Being skilled as a developer doesn’t always translate well into running your own business. Being good at coding doesn’t mean you will also be good at finances, pitching and managing people. However, for many in the industry, it is a possibility - with a little know-how, a coder can turn their skills into a hugely successful business.
What Will Your Business Look Like?
There are many different options to take when it comes to building your own business. Are you going to build software and sell it to companies or individuals? Are you going to hire yourself out to work as a coder on many different projects? Consider the kind of business you think would work best for you and your skillset. If you would rather work on lots of different projects, it would be best to go down the route of working on a freelance-type basis rather than creating one product to sell. Choosing the kind of setup most suitable to you will give you a lot of direction when starting out.
Understanding Business
You might have mastered code, but mastering business will be a whole new learning curve. It’s important to know that if your passion is code, the business side of operations may take away a lot of time you can spend coding. Keeping on top of your accounts, pitching for new work, managing your business plan and forecasts etc will all take practice and time.
Find a Mentor
A great way to boost the likelihood of your business succeeding is to find a mentor who has experience in building a successful business as a coder. Your mentor can act as a sounding board for ideas, concerns and anything else you need to run by someone. If you don’t already know someone who could act as a mentor, a great place to look is online or at networking events.
Invest in Cloud Technology
The cloud computing industry is booming and is a great way for fledging companies to securely protect their files and grow easily. Investing in the cloud as a start-up offers you huge flexibility, allowing your data storage needs to scale up and down with you as you need it to; this avoids needing to invest heavily in IT infrastructure. Along with cost efficiency and scalability, the cloud offers a great amount of security against cyber-attacks – especially important with the relatively recent introduction of GDPR. Andre Pienaar, who runs the cloud-investment company C5 capital, said in interview last year, “Many companies once saw cloud computing as a blocker to security, now they see it as the answer.”
Understand It Will Take Time
Most businesses don’t exceed straight out the gate. It’s likely you will need to make tweaks and adjustments based on customer feedback and what appears and what doesn’t appear to be working. Perseverance is key and will make you much more likely to find success. It may take months and months before you really find your product or service taking off and generating good profits.
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