How many of you have your own software companies?
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
The single most important thing in running your business is marketing. Or, to paraphrase a well known personality, "Marketing, Marketing, Marketing!" Seriously. Your product or services won't sell themselves regardless of quality or price. If you're not comfortable with constantly (and I mean every week of the year) doing sales, marketing and promotion work, stay working for someone else. Every other aspect of business is secondary to this.
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes Copywriting Services
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
i do.
SciGama wrote:
What was the key for you yo get started
come up with something to sell.
SciGama wrote:
do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job?
of course. if only it paid like one...
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
I had one ten years ago. My company was formed when I wrote an SBIR proposal to the US Army. We ended up getting a phase I & II contract to develop some specialized software that had very little commercial potential. The money was nice ($850K for 2-1/2 years), so I quit my job. At the end of the contracts, we couldn't sell the software and had no other contracts to continue to fund our venture (even though we wrote many more proposals). I had to go back to working for someone else. So, I guess my advise would be for you not to jump in with both feet and quit your current job until your business is bringing in enough to support you. Having skills as a marketeer wouldn't hurt. That's where I find myself now as a team lead. It's my job to convince others to give us money so I can keep my team funded.
Gary Kirkham Forever Forgiven and Alive in the Spirit It's against my relationship to have a religion. Me blog, You read
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
You should ask the accompanying question to that - How many of you HAD your own software companies. If you can't sell yourself and your ideas then don't even consider this step unless you can get an honest partner who can do your selling for you. Key word there is HONEST. Just because you can build it does not mean you can sell it! Good Luck....
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
To me software marketing is a lot harder than coding, so I just code for other people who figured that stuff out (or at least think they have).
xacc.ide
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
Hmm, I tried to start a full fleg internet company in 2007. I didn't like it. I found out I'm a more effective writter and research and developer. Yes, I do it solo (so far) but If I find something really interesting it mught go big. Like one of my next endevours. A site called: MillionDollarIdeas.com A site something like this where people who have great ideas and not enough time to post thier ieads and get creadit and kick backs from the entripunures who use them. Me I have about 6 million dollar ideas on any given day. Just not enough time to work on any of them or the drive.
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What was the key for you yo get started and do you enjoy it more than working a standard 9-5 job? Im at the phase in my career where i am seriously considering doing this and any advice would be helpful.
I can speak to this if you mean making software to sell to the public at large, if you mean being some kind of contract programmer for hire or consultant I can speak to that as well only to say don't do it - it's a fools game. Writing software once though, and selling it over and over to the public is a very different kettle a fish and very rewarding. The key to me doing it was being tired of the 7am to 6pm grind of being an on call network support tech and doing contract programming on the side and realizing what a fool I was for going through all that hassle to write software and get paid for it once when I could go through far less hassle and get paid over and over again for the same work. Yes I absolutely enjoy it (more so now that the hours are reasonable). Important points to consider: 1) As has been said become an expert in marketing or don't bother. Strong marketing outweighs any other negativity about your product including lack of originality or poor execution. 2) It *will* take at least 10 years of hard effort, long hours and a *lot* of learning about non programming related business issues before you're any good at it or can afford to take any serious amount of time off. You *will* be working far longer hours than you ever have as someone else's employee, if you aren't you're doing it wrong. 3) Easing into it is a good idea, do it on the side while gainfully employed. 4) Don't invest any money into the business that it can't pay back from ongoing profits. It's not a trucking company or a manufacturing company, you don't need employees and you don't need inventory and you don't need any equipment beyond the most basic computer and software and comfortable working environment. I.E. don't go out and get a loan or investors and start flinging money around, you don't grow a good business that way, only a lifelong crushing debt. A couple thousand for a good working environment and equipment is about the most you should consider. You will need every cent for marketing later on. 5) Since you will be starting out small and doing things wisely you will likely be working from home, understand the implications of this, it's a very different way of life from working in an office. 6) Most of the time you spend will be as a business person first and a programmer second or third or even lower down the line. 7) Make software in a field you are personally interested in and can be passionate about.
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