This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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1. Jason Fried of 37signals gets it: Side-Business Software: The neglected software market
“The most innovative software designed over the next 10 years will 1. be web-based, 2. will come from small teams, 3. will come from self-funded companies, and 4. will be for the “side-business” or 1-10 person business market.
“When you think small business, think 1-10 people not 50-100. There’s an endless supply of 1-10 person companies. Who cares about the Fortune 500? It’s time to care about the Fortune 5,000,000. Forget the enterprise market. Forget the mid-sized company market. Build for the smallest of small companies and you’ll find a thirsty, neglected market waiting for you.”
2. Josh Williams, who recently launched the Blinksale application (the easiest way to send invoices online) gets it:
“As a small business owners, contractors, and freelancers, we specialize in specific skills, be it programming, design, architecture, catering, or whatever. While some may find the thought of creating invoices therapeutic. Most of us do not. The fact is, the less time you spend creating invoices, the more time you can spend doing something else. Frankly, we don’t want you to hang around using Blinksale. We want you to sign in, send that invoice, sign out, and get paid. We’ve made it that easy.” (Blinksale Manifesto)
They get that we (solopreneurs) are a HUGE market.
They get that our budget is usually limited to the pockets of the pants we’re wearing (if we’re wearing any at all).
They get that we want, need and will pay for the small, utilitarian applications that help make our lives simpler and our businesses more nimble.
They get that while we appreciate aesthetically pleasing design, it’s really the utility that we value most (e.g. del.icio.us).