 2020. The competition focuses on innovative and original projects with the potential to scale to a global market. During this time, we've taken a series of seminars to truly have the skills it takes to make Makerlog (see what I did there?) a successful company.

It's been going pretty well, and I hope to come back with more results by EoY. So far, we've received a $2k grant and we're hoping to raise more by the end of the competition. (Equity-free FTW!)

Incorporating

Well, to put it bluntly – incorporating has been a real struggle, particularly because I incorporated in Puerto Rico. Bureaucracy and the huge amount of permits required have been an issue.

But, quite frankly, I'm willing to swallow the bureaucracy and BS – incorporating here is our commitment to PR (which desperately needs our help to overcome a fiscal crisis). We love our little island, and there's nowhere else we'd rather go.

Pushing the local economy forward through tech has been a huge dream of mine, and I'm not giving up on that – no amount of paperwork will stop me.

Also... serious tax benefits for young entrepreneurs. (we're tax exempt!)

Marketing & Community

In terms of marketing and community, we've been thinking & experimenting a lot with our strategy.

I'm working on solidifying our bases there:

1. Clarifying our message. We're hella advocates for #MakeInPublic and that's going to be our main message. I think it's clearer to be at the forefront of the movement and to have one core value we can always come back to.
2. Amplifying voices. There's a lot of people in the maker community making amazing things. And our job is to amplify those voices. Make them get heard – showcasing maker's work and pushing the movement forward.
3. Other things I'm probably forgetting. I don't joke, I wrote a huge Notion document on this and our strategy. I can't resume it. It's like 20 pages long.

Engineering

In terms of engineering, I've been working on making the next version of Makerlog extremely stable – and mobile responsive.

I'm really happy because Makerlog 2021 will have the following attributes, which I think are killer:

1. Extremely fast. Loads quickly. Little bloat. All interactions are optimistic – so they're basically instant.
2. Mobile first. The new Makerlog is mobile-first, so it is fully featured on all screens – beautifully, too.
3. Simple. Less clutter. More clarity.
4. More stuff I can't remember. Hey, cut me some slack. ;)

I'm journaling this effort on my WordPress journal  + my log – It's not necessarily something I'm working on daily, but it's important.

What's next?

1. Community. The remainder of the quarter we're going to work on solidifying our community strategy and experimenting with our growth funnel. I really think we can continue pushing the movement forward. Making in public is the best a maker can do. ♥️
2. Ads. We're going to continue working on solidifying ads – they sold rather well last month, and I'm seriously betting on them as a non-intrusive way to generate sustainable revenue.
3. Gold. Gold has a long way to go, but it's getting there. I'm adding complimentary ad slots + other great features very soon. We need your support to keep the maker community running!

Conclusion

Two years ago I started a little side project called Makerlog. This August, we finally incorporated. And I'm incredibly proud of what we're building.

I'll keep you posted on updates.

Now I want to hear from you – how do you feel about Makerlog's direction, and what can we do better? Feel free to tell us in discussions.

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S