Entries Tagged 'Business of Software' ↓

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I just wanted to pass along a link to TJ Etherton’s iKollect Blog.

He’s been at it for a while and has some interesting articles. I try to keep up with all the mISV-ers, so I’m not sure why I didn’t find TJ sooner. You should go check it out!

Here’s a new microISV blog that looks interesting: My MicroISV Journey. It’s by Chris from the BOS forum, and is all about his new work schedule software company.

Here’s a confession.

I’ve failed at more businesses than I’ve succeeded at. Let me tell you why.

Like most programmers, I have an extreme urge to plan, to perfect, to abstract. And in a new business this is the most illogical thing you can do.

Because all plans made without the benefit of past experience are worthless. They fall apart on their first encounter with the unexpected.

When you’re ploughing new ground, the only sensible thing to do is to leap before you look.

If you know your market reads blogs, start a blog. The topic. The graphics. You can figure it all out later.

If you need to sell, just start calling people. You’ll look like an idiot at first. But who cares? You’ll get better.

The important thing to accept is that starting a business is messy. It’s confusing. It’s a rat-in-a-maze endeavor where the winner will always be the one who bumps into the most walls.

Technorati Tags: microISV, ISV, business of software, business planning

There’s a good post about motivation over at the Business of Software. Then Nick Hebb wrote a great blog post with his list of motivational techniques.

Personally, I’ve found that the biggest motivation killer is uncertainty. Not knowing what to do.

And let’s face it. As business owners, we’re hit with about 500 things daily that we don’t know how to do.

I’ve come up with a question that I use to get me past the uncertainty:

“What’s the dumbest thing I can do to get started?”

Try it. It works.

Because 9 times out of 10, problems aren’t as hard as they seem.

9 times out of 10, the dumb solution works.

You called me what?

“Copy Paste Coder.” Them’s (more than any other insult in the history of geeks), well, them’s fighting words.

But you know - I can’t take it any more. I have to come clean…

I’m a copy-paste programmer. And I’m going to give you 5 good reasons that you should be too!

1. Focus - Being able to quickly rough in your code means you can focus on the actual problem you’re solving. Remember the problem?
2. Flexibility - How many times have you spent days perfecting your square peg only to realize a month later that the hole was round.
3. Stability - Raise your hand if you’ve ever refactored before having a complete set of regression tests. Anyone? I know it’s not just me.
4. Speed - It’s all academic until you get it working!
5. Reality - That data binding framework you have to implement before you can start your killer guestbook app…You will never use it again.

We’re programmers. We love the abstract, the beautiful, the complete. But sometimes we just need to stop trying to be fancy and just WRITE THE DAMN THING!

I’ve been working a lot on the front end for my live chat application lately. Because chat requires javascript, we’re really taking it all the way and doing a completely dynamic control panel. It’s coming along really well.

This screen shot also hints at two of our more exciting features, triggers and “pre-qualifying.” (I know - I need some snazzier names).

Triggers let you use javascript to send messages to the chat backed. Did your customer just back out of the checkout screen? With triggers, the operator can see this, and offer assistance.

Even cooler, is the pre-qualifying system. The stars you see in the screenshot, as well as a bunch of other graphics not shown, give the chat operator an at-a-glance view of the customer’s interest. It’s like google analytics for a single person. Once you know that a customer’s interest level is high, then you can enroll them in special offers.

Pretty neat, huh?

Tony’s another intrepid soul on his way to fame and fortune. Why not check out his new startup blog?

http://www.thinklife.co.uk

Go uISV class of ‘07! Whoo!

Choosing a market - It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

This article will lay out some of the things I wish I’d known from the beginning. And there’s a cool PDF worksheet to help you analyze the markets you’re interested in.

IDEAS AREN’T THE PROBLEM

“Source control for designers!”, “Project management tools for photographers!”, “Inventory systems for cabinetmakers!”

Ideas aren’t the problem.

The problem is knowing which idea could make a viable business.

You can’t do it with your gut. Because if you’re anything like me, every idea I have is pure genius. Or at least that’s what my gut tells me.

What we need is a framework to separate good ideas from the bad. So let me introduce my BIG IDEA:

Being able to succeed as a startup is all about amplification.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the resources to create a market where none exists. I can’t afford to do on-site demos, or hire a salesman.

What I can do is choose a market where my actions and words pack the biggest punch with the least effort.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE AN AMPLIFIED MARKET:

1. An active market: Lots of competition, but no single dominant company.
2. A talkative market: Lots of blogs and forums, but not saturated with your competition’s messages.
3. An iterative market: Multiple purchases are the norm.
4. A need-driven market: Your product is required, not merely desired.
5. A big market: Lots of potential customers who fit specific criteria.

THE HORROR SHOW:

Now that we have our criteria, let me share a few of the (many) product ideas I considered and ultimately rejected.

• Version control for non-technical people. God what a mess - I even coded this and had it ready for release before I realized that only technical people know what version control is.
• Property management software for small landlords. I spent 3 months researching this market. Even made some UI mock-ups. It’s big, but it’s really not too chatty. Plus, most landlords with < 50 units really don’t need or want any software other than Quickbooks and maybe excel.
• Project management software for architects. I have some experience working with Architects, and I know that they could really use some help here. Because, there aren’t very many PM tools for architects. The only problem is that there are only 25,000 architectural firms with more than on employee. And worse, Architects tend to be very resistant to change.

REDEMPTION!

Ultimately, finding the right market is a process of making a big list and crossing off the duds until you get a live one!

My product is a tool for online businesses to create real relationships with their customers through live chat, click-to-call and email. (I’ll be positing screen shots and progress updates often)

Live chat is a great fit for me, but I have to give a big thanks to Ian Landsman. If it wasn’t for him and his great blog, it might never have made my list.

PARTY FAVORS ARE FUN:

As promised - I’m making my market-analysis worksheet available as a PDF. If you find it useful, let me know!

Download the Market Analysis Worksheet

RESOURCES:

Eric Sink’s article on choosing a product

Ian Landsman’s article on choosing a product