So what’s it like to start an open-source project at the age of 19? More to the point, how would it feel if, four years later, your software powered millions of professional websites worldwide, including Reuters and The New York Times.

Matt Mullenweg (pictured at an even earlier age) of WordPress fame is the man to answer those questions, for it was he who did all that at such a tender age. The WordPress weblog platform is used by Syntagma Digital on its 50 sites and powers Small Business Booster, so we are interested in what Matt has to say.

Today, he outlines the process on his own blog, Photo Matt, and gives us a lot of insights into the business of starting up, especially in the field of open-source software, which doesn’t necessarily mean nonprofit.

Yes, WordPress really is four years old. I was 19. No, I didn’t create it alone, if I did you would have never heard of it. Actually, it entered a rather crowded field, not even close to being first. No, not planning to sell it, there isn’t really anything to sell, it’s more of a movement. No, I didn’t make 60 million dollars in 18 months.

Read the rest here.

Jeremy Wright, CEO of b5media — a 200-site “blog” network based in Toronto — has written a rodeo-style piece for the Chitika blog on how to make money from a startup small business.

Titled: Blog to Blog, Inc. -Turning a Cup of Coffee a Day into Millions -By Jeremy Wright, the post outlines Jeremy’s take on the whole b5media experience.

His 4-point business plan is :

1. Make our bloggers famous – every chance we got we wanted to promote our bloggers

2. Value community – we honestly felt (and now know) that a strong internal community can make anything happen

3. Focus on great writers and keeping them happy – do this and the rest (traffic, revenue, etc) will happen

4. Build an industry – we’ve believed from day 1 that working with other networks, other owners and building real partnerships and sharing resources was the only way to turn the hodgepodge of networks into a real industry.

As a fellow network owner, who occasionally gets into intense arguments with the man, I’m not going to comment on his article — or dispute his numbers (common in the network business).

But I recommend anyone considering a small business startup to read it for the experience it contains and just a suggestion of all the hard grind you have stretching out before you.

Have you ever wondered if the internet has added to your productivity or reduced it?

Do email, IM and phone calls take precious hours from your working day? Are online distractions driving you to distraction? Sharon Sarmiento over at 901am may have the answer.

Sharon lists five ways to improve your productivity online. The headlines are hers, the comments beneath are mine :

1. Restrict your work hours to increase efficiency
The idea is to challenge your brain to avoid being sidetracked by irrelevant incoming chaff. I must say this always works for me, although if overdone — cutting it too fine — it can be counter-productive in that I’ll put it off until more time is available. Common sense is always important in these matters.

2. Create a map for your day
Write down what you need to do in the time available. Indispensable at all times if you don’t want to drift through your day.

3. Schedule times to check email
Another must. Email can run away with your time, especially if it’s still coming in while you’re culling the existing stuff. Time-limit the exercise.

4. Relax and don’t try to force yourself to work harder
If you’re stressed, you won’t breeze through your work. Chill out or you’ll feel the chill factor later.

5. Cut yourself some slack
Take a while to breathe without mental flak. But don’t do it if you are working well and efficiently. When you hit a rhythm keep it going, otherwise you will find it hard to switch it on when you get back from your break.

Good tips, worth keeping in mind for working online.