Part 2 of our plan involves a cool tool developed by IdeaNotion that makes it easy for anyone – even beginners – to turn their WordPress site into a Windows 8 app. It’s called IdeaPress, and you can access it on any laptop, running any operating system that has an up-t0-date browser. We’re taking things one step further by offering to publish apps using Ladies Learning Code’s Windows store developer account (which costs $99 annually) using a Windows 8 device that we’ve borrowed from Microsoft. We’re aiming to help 50 beginners publish apps in the Windows 8 app store by April 5th. If you’d like one of them to be yours (and we hope you do!), please follow the simple steps below.

1. Make sure your website is compatible with IdeaPress. 

IdeaPress works with WordPress – both self-hosted WordPress.org as well as WordPress.com sites will work! If you have a self-hosted WordPress site (aka. WordPress.org), there’s just one tiny extra step that you need to do…

2. If you have a self-hosted WordPress site (aka. WordPress.org), you need to install the JSON API plugin.

Log in to the admin dashboard of your website and click on “Plugins” on the left menu bar. Click “Add new” at the top of the page. In the search bar, type “JSON API” and click “Search Plugins”. The JSON API plugin we’re looking for should be the first result (it’s the one by Dan Phiffer). Under the title, click “Install Now”. Activate it. If you don’t see an option to activate it, go to “Plugins” and then “Installed Plugins” and activate the JSON API plugin from there. Finally, go to “Settings” on the left menu bar. Click on “JSON API” and activate “Core”, “Response” and “Post” by clicking “Activate” under each word.

(If you have a WordPress.com site, you don’t have to do this step! Also, if you’d like to have me do the rest of these steps for you, I’m happy to! Just send me an email and let me know the URL of your WordPress site, and I’ll go right ahead and create an app for you!)

3. Go to IdeaPress.me. Click “Get Started” on the homepage, and enter the address of your WordPress site as well as your email address. If you have a self-hosted WordPress site (WordPress.org) and you have the JSON API plugin installed, it will move you on to the next step.If you are converting a WordPress.com site, it will ask for one more piece of information – your Client ID and your Application Secret. To get those, follow these instructions (instructions coming soon!)

4. General Info

Give your app a name and a description. It’s worth spending some extra time on your description, because an unclear description that doesn’t clearly explain the value of the app will be rejected by the Windows 8 App store. Here are a few examples of descriptions that were accepted by the app store:

For Wesbos.com:

“Welcome, friends. You have reached the personal blog & portfolio of Wes Bos. I’m a designer, developer and entrepreneur from Toronto, Canada. Please take a look at my work gallery, read my blog or get in touch!”

For Hackeryou.com:

“HackerYou, based in Toronto, Canada, offers the city’s best part-time courses for people who want to learn to code. The recipe? Hands-on, project-based learning from industry-leading professionals. Small classes and a 10:1 ratio (or better!) of students to instructors. And a learning environment that’s social and collaborative. Make this year the year you finally learn to code - HackerYou can help get you there.

App features:

• Check out upcoming courses
• View upcoming workshops
• Inquire about corporate training
• Learn about the team behind HackerYou
• Meet HackerYou’s advisors”

Make a note of your app description in a Word document or draft email – you’ll need it again later!

5. Content Configuration

Now is your chance to customize how your app looks. First, start by choosing which pages should be included in the app. For best results, choose pages with lots of content, as well as a unique image. I recommend avoiding including your “Home” page, if you have one, unless your homepage has content that is significantly different from what’s on your about page.You’ll also select which categories to include, and whether or not you’d like to include recent posts. I usually include all categories and recent posts.

6. Theme Configuration

Now is your chance to change the layout and colours of your app, and add images. This is where you can make your app look really polished. You’ll need a few different images – click here to download a file that includes blank files for each of the images you’ll need. You can use a program like Pixlr to add your logo, etc. to them.

• Background image: 1366px by 768px (I usually just upload an image that’s completely white.)
• Title image: 300px by 80px (This should be your logo – it goes on the top left-hand corner of your app)
• Default article image: 252px by 168px (this image will appear anytime one of your posts or pages doesn’t have a photo)
• Logo: 150px by 150px (kind of like an app icon)
• Wide logo: 310px by 150px
• Splash screen: 620px by 300 px
• Screenshot: Later, you’ll also need a screenshot of your app which should be 1366px by 768px. You can create one by simply pasting your Splash Screen image onto an image that is 1366px by 768px. This mimics what the splash screen of your app looks like when someone first opens it.

7. Accept the terms of use and generate app package

Be sure to select “Generate App Package” from the options on the left side of the screen. In order to have Ladies Learning Code publish your app, you’ll need to enter the following information:

Privacy policy: If you have one of your own, you can modify it to be suitable for your app. Otherwise, just use the general one that we created for all apps published by Ladies Learning Code. Here’s the link: http://ladieslearningcode.com/privacy-policy

Identity Name: This has to be in the format of “MyCompany.OurAwesomeApp”. So, if Ladies Learning Code is going to publish your app, and you named it “Coolest App” (back in Step 4), your Identity Name would be “LadiesLearningCode.Coolest App”.

Publisher Name: If we’re going to submit your app for you, the Publisher Name should say “Ladies Learning Code”.

Publisher ID: Enter the following: CN=0332249A-B178-470E-8455-17DC36E0D37E

Terms of use and privacy policy: Tick the box if you accept!

Click “submit” to generate your app. It will be emailed to you.

8. Get Your App Published

Shortly, you’ll receive an email from IdeaPress that includes a download link. Forward that email to me at heather [at] ladieslearningcode.com and include the following:

a) Your app description (just paste it into the body of the email). If you forgot to make a note of your app description in Step 4, you can log in to IdeaPress, open your app from the dashboard and use the arrows to navigate to the app name and description page.

b) Your 1366 by 768 px screenshot (attach it to the email).

Once I receive your email, I’ll submit your app to the store and let you know when it’s live! Thanks for helping us reach our goal of 50 apps in the Windows 8 app store!

If you have any questions about the steps involved in turning your WordPress site into a Windows 8 app, feel free to get in touch with me at heather [at] ladieslearningcode.com. And if you have a WordPress-based website, please help us to reach out goal of helping 50 beginners publish apps in the Windows 8 app store by April 5th!

Thanks to Tunnel Media for creating this incredible feature on Girls Learning Code, and to Fab Spaces for leading such a wonderful workshop.

Girls Learning Code: Bring creations to life with electronics from Tunnel Media on Vimeo.

The fascinating thing? Nothing about any of the games the girls created indicated that they were designed by girls. There was no pink, there were no unicorns or hearts or rainbows. For the most part, an uninformed gamer would have no idea who created the adventure they were enjoying – girls, boys or a mixed group. We had games where pieces of bacon had to avoid being fried, popsicles had to fight fire and collect ice cubes, turtles had to go up against sharks and crabs, and of course, the token celebrity game where Hannah Montana had to avoid the Bieberbots. You can check out all of the games our campers created here.

What does it mean? I’m not sure. After all, our sample size is small. But for adults who interact with girls, it’s worth noting because perhaps our assumptions about girls and what they like  - especially when it comes to games, and maybe even technology – are wrong. My ask to parents, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, older brothers and sisters, and anyone else who interacts with children, is to simply not assume anything. Or assume everything. Assume that your daughter is just as interested in learning how a lawn mower works as your son is. Don’t ever automatically exclude her from that lesson, because it will send totally the wrong message – trust that she’ll let you know if she’s not interested. And at that point, you might want to teach her anyway.

The thing that’s funny is that I wasn’t yet an entrepreneur when I wrote that post.  I was working at a startup, and we’d hosted our first Ladies Learning Code workshop, but I hadn’t yet taken the leap.

Now, of course, that’s all changed. Today, I’m definitely an entrepreneur – I make a living by working for organizations that I’ve founded. I’m responsible for paying salaries, carrying a commercial lease and remitting taxes, not to mention all of the fun stuff like making sure people love being HackerYou or Ladies Learning Code customers, defining and executing strategies,  and working with my team. I’ve learned a lot since August 2011, and certainly matured as a person, a woman and an entrepreneur. Looking over my updated post below, and comparing it to the one from 2011, it’s pretty interesting to see what’s changed. And what’s stayed the same.

So, here it is. A reprise of my post about dating an entrepreneur from about a year and a half ago. Would love your thoughts.

Date an Entrepreneur, Female Edition – A Reprise

(An update to my post from August 2011 that was based on “Date an Entrepreneur” by Bridget Porowski and “Date a Girl Who Reads” by Rosemarie Urquico)

Date an entrepreneur. Date a woman who spends her money on programming courses and productivity tools  instead of trips to the mall. A woman who doesn’t mind being told that her idea isn’t going to catch on. One who can scan the landscape and identify opportunities that other people just can’t or won’t see.

Find an entrepreneur. You’ll know she is one because of all the tabs she has open in her browser. She’s the one skimming industry blogs, the one who can’t stop thinking about how she could do more, be better. Yes, things with her business move quickly and yes, she has more ideas than any one person can reasonably handle. But that’s what makes her great. You see a woman writing thoughtfully on an empty page in her notebook, with a Google spreadsheet open and her iPhone out? That’s the entrepreneur. She can never resist exploring a new opportunity, but she’s learned by now that not every idea is ultimately worth pursuing.

She’s the woman wearing jeans while meeting with investors. Or customers. Or anyone, really. (Suits and blazers have seen nothing but the inside of her closet for years.) She’s on her laptop at the coffee shop down the street. Her coffee is cold because she’s kind of mentally occupied. Lost in a world where running a business and changing the world is really hard work. Sit down and chat. (She’ll give you a look because she’s working on some kind of deadline, as always.) Say something that will catch her attention (good luck), and if she seems engaged, ask her about what she’s working on. Let her talk about education, technology, and what she’s got coming down the pipeline. If you dare to interrupt her without a good reason, she’ll give you a look – but that’s just because most people don’t like being interrupted. Try giving her a problem to fix, but only if you really want it fixed and fixed right. Ask her for her help or advice if you need it – she’ll always help if she can. But she’s learned by now that she’ll be better able to help others if she helps herself first.

Let her know what you really think of [insert newsworthy startup story here]. Ask her for her honest opinion. Understand that if she says she likes calculus and video games and is learning Ruby on Rails at HackerYou she’s telling the truth – women don’t tend to exaggerate those things too much. Her economic predictions aren’t spot-on – but these days, whose are? It doesn’t matter, though, because she’d rather invest in people, like Katherine Hague, or in her own businesses. She’s obsessed with generating revenue and profit and does a great job of saving her piece of it. She knows that, in this day in age, she has to take care of herself. She’ll rub off on you, and before you know it you too will carefully compare grocery store prices by the ounce and stock up on household staples when they’re on sale.

It’s easy to date an entrepreneur. Give her Adafruit gift cards – and jewelry – for Christmas and her birthday. Enable her creative side while also making her feel special about being exactly who she is. Understand that, on your anniversary, she might be in New York speaking at a conference or in Halifax launching a new Ladies Learning Code chapter – and forgive her for it. She might be in San Francisco on the 14th, so don’t be shocked if she asks to celebrate Valentine’s Day a day later so you can be together. Let her know that you love the passion she has for what she does. Understand and trust that she knows the difference between the present and the future, but she’s going to change the world to make it reflect her vision for the future. Don’t try to stop her – there’s no point.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Don’t lie to her. Honesty has never been more important. Don’t be one of those people who just tells her what she wants to hear.

She’ll fail sometimes, and that’s okay. Because an entrepreneur knows how to create opportunity from failure. Because an entrepreneur understands that nothing truly comes to an end. That you can always create something from nothing. That you can recreate again and again and that there are lots of ways to create value. That life is meant to have a challenge or two. Besides, it’s a good reminder that she has to focus on being the best she can be – for herself first.

Don’t worry about whatever you feel you lack. Entrepreneurs understand that people, like companies, grow. She will help you realize your potential. She will study you more than anyone. She’ll figure you out. That’s when you’re really in trouble.

You’ll want to propose to her long before she’s ready. She’s got a world to change, she’s always saying, and she’s in no rush. You’ll try to very casually slip it in dozens of times, always somehow losing your nerve at the last minute. Eventually, it will happen – via Skype. When you least expect it to. And the seconds before she says yes will feel like hours. But if you’re lucky, she’ll say yes.

If you find a woman who creates, keep her near. When you find her up at 2 AM wrestling with a bug on her websites that she’s already been working on for hours, make her a cup of tea and grab your laptop or a book and sit with her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. And when she does, she’ll either be absolutely frustrated, finally giving in to her sleepy eyes, or she’ll be on cloud nine because she did it. Either way, in the morning, she’ll be back to normal, so be sure to appreciate those precious moments of emotion.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart doesn’t burst. Together you will create the vision for your lives. You might even have kids together. If you do, they’ll have strange ideas and even stranger imaginations. They’ll have the best lemonade stand in the city. (It’ll have a website, and probably an app.) She will introduce your children to Lego and math and consideration and beauty and generosity and building robots and cooking and JavaScript, maybe in the same day. You will love her more than anything and your relationship will always feel new and fresh, because ideas never get old. Because she’ll mess with your computer, but never your heart.

Date an entrepreneur because you deserve it. You deserve a woman who can give you the most vibrant life imaginable. Share your dreams with her, let her show you better ways of doing things and let her know you love her for who she is. If you want the world and the universe beyond it, date an entrepreneur.

This post is dedicated to Shawn Konopinsky, the best partner I could ever dream of. So happy that we both found entrepreneurs to fall in love with.

If you’ve decided that 2013 is the year you’re finally going to learn to code, you’re in luck! There have never been more resources available to people interested in picking up 21st century digital skills, whether you’re interested in front-end development, back-end development, design, or even something more specific.

But you’ve tried online tutorials. You’ve been to Meetup groups. You’ve watched video lessons. And for some reason, it’s just not working for you. Well, the good news is that – these days – there are lots of options for people looking to learn how to code via an in-person learning experience. And you won’t even have to move to San Francisco.

Here’s a list of places to learn to code in Toronto:

Should you have been included in this list? Email us at info [at] hackeryou.com with information about your organization and we’ll add you to the list.

HackerYou
72-hour part-time courses on Web Development, Ruby on Rails and more. Our next course begins on January 21st. Learn more here.
Cost: $2800 including HST (about $34 an hour!)
http://hackeryou.com | @thisishackeryou | fb.com/thisishackeryou

Bitmaker Labs
9-week full-time courses on Ruby on Rails. Deadline to apply for their Spring 2013 cohort is January 14th.
Cost: $7000
http://bitmakerlabs.com | @bitmakerlabs | fb.com/bitmakerlabs

Ladies Learning Code
One-day workshops designed for beginners who are looking for a social and collaborative learning experience.
Cost: $50 per one-day workshop (includes a catered lunch!)
http://ladieslearningcode.com | @llcodedotcom | fb.com/ladieslearningcode

The YMC
Pay-what-you-can and get hands on with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, WordPress and more at these 9-week courses.
Cost: Pay What You Can
http://theymc.com | @theYMC | fb.com/theYMC

Team Coding
Free sessions to help beginners get in groups to practice coding.
Cost: Free
http://meetup.com/teamcoding | @teamcoding

Learn Toronto
Not a course, but a listing of tech and startup related groups and events in Toronto. Perfect if you’re looking to learn on an ad hoc basis.
Cost: Most groups and Meetups are free
http://learntoronto.org | @LearnToronto

Have you decided to make 2013 the year you learn how to code? How are you going to do it?

It’s not a huge deal. Lots of people have melanoma, and there’s no expected impact on life expectancy or anything like that. I’m young for it, though – I’m just 25. And I’ve always been really careful with sun exposure. I’ve never been in a tanning bed, always use at least SPF 30 and I am not a significant consumer of holidays in the sun. I guess that doesn’t matter.

This morning, at 8 am, I had to have another minor surgery. In order to ensure that the melanoma was entirely removed, they had to take from my forehead an additional 5 mm on each side of the original spot. There will be a scar about an inch long and it will take a year to heal. Apparently, it will look its worst in about two months. Luckily, it’s not too far away from my hairline, so most of you will probably never see it. I’ll be rocking side-swept bangs for the rest of my life.

I’m sharing this because, first of all, it’s been sort of scary and it makes me feel better to talk about it. But more importantly, I’m sharing because I think there’s a good lesson here. No matter how much great stuff you have in your life, anything can happen because we’re humans, not robots. What happened to me isn’t serious, but it could have been. It could be anything, any time. So it’s important to be grateful every day for your life and the people in it. It’s also important to try and make the most out of every day that we have. If you’re not taking risks and trying to move the needle and aspiring for major impact (whatever “imapct” means for you), maybe you should start. I have been, for a while now, but I think it’s time to turn up the volume. Want to join me?

Until next time,

Franken-Heather

He just showed me his new website: nerdswithglasses.com, which is full of “Guides for Geeks” aka. tutorials for people who want to learn to code (or maybe do other things, too). So far, he has a Python tutorial + video, a clock background tutorial + video, and a lesson on creating an HTML web page. Currently, he’s writing a post called “Spreading the HTML Gospel” about today’s workshop.

Seeing this kind of thing makes everything that I do totally worth it. Keegan – you’re a rockstar. Keep it up!

UPDATE: If you’d like to get in touch with Keegan or compliment him on his excellent website, you can contact him at info [at] nerdswithglasses.com.

(Want to skip to my new venture? It’s called HackerYou. Click here to visit the site, click here to read our press release, and click here to follow us on Twitter.)

When I moved to Toronto in May of 2010 (you know, after living in China for 15 months and then dropping out of grad school), I wanted to join a startup. But, of course, I didn’t know a single person in Toronto’s tech or startup communities, and as a recent grad, I didn’t exactly have people clamouring to hire me…to do anything. I was lucky to land a job through Laura Plant (yes, the one from Ladies Learning Code) and I worked for a year at a big company. And that was enough of that.

Just before I left BigCorp Inc. to join a startup as employee #2, I was in LA for work. And if you’ve heard of Ladies Learning Code, you know the story. I stumbled upon an event via Women 2.0. Run by the PyLadies, it was a workshop designed for women who were beginners to Python but ready to learn, which described me perfectly. It was their first workshop ever, and it was great, and I returned to Toronto and tweeted about how we should have a similar group here. Almost immediately, I started receiving emails from people who were interested in the idea, and when I’d received about a dozen, I planned this event. 85 people registered, there was a great turnout, and as a group we decided to run our first workshop exactly a month later. About 20 people were involved in pulling that first event off – it sold out in a day, and was definitely a success! I was surprised, and really excited.

We started planning workshops every month, and they started selling out faster and faster – like, sell-out-in-five-minutes fast. By the end of 2011, my team (by now, four of us) made the decision to start offering two workshops a month. Now, almost 2000 women (and men) have participated in a Ladies Learning Code workshop. Over 400 developers and designers have signed up to volunteer their time. We run a March Break and summer camp for 9 to 13 year old girls. And just yesterday, we announced that we’re going to be offering a couple workshops in Vancouver this summer.

But although I definitely accept the compliments offered to myself and my team for the job we’ve done in starting and growing Ladies Learning Code, and although I truly appreciate being considered an entrepreneur, I haven’t felt like one. Not until today.

Maybe it’s because Ladies Learning Code is a not-for-profit. Maybe it’s because I got lucky, stumbled onto the idea, and just held on for dear life. Maybe it’s because the point of Ladies Learning Code was never to find a repeatable and scaleable business model (I mean, the thing has a business model, but it sure as hell doesn’t scale. Not easily, anyway.) Maybe it’s a combination of all of those things. It might even just be in my head. But I just haven’t felt like an entrepreneur yet.

Either way, it all changes today. Today is the day that I’m making a specific decision to bring something into this world that wouldn’t exist otherwise. I’m putting my money where my mouth is by making an investment in turning this idea into reality. In line with Steve Blank’s definition of a startup, my purpose now is to find a repeatable and scalable business model. And this time, I want to do something that will have a positive impact and make a profit, because I believe it’s possible to do both.

Want to see what my team and I built? Check it out: http://hackeryou.com. And be sure to follow us on Twitter – we’re @thisishackeryou.

In May of 2011, I’d been in a corporate marketing role for almost a year. But I wanted to join a startup. So, I volunteered at Mesh, and while I was there, I told anyone who would listen that I was looking for a job with a startup. Mark Graham, Tim Willison and Ashleigh Grange might remember that.

This year, I’m not volunteering. In fact, I’ve been invited to speak at Mesh (on a panel – details below).

Conclusion? A lot can happen in two years.

–

You can still register for Mesh! Click here and get a 15% discount by using discount code: “thisweek”

Tales from the Trenches: Stories from Startups
Thursday, May 24th | 1:05 pm – 2:05 pm | Room 203AB

So, what’s involved in running a startup? How do you operate the business? What’s involved in developing products and services? What are some of the key considerations when hiring employees? What are the most important things when a startup looks to raise money or gets an acquisition offer. We’ve put together a roundtable featuring startup entrepreneurs (and a VC) who will provide real-world insight into the startup world. Moderated by Mark Evans and Stuart MacDonald, the roundtable is designed to be freewheeling, interactive and engaging forum that aims to have the audience involved and contributing as well. Guest roundtable members include: Aliza Pulver, Andy Yang, Evgeny Tchebotarev, Dups Wijayawardhana and Heather Payne.

Whether it’s long hours, late nights or surviving off just the most basic of staples — we’ve all heard the stories of startup founders working toward Ramen profitability. Although these tales are popular, and sometimes even glamorized, are they a necessity for anyone looking to start up?

I don’t think so. After all, I’m an entrepreneur. My startup is less than a year old. Yet, I live in a good-sized apartment in a nice area of Toronto. I have an iPhone, a couple of computers and an iPad. I have patio furniture and I host dinner parties. I rarely buy groceries, choosing instead to eat out or on the go. Recently, I made a five-digit investment in fellow entrepreneur Katherine Hague’s startup, ShopLocket. And despite the fact that university cost me $100,000, I’ve been financially independent (and debt-free) since I moved out at 18.

Is it luck? Partially. But most of it comes down to being financially savvy. Here are three tips to help you pursue entrepreneurship without having to resort to Ramen:

Read the rest over at YoungEntrepreneur.com…