Going from IT to Dream Job

Question

I currently work for a huge IT department for the past 2 years. I really would rather be an independant software dev. I'm wondering what would be the best things I need to focus on to work towards this goal?

Also, I've been offered a job at a smaller company for slightly more money and I would be abl e to do some side personel projects at work if I wanted. I think this might be good to let me get started. My big problem is how to find customers for your products? Or would it be better to approach companys asking if they need custom development done for them?

Answer 1

Small businesses are always in need of software that will cater to their business, whether they know it or not. A majority of our business is development work for smaller local companies creating customized management software. It may take some initial work and a few ins to score the first couple of contracts, but once that is done you can point back to all the other companies you service as proof of the necessity.

Example: We have had a plastic extruder/machine shop as a client for a couple years now and we used the software built for them to attract 4 other machine shops in the past year to build systems which will do what they need.

Answer 2

If you really are serious about this then there's no better source for this kind of information (and motivation) than Eric Sink's book on The Business of Software.

Check it out - I had the same questions as you do and this book gave me all the inspiration to follow my dreams.

Answer 3

It's tough going independent. I've been an independent consultant for the last 18+ years and I've learned a few things along the way I would gladly share with you.

One thing I've noticed is that it matters greatly where you live. I'm fortunate enough to be from the New York City area where contracts are plentiful and the money is outstanding. However I've looked into moving my practice to other cities from time to time and found that things are not as good elsewhere. The plethora of companies in manhattan (especially the financial firms who pay very well) is hard to find outside of this are.

The other issue is getting paid, I go through consulting agencies to get contracts because getting paid directly from a client can be a real pain. They usually only pay between net 30 and net 180 so you can wait a long time for your money. Using an agency let's you stay independent but get paid regularly (bi-weekly). Of course dealing with agencies brings it's own issues, but you learn to deal with them over time.

If you have the stomach for dealing with the ebbs and flows of the market, consulting can be a very lucrative endeavor. I make 2.5 - 3 times as much as I would as an employee for doing the same work!

Eric

Answer 4

I think the biggest skills required to go independent are sales and customer relations.

Specifically, with respect to sales, you now need to get comfortable selling yourself as a talented and qualified developer for every new project you'll undertake.

Regarding customer relations, you will need to be good at listening to customer needs (often fairly non-technical), spec-ing out projects, generating contracts, presenting proposed designs, refining work, and also having good boundaries on projects (respecting the contracts you've set up for work). These are skills that aren't as prominent when you're just assigned projects to do within a larger corporation.

Answer 5

Marketing is not something that IT professionals tend to enjoy doing, but being an independent consultant will require you to market yourself and your product(s). At the end of the day, this is simplest when you have a rather large network of contacts and/or folks who may be a good fit to do some work with. If you are targeting small business, get involved with the local lions clubs and chamber of commerce events.

Once your networking efforts come to fruition, you should be able to identify some businesses in the area that you may be able to work with...

Answer 6

Getting companies to contract you out to build a program for them can be difficult without either completed projects you have done to point back to and show the quality of work you can do or having someone "talk you up" or otherwise recommend you for what a company wants done. While sometimes difficult it is not impossible by any stretch of the imagination. But to get to the main point of your question.

There are many ways, aside from being networked and knowing people, to find companies who need programs of varying sizes made. One site is called www.GetAFreeLancer.com"I found this site in about 10 seconds by searching google, i'm sure there are much better sites out there this is just an example".

Aside from sites to find companies looking for someone to make a program for them, there is also the option of learning about some companies, going up to them, and pitching a software idea you have that you think they could use. I would also highly suggest making a web page that you could use to attract companies by having your business info on it, including what languages you program in and some examples of the work you've done. Also, as posted in The TXI's answer, once you've done a job for a company you can go to similar businesses and pitch the software to them so that your essentially just modifying (if not just straight up reselling) software you've already completely built and debugged.

Given all of this, here is my advise to you: Take the job at the smaller company while also starting your own business part time. That way you can built up your customer base while also still having a steady income as well as having co-workers who can help you out by pointing you towards companies that might need programs built as well as maybe even finding a programmer or two that might want to join your new business.

EX: I'm am currently in a computer business where we can do software, websites, and fixing/building computers (as a part-time job outside of my regular engineering job) that was started by a friend of mine whom i met while i was a co-op at Michelin.

Every little bit helps and the main thing is you don't want to jump in the water with both feet before you have a decent customer base if you can possibly help it.