Needed Honest Opinions -On Starting Company

[Lakshmipathi]

Hi all,
I guess i'm thinking about taking great risk in my life.Giving up the job and start a small linux product based company.

I hope to write linux applications which will bring new functionality to Linux desktop.I already written linux undelete/recovery tools and linux file hide etc

I want your honest Opinions on it...Is there market to linux products?

[GNU-Fan]

I won't go into whether there is a market for GNU/Linux products because this one can be extracted from doing a little bit research on how much companies like IBM spend on Linux alone.

I am, however, a bit sceptic about whether there is a substantial need for file system tools from the users of the "Linux desktop".

I know many GNU/Linux administrators in corporate environments envy Sun Solaris's ZFS filesystem, which can't be bundled with the "mainstream" Linux because of licensing issues. Offering help to companies here, even if you just offer to patch/install ZFS for them (which is allowed), might be an idea.

[b2bwild]

If you are from India, them im going to doubt about it.
because 99.9999999998% desktop users in india uses Windows and 80% dont even know what is Linux. and many of them are not ready to take linux as their primary OS.

[Lakshmipathi]

Thanks GNU-fan and b2bwild,

Your view/scepticism are really valid points.I'm exploring the areas where i can get-into(not limited to File System tools) .Its 100% true ,in India ppl don't really use Linux (though slowly ppl are starting with it) ,But there is plenty of proj/people using linux as their server.

As i said ,I hope to spend atleast another 5-6 months exploring this idea...

[b2bwild]

but there IS chance for server systems and networking.
Instead of going for desktop go for servers. because there are linux servers in use in india in quite good numbers.
And small firms and companies also prefer linux as router and proxies and firewalls because Cisco Router and Pix cost them alot than their budget.

[Freston]

I have found it pretty difficult but not impossible to become a freelancer, which is, I take it, the path you are trying to take. Work for yourself rather than for a boss. It's not only your skill in your chosen field that is called for when you run your own business. You may be the best of the best, but you need to advertise, market your product, get people to buy it and do all the associated administrative work.

I am part time freelancer for a couple of years now. And my income per hour of my own business is about trice what I earn from my regular job. You'd think I struck gold, but the opposite is true. So much time goes into acquiring new clients, doing 'free intakes', asking and answering questions, doing all associated paperwork, networking.

You really have to enjoy these things, because you're not getting payed for them. The freedom is great, setting your own hours is great, billing people for the work you did is absolutely brilliant!
But on the other hand I have more respect for my boss now, as I know what he does behind the scenes so I can just focus on my profession and close the door behind me when it's time to go home.

For my freelance work I can't do that, ever. I work from home and I'm never done. I really need to plan between leisure and work. How much time should I devote to marketing? 2 hours per week? 12 hours per week? It all depends. Do I want to make it Big, or do I just want a steady income? Do I want to devote more time to providing service to existing clients, or do I want to get new ones?


Don't take this negatively. It's also incredible fun do develop a nose for the market (as the Dutch expression goes; because after a while you can just smell where the contracts are). The thing is, people are often bothered by a problem and if you can take them with you in your enthusiasm about a solution you have in mind then a deal is not far away.

On the other hand, it feels like having to apply for a job on a weekly basis. Many contracts are for short term or small projects and having work for a week means you are out of a job next week. Every time.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that seeking clients is a very big part of starting your own business. You really need to get in to the act, meet people, talk to people, network like crazy, find people who do similar things.

[kopf1988]

I have found it pretty difficult but not impossible to become a freelancer, which is, I take it, the path you are trying to take. Work for yourself rather than for a boss. It's not only your skill in your chosen field that is called for when you run your own business. You may be the best of the best, but you need to advertise, market your product, get people to buy it and do all the associated administrative work.

Definately right there. A lot of time and energy goes into things other than just making programs or whatever you particularly want to do. You might, for example, even need to hire people, say to help get clients for you or to organize things and pay taxes. There's accounting, management, getting clients, keeping clients, making your programs, handling bugs, doing customer service, and a whole lot of time and energy that goes into it. You reallly got to enjoy it for it to be worth it.