Interesting...my comment: I do hardware consulting. I've also done some manufacturing. Manufacturing a product is a whole heck of a lot easier and much more profitable. Why? 1. Payment is easier to get. Customer gets product, I get paid at the same time. No excuses, no BS. The revenue stream is MUCH more dependable 2. Problems are solved under my nickel. Again, no BS. 3. The product is designed correctly the first time, or it is quickly corrected if an issue occurs. This keeps revenue flowing. No MBA required. The difficult parts with all this are knowing what to make, how much to have in inventory, when to hang-it-up on a product. And for a hardware product, getting a bunch of vendors. Jim Ussailis jim at nationalwireless.com Original Message: ----------------- From: Roman Victor romanvictor at rvpmdesigns.com Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:58:45 -0500 To: hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net, producer at wholehealthexpo.com Subject: RE: [Hidden-tech] selling online app v. custom development ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area. ** If you did, we all thank you. Hi, I have produced three commercial PC applications among other work. The first was a PC frontend application for a mainframe software application for a company in NYC and the other two are PC applications that are now sold via the internet. My take on web marketed applications (PC, Mac, mobile, etc.) is that it a good way to build a respectable revenue stream that continues after the product is built, and that is much better than income from straight consulting. BUT these projects work only if the product is priced right and there is a market. For anyone considering this, the real issue is that it is a very substantial task to produce, and then maintain a complete a quality software product as well as build the web site to sell it. My last software product took more than a man year to complete! If you do not design and build a good quality product, expect your phone to ring a lot with customers asking for support. Today, the market for web-marketed software products is densely populated with thousands of excellent products, so the chances of creating something new and innovative without a massive multi-developer effort are slim. But if you are willing to look for a niche, and keep at it, I say build it right and they will come. The least that you will accomplish is to learn a lot by the development effort itself which is a worthy and marketable skill. The Professional Association for Shareware Authors www.asp-shareware.org is a good organization that supports the shareware community. Roman Roman Victor, Software Developer RVPM Designs 8 Coach Ln Amherst, MA 01002 413 253-6547 413 695-9425 cell romanvictor at rvpmdesigns.com www.rvpmdesigns.com ________________________________________ From: hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net [mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net] On Behalf Of Jonathon Podolsky Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 9:41 PM To: hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net Subject: [Hidden-tech] selling online app v. custom development Has anyone had experience selling an application/downloadable or integrate-able "product" online rather than selling a custom solution where you are paid by the amount of time you put in on the programming side? What are your experiences? Is this a good way to go? -- All the best, Jonathon Podolsky Producer at WholeHealthExpo.com Voice: 413.584.0010 Toll-Free: 877.WHE.EXPO Toll-Free: 877.943.3976 Fax: 413.586.5846 _______________________________________________ Hidden-discuss mailing list - home page: http://www.hidden-tech.net Hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net You are receiving this because you are on the Hidden-Tech Discussion list. If you would like to change your list preferences, Go to the Members page on the Hidden Tech Web site. http://www.hidden-tech.net/members -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting