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Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

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Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#41

Post by hd4 »

fecak wrote: post #40
hd4 wrote: post #33

If you are working a day job as a programmer (while setting yourself up to go down the startup route), go with contracting as soon as you can, the rates are what you set them at and you should always set them high. The other advice that has been invaluable to me is NEVER EVER reveal your salary to recruiters. Always state what you want to be paid and go from there. When you reveal what you are earning, you are immedi…

OP is talking about a jump to entrepreneurship. Why would an entrepreneur talk to a recruiter about their salary? If OP is considering a move to contract software development work, your advice could be relevant to OP not offering his/her hourly contract rate to third party recruiters who ask for it, but most independent contractors have an hourly rate because they know the market for their skills.

>If you are working a day job as a programmer (while setting yourself up to go down the startup route)

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#42

Post by davzie »

pavlov wrote: post #14

The best advice I've had (and seen applied in practice) is this: You need to get your company to 10k USD monthly product revenue within three months. If you can't, either the product, target market or team needs to be revised drastically. It's hard advice to follow, but it will save you a lot of time because you can't wait months and years doing unessential tweaks to the product and marketing, hoping that sales mirac…

Really interested in hearing more about this. Do you have any examples of who is pitching this?

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#43

Post by ryanmarsh »

Belphemur wrote: post #37
jargnar wrote: post #20

It's a skill that can be learned like every other skill. You can take the "in 21 days" route or the MOOC / University course route, or constantly read business articles, Steve Jobs videos, etc. But some top tips stand out for me over time: * Talking to people, networking > Not talking to people * Bug free > Elegant code * UX > UI * Simple products that do one thing well > Complex products * Understanding entire marke…

Small clients > one big client Especially at the beginning, you read here how often big clients can put you under at the beginning because you're not ready to deal with them.

This. When small shops land their first big client they're always so excited. To me it's like having a stone tied around your neck. Big clients can often be more trouble than they're worth and become a financial risk when they send you packing and you've hired extra people just for their account.

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#44

Post by g105b »

NKCSS wrote: post #32
g105b wrote: post #11

I found out pretty soon that setting up a successful software development business only receives 20-40% of your time developing software. Business, like developing software, is a strict discipline, and there is a vast amount of knowledge that only comes from experience. I found myself trying to do everything, until a friend taught me a clever trick: 1) Write down all of the tasks you have to do on a daily, weekly and…

It's too bad I can only upvote this once, great advice and a clever way of looking at things!

Thanks! It's advice that changed the way I saw business.

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#45

Post by akulbe »

lprubin wrote: post #39

If you choose to run a software development agency: - Shoot for between 3 and 10 clients. Any less and you'll be very stressed about losing a client. Any more and you'll be overwhelmed with juggling too many balls. - Fire bad clients. They aren't worth the stress, frustration, and opportunity cost. - Work on your process. Doing an hour of client works earns you one hour of revenue. Improving your agency processes can…

Can you elaborate on what you mean by improving your agency process?

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#46

Post by deweller »

Belphemur wrote: post #37
jargnar wrote: post #20

It's a skill that can be learned like every other skill. You can take the "in 21 days" route or the MOOC / University course route, or constantly read business articles, Steve Jobs videos, etc. But some top tips stand out for me over time: * Talking to people, networking > Not talking to people * Bug free > Elegant code * UX > UI * Simple products that do one thing well > Complex products * Understanding entire marke…

Small clients > one big client Especially at the beginning, you read here how often big clients can put you under at the beginning because you're not ready to deal with them.

But...

A few big jobs > many small jobs

Low-paying jobs will consume more time than you expect. Be careful when quoting these. Always charge more than you think you need to cover your time.

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#47

Post by yeukhon »

deweller wrote: post #46
Belphemur wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small clients > one big client Especially at the beginning, you read here how often big clients can put you under at the beginning because you're not ready to deal with them.

But... A few big jobs > many small jobs Low-paying jobs will consume more time than you expect. Be careful when quoting these. Always charge more than you think you need to cover your time.

Big clients tend to be very slow at signing contracts because their legals would examine every word and will keep asking you to revise the contract. Furtheremore, real big clients tend to be slow at adopting the techology they just bought, so you may not get feedback quick enough to improve your product. Big clients are more likely to argue for discount as they would use "I am big name" as leverage.

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#48

Post by gtycomb »

Instead of your 7th new programming language, learn accounting, read annual reports of corporations, write a profit and loss analysis for three years forward (this will be vague, nevertheless spell it out the best you can) and know worst-case scenarios.

Work out simple and efficient ways for rock solid end-user experience. Anticipate lots of time spent with customers.

Help others, friends are the most valuable. Protect your plans in the early phases and be prudent with your capital, prepare for the long term. Do not be afraid in taking risks, patience will pay.

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#49

Post by pavlov »

davzie wrote: post #42
pavlov wrote: post #14

The best advice I've had (and seen applied in practice) is this: You need to get your company to 10k USD monthly product revenue within three months. If you can't, either the product, target market or team needs to be revised drastically. It's hard advice to follow, but it will save you a lot of time because you can't wait months and years doing unessential tweaks to the product and marketing, hoping that sales mirac…

Really interested in hearing more about this. Do you have any examples of who is pitching this?

Pitching? I don't know if there's really anything to pitch here. It's the kind of thing I've been told over lunch a few times, and seen happen in practice. That's all.

Re: Ask HN: Best business advice for software developers

#50

Post by accountyaccount »

jargnar wrote: post #20

It's a skill that can be learned like every other skill. You can take the "in 21 days" route or the MOOC / University course route, or constantly read business articles, Steve Jobs videos, etc. But some top tips stand out for me over time: * Talking to people, networking > Not talking to people * Bug free > Elegant code * UX > UI * Simple products that do one thing well > Complex products * Understanding entire marke…

I get some of these, but "don't procrastinate" and "understand the entire market" are kind of ridiculous. You might as well throw "know everything" and "work hard" in there.
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