2026 archive
Everything published in 2026
297 articles, newest first. Filter and sort them the same way as the main index.
Articles297 total · page 5 of 30
ReadField guide · July 5, 2026
Quarterly reviews for a solo business: ninety minutes that steer the next ninety days
The quarterly review as a solo operator actually runs it: a short metric set, an unsentimental kill/keep/double-down sort of every project, three written bets for the next quarter, and structural guardrails against vanity retrospectives.
- Ninety minutes, on a literal timer
- Every project gets kill, keep, or double down
- Three bets, written before the quarter starts
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Operating model
ReadField guide · July 4, 2026
A simple CRM in a spreadsheet: the one-tab pipeline for a tiny operation
A working spreadsheet CRM for a tiny operation: the seven columns that matter, four right-sized pipeline stages, follow-up cadences that actually run, and the graduation signals for moving to real CRM software.
- Seven columns, one tab, zero fees
- The next-action date is the engine
- Graduate on symptoms, not ambition
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Operating model
ReadField guide · July 3, 2026
Customer support when the product is free
The support economics of free products and the system that makes them work solo: prevention through expectation-setting, docs-first deflection, pattern replies, a kind but firm no, and mining themes for the roadmap.
- Free changes the deal, not the duty
- Docs answer before the inbox does
- Every repeated ticket is roadmap data
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Online business
ReadField guide · July 2, 2026
Owning your distribution: RSS, email, and the feeds nobody can take away
Rented reach versus owned channels, argued from operator experience: the platform loan, the quiet power of RSS, email as insurance, the POSSE publishing pattern, and growth numbers without the hockey stick.
- Platform reach is a loan, not an asset
- RSS and email survive every algorithm
- Publish on your site, syndicate out
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Online business
ReadField guide · July 1, 2026
Affiliate disclosures done right: the rules, the wording, and where they go
A working publisher’s guide to affiliate disclosure: the regulatory baseline in plain English, placement rules that survive scrutiny, wording that sounds human, and the measured (small) effect on conversion.
- Disclose before the link, not in the footer
- Plain words beat legal boilerplate
- Clear labels barely dent conversion
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Monetization & ads
ReadField guide · June 30, 2026
Pricing page teardowns: what actually works
Recurring structures from dozens of SaaS pricing page teardowns: anchors built on real plans, names buyers self-select into, defensible decoys, truthful annual framing, FAQs that answer fear with specifics, and the tricks that quietly cost more than they capture.
- Anchor with a real plan, not a fake one
- Plan names buyers self-select into
- De-risk in the FAQ, not the fine print
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Monetization & ads
ReadField guide · June 29, 2026
Feature flags without a platform
A three-rung ladder for shipping behind flags on a small product (env vars, a typed flag module, hash-based percentage rollouts) plus the cleanup rules that stop flag debt.
- Env var → typed module → hash rollout
- Every flag is born with an expiry
- A platform is for teams, not toggles
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Stack & engineering
ReadField guide · June 28, 2026
The case for boring technology
Why a small operation should spend its innovation tokens on the one thing that differentiates it and choose deliberately boring technology everywhere money, data, and login are involved.
- You get about three innovation tokens
- Boring means known failure modes
- Experiment at the leaves, not the core
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Stack & engineering
ReadField guide · June 27, 2026
Documenting decisions: the ten-line ADR that saves future you
A ten-line architecture decision record scaled to a team of one: the template, the threshold for writing one, and the case for keeping the files in the repo instead of a wiki.
- Ten lines, five minutes, one file
- The surprise test for what to record
- ADRs live in the repo, not a wiki
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Stack & engineering
ReadField guide · June 26, 2026
Error budgets for tiny teams: reliability without an SRE org
Scaling the error-budget idea down to a one- or two-person operation: the arithmetic of nines at small revenue, a written not-fixing list, six-line incident notes, and spending unused budget on shipping speed instead of hoarding it.
- A target you can afford to keep
- The not-fixing list is the point
- Six-line incident notes, no ceremony
Novus Stream Solutions (hub) · Stack & engineering
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