Ending of a partnership

It’s always frustrating to have to wind down something you have started, but it can’t be helped. Kirk got too busy with school and do not believe that he can continue. I was prepared for the eventuality though so at least I was mentally ready.

9to5ers began at first as a joint venture to explore a hobby that we both enjoyed: gourmet cuisine. But I guess as time goes by, it became too business like and the interest faded. I went into the partnership guarded, knowing that bad business will usually ruin a great friendship, but soon threw that worry away as I increased my efforts. I wanted it to be great and I also wanted to share an experience with Kirk. Maybe it got too business like.

For about 2 years, I mostly dedicated my efforts to the improvement of 9to5ers. Some great achievements include joining 9rules, reaching about 40 visitors/day. We ate, had discussions on food and generally enjoyed interacting with the readers. I spent most of my time learning about SEO and ad placements as well as improving the site and improve cost/traffic efficiency with an unfinished project of putting up 360 degree view of restaurants in flash.

By last month, we finally managed to achieve parity where the site pays for itself and I am saddened that it has to end when the site is just about to pick up. Most of our reviews ended up on the first page of google and the amount of spams even picked up as people started aiming their bots towards our site (Thank you akismet).

The upside is that now I am directing all my focus back to the personal blog while I go through a period of consolidation that will help me streamline my life. There’s nothing else I wanted to do more than to pick up and start something else. I have the entrepreneurial bug in me.