One week in, one week to go. I'm still on the clock at Jacquette so technically still nights and weekends, though it is becoming more like afternoons and nights and weekends as the short-timer's kicks in. And I have been working entirely from my home office, which leads to the occasional out of the blue panic attack as my physiology adjusts to not commuting for the first time in years.

A big thanks to everyone for the encouragement and well wishes. Everyone I've run into, both online and off, has been very supportive and even enthusiastic about my new direction. That's been a big boost, and is much appreciated. And the fact that so many people consider this is a no-brainer move gives me confidence that it is going to turn out well.

There have been some recurring questions so I thought I'd take a moment and answer everyone in one go.

What is your first product?

I'd like to get a little closer to launch before I talk about it. I just started a closed beta with a handful of people and would like to get some feedback before I commit on a product. And I hate vaporware with a passion.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm starting with a few small applications that I originally developed for my own use, just to make my life a little better. Turns out this concept throws some people; they seem to think that you need a "killer app" or a "game changing" business plan in order to start a business. I suppose I was guilty of this mindset myself at one point; I've since come to realize that you can't change the game if you aren't playing.

Do you have a business plan?

If you mean a paper document that starts with "Executive Overview" and ends with a bunch of colorful graphs, then...no.

If you mean do I know what I'm building, and who I'm building it for, and how I can reach them, then yes.

Additionally—and I think this is crucial—I've kept a detailed household cash flow for the last several years. So I know, with a fair degree of accuracy, how long the money will last and when, if it comes to it, I need to go to Plan B.

How long before you launch?

I'd like my first sale before Spring, which in these parts tends to show up around the end of April. Right now I'm running a little ahead of schedule.

The first of the apps is pretty much done. I could go with what I've got but I'd like get in a couple more features and a bit more polish if I can. Feedback from my first testers has been positive.

The business side of things—registering as an LLC, getting the corporate paperwork together, bank account, all that—is finished as of yesterday. Which leaves redesigning this website (probably the biggest job of the lot) and getting set up with a payment processor (obviously quite important).

Once all of that is in place I'd like to run a short public beta and then take it live.

How are you paying the bills?

Savings. A while back Martha and I made a concerted effort to cut our expenses and build up our savings. At the time we were trying to hedge our bets against the economic free-fall. But once we had a good cushion we kept going in the hope we could pull off something like this.

Get Rich Slowly is great site for learning how to live a fulfilling but frugal lifestyle.

What happens if the money runs out?

I've got some time, but should that happen I'll just go back to work. I left Jacquette on friendly terms, and have kept in touch with my previous employers as well. Since I will be set up with insurance and all that I'll also have the option of consulting independently. If none of those options pan out, I'll put my resume on the job boards and take what I can get. If the market has truly gone to hell and there are no jobs to be had then we'll go live in a van down by the river with everyone else.

What about health insurance?

Yeah, that's a big question here in the US; fortunately we're relatively young and healthy. We signed up for a health savings account with a high-deductible plan, which seems to be the way to go for a startup. If all goes well that should be in place by the end of the week.

For lots of good information on individual health insurance, check out the Early Retirement forums.

How did you learn how to do all of this?

Eek, that's a good one. A little here, a little there. The links above are good starting points. Escape From Cubicle Nation is a great site, and the book by Pamela Slim is even better, highly recommended. Another great book is Micro-ISV: From Vision to Reality by Bob Walsh. The Citizen Media Law Project does a good job of covering the nuts-and-bolts stuff.

Okay, back to work. I'm happy to help out and answer questions where I can, and I'll see if I can go into any more detail on some of those topics in later posts.