Starting out as an independent developer can be pretty daunting, even if you are confident in your abilities as a developer. However, plenty of people have done it successfully. If you aren’t scared of hard work, are prepared to learn some marketing skills and don’t expect to get rich quick, then it can be very rewarding. Here are a few articles/talks from this blog that are probably the most useful for an independent developer starting out:
- 15 criteria for evaluating software product ideas
- 10 questions to ask before you write a single line of code
- Selling your own software vs working for the man
- If you aren’t embarrassed by v1.0 you didn’t release it early enough
- 10 mistakes microISVs make
- Running a microISV
You can also learn a lot by reading the Business of software forum and its FAQ.
Hi,
I stumbled accross your web site this morning, and will most definitely frequent it from now on. There are lots of treasures inside your blogs, thank you for the information and shared advise.
What is your opinion on what I find the biggest obstacle when selling my own solution: Customers wanting your product but not actually getting to the purchase because of the size of your company. (If the solution was part of a product family of a large organization it would sell much better)
I find that this is the largest single factor preventing me from getting more Customers than what I currently sign up. The solution to me is not growing the company, but rather making use of some other (at stage unknown) innovative strategy to sign up the Customers I could have serviced if my Company was bigger.
Regards
Marius
Marius,
Size can be an issue when selling B2B to larger businesses. It is hard to advise in detail without knowing more about your situation. But here are some general recommendations:
-Do everything you can to establish credibility (professional looking website and product, belong to industry bodies, digital certificate on products, money back guarantee etc).
-Don’t tell them you are a microISV unless they ask (but don’t lie either). If they find out emphasize how this makes you more responsive.
-Do everything you can to get those first couple of reference customers, even if you have to do it at a loss.
-Consider partnering with a bigger, more established company.