As a long time analyst programmer employed on a nine-to-five basis either as a contractor or on a salary, I often dreamt of marketing software products from my own web site; the prospect of writing a software application once, then (hopefully) selling multiple copies was - and still is - an attractive one.
Having then made the difficult decision to turn my back on a guaranteed income to go it alone, the transition from programmer-for-hire to software vendor has turned out to be a protracted one. With a couple of desktop applications in the final stages of testing, all but ready to be unleashed on the world, the problem is devoting enough time to complete the all-important testing and put in place the necessary mechanisms relating to purchase and licensing.
The lag time between presenting my products for sale and realising any income from them is an unknown, despite my confidence that they're useful, attractively-priced tools. In the meantime, the rent needs to be paid on time and having food in the fridge most of the time continues to be an attractive prospect! As a sole operator therefore, striking a balance between earning an adequate income while striving to get a new product to market is the constant challenge.
In reality then, although my dream is ultimately attainable, the transition to fully-fledged micro-ISV is likely to be a gradual one. While I go about the business of earning a living as best I can, I manage to snatch an hour here and an hour there putting the final touches on my first two products, impatient to market them, but always alert to the dangers of releasing them prematurely. My patience, I remind myself repeatedly, will be rewarded in the long term.
Cheers
Pete
Having then made the difficult decision to turn my back on a guaranteed income to go it alone, the transition from programmer-for-hire to software vendor has turned out to be a protracted one. With a couple of desktop applications in the final stages of testing, all but ready to be unleashed on the world, the problem is devoting enough time to complete the all-important testing and put in place the necessary mechanisms relating to purchase and licensing.
The lag time between presenting my products for sale and realising any income from them is an unknown, despite my confidence that they're useful, attractively-priced tools. In the meantime, the rent needs to be paid on time and having food in the fridge most of the time continues to be an attractive prospect! As a sole operator therefore, striking a balance between earning an adequate income while striving to get a new product to market is the constant challenge.
In reality then, although my dream is ultimately attainable, the transition to fully-fledged micro-ISV is likely to be a gradual one. While I go about the business of earning a living as best I can, I manage to snatch an hour here and an hour there putting the final touches on my first two products, impatient to market them, but always alert to the dangers of releasing them prematurely. My patience, I remind myself repeatedly, will be rewarded in the long term.
Cheers
Pete
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