Jamie’s Software Business Adventure – Part One
In Wednesday’s post, I wrote about how I’d found a new idea for a service based on a business blind-spot of mine.
I have spent the last few nights sleepless due to the fact that I should really develop the idea somewhat; even if only for myself (and my own businesses.)
As such, I’m going to jump into creating a piece of software; it’s something that I’m not naturally interested in, don’t have a talent for and have never thought about doing before.
…In other words, it’s going to be a bad, but interesting, idea.
Today’s article is about what I’ve found out so far, why I’m uniquely unqualified, (maybe a little qualified,) and a general introduction to what I believe is going to become a new series. Probably of misadventures, but who knows.
Why Starting A Software Business Is A Good Idea
I’ve written that you need to start any business with a solution to a common problem. It doesn’t matter if you’re mowing people’s lawns or creating prosthetic mind-controlled limbs; ultimately, you’re fulfilling a need. Hopefully, you’re doing it well.
The other day I identified a piece of software that I used that cost a lot of money on a routine basis. After doing some checking, I found a way to provide a better service for less money. Whilst I haven’t seriously thought about selling the software in any tangible way, I know that I can use the software I’m creating (or having created) myself, and it’ll save me money and make my businesses run more efficiently.
Ultimately, all of the above adds up to this: If you can think of a relevant service or product that you can provide, and doing it via software is the best way to do it, then it might be a good idea to start looking into creating a software business.
Do you have a viable product idea?
Is it feasible that you could create this or have it created?
Is it going to better at doing what you want it to do than the options available?
Are there other people that could use your solution?
Why Starting A Software Business Is A BAD Idea
The software business world is horrendously crowded. There are venture capital people throwing billions into start-ups that don’t have a hope in hell of succeeding.
There are also countless billions of STEM graduates who are all looking for work – and they have great ideas and are obviously your competitors. Oh, and they hate you, you stupid non-STEM graduate. (I’m exaggerating slightly in this paragraph.)
If you’ve had an idea, then chances are someone else has had the idea. Someone who is better at programming than you, knows more about tech than you do, has deeper pockets than you do, and wants to dedicate every waking hour to being the next tech giant.
The market is saturated, and in terms of barriers to entry, it’s much higher than writing or other marketing avenues. That’s why the idea that this project will succeed is a bit stupid, even though I’m doing it.
(Obviously, expectations are in check here; I’m looking to create a product and maybe sell it to a few dozen companies… I’m not looking to compete with Google.)
What Do I Hope To Achieve In Doing This?
The last paragraph brought me nicely on to my initial goals with this project. Here are some:
- I hope to get something that works first of all. Anything will do at this early stage.
- My real and honest ambition is to create a piece of software that works like I want it to work. It’s something that automates a part of online business. If my solution works, then I’ll save money, but I’ll be able to roll this piece of software out to all of my websites. This will result in more views, more subscribers, more customers, and more money. It’ll be useful.
- My “stretch goal” is to use the piece of software either as a solution in and of itself- i.e. people will pay to use the software, or as a Unique Selling Point as part of a bundle of services I offer.
- Super Evil Secret Goal: This will be the first time in a long time that I’m going to have to hire out some of the work. I have a limited understanding of programming, but I can’t write software at a professional level. Learning how to manage a project and take a hands-off approach requires learning new skills, and it’ll also help me build a system for hiring out people and building an evil empire.
It’s all very well talking about what I want to do, but now it’s time for some preliminary findings from this strange experiment.
What Have I Learned From Week One Of The “Build a Software Business” Challenge?
Here is a random collection of thoughts thus far;
- You might be tempted to think, “This is easy… I’ll get the sales letter written up, the software developed in a week and I’ll be back to writing about normal stuff next week.” That’s probably not going to happen.
- Programming is tedious, even if you like it. I don’t. Even reading about programming is tedious.
- First Actual Lesson: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Nobody wants you to create a competing CMS for WordPress. Find a way to build on what’s already there.
- Unless you’re a super-developer, you’re not going to do it alone. You’re going to have to hire people. (More on this in the future.)
- I take a lot of things for granted when I use software. Functionality, design, user experience… Those all have to be considered.
- If you’re trying to connect two big pieces of software… prepare for errors.
- When one of those pieces of software is created be a tech giant, be prepared for them to take their time getting back to you. You are insignificant.
- If you buy something pre-packaged, then it’s not going to do what you want.
Final Thoughts
I don’t really know where this project is going, but I’m writing this series of articles as a means of keeping myself personally accountable. Also, you can all point, laugh and maybe learn something.
I’ll update my software business chronicles as and when I work on it, and I’ll probably write in a structure similar to this article and like the niche site challenge updates that I write about every Saturday.
That’s all… Until next time at least!