I have been convinced, after a blog comment conversation with another fellow Micro-ISVer, to let the cat (or cats in this case) out of the bag with the ideas that I am targeting as I get my Micro-ISV business off the ground.
The specifics of those ideas will be my the focus of my next post. There will be a couple of teasers in this post 
But before I reveal the ideas that I have been keen on, I wanted to set some context about my goals that I want to accomplish as a result of developing these ideas.
I have 3 ideas that I would like to flesh out and develop by the end of 2008 / beginning of 2009, if not sooner. One is, for the most part, an informational website idea. Another is a desktop application. The third is still a bit fuzzy, but the idea lies around downloadable tools/utilities.
Of course, as with any commercial business, a main goal is to actually make some money. However, for my first foray into this “run my own business” process, it is not my only goal. In fact, I would even go as far as to say that making money isn’t my only top-tier goal.
My goals as I get my business off the ground are the following:
Tier-1 Goals
- Develop products that I myself am excited about and would use
- Determine the best business model(s) for me
- Learn how to run a virtual business
- Answering the “Is being a Micro-ISV right for me?” question
- Make money
Tier-2 Goals
- Ensure I remain technologically relevant
- Get my name out there (not just through the products, but by participating in forums, etc.)
- Balance contracting/consulting, other business opportunities with a Micro-ISV business
- Determine if I need/want/can support a partner(s) or employees
- Answering the “Can a Micro-ISV succeed in markets that already exist?” question
- Find the right Micro-ISV resources to utilize (e.g. is Microsoft’s Empower program worth it?)
- Help other Micro-ISVs as appropriate and as best I can
There may be a few other goals that I am missing, but I think I have covered the major ones.
Let discuss some of the Tier-1 goals just a little bit.
Develop products that I myself am excited about and would use
I think this might be the most important goal. I believe if you don’t like the work you are doing, the product quality suffers. And when that suffers, it is like a domino effect to all other goals, including making money. Also, I believe if you develop a product that you will personally use, you tend to put more of your heart and soul in the product because, hey, you want to use good products too, don’t you?
Determine the best business model for me
Web-based applications with advertising and/or paid subscriptions? Desktop applications for sale? Open source / shareware applications? Donationware? Freeware? Which is the best route to go? Do I develop for both Windows and Mac? The three ideas that I am considering will each showcase a different business model.
Learn how to run a virtual business
Right now I am a one-man show (although I may have a partner for one of my ideas). I have to not only develop the products, but also market them, support them, maintain a good website, keep the financial books in order (assuming I make any money ), etc. Do I need to hire a website designer? An accountant? An attorney? This is my first time doing this and this first year or so will be a learning experience more than anything.
Answering the “Is Being A Micro-ISV Right For Me?” Question
I am going to use this opportunity to decide whether I am cut out to be a Micro-ISV; or whether I am better served to be a contractor/consultant — or — a corporate employee full time. Many factors go into answering this question, not just the product development work. For example, how does the Micro-ISV lifestyle affect my family relationship?
Make money
All three of my ideas have been implemented before in one form or another. So I will not be making any money because I am inventing a totally unique product. However, I want to see if I can make money by adding interesting, unique features to the products, along with providing ancillary value through pricing, support, etc. So, I am hoping that it is not just the product that people look at, but also the total business package.
I may go into some descriptions about my other goals (e.g. Tier-2) in a later post. Let me know if you are interested.
To summarize, I want to use this first year as learning experience, first and foremost, so that I can better prepare for my business future.
I am hoping this a worthwhile strategy for me. I guess we will see, huh? 
Great Post Joel. I’m looking forward to your next post and seeing what you will be working on. One thing I found about letting the world know about your plans is that it helps keeps you focused on the plans. If no one knows what you are doing, its a easier to lose focus or move on to your next great idea without completing any of them.
Your Tier 1 goals are good ones and I think going in with your attitude will help you along the way. I know you have some consulting work for the next few months. I would keep in touch with your contacts to have more work lined up if you need it. When I first left my full time job, I did it without any consulting work on the side. It was a huge rush, but the added stress of not having an income made it a lot harder on me and my family. Now with steady consulting on the side (I like to think of my uISV as my main job) I don’t have the financial worries. It also is a constant reminder of why I want my uISV to be successful.
Granted if I had 1-2 years of savings built up I might be tempted to go the uISV route full time again, but for now I’m happy with the situation and making progress on my uISV.
Good luck.
Off topic, where is the picture taken at the top? It looks a little bit like the Zion narrows.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comments. I should be letting the cat of the bag in the next couple of days or so.
From the beginning, I remember you saying you were in a similar boat as me, except for the small thing about you already having a product or two out the door
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I do plan on keeping direct touch with my contracting contacts, and I just may have some future work lined up after this one ends. That’s where I have to make the decision about cost/benefit of taking the job vs. working full time on the Micro-ISV. But, I think it is good to have that choice to make.
And, yes, that is The Narrows. What an awesome hike that was!!!
Good like with your microISV! I hope will work out well.
That’s a pretty good outline. Re Empower – I was in it, and overall I think it’s a great program. But treat it like a lease or buy decision.
After two years you’re left with nothing. All I really needed was Visual Studio. So I would have been better off just buying a license outright than I would spending $375 / year with nothing to show at the end.
Also, Microsoft’s goal for the program is to promote the Microsoft Partner program. They’re raising the bar for the Partner Program requirements, so I don’t know if it’s a suitable program for a lot of microISV’s.
Thank you gyurisc. If you keep track of this blog, you will know if things are going well — or not so well
Hi Nicholas. Yeah, I have some questions about the Empower program. Like what happens if you agree to develop a product for Windows, but for whatever reason, you cannot release it. Or are you just committing to “trying”. I haven’t decided whether or not to go for it. Especially if some of the tools that Empower gives you may have cheaper/free equivalents. But you do get some support incidents, which may help.
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A little late getting back. I really wish google reader lets you know when comments were updated. Something you should think about in your RSS reader. Small correction, I have one product out the door, no sales yet so I’m not that much further along
The second is close but not quite there yet.
I’m a firm believer in having future work lined up. Especially with a family and young kids. When I was working full time on my uISV, I was constantly aware of what I was spending (which is a good thing) but it starts to wear you down over time. If you can arrange it, part time contracts are awesome. When I got my current consulting gig, I told them upfront that I didn’t have 40 hours a week I could commit. They were more than happen to base it on a 30 hour work week instead. This ensures I have the time to work on my products.
Narrows, yes that was an awesome hike. Did you do the whole thing, from top to bottom? I did that about 8 years ago or so. It was amazing. The whole Zion area is beautiful.
Hi Chris,
Sorry for the small mistake
Yeah, we are pretty frugal in general so that helps. I do have a pretty good network of people who I can lean on if I really need to find “stable” work. I also think 1 or more opportunities will come to me next year that I have to decide whether to take or not.
RIght now with my contracting gig, I consider it above part time, but less than full time. I would say between 20-30 hours a week. That is good.
We didn’t do the whole Narrows hike. Maybe a 10 mile round trip, if I remember. We had to cram a bunch of stuff in a little time, so we had to do some sacrificing. But the part we did was awesome.